Brigham Young on Imperfect Scriptures

...I do not even believe that there is a single revelation, among the many God has given to the Church, that is perfect in its fulness. The revelations of God contain correct doctrine and principle, so far as they go; but it is impossible for the poor, weak, low, groveling, sinful inhabitants of the earth to receive a revelation from the Almighty in all its perfections. He has to speak to us in a manner to meet the extent of our capacities. . . .

If an angel should come into this congregation, or visit any individual of it, and use the language he uses in heaven, what would we be benefited? Not any, because we could not understand a word he said. When angels come to visit mortals, they have to condescend to and assume, more or less, the condition of mortals, they have to descend to our capacities in order to communicate with us. I make these remarks to show you that the kingdom of heaven is not yet complete upon the earth. Why? Because the people are not  prepared to receive it in its completeness, for they are not complete or perfect themselves.

The laws that the Lord has given are not fully perfect, because the people could not receive them in their perfect fulness; but they can receive a little here and a little there, a little today and a little tomorrow, a little more next week, and a little more in advance of that next year, if they make a wise improvement upon every little they receive; if they do not, they are left in the shade, and the light which the Lord reveals will appear darkness to them, and the kingdom of heaven will travel on and leave them groping. Hence, if we wish to act upon the fulness of the knowledge that the Lord designs to reveal, little by little, to the inhabitants of the earth, we must improve upon every little as it is revealed.

-Journal of Discourses, 2:314

More Scripture Study Quotes

And now... an old Sunday School handout!  (I am really trying to purge things, and it's a good opportunity to review and record the ones I want to store in my brain and in my heart.) Beware, it is lengthy.

Russell M. Nelson:
Truth given by revelation can only be understood by revelation.  (CR Oct 2000)

Ezra Taft Benson:
The scriptures are called 'the words of life' (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance.

. . .
The Book of Mormon was written for us today. God is the author of the book... God, who knows the end from the beginning, told [Mormon] what to include in his abridgment that we would need for our day.

. . . 
If they saw our day and chose those things which would be of greatest worth to us, is not that how we should study the Book of Mormon? We should constantly ask ourselves, 'Why did the Lord inspire Mormon (or Moroni or Alma) to include that in his record?'  (CR Oct 1986)

Joseph Fielding Smith:
Our attitude..toward the scriptures should be in harmony with the purposes for which they were written. They are intended to enlarge man's spiritual endowments and to reveal and intensify the bond of relationship between him and his God. (Juvenile Instructor, April 1912, 204)

Bruce R. McConkie:
Each pronouncement in the holy scriptures...is so written as to reveal little or much, depending on the spiritual capacity of the student. (NWAF 1985, 71)

In the final analysis, there is no way--absolutely none (and this cannot be stated too strongly!)--to understand any Messianic prophecy, or any other scripture, except to have the same spirit of prophecy that rested upon the one who uttered the truth in its original form. Scripture comes from God by the power of the Holy ghost. It does not originate with man. It means what the Holy Ghost thinks it means. To interpret it, we must be enlightened by the power of the Holy Spirit. (The Promised Messiah, 44)

Cheryl C. Lant:
When we read the scriptures we are hearing the voice of the Savior. He is not absent from our lives. He is actively positioned in the verses of these holy books. (CR Oct 2005)

Dallin H. Oaks:
Our belief in an open canon also includes private revelations to individual seekers of the meaning of existing scriptures.  (Ensign Jan 1995, 7)

...
The idea that scripture reading can lead to inspiration and revelation opens the door to the truth that a scripture is not limited to what it meant when it was written but may also include what that scripture means to the reader today. Even more, scripture reading may also lead to current revelation on whatever else the Lord wishes to communicate to the reader at that time. We do not overstate the point when we say that the scriptures can be a Urim and Thummim to assist each of us to receive personal revelation. (id., 8)

We need ot know that the Lord rarely speaks loudly. His messages almost always come in a whisper. (Ensign, March 1997, 12)

Russell M. Nelson:
Motivation for scriptural guidance comes when important choices must be made--even between options that are equally right. The Brethren are often faced with these kind of decisions. On such occasions, we turn to the scriptures. We may read all of the standard works afresh, looking for insights relative to a specific issue.

