Called to Serve

Called to serve Him, Heavenly King of glory, chosen e'er to witness for His name (LDS hymn# 249.) For those that have sang that in the Missionary Training Center with thousands of fellow missionaries, you know that it can be quite a powerful experience. I remember thinking to myself when I was in the MTC that I couldn't be in a better place with better people. To be able to serve in that capacity was an honor and one of the best times of my life. To have a calling of any type, whether it is father, mother, nursery leader or greeter at church can have some wonderful benefits. I would like to talk about these benefits but today I would also like to bring attention to the fact that callings can be detrimental to ourselves if we aren't careful.

Callings are wonderful because it can open up avenues to help those that we may be unaware of. It can bless us with the opportunity to serve those that we wouldn't personally chose to serve and thereby getting to know them. Once Marjorie Pay Hinckley said," Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." By serving others, we learn about an individual's personal battles. Knowing people's battles helps us to be empathetic, thoughtful of their needs and less judgemental. It also helps us to understand more about life in general and hopefully expand our insight instead of staying narrow minded and closed off.

I don't think that there was or is anyone who knew how to serve better than Jesus Christ. To me, He is who defines how someone should serve others. He is the epitome of unbiased love. I believe He avoided the pitfalls that we can come in contact with even if our intentions are good.

No one likes thinking that their behaviors are more like the Pharisees or Sadducees and less like the one that gave His life in service. I've always found Jewish culture and tradition fascinating. Their way of life was / is steeped in ritual and law. The LDS church is also cultured and holds traditions that are fascinating to me. We also live in a church that is steeped in ritual and law. What is the difference? It depends on who you are. The Pharisees were poor rabbis. They immersed themselves in scripture study and prayer. Sounds pretty commendable to me, right? The Sadducees came from wealthy and privileged families. They were fortunate enough to be educated. They believed in written law and were in charge of the sacrifices that were done at the temple. Why were these groups humiliated, moçked and torn apart by the Master if their deeds were good?

Is it possible to immerse yourself in a calling so much that at some point it turns you into something negative, pious, bias and arrogant? I believe so. I used to have such a negative attitude towards the Pharisees and Sadducees, thinking that they were horrid and cruel until I realized that in actuality they simply thought they were doing what's right. They believed in the law of God but didn't take the time to step out of their rituals to see that there was a person who might have had a better way to live. I've heard a wise man say,"you can't fairly reject something until you have fairly considered it."  Sadly, they lost out because they "could not look beyond the mark" to see something beautiful. They didn't want to take the time to consider.

In modern days I have seen some people that have been wonderful examples to me of what a calling can do for them and others. I was raised in the LDS church by good parents but it wasn't until I attended early morning seminary that I wanted to make scripture study apart of my life. My seminary teacher got up at 4:30 am to teach a bunch of rowdy kids the scriptures. She never complained about the lack of sleep and all the studying she did. I don't think that she missed more than half a dozen days of seminary in the four years that I attended. But even more importantly, she instilled in me the importance of scripture study. She served with love and devotion which will stay with me for the rest of my life.

On the flip side of that, I have also seen people take their callings and turn into something vile due to their arrogance, pride and serving only for appearances and status elevation. This obviously affects others as well or as Christ stated," they have their reward." Wouldn't it be more simplistic to look for opportunities to serve others and just serve them instead of submitting names to committees and thinking of a way to use compulsion in making them do the things we think they should do? Shouldn't have less meetings and spend more time with or families? I'm grateful for the way that Jesus served others, freely and without consulting a committee first.

Who Holds the Monopoly on Truth?

My topic of point today is a subject that is important to me and is something I've considered for a long time. Hugh B. Brown happens to be my favorite all-time general authority. He once said," We should be in the forefront of learning in all fields, for revelation does not come only directly from Heaven in visions or dreams. Revelation may come in a laboratory, out of the test tube, out of the thinking mind and the inquiring soul, out of search and research and prayer and inspiration." He goes on to say," some say that the open minded leave room for doubt. Doubt can have a place if it can stir in one an interest to go out and find the truth for one's self." (A Final Testimony)

Obtaining knowledge in my opinion is what brings me joy. To consider the fact that I can pick up a book and read it amazes me since reading is not a privilege that has been afforded to every person, even today. Interestingly enough, when the New Testament was written in its original greek form there were no punctuation marks, upper or lowercase, or spaces in between words. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to decipher the meaning of the script when you are simply trying figure out what is being written. Another point to consider is the fact that when the final canon of the New Testament was completed, the literacy rate was about 10 - 15 %. Christians had to set at the foot of their religious leaders in order to hear the scriptures just as a child waits for their mother to read them a bedtime story. I'm appreciative that I do not need to rely upon others in order to read a book or be told what to think.

