Extending His Embrace

1 January 2016

Extending His Embrace

Before I got dressed this morning, I lotioned my hands and my feet with coconut oil. As I did so, I thought about my mother. I had lotioned her feet and cut her toe nails for her in the days before she passed away.

I learned a lot of lessons in helping to care for my mother. Most importantly, how important each human soul is, and what a privilege it is for us to serve anyone (and everyone). Here I was taking care of the woman who gave me life and taught me how to live. I’ve taken care of my own children as well. As the hospice nurse Erica so beautifully put it, “It is a privilege and an honor.”  As King Benjamin said, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). The Savior said it best, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). 

Lotioning my feet as my mother had done for me, and as I had done for her, and as the Savior had done for His apostles felt so right (See John Chapter 13).  My hands look more and more like her hands with each passing year. In doing so on the first day of this New Year, my thoughts were both reflective and directive.

The Savior gave us two great commandments in Mark 12:30-31:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God 

with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 

    and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: 

this is the first commandment. 

   

And the second is like, namely this, 

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

There is none other commandment greater than these.

To love the Lord our God with everything that we have, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This really got me thinking.

Can I love my neighbor the way the Lord would have me do if I do not adequately love myself? I can’t. Can I serve my neighbor with love if I have no reservoir of love in me, or without the development of love for my own person? No. Should I not care for my own soul as I would care for another, say my mother or my own children? Yes, of course, the Lord would want that, and even expects that I care for myself. So I need to learn how to humbly love myself, so that I have more to give in the Lord’s service to others.

Can I truly love myself where I am, knowing my own shortcomings and discrepancies? I know that I can. It is in feeling the Lord’s love for us that we are able to do so. When we understand the nature of God’s love for us, we can then begin to develop that kind of love for ourselves and for our fellowmen, both our friends and our enemies.

So we need to understand God’s nature and why He loves us so much. He is our Father. We are truly His children, and He desires our happiness. When we come to feel and know of His love, we need to develop a forgiving heart, not only for others, but for ourselves. When we feel surrounded, comforted, and embraced in His love, we need to hold on to that, and embrace right back. As we do, we will feel His sustaining power in developing those attributes that are necessary for us to love Him, to love ourselves, and to love each other.

Further reading:

After I was dressed I rode the exercise bike and read from the Ensign. Elder Holland’s words on understanding the nature of the Godhead are pertinent to the thoughts and feelings of this morning, and to my progress in the days ahead. By knowing the nature of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and by feeling of their love, we will be better able to share their good news and to love and serve one another. Please read his address here: Knowing the Godhead. 

Sabbath Day Observance

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy as a Family

After God created the world, He rested on the seventh day. This became the Sabbath. During this time, Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden. So the Garden of Eden was not only a place, it was a time. It was a day of rest, worship, spiritual instruction, and learning, before Adam and Eve were sent out to face the lone and dreary world together.

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made (Genesis 2:2–3).

Once Adam and Eve left the garden, they continued to follow God's commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy.

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

“Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

“But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8–11).

After the children of Israel were led out of Egypt, the Lord explained to Moses that if the people would observe the Sabbath day, it would be a sign between God and them of His covenant (see Exodus 31:13) . Surely, a people delivered from bondage would have been happy to be allotted a day without work. We can see that the Sabbath day isn't new, but do we also see that it is not antiquated?

No, this law given by our Father in Heaven is not out of date. It pertains to us here and now. In fact, we are promised in our day that if we observe the Sabbath that “the fulness of the earth” will be ours (see D&C 59:16–20).

Can you imagine how different the world would be if everyone kept just this one commandment? Can you imagine how different it would be if even all the Latter-day Saints observed the Sabbath day to keep it holy? I believe that through the keeping of this commandment, we will be much better prepared to keep the first two great commandments of loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind and of loving our neighbors as ourselves. There are some steps each of us can take individually and as families to improve our Sabbath day worship.

So how do we do it?

I think that it is important that we don't become like the Pharisees in Christ's day by just creating long lists of do's and don'ts. That misses the mark. It doesn't really benefit anyone, and it does not show gratitude to our Heavenly Father. But there are some fundamentally important things that we must never forget.

