Give Thanks for the Birth of God's Son

Even before any of us were born, Jesus Christ showed his love for us as he stepped forward and offered to accept the role of Savior as part of our Heavenly Father’s plan.  We were all present when the Father explained his plan in which we, as spirit children, would have the chance to come to earth to gain mortal bodies, and to be tested to see if we would keep God’s commandments. 

Heavenly Father explained that His plan would require a Redeemer.  So, God asked, “Whom shall I send?” and Jesus stepped forward and said, “Here am I.  Send me.”

Jesus Christ offered himself as our Savior because of his great love for us.  During our time here are on earth, we are constantly learning.  There are times when we are tried and tested.  We experience emotional highs and lows.  Sometimes our hearts are broken.  Other times they are overflowing with love and gratitude. 

No matter what difficulties we face, our faith in Jesus Christ can provide strength and comfort.  In a modern revelation given to a group of struggling Mormon pioneers, the Savior offered these words of comfort that apply just as much today as they did then:
“Therefore, let your hearts be comforted … ; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.”

Throughout the scriptures we learn of Christ’s ultimate manifestation of love for God’s children. In the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed, “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me.  Nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.  And being in agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

In his great atoning sacrifice, the Savior took upon himself the sins of the world, then suffered and died on the cross.  Three days later He was resurrected, successfully unlocking the gates of both spiritual death and physical death on our behalf.  He made it possible for us to return and live with him in the presence of the Father once more.

During this season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I extend to you my best wishes for a happy holiday season.  How appropriate it seems that the two holidays come so close together.  After all, is there anything we should be more thankful for than the birth of the baby Jesus?  And for his life, his example, his teachings and his atonement? 

As the angels said unto the shepherds on that night of all nights:
“For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Peace of Mind: A Blessing from God

Brian Tracy once wrote, "Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organize your life around it." 
Is that truly our highest goal? What about our standing with God? Shouldn't that be a higher priority? I thought about that, and came to this conclusion:

Peace of mind can only come when we are right with God. In fact true, inner peace is a gift of the Spirit. It comes when our hearts and minds are aligned with the teachings of Christ.
So, in that way, Brian Tracy was right. If our highest goal is peace of mind, we will have to include the spiritual dimension of our life. We will have to be in complete harmony with the truth and light of Christ.

Life After Life: Act Three

Using the analogy of the three-act play, I want to consider now the third act: Life After Life. (If you want to read this post in the proper order, read my posts of 7-26-08, and then 8-21-08. In that way, today’s post will make more sense.)

In Act One we learned that there was a master plan for us; that we would leave our pre-earth home and begin a new life as a mortal being (body and spirit) on earth. Earth life would be a time for learning, growing, developing and understanding.

This experience in mortality allows us to gain knowledge and wisdom in ways that were not possible in our pre-mortal existence. We will pass through trials and tribulations. We will experience joy and grief, pleasure and pain, love and contention; many of the “opposites” that will contribute to our mortal education, and prepare us for what comes next. Before we can achieve immortality, we must pass through mortality.

Death is simply a temporary separation of the body and the spirit. Our spirit continues to live in a spirit realm until the day of resurrection. Resurrection, as initiated by the Savior, Jesus Christ, is a gift to all who lived on earth. After being resurrected, there will come a time of judgment.

The analogy of a three-act play pre-supposes that there is an author who sees the end from the beginning. Indeed, God, the Father, is the author of this grand plan. His Son, Jesus Christ, was commissioned, from the beginning, to play a key part in unlocking death’s door. And, for those who believe in Him, accept His gospel, and obey His commandments, there is the promise of Eternal Life; life in the presence of God.

Although resurrection is a free gift, Eternal Life, by this definition, is a choice. In fact, all of our time on earth is about choices. When we encounter truth and light, how do we respond? Do we choose to be obedient, or turn the other way? Our “Act Two” choices will help determine our “Act Three” rewards. Hence, by grace are we saved, and by works are we granted Life Eternal. (The message of the gospel is beautifully consistent.)

Is there more? Yes. After all, the third act lasts forever! It is without end. And what will we do then? We don’t yet know all the answers, but I suspect that all who so choose will continue their education in the ways of God in a realm filled with love and joy that is beyond our mortal comprehension.

We will certainly not be alone. Since the Author of this plan is also the creator of families, the family unit will continue to exist for those who have embraced the gospel and accepted the Godly ordinances that seal families together.

If you would like to learn more about our Heavenly Father’s “Plan of Happiness,” please click here.

Act One: Where Did I Come From?

In my post of July 26, 2008, I wrote, “To look at life only through the lens of mortality leaves many unanswered questions. It’s like going to the theatre to see a play in three acts, but showing up late and having to leave early.”

At the end of that post I promised to write about Acts One and Three. If you have been eagerly awaiting such a post, your wait is over … at least in part. I want to use this post to write about Act One.

I ended the earlier post by suggesting that, “Who we are is not defined merely by what takes place between our date of birth and our date of death. That is just the ‘second act.’” When we understand the events of ‘Act One’ we will better understand the purpose that led us to ‘Act Two’ in the first place. In Act One we learned about who we really are, and the purpose of our ‘mortal experience’ (Act Two.) Act One, then, might be called, “Our Pre-mortal Experience.”

Before we were born, we lived as spirit beings in a pre-mortal place. We existed even before the earth was formed. The essence of who we are, our spirit self, is eternal. We understood that we were the spirit sons and daughters of an all-loving God.

During our pre-mortal experience, we learned of a plan that would help us progress and become more like our Father in Heaven. In fact, scripture reveals that God’s purpose is to bring about the immortality and eternal life of His children. We chose to follow Father’s plan. We knew that while on earth we would make mistakes. We also knew that as mortals, we would die. We would need a Savior to free us from the permanency of death, to redeem us from our sins, and to prepare us to return to be with God. We accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior.

