Don't dwindle in unbelief

A friend said he was struck by the phrase while he was reading the Book of Mormon on the treadmill (he has a sweat-stained, dog eared copy of the Book of Mormon that he reads while he is on the treadmill). The phrase was “dwindled in unbelief.” He said he thought about that phrase for a couple of miles. And among other things, he said he thought about some friends and loved ones who he was afraid were dwindling in unbelief. How does one dwindle in unbelief? I can’t judge another, but I know in my own case, when I stop reading the scriptures or when my prayers become mechanical or less frequent or when I don’t make time to serve that my faith dwindles.

Elder Neil A. Anderson spoke of the fruit of the tree of life in his most recent (Oct. 2019) Conference talk. He said that the fruit—the love of God “symbolizes the wondrous blessings of the Savior’s incomparable Atonement.” Later in his talk he reminded us of the importance of keeping “our eyes and hearts centered on the Savior Jesus Christ” so that we may be able to continue to partake of the precious fruit of the tree of life throughout our lives.

I think most missionaries experience the promptings of the Spirit and feel the love of God to a greater extent while they are on their mission. That was certainly the case with me. I felt the Spirit confirm to me the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. My companions and I were guided by the Spirit as we sought to find ways to bring souls to Christ. And I felt the Spirit more strongly as I prayed and as I studied the scriptures. I also felt God’s love for me, for my companions, and for those we taught and served. I loved feeling God’s love and His spirit. And when I came home it became quickly apparent that I would need to continue to read, pray, serve, and strive to keep my covenants if I wanted to continue to feel the Spirit in my life.

Some time later, as I thought about it, I realized that for me, the feeling I felt when I felt the Spirit and the feelings I felt when I felt God’s love were the same. That made sense as I thought of it. Certainly, God sheds His love upon us when He sends His Spirit and the Spirit is the vehicle by which His love is manifest to us.

Later I learned from Elder Henry B. Eyring that when we feel the Spirit, we can know that the Atonement is working in our life.

These things came together as I thought about them this morning as I walked. I thought of those individuals in Lehi’s dream who tasted the fruit of the tree of Life, but then became ashamed and fell away. There are a lot of different ways and reasons by which individuals might step away from the tree of life. Lehi’s dream mentions some of these things briefly. But more importantly, we learn from Lehi’s dream that if we hold to the rod and stay on the covenant path then we can taste the sweet fruit of the tree of life throughout our lives.

Elder Anderson gave an enlightening talk on this subject a few years ago in a devotional at BYU. He said that he pictured the iron rod as a cable—a steel cable with three interwoven strands. Of course, the iron rod represents the word of God. In his talk he taught that the word of God is found in the scriptures, in the words of the Lord’s prophets, and in the direction we personally receive from the Holy Ghost.

I think it is pretty plain here, and elsewhere in the scriptures that the Lord is teaching us how we can stay true to Him and not dwindle in unbelief—hold to the rod of iron and stay on the covenant path.

A Dented Boat with Peeling Paint.

In January 2019 Elder and Sister Renlund spoke in a Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults that they titled “Doubt Not, but Be Believing.” They shared an important message that is worth a listen. Here’s the link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/broadcasts/article/worldwide-devotionals/2019/01/11renlund?lang=eng

To begin their talk, they told a parable that compared the Church and its leaders to a kind old fisherman in a weather-beaten and well used boat who picked up a man whose boat had sunk and who was floating in the ocean. At first the man was grateful to be rescued. But then he began to notice the imperfections of the fisherman who rescued him, of the food and water the fisherman had given him, and of the fisherman’s boat with its dents and peeling paint. Finally, he became so bothered by these imperfections that he asked the fisherman to throw him back in the water.

Years ago, a friend and colleague shared an article with me that told the story of a man who had taken his first college teaching job in the Midwest in an area where there were few members of the Church. He and his wife ended up in a small struggling Branch where they were put to work. He said that earlier in his life he had heard people say that the Church was true, but the people who served in the Church were imperfect. He said because of his experience in this small Branch he came to believe that one of the important characteristics of the true Church was that it was staffed by imperfect individuals. From his experience in this small Branch, he learned that by serving in the Church with imperfect people, we have the opportunity to learn patience, kindness, and charity. And in the process, we have the opportunity to become more like the Savior.

D&C 1: 19 teaches that with the Restoration of the Gospel, an ancient prophecy is fulfilled that declares that the weak things of the world will be sent to break down the strong and mighty. This will help us grow in faith (v. 21).

D&C 107:21 teaches that the leaders of the Church are to be appointed from among those who are ordained. In other words, one of the Deacons will become the Deacon’s president and one of the Teachers will become the Teacher’s president. The same is true of the Young Women’s classes, the Elder’s Quorum, the Relief Society, and of everywhere we might serve in the Wards, Branches, and Stake in the Church. Those who called to lead are chosen from among those whom they have the opportunity to serve. Thus we know one another and have the opportunity to learn from one another in important ways.