If we want to learn how to observe the Sabbath day better, we can find a lot of clues from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. He worshipped in the Synogues on the Sabbatth. He taught; He healed; He served.

So first, if keeping the Sabbath day is a sign of our covenants with God, we need to remember our covenants and renew them. We can't do this on a golf course, in the mountains, or at the beach. Why? Because the sacrament is not typically served in those places, by someone holding authority and authorization to institute it. If we are to worship Heavenly Father in Spirit and in Truth, we must do this in the manner that He has commanded us.

Doctrine and Covenants 59:

9 And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;

10 For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;

11 Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times;

12 But remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.

13 And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.

How can partking of the sacrament on Sundays give us focus for our worship that day and strength for the week ahead?

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, a recent member of the Quorum of the Twelve said: “Windows must be washed regularly to clean away dust and dirt. … Just as earthly windows need consistent, thorough cleaning, so do the windows of our spirituality. … By partaking of the sacrament worthily to renew our baptismal covenants, we clarify our view of life’s eternal purpose and divine priorities. The sacrament prayers invite personal introspection, repentance, and rededication as we pledge our willingness to remember our Savior, Jesus the Christ” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 103; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 77).

Maybe, and probably so, if we do these things as families, our eyes will be more clearly opened as to how we can progress together as families towards our goal of eternal life. While another important part of Sunday Church worship is meeting with our fellow saints and strengthening one another, today we are going to concentrate more on how we can use the Sabbath day to strengthen our own homes and families.

The best starting point should be for us to look at what is working for us now and also to seek the Spirit to determine what we need to incorporate into our Sabbath day observance to pay devotion to the Lord better and to strengthen our families more.

One thing to remember is that the Church is here to support us in teaching our children the gospel and not the other way around.

So if you are not having family scripture time or family home evenings, Sunday would be a good place to start. I know that when my husband worked six days a week, we did have family night on Sundays.

Are we reevaluating our own lives and our goals? Sunday is a great time to review our Patriarchal blessings. It is also a great time to help our children learn to set goals, referring to our church's programs of Faith in God, Duty to God, and Personal progress, allow with long-term educational and temple worthy goals, such as vocations, missions, and temple marriage; plus, short term goals of personal interest. When we set goals, reviewing progress and accomplishing milestones, the Lord is pleased with us; and we feel the satisfaction of our growth through the validation of His Spirit. As we help our children through this process, they will experience those same feelings, which will increase the binding of their relationships with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and with us as their parents. As we teach our children to rejoice in each other's accomplishments and to aid each other in their goals, they will also grow in unity.

Overbooking our activities with our children will not be relaxing to them or to us. So we should allow for quiet, reflective, renewing time for everyone. But Sabbath days should also concentrate on family togetherness. So family dinners together are extra important on this day. We can also share our thoughts on the past week's activities and our schedules for the new week. We can discuss church meeting topics and our feelings about talks and lessons. Even when we don't agree with presentation, we should remember to be kind and not to demean our leaders or fellow worshipers.

Some things our own family has done on Sabbath days: when we are on vacations, we always still make it a point to attend church, especially Sacrament meeting; and to observe the Sabbath in the best way we can, even if we are visiting with those who don't attend church. Last month, after church and a family dinner, we drove to see four of the Utah temples and to feel the spirit on those grounds. We often drove to the Redlands temple site on Sundays while it was being constructed. I believe that this did not only mark the growth of the temple, but the growth of our children's testimonies of the importance of the temple.

Bob has been doing indexing for years, and we have followed in his example to do some indexing on Sundays. Sunday is a great time to work on our own family history, including genealogy research and journal writing. It is also a great day for writing letters to extended family, or phone calling, or Skyping.

Many times we have visited with extended family or friends on Sundays as well. Sometimes we have had others over to sing around our piano. While we might not have scripture time every single evening, we are sure to do so on Sunday, and on Monday as part of family night. If we are going to make visits with other people, whether socially or as home or visiting teachers, we need to make certain that we are not imposing upon their observance of the Sabbath day.