...
Time for scripture study requires a schedule that will be honored.

. . . 
To feast means more than to taste. To feast means to savor. We savor the scriptures by studying them in a spirit of delightful discovery and faithful obedience.  (CR Oct 2000)

Boyd K. Packer:
While we may invite this communication, it can never be forced! If we try to force it we may be deceived.

. . .
No one of us survive in the world today, much less in what it soon will become, without personal inspiration. The spirit of reverence can and should be evident in every organization in the Church and in the lives of every member. (CR Oct 1991)

There isn't a major problem we face that we can't be immunized against if we know the revelations. ("Teach the Scriptures," [address to religious educators], 14, Oct. 1977, 7)

For His own reasons, the Lord provides answers to some questions, with pieces placed here and there throughout the scriptures. We are to find them; we are to earn them. In that way sacred things are hidden from the insincere. (Cr Oct. 1983)

Henry B. Eyring:
Going to the scriptures to lkearn what to do makes all the difference... We will find answers in the scriptures. The Lord seemed to anticipate all of our problems and all of our needs, and He put help in the scriptures for us--if only we seek it. (Ensign, July 2005, 24)

David A. Bednar:
The scriptures, in essence, are a written 'recording' of the voice of the Lord--a voice we feel in our hearts more than we hear with our ears. and as we study the content and feel the spirit of the written word of God, we learn to hear His voice in the words we read and to understand the means whereby the words are given to us by the Holy Ghost. (New Era, April 2006, 5)

Sheri L. Dew:
Some of the clearest promptings I have ever received have come while being immersed in the scriptures. They are a conduit for revelation. They teach us the language of the Spirit. (CR Oct 1998)

D. Todd Christofferson:
I see you sometimes reading a few verses, stopping to ponder them, carefully reading the verses again, and as you think about what they mean, praying for understanding, asking questions in your mind, waiting for spiritual impressions, and writing down the impressions and insights that come so you can remember and learn more. Studying in this way, you may not read a lot of chapters or verses in a half hour, but you will be giving place in your heart for the word of God, and He will be speaking to you. (CR April 2004)

Richard G. Scott:
There is a power that can change lives in the specific words recorded in the standard works. That power is weakened when we paraphrase or alter the actual wording. I therefore suggest that you encourage students to cite scripture content with precision. ("Four Fundamentals for Those Who Teach and Inspire Youth," OT Synmposium Speeches, 1987, 5)

I suggest that you memorize scriptures that touch your heart and fill your soul with understanding. When scriptures are used as the Lord has caused them to be recorded, they have intrinsic power that is not communicated when paraphrased. (CR Oct 1999)

Brigham Young:
Stop! Wait! When you get up in the morning, before you suffer yourselves to eat one mouthful of food, . . . bow down before the Lord, ask him to forgive your sins, and protect you through the day, to preserve you from temptation and all evil, to guide your steps aright, that you may do something that day that shall be beneficial to the kingdom of God on the earth. Have you time to do this? . . . This is the counsel I have for the Latter-day Saints to-day. Stop, do not be in a hurry. . . You are in too much of a hurry; you do not go to meeting enough, you do not pray enough, you do not read the Scriptures enough, you do not meditate enough, you are all the time on the wing, and in such a hurry that yu do not know what to do first. . .l Let me reduce this to a simple saying--one of the most simple and homely that can be used--'Keep your dish right side up,' s that when the shower of porridge does come, you can catch your dish full. (Journal of Discourses, 15:37-38)

Knowledge and Spiritual Death

I had noticed this verse before, but it struck me again this time what a unique clarification of the meaning of spiritual death Alma gives to the people of Ammonihah:

And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.

And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.

. . . 

And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death, then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.