Then, at an appointed time, we started our journey on earth. (The curtain falls, and Act One comes to an end.) As we entered mortality the memory of our pre-mortal life faded. It was meant to be that way. With our memory gone, we would be required to walk by faith. This would be part of life’s test. The spirit being we were before coming to earth now lives with our mortal body. Our spirit yearns to remember what it once knew. It is always in search of truth. One of life’s tests is to see if we will be true to the truths we are given; to learn and be obedient to God’s commandments.

It is within this framework that the curtain goes up on Act Two.

If you would like to read more about God’s plan for His children, click here.

Next time: Act Three!

Some Thoughts on Purpose and Potential

This post will simply be my way of sharing some words of wisdom. I enjoy reading quotes. They inspire me. They provide “food for thought” that can nourish the soul.

Here are just a few of my favorites about purpose and potential:


Find a purpose in life so big it will challenge every capacity to be at your best.

- David O. McKay

As far we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.

- Carl Jung

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

- William Morrow

Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we
 have learned here. The spiritual journey is the unlearning 
of fear and the acceptance of love back into our hearts.


- Marianne Williamson

If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you'll be unhappy for the rest of your life.

- Abraham Maslow

Go to your bosom: Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know.

- Shakespeare

Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.

- Henry Van Dyke

Act Two Begins; You are On Stage

Most Sunday mornings, at church, I have a chance to meet with a group of 12 & 13 year-old young men. I’m their teacher. Some of our most recent discussions have been about God’s plan for His children; a plan that puts life in perspective and adds a clarifying dimension of meaning and purpose. In short, it just helps us make sense out of things. It helps us see the “big picture.”

To look at life only through the lens of mortality leaves many unanswered questions. It’s like going to the theatre to see a play in three acts, but showing up late and having to leave early. As a result you only get to see the second act. Imagine how many questions you would have as you watched act two: “Why is this happening now? What happened in act one that would help explain this? What am I missing? What’s the relationship between these characters? How will this be resolved in act three?”

To further the analogy, imagine how difficult it would be for an actor to portray a character effectively having only read the second act of the play. He or she would have all kinds of questions about the relationships that exist with the other characters on stage. If I were the actor my questions might be, “Where am I? Who are these people? Why are they saying or doing that? What am I supposed to do next? Is there any connection between what my character is doing now and what happens in the next act?”

We are all like that actor. By now, in our lives, we may feel comfortable with who the other characters are, but, unlike the actor, we don’t have the advantage of knowing what happens on the next page. We don’t even have a script. Would knowledge of what happened in act one be of help? Would knowledge of the author’s plan for act three help us with the choices we must make today?

In my younger years I did a lot of university and community theatre. I can easily relate to this analogy. Maybe that helps explain why, in my “middle” years, I sometimes have dreams (more like nightmares) that I am in a play, about to go on stage, but I can’t remember my lines, and to add to my anxiety and fear, I can’t find my copy of the script! Even waking up, knowing it was just a dream, doesn’t always erase the panic. It lingers. I secretly wonder whether anyone else has dreams like that. (Not so secretly anymore, right?)

Being able to see, or have faith in, the big picture, brings me reassurance and hope. The author of our story, God himself, knows all things from beginning to end. Who we are is not defined merely by what takes place between our date of birth and our date of death. That is just the “second act.” So, what happened before? What happens next? The Author knows, and He has shared with us a glimpse of the answers through prophets and recorded scripture.

Maybe that would be a good topic for my next post.

Until then,

WRB

Who Are We to Judge?

A good friend of mine taught me something recently. He helped me see an old lesson from the scriptures in a new way. You remember when Jesus taught us not to judge others? As part of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1)

Most of us know what it feels like to be the subject of someone’s harsh judgments; to be criticized, called names or put down. Having been subjected to it ourselves, it’s easy to understand why the Savior wouldn’t want us to behave that way toward others.

Well, I already had a pretty good understanding of this part of the teaching. Although, there are many situations where we must make judgments, but they must be righteous judgments; based on our knowledge of right and wrong, and not directed toward an individual as an instrument of hate or hurt.

So what more is there to know about this verse? My friend helped me see that it can also apply to judging ourselves. God, our Heavenly Father, sent us to earth with a purpose. He, who knows us best, has full confidence in our potential and our abilities. We, on the other hand, might be tempted to judge ourselves as being less capable than we really are.

As we grow and learn about His commandments, some might say, “I’m just not good enough!” “What do you mean I’m supposed to love my neighbor? Surely, that doesn’t include the jerk up the road whose dog is constantly digging up my back yard.” Or, “Maybe I’m just not cut out to be the ‘Christian’ type.” Or, “In my case, I’m sure the commandments were only meant to be suggestions.”

What about you? Have you ever judged yourself as being less than the person God meant you to be; just “not cut out for” this or that? When this happens, not only are we misjudging ourselves, we are also lying to ourselves; rationalizing, with all the reasons we can find, just to avoid living up to God’s expectations. Maybe we do it out of fear; fear that we might fail. And if we might fail, then why try, right? “I just can’t do it.” Maybe it is a lack of discipline, or a lack of commitment. Ultimately it is a lack of faith.

God knows what I’m capable of, and I believe he won’t give me a task that I, with His help, cannot accomplish. I am guilty, however, of judging myself as being less; of not having faith in the marvelous potential the Creator placed in me. With new light shed on this teaching, now I have a new challenge to strive to live by.

Your comments?

P.S. If you would like to read more about God’s plan for your life, click here.