Talk on Prophets

We got a phone call on Tuesday evening from one of the counsellors in the bishopric, which is always a little nerve-racking at the best of times. Let's face it, they don't call just to catch up and see how things are going. There's always a reason behind it.

Brother Gibb: "How are you doing?"

Me: "I'll tell you in a minute, depends on how the rest of this call goes..."

Brother Gibb: "We've had to make a change..." after what seemed to be minutes (long enough for me to frantically try to remember which auxiliaries he handled, and I know Brother Tieland is the counsellor over the Sunday School, so if this is headed in the direction I feared it was going, I was about to lose my favorite calling ever), he continued, "...in the speakers on Sunday."

Well, why didn't you just say so? I'll gladly speak on Sunday. In fact, I'd speak every Sunday if it means keeping my calling in the Sunday School. I was given the topic of "How Old Testament Prophets Can Help Us in Our Day" and Dawn got the modern prophets version

Here's a link to the whole talk...

This is not the version I gave in Church, however. Due to some delays in getting bread for the sacrament, the meeting was about ten minutes late getting started. Dawn and I were chopping whole sections out of our talks as we waited for our turns.

I really enjoyed preparing for my topic, it was hard narrowing it down to what I had on paper. I have to say I'm really enjoying the Old Testament this year. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to prepare the lessons which make me dig into the scriptures deeper than I would normally.

Lesson 36: Don't Be Afraid, it's Just Isaiah

In my years of working with computers, I've met several people who are afraid to do even simple tasks because they just know there's a hidden "self-destruct" button that they are bound to inadvertently hit. Smoke will start coming out the back, the keyboard will start melting, it will somehow take down anything connected to the computer, and then with it's dying breath send out a message of warning on the internet so everyone will know not to give them a computer again. I haven't done an extensive search, but I'm fairly confident there aren't any documented cases of this worst-case scenario actually happening. People are just naturally cautious about what they don't understand.

The same seems to hold true with Isaiah. When these lessons roll around during Old Testament or the Book of Mormon, I see the same look of trepidation in some of the class members, shear terror in others. I can almost see the eyes glaze over at the mention of Isaiah, especially when they realize there are four weeks of Isaiah lessons.

When I was younger, I thought Isaiah was boring and hard to understand, so I usually read those chapters a little faster. Now, while I don't claim to understand much of it, I do actually enjoy the Isaiah chapters. Sunday's lesson dealt with the first six chapters in Isaiah (yah, I know I'm late. Deal with it). There's no way I can cover all the cool parts in those chapters, so I'll just tackle a few of them and see how far I get.

The first one has to be one of my favorites:
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18).

The invitation from the Lord here is as always: "Come". Even if your life seems permanently stained with sin, we can be made clean and pure through the atonement of Christ. He doesn't say "Come, after you've worked it out on your own," the invitation is for us to "Come now".

The next one is Isaiah 2:20:
"In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats"

So, the time will come when men's idols will be cast away to dark and hidden places. The part that never really stuck out to me before was the fact they had made their own idols on an individual basis. Maybe I don't like golden calves, maybe my idol is a silver Corvette stingray. It could also be the sound-proofed man-cave with projector & large-screen, 5.1 surround sound, equipped with the mini-fridge and microwave within arm's reach of the couch. So I had to stop and think (some might argue I haven't started up again), what is my idol? To what do I give the devotion which rightly belongs to God? Whatever it is, things don't look very bright for it or me if I haven't removed it on my own.

Number 3 is from chapter 4:5-6…

"And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory [of Zion*] shall be a defence.

"And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." (*See 2 Nephi 14:5)

This was always a bit confusing for me until I taught the Exodus lesson a few years ago. While the Israelites were wandering around in the wilderness, the Lord blessed them with a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night. These not only provided protection, but were a sign to Israel that the Lord was with them. This protection is promised to “every dwelling place of mount Zion”, or every faithful home. This isn’t just a little bit of smoke coming out of the fireplace, this has reference to the presence of the Lord.

So, those are just a few of the thoughts which jumped out to me from this week. Once I get a chance to draw breath this week, I'll see if I can tackle next week's lesson.

Lesson 33: Hide and Seek

This week's lesson deals with the prophet Jonah. You're probably familiar with the story: God calls Jonah to preach to the people of Nineveh, Jonah decides to go AWOL and head to Tarshish instead, storm comes up, Jonah gets thrown overboard and then swallowed by a big fish who apparently doesn't like Hebrew food and spits him up on the shore three days later. Jonah preaches, the city repents, and he pouts because now the Lord won't destroy the city.