D&C 72:2, 5 teaches that a Bishop is to be “appointed ... of you” and that he will be “appointed of me.” Here again, Bishops are called from among the members of the ward (“of you”).  And, as declared in the 5th Articles of Faith, they are called of God by revelation ("of me"). So, they are called by God from among those whom they will serve. They also are a member of the ward, and like all of us who serve in the church, they who serve will have imperfections (dents and pealing paint).

Moroni worried about his own imperfections when he worried that the authors of the Book of Mormon would be mocked because of their “weakness in writing” (Ether 12:23).  The Lord responded, “Fools mock” and that “[His] grace was sufficient for the meek” (Ether 12:26).

That’s the other thing. As we face the challenge of serving, knowing our weakness, and turn to the Lord, we find that He is able to accomplish much more through us, by His grace, than we could ever have done on our own.

All of this is by design. It is part of the test of life. It is one of the ways that we are to learn and to exercise our faith. D&C 76:53 says that those who inherit the Celestial Kingdom will have “overcome by faith.” In order for us to do this (and to learn to do this) there need to be challenges in mortality that the only way we can deal with them is with faith.

And with mortality to accomplish what it needs to accomplish, with the veil firmly in place, we will always be led by those who have imperfections, and we ourselves will have the opportunity to serve with our own imperfections.

At the same time, I need to say that over the years I have been impressed with the remarkable individuals in the church whom the Lord has called to serve. I have been impressed with how He has prepared them to serve, and how He has magnified them as they have served.

I am grateful for the blessing to be taught, served, and to serve with wonderful Saints, who like me try to serve to the best of their ability, in spite of their imperfections, and who have the opportunity to be magnified by the Lord in their service to Him.

I can know for myself

I am always grateful when I am taught while I read the scriptures. One way this happens is when I am taught how different scriptures (or Conference talks) relate to one another and how they illustrate, amplify, clarify, or otherwise help me understand what the other is saying.

It happened again yesterday.

Yesterday morning, while doing my back-stretching exercises, I listened to Elder Bednar’s recent Conference talk where he talked about the purpose and “implications of home-centered and Church-supported” gospel learning. He used the example of how Joseph Smith came to know for himself gospel truths and that each of us have an opportunity to come to know for ourselves. I think this is the hope of every Latter-day Saint parent or grandparent—that their children/grandchildren will come to know for themselves. This is certainly one of the aims of the Come Follow Me program.

Then I was reading 1 Nephi 15 where Nephi asks his brothers if they have inquired of the Lord (so they could know the answers to some gospel questions). They said they had not, “for God maketh no such thing known unto us.” Nephi encouraged them and tried to help them have faith that God could let them know for themselves if they would pay the price.

As I thought about it further, I realized that this principle was also taught in the reading mom (Dedie) and I did in the 1 Corinthians 1-7, in the Come Follow Me lesson we read together last Sunday. Here Paul teaches that we learn things of the Spirit when we are taught by the Spirit.

When we are confirmed members of the Church we are told, “Receive the Holy Ghost.” This is a blessing we can receive throughout our lives. It is how we are taught the mind and will of the Lord. It can bring us comfort, peace, guidance, and help us figure out what to do in our life, and it is how we come to "know for ourselves."

I am grateful to my Father for this marvelous gift.

The bread of life

It has been some time since I have written in this blog. I’m not going to promise anything (looking at the blog history, it looks like my pattern has been one post a year for awhile), but I thought I might like to start posting a few thoughts here again.

Years ago, when Jackie was in the second grade she told me she was one of the better readers in her class, then she asked me if I knew why this was the case. I didn’t. She said she thought it was because we read the Book of Mormon together as a family.

I continue to plug away at trying to learn how to speak Spanish. I have learned the temple ordinances (that we speak) in Spanish and have been having a weekly tutoring session with an RM from the MTC. And I am reading Spanish short stories and practicing speaking in Spanish and I attend a Spanish Sunday School class in the Flushing Branch and I work on grammar and flip 3x5 cards or listen to Spanish lessons when I go on my daily walk. But I have also been reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish every day since we were in Paraguay a year and a half ago. I think it is helping.

It has been interesting to read the Book of Mormon in Spanish. It forces me to think about every word.

I think it is important to pray before we read from the Book of Mormon. President Oaks, in talking about this, said this doesn’t need to be a big formal prayer (nor on our knees), but more like a prayer we would offer on food we are about to eat, because, as he pointed out, it is spiritual food.

I am always grateful for when I am taught by the Spirit as I read from the Scriptures. They are a wonderful gift—certainly the bread and water of life.