-Alma 12:10-11, 16

Joseph Smith taught, "A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge." I find it really interesting that the process Alma describes captivity as losing knowledge of God. It makes sense that if knowing Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ constitutes life eternal, that losing knowledge of them would constitute spiritual death, or hardening the heart such that there is no room for righteousness. More than the quantity of our studies, the condition of our hearts will determine the portion of eternal knowledge that we will have the capacity to receive, and that in turn will determine our eternal destiny.

Scripture Study Quotes

From an old Institute Handout entitled "Promises of the Living Prophets"

Harold B. Lee:

Are you brethren continually increasing your testimony by diligent study of the scriptures? Do you have a daily habit of reading the scriptures? If we're not reading the scriptures daily, our testimonies are growing thinner, our spirituality isn't increasing in depth. We, ourselves, must be studying the scriptures and have a daily habit. (Regional Representatives' Seminar, Dec 12, 1970, p. 10)

Bruce R. McConkie:

I think that people who study the scriptures get a dimension to their life that nobody else gets and that can't be gained in any way except by studying the scriptures. There's an increas in faith and a desire to do what's right and a feeling of inspiration and understanding that comes to people who study the gospel--meaning particularly the standard works--and who ponder the principles, that can't come in any other way. (Church News, 24 Jan 1976, p. 4)

By regular systematic study of the standard works we can go a long way toward keeping in a course that will please the Lord and further our own eternal progression. In this way we can gain for ourselves peace and satisfaction and happiness in this life and have a hope of eternal life in the world to come. (CR October 1959, p. 51)

Spencer W. Kimball:

All through the scriptures every weakness and strength of man has been portrayed, and rewards and punishments have been recorded. One would surely be blind who could not learn to live life properly by such reading. (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 133)

The years have taught me that if we will energetically pursue this worthy personal goal of scripture study in a determined and conscientious manner, we shall indeed find answers to our problems and peace in our hearts. We shall experience the Holy Ghost broadening our understanding, find new insights, witness an unfolding pattern of all scripture; and the doctrines of the Lord shall come to have more meaning to us than we ever thought possible. As a consequence, we shall have greater wisdom with which to guide ourselves and our families, so that we may serve as a light and source of strength to our nonmember friends with whom we have an obligation to share the gospel. (id., p. 135)

I find that when I get casual in my relationship with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away, if I immerse myself int eh scriptures the distance narrows and the spirituality returns. I find myself loving more intensely those whom I must love with all my heart and mind and strength, and loving them more, I find it easier to abide their counsel. (id.)

George Q. Cannon:

I have noticed. . . that where the people of God pay attention to the written word, and cherish and observe the written word, they are always better prepared to hear the oral instructions of the servants of God. . . [T]hey have greater interest in seeking to obtain instructions, than they have when they are careless about the written word of God. (CR, Oct. 1897, p. 38)

No Gods Before Me

I gave a talk in church on Sunday on the first commandment. I wrote it in its entirety in a couple of hours on Saturday when I was sick and had some unpleasant things going on. It was very unlike my usual talk-writing process, and was really a gift. So for anyone interested (and for my own records), here it is.

I was asked to speak today on the first of the Ten Commandments, which says, “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.” If I am not mistaken, someone spoke on this topic recently in Sacrament meeting, which is humbling both because I don’t want to bore you all, but more importantly because the frequency indicates the importance of the topic. And to the brother who gave the talk, I’m sorry I don’t remember who you are, but with three boys doing their best to ensure that I’m not paying attention, I call the fact that I remember anything at all a win.

Throughout the scriptures, the Lord has elaborated upon what it means to place no gods before Him. In the commandment immediately following this one, He says, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.”

 In his October General Conference talk, Elder Dallin H. Oaks explained these commandments this way: “More than merely forbidding physical idols, this states a fundamental priority for all time… The meaning of jealous is revealing. Its Hebrew origin means “possessing sensitive and deep feelings”. Thus we offend God when we “serve” other gods—when we have other first priorities.”

The Old Testament Student Manual says this about God’s proclaimed jealousy as to our priorities:

"At first some may think that this demand for exclusive worship and devotion by God for Himself sounds selfish. But two things should be remembered. First, as Lord and Creator of all the universe, and as one who has all power, knowledge, and glory, God does not need man’s adoration and worship to add to His state of being. So, His jealousy is not a protective concern for His own status.