What do we know about Jonah? Not a whole lot, really. The Book of Jonah doesn't really talk your ear off with details. Fortunately, in 2 Kings 14:25 there is another reference which identifies Jonah as a prophet (which his book does not), and as living in Gath-hepher (Hebrew, "the winepress of digging") which was a small town about three miles north-east of Nazareth.

Why did Jonah get on a boat when the call came to go to Nineveh? He must've known you can't get to Nineveh by sea any more than you could take a cruise liner to Las Vegas. I think part of what motivated him was the belief that the house of Israel was somehow special, almost to the point of being an exclusive club. Yes, they had been given special promises and blessings, but if they checked the fine print they would've seen those promises extend to anyone who was obedient to God's commandments.

So Jonah opens up his mission call, "Jonah, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary and are assigned to labor in the Assyria Nineveh mission..." To really understand the reaction to the call, imagine being called to serve a mission in Germany during World War II. The Assyrians had quite a reputation for being very brutal in battle, and afterward with any survivors.

He didn't get on the boat because he was afraid of the Assyrians, he got on because he didn't want to waste his time on a people he felt didn't deserve a chance to repent. Even after the whole city of Nineveh were in the process of repenting in sackcloth and ashes, and the king had imposed a mandatory fast for the whole city (including animals), Jonah went outside the city to pout and hoped the Lord would still use the smite button on Nineveh.

Great story, but what can we apply in our lives today?

First, how about "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (Doct and Cov 18:10). We tend to prejudge others, a lot. So much that we don't often realize we're doing it. We feel someone is more trustworthy because they are wearing a clean crisp suit, or less trustworthy because they are wearing a thread-bare t-shirt and look like they haven't shaved since birth. But "the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Sam 16:7).

The resurrected Savior taught the Nephites, "unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them" (3 Nephi 18:32).

Second, God is the undefeated champion at Hide and Seek. We could sooner hide ourselves from His sight than we could hide our thoughts and desires from Him. To say that God is all-seeing and all-knowing isn't exaggeration or hyperbole. To the faithful, this means there is no depth of despair or suffering where He cannot reach with comfort and peace.

Third, if God can show mercy to a bunch of "heathens", maybe I have a shot too. One of Satan's tactics is trying to get us to believe that we have traveled beyond the Lord's reach or past the "point of no return". "There's no way you can come back after the things you've done..." I find it somewhat ironic that Satan tries to lure us out by telling us we can go back any time we want, but once we're out he says we've come too far to go back again. Remember the story of the prodigal son? The Father is always watching and will not let us make the return journey alone.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught:
"Just because God is God, just because Christ is Christ, they cannot do other than care for us and bless us and help us if we will but come unto them, approaching their throne of grace in meekness and lowliness of heart. They can't help but bless us. They have to. It is their nature" ("Come Unto Me", BYU Fireside address, 2 March 1997).

I wonder if Jonah had accepted his call to Nineveh with the same zeal as the sons of Mosiah had when they took the gospel to the Lamanites (see Alma 17-26), would the people have been truly converted? It's hard to tell from Jonah's brief account if the people really understood why they were repenting. Judging from Nahum's prophecies, it didn't fare well for them later. If Jonah had tried to help them instead of standing back far enough to get a good view when they were destroyed, would he have had results similar to Ammon and his brothers?

Lesson 30: Learning from Zeke

This week's lesson has a few points which have great application for daily life.

In 2 Kings 18/2 Chronicles 29 we are introduced to King Hezekiah (Hebrew for "Jehovah is my strength"). His father, King Ahaz, had taken all the gold and silver from the temple and given it to the king of Assyria. 'Zeke's first order of business after assuming the throne is to repair all the damages done to the temple and get the priests sanctified and back on track. The priests "brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord ... and ... [carried] it out abroad into the brook Kidron" (2 Chron 29:16).

Passover was to be held on the 14th day of the first month, but since the priests and temple wouldn't be properly sanctified in time, passover was rescheduled for the second month. Apparently it has been a while since they had observed the passover, so he invited the Northern kingdom to come for passover as well. It might not seem like much, but North and South haven't been getting along, so this was a huge step. Many who were invited "laughed them to scorn, and mocked them" (2 Chron 30:10), but there were a few who humbled themselves and accepted the invitation. The passover celebration was such a success, the people decided to extend it for another week.

Later, the king of Assyria was rampaging through Israel and Judah with no signs of slowing down. 'Zeke prepared Jerusalem as best he could, repairing the walls, making weapons and shields, and appointed military captains. He also had his workers tunnel 540 meters through limestone under the city to bring the waters of the Gihon spring into the safety of Jerusalem. Then he approached the Lord in prayer, pleading for help.

Meanwhile, the Assyrians are taunting the people, essentially saying "the gods of the other nations couldn't save their people, what makes you think your god will save you?"