What are sources of truth for you? For most of my life I was foolish enough to think that the LDS church held the monopoly on truth. I did not seek elsewhere for enlightenment and as a consequence, my education has suffered. I by no means think that I'm an educated person but I do know that I can strive to become educated by doing what Elder Hugh B. Brown suggests, to awaken a desire to investigate.

I have an admiration for Joseph Smith's desire to learn. I believe that his brilliancy began with his desire to acquire knowledge.  In D&C 93:24 it states,"And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come." Earlier in the Doctrine and Covenants it's taught that we should seek out the best books. Reading books of course is not the only way to obtain knowledge or wisdom, we can also learn by experience. I do wonder if our experiences could be handled or understood better if our minds were more educated.

In order to have a strong testimony, we need to know what we believe in. I know that in my own life I have taken an abusive advantage of the word faith. I believe that faith is an important aspect but I also think that it gives people excuses to be ignorant. Ignorance may cause temporary happiness but knowing is what gives a person power to face comfortable and uncomfortable truths.

Let us take advantage of the day and age we live in by educating ourselves.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving

I'm very grateful to live in a day where it's possible to get on a computer and express my thoughts. For the last 2 1/2 years I've been teaching seminary for the youth at the local LDS church. One of the things I loved about teaching was the time I spent studying. That chapter of my life has ended but I wish to continue studying & sharing my thoughts with others. I hope this blog will be as beneficial to others as it is to me.

My first topic for this blog is inspired by a talk that was given recently by one of my friends. The talk left an impression on me that made me consider, do I see things as they really are? Do I make decisions based on if something is attractive & pleasant instead of reality? This post is also in connection with a Sunday school lesson I taught recently that included the beginning chapters of Acts. It's always interesting to see how people behave  after they have been under the tutelage of someone grand like Jesus Christ.

In Acts 3, Peter & John arrive at the temple and are stopped by a lame man who was carried daily to the gate of the temple to beg for alms. Acts 3: 4 -7 states: "And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6 Then Peter said, silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

The man stands up, walks into the temple praising God. This of course was witnessed by several temple attenders who marveled at the events. Peter takes advantage of the platform to teach a lesson by saying: "why marvel ye at this.....ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you and killed the Prince of life;....faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know."

This account is fascinating to me for several reasons. I find a great deal of irony in the fact that Peter is the one that takes the lame man by the hand to lift him up so that he may stand. How parallel is the lame man's experience to that of Peter's own experience of being taken by the hand and lifted up to avoid drowning in the sea of Galilee? Peter recognized someone drowning and wanted to give a gift that was given to him. Do we always take the time to "pay it forward?"

Another point that intrigues me is the audience to which Peter rebukes. His strong defiant language is to a group that are worshiping at the temple. When I think of people that go to the temple I think of someone that is righteous, worthy and dedicated; and yet these people are being called ignorant murderers. They were most likely apart of the crowd that chose Barabas over Jesus and consequently allowing him to be crucified. Why are these people at the temple? Is it possible that they felt like they deserved to be there, that they were worthy? Hugh Nibley, a respected LDS scholar stated," The worst sinners, according to Jesus, are not the harlots and publicans, but the religious leaders with their insistence on proper dress and grooming, their careful observance of all the rules, their precious concern for status symbols, their strict legality, their pious patriotism....the haircut becomes the test of virtue in a world where Satan deceives and rules by appearances." Peter's rebuke was aimed at those that looked and acted the part but inwardly their appearances were comparable to a decaying corpse. This story has caused me to contemplate about whether or not I act with sincerity or am I just pretending for show.