"The second thing to remember is that the Lord taught Moses that God’s work is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”. Anytime His children set anything before God in importance, they begin to thwart His work for them. He is the only source of power and knowledge sufficient to save. To set anything above Him lessens their ability to draw on that power and knowledge for their salvation. That is why He says to His children, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”.

"One Bible scholar put it this way: “This commandment prohibits every species of mental idolatry, and all inordinate attachment to earthly and sensible things [things which appeal to the senses]. … God is the fountain of happiness, and no intelligent creature can be happy but through him. … The very first commandment of the whole series is divinely calculated to prevent man’s misery and promote his happiness, by taking him off from all false dependence, and leading him to God himself, the fountain of all good.” (Clarke, Bible Commentary, 1:402–3.)"

King Benjamin’s teachings in the Book of Mormon add to our understanding that God asks for our loyalty and obedience for our benefit rather than his: “I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another— I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

 “And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

“ And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

 “And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?”

In short, the things that God demands of us benefit him only in that His work is furthered because His work is blessing and saving us. Seeing as tax season is upon us, I’ll put it this way: Act for act, we will never give Him a net gain on His loving investment in us. But as we put Him first in our lives, we will feel His love and concern for us and come to know Him, the only true God, which Christ said “is life eternal.” (John 17:3)

In the New Testament when Christ himself was asked about the great commandment in the law, “Jesus said…, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”

Putting God first in our lives isn’t about blind obedience or demanding rules; it is about loving God, “because He first loved us.” It is about allowing that love to penetrate everything that we do so that through our faith and diligence “all things shall come together for [our] good.” (D&C 90:24)

In his April 1988 General Conference address, President Ezra Taft Benson expounded on how we are to do this: “To love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is all-consuming and all-encompassing. It is no lukewarm endeavor. It is total commitment of our very being—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—to a love of the Lord.

“The breadth, depth, and height of this love of God extend into every facet of one’s life. Our desires, be they spiritual or temporal, should be rooted in a love of the Lord. Our thoughts and affections should be centered on the Lord. “Let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord,” said Alma, “yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever” (Alma 37:36).

“Why did God put the first commandment first? Because He knew that if we truly loved Him we would want to keep all of His other commandments. “For this is the love of God,” says John, “that we keep his commandments” (1 Jn. 5:3; see also 2 Jn. 1:6).

“We must put God in the forefront of everything else in our lives. He must come first, just as He declares in the first of His Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3).

“When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.

“We should put God ahead of everyone else in our lives.”

This can be a hard task in our day and age, when society at large seems bent on either disregarding God and mocking all those who would follow His commandments, or defining God in ways that please themselves and others. Some grasp at principles they like, such as freedom and love, to the exclusion of other truths which would govern and bring meaning to them, such as obedience and chastity.

As the Lord himself said in His introduction to the Doctrine and covenants, “They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own God, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.”

So when we seek to define God according to our own design, or to fit Him into what our society or culture sees as “politically correct” instead of seeking to know and follow Him, we are creating our own image to worship instead of putting Him first.

In a 1978 address at BYU, Elder Neal A. Maxwell spoke prophetically of this problem and how we must confront it: “Your discipleship may see the time come when religious convictions are heavily discounted… This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain of people’s opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions. Resistance to abortion will soon be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened.”

He continued, “It may well be, as our time comes to ‘suffer shame for his name’ (Acts 5:41), that some of this special stress will grow out of that portion of discipleship which involves citizenship. Remember that, as Nephi and Jacob said, we must learn to endure ‘the crosses of the world’ (2 Nephi 9:18) and yet to despise ‘the shame of [it]’ (Jacob 1:8). To go on clinging to the iron rod in spite of the mockery and scorn that flow at us from the multitudes in that great and spacious building seen by Father Lehi, which is the ‘pride of the world,’ is to disregard the shame of the world.”