I know that the Butlers watch Bible stories with their children on Sundays. The church has great videos with stories from the life of our Savior. We can all watch and benefit from them. They are readily available at mormon.org, or we an purchase the set from Distribution for a excellent price.

As our children grow older, it is still important for us to still have Sabbath day rules in our home, but it is also important to allow for agency. The best way to lead is always by example.

I hope that we can all feel the importance of Sabbath day worship and gain the Spirit of that worship in our own families. I know that Heavenly Father will bless us as we keep His commandments and honor the covenants that we have made with Him. Each Sunday we make promises to always remember His Son and to keep His commandments. That is a wonderful gift and protection for us as we start our new week. We need to remember that Sunday, our Sabbath, is the Lord's day, so we need to center our thoughts and activities around Him throughout the day, worshiping Him and serving as He would have us do. In doing so, He will bless us.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love Wins

Love Wins

I don't think that there can be a truer statement than “Love Wins.” In what ways does love win?

Clearly, it is because of God's love for us that we all have a chance to be winners. We all have the opportunity to look to God and live. We all have the privilege of keeping His commandments and following His Son through covenants and ordinances in order to return to Him in heaven. In the name of Jesus Christ and through the power of His Atonement, Love has won forever. Christ Himself, through the commandment and grace of God, has overcome death and sin.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).

So here we are in a battle defining what love is. While Christ's love is freeing and liberating in that we are offered the forgiveness of sins and eternal life; and while relationships designed by God are a part of His plan to bring us freedom, liberty, and happiness; counterfeits of God's love and His plan do not bring freedom, nor do they place us on an equal footing on the pathway home to God.

It makes many Christians feel uneasy to see the phrase “Love Wins” so blatantly displayed in reference to judges making those things legal which can never be lawful. But it must not give Christians license to forget what we already know, and that is that indeed “Love Wins.” Even when we disagree in theory and in practice, there remains in us the responsibility to love our neighbors as ourselves (See John 13:34).

Jesus indeed told us that the first great commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God will all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” He told us also that the second great commandment after that first one is “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-38) Jesus also has told us that “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen” (1 John 4:20)?

Are we are so caught up in what the laws of the land say, that we are forgetting the laws of God? The Pharisees did that. And Jesus made it clear that they were falling short according to the Law of Moses, which He had delivered, and according to the higher law which He brought to them at that time. “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10).

In our love for our neighbor, we cannot abandon our love for our God and our responsibility to honor Him and keep His commandments. Some people get that mixed up, and they try keeping the second commandment in favor of the first. That will never work well. As the family of God, for we are all His children, we can only love and serve each other best, when we love and serve Him first. His commandments are the same for all of His children, and His desired outcome is the same for all of us. But because He has given us agency, or free will, through the Gift of His Son, He will never force us to be righteous; and He will never reward us with Eternal Life with Him if we choose to forsake Him.

We cannot ever think though that salvation is granted us because of our own good works. How arrogant and ungrateful is that, for Jesus bought us with a heavy price! The very blessing of His forgiveness felt by repentant sinners, should cause our Christian hearts to desire the same blessing for all of His other children.

Why does Love Win? Moroni, delivering the words of his father Mormon, tells us that Love Wins because “charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever, and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him” (Moroni 7:47).

How important is this charity, the pure love of Christ? Just in case we feel justified in keeping some outward, obvious commandments, but we are neglecting those first two great commandments, the Apostle Paul reminds us just how important this love is in 1 Corinthians 13:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoiceth not in inquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

If we believe in the prophets, the scriptures, and the commandments; if we believe and trust in Jesus Christ and in His word, we must certainly acknowledge that Love Wins. God's work and His glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (See Moses 1:39). While we desire salvation for ourselves, we should never be a stumbling block to our brothers and sisters, because we feel that we are better than they are (See Romans 3:9). Love Wins when we develop a Christian heart and extend God's kindness and mercy to one another.

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which He hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of His Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons 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. Amen” (Moroni 7:48).

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