38 years later, Elder Oaks echoed the same sentiments and confirmed Elder Maxwell’s foresight, which all of us have seen play out around us. He said, “Our twelfth article of faith states our belief in being subject to civil authority and “in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” But man’s laws cannot make moral what God has declared immoral. Commitment to our highest priority—to love and serve God—requires that we look to His law for our standard of behavior. For example, we remain under divine command not to commit adultery or fornication even when those acts are no longer crimes under the laws of the states or countries where we reside. Similarly, laws legalizing so-called “same-sex marriage” do not change God’s law of marriage or His commandments and our standards concerning it. We remain under covenant to love God and keep His commandments and to refrain from serving other gods and priorities—even those becoming popular in our particular time and place.

“In this determination we may be misunderstood, and we may incur accusations of bigotry, suffer discrimination, or have to withstand invasions of our free exercise of religion. If so, I think we should remember our first priority—to serve God—and, like our pioneer predecessors, push our personal handcarts forward with the same fortitude they exhibited.”

As we stand up for what we believe, whether it be in public discourse or in simply living Godly principles, we will inevitably be called out as a strange and peculiar people, and many will seek to tear down our faith. But putting God first means trusting that His way will guide us to live “after the manner of happiness,” as Nephi called it. At some point this will require hard things from each of us. It will require us to change our habits and attitudes and to humble ourselves or to be humbled. It will require us to withstand derision as we cling to unpopular principles. It will require us to endure physical, mental, or emotional pain for ourselves or loved ones in faith. It will change the way we view ourselves, our families, our activities, and our affiliations. It will cause us to reevaluate our treatment of sacred things such as our homes, church and temple attendance and participation, and the Sabbath day. It will call us to take on responsibilities of varying shapes and sizes and to sustain others in their responsibilities even when we may have differing opinions. It will require our loyalty to God’s servants, who, as imperfect men, are nevertheless called to carry out divine purposes. Elder Maxwell  called this one “a hard doctrine, but … a particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked,” because, as he continued, “not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ.”

This isn’t to say that we can’t ask honest questions; they are an essential part of building faith. It does require that we ask those questions “with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ,” and a “desire to believe.” Then the Spirit can teach without acrimony the hard truths we sometimes struggle to discern. If, on the other hand, our desire is to fit in with what the world deems acceptable and we disregard his commandments, we run the risk of becoming “past feeling” as Nephi said.

Putting God first also does not require that we shun outsiders or put down others’ opinions. We can praise all that is virtuous, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy in society, but we must also stand true to God when asked to take the false with the true. The key is discernment through the Holy Ghost, which we can only access through our personal worthiness and by keeping the covenant to “Always remember [Jesus Christ].”

This week I read the book Unbroken, which is the story of Louie Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was in a plane crash in World War II, survived on a raft drifting across the Pacific for 47 days only to be captured by the Japanese and subjected to labor, starvation, and dehumanizing abuse, especially by one particular captor known as “The Bird.” When he finally returned home, he suffered from flashbacks and his dreams were haunted by The Bird. He turned to drinking, and resolved in his mind that the only way to free himself would be to exact revenge by returning to Japan and killing The Bird himself. His life spiraled out of control, and he was “past feeling” in many ways. Finally, his wife convinced him to go to two Billy Graham sermons. In the first he couldn’t bear to stay because he felt so attacked and confronted by the calls for repentance and forgiveness. In the second he was about to storm out again when a flashback of another kind came upon him; he remembered the times that he prayed on the raft, saying that if God would just spare his life that he would serve God forever. He seemed to feel rain on his head as he stood there in the sermon. Twice such prayers on the raft had led to life-sustaining rain, and other times they had been able to catch food. He remembered the peaceful beauty that he had seen and felt as they passed through the doldrums, and the confirmation that those things were granted him as gifts from God to sustain him. Suddenly the fear and hate left him and he was filled with love for and from God. From that moment he was able to make the changes he so desperately needed in his life, to let go of his bitterness and to forgive. His nightmares ceased. He spent the rest of his life sharing his message and helping troubled kids to change their lives. By letting go of his god of revenge, he was able to put the God of love first and to be healed.

On a more personal note, I am often reminded that my priorities need adjusting if God is to be first in my life. Just this week I read a couple of articles that friends had posted online questioning certain opinions and practices taught by the Brethren. I thought about how subtly truths can be twisted and construed, “to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.” (Mark 13:22) And then I had a somewhat chastising thought: How much time do I spend studying the scriptures and the words of the prophets compared to the time I spend reading things online and elsewhere? How much of my study is spent finding out what the world thinks, and how much spent finding out what my Father thinks? How much of my daily effort is spent coming to know and love Him? Suddenly it became clear to me how easily I could confuse my priorities and lose the spiritual discernment needed to wade through all of the half-truths that society teaches.

Another example comes up frequently in my current stage of life. Going out and about with three energetic boys seems to elicit the same comment from almost everyone I see: “You have your hands full!” My answer is generally, “Yes, I do!” which I try to follow with some expression of how blessed I am to have to have full hands. Depending on my boys’ behavior, this can be easier to do some times than others. Often amid seemingly innocuous comments I get the sense that my having three kids isn’t necessarily a good thing, and the fact that I might want more seems completely preposterous to many. Sometimes I have felt self-conscious about wanting a big family and staying home with my kids, or that we won’t be sending our kids to the best schools and extracurricular activities. In high school when I said that I want to stay home with my children, more than one teacher made comments akin to, “What a waste!” As I heard one comedian say, “Big families are like waterbed stores; they used to be everywhere, but now they are just weird.” But when I seek out the Spirit I am reminded that by following God’s commandments to have children and to put my family first, I am investing myself and my time in the things that are 

eternally important and that will, in the end, bring the most happiness to myself and others as I serve God instead of the opinions and ways of the world.

In his April 1996 Conference talk, Russell M. Nelson likened putting God first to a military drill: an officer would call out, attention! Right face! Left face! Or About face! And all those in the drill would act instantly. In testing our allegiance to the commandment to put God first, Elder Nelson suggested that we ask ourselves, “Which way do I face?” In 3 Nephi, when the voice of God came to the surviving Nephites and Lamanites introducing His son, at first the people didn’t understand the voice. They “cast their eyes round about,” presumably to the people around them, trying to figure out what the voice was and where it came from. Finally, the third time, “they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came. And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard.”

I would invite each of us to evaluate where we are facing and whether we are enabling ourselves to hear and receive the loving counsel of our Heavenly Father. I testify that as we seek Him first and follow His commandments in all things that we will be blessed and prospered in all things, and come to know His love, which can fill our lives and make us whole. In doing so, we “may become the sons [and daughters] of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.” (Moroni 7:48)

Out of ancestors?

One study calculated that if we went back 10 generations and did the work for their cousins and the cousin’s descendants, there is the potential for about 8 million people if there were only 4 children per family. Many had much larger families.  If you have done 8 million names perhaps you are done and can help other people. But if you haven’t done 8 million names, there are names to find.

Good one, Elder Packer. The rest of the talk is here, and it is a good one: https://www.lds.org/topics/family-history/rootstech/elder-packer?lang=eng&cid=facebook-shared

The Enoch Letters: Zion and the Lord's work

I just read The Enoch Letters by Neal A. Maxwell. It is a unique piece of fiction coming from a General Authority (I think it was written when he was assistant to the twelve), and a really interesting study of how the commandments and doctrines must be applied in order to prepare Zion for the Savior's presence. Very important for our dispensation especially. Here is one of many quotes I liked; this one focuses on a few points that I have pondered on quite a bit in the last years and tried to incorporate better into my daily life:

The Lord's work is work, but it is sweet labor. It is work usually done step by step in the process of time. Small daily duties well done have led to a big difference... for it is by small means that the Lord can bring about great things. There is no easy way to rush righteousness. it is as if our very neighbor is all mankind, and thus we can see how much there is yet to do in the combining of our time and talents before we can truly be said to love our neighbors as ourselves.

-p. 29