The prophet Isaiah came to reassure 'Zeke, and during the night an angel of the Lord came and killed 185,000 of the Assyrian soldiers (2 Kings 19:35).

So, it's a really cool story, but what do we get out of it. Let's see how many I can get through:

1. "...be ye clean..." (Isaiah 52:11)
'Zeke recognized the need to be clean before the Lord and made sure the proper steps were taken to sanctify the temple and those who officiated there. Through the power of the atonement, we have the precious gift of repentance so even if we weren't clean yesterday we can become clean today (or at least start the process). When we "...[bring] out all the uncleanness" from our lives, we should take it to our "brook Kidron", which was well outside the city, and leave it there. Whatever our individual weakness is, we need to remove the triggers which lead to that behavior. Elder David A. Bednar taught, "The standard is clear. If something we think, see, hear, or do distances us from the Holy Ghost, then we should stop thinking, seeing, hearing, or doing that thing" (David A. Bednar, "That We May Always Have His Spirit to Be with Us," Ensign, May 2006, 28–31).

2. Better Late Than Never
Rather than wait another year to hold the passover on the prescribed dates, 'Zeke wanted to have it done as soon as possible. How many times have I heard people say "I can repent later" as they do something they know is wrong. Some even made plans to "live a little" and then repent in time to serve their missions (several of them didn't actually end up going). 'Zeke and the priests didn't calculate how much time it would take to repent and be cleansed so they could leave it to the last minute, they worked to put things in order now.

3. Do What it Takes
I imagine tunneling through 540 meters of limestone isn't an easy task. If they decided to only go 530 meters, the whole city would've been taken because no one would have any water. Christ referred to Himself as the "living water" (John 4:10-11) and it's not a big stretch to apply this to the efforts needed to bring the spirit of Christ into our lives. According to other sources, workers were carving out the tunnel from both ends. In our lives we'll find that as we work to move closer to Christ, He is also moving closer to us. Just as the father of the prodigal son didn't let him make the journey home alone, Christ doesn't make us walk home on our own either.

4. Trust God
After we have done, or are doing, everything we can, we need to trust God to keep His promises (and He has a very good track record). I think the story would've had a dramatically different ending if 'Zeke had sat around saying "please help me out of this one" without doing anything on his part. I heard someone say once, "if you want God to direct your footsteps, you have to move your feet." I'm sure we'll all have times in our lives when we are figuratively surrounded by an unbeatable army. Whether it is by an angel during the night, chariots and horses of fire, or three hundred men with trumpets and lanterns, trust God to deliver us (and usually in a way we haven't considered). The world will taunt and try to discourage us, but we need to stay strong in our faith.

I'm sure there are countless other applications we can pull from the story (and I didn't even get into King Josiah). Feel free to comment on anything that sticks out to you. One of my favorite parts of teaching Sunday School is hearing the insights from the class.

Lesson 29: Advanced Math

I won't actually be teaching the lesson on Sunday, so I'll try hard not to steal any thunder. One of my favorite scriptures is covered in this week's reading, so I couldn't resist jumping in.

It seems the Lord repeatedly tries to teach Israel that He does math a little differently than we do. A couple of examples to set the stage:

1. Gideon (Judges 6-7)
The armies of the Midianites and Amalekites came up against Israel and Gideon was chosen by an angel to lead the armies against them. The Lord told Gideon there were too many people in the army and they would boast of their own strength rather than attribute the victory to God. Gideon tells them they can go home if they want and 22,000 leave. The Lord tells Gideon the 10,000 who remain are still too many, so Gideon calls a break and selects 300 men who remain watchful. These 300 men go into battle armed only with trumpets and lanterns and are lead to victory without ever having to raise a sword (don't be surprised when the Lord doesn't answer your prayers in the way you expect).

2. Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20)
The Moabites, Ammonites, and another group identified only as "other beside the Ammonites" (verse 1) come up against the newly appointed king Jehoshaphat. He is a little worried and prays to God for help while instituting a city-wide fast. He gathers the people together and offers a prayer asking for deliverance. The answer comes, "Be not afraid, nor dismayed... for the battle is not yours, but God's" (verse 15). They are to go down to the battle against their enemies with the reassurance "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you..." (verse 17).

Just imagine being told to show up to a battle (unarmed, no less) when you are vastly outnumbered, and not to worry because somehow you'll win without having to fight.

The king "appointed singers unto the Lord" (verse 21) who went out in front of the Israelite army. When they started to sing, their enemies began attacking and killing each other to the point where "none escaped" (verse 24). Makes me wonder, just how bad was their singing? But I digress...

To give us an idea of how vast the defeated armies were, the record indicates it took three days for the Israelites to gather all the spoils from dead soldiers.

Okay, ground work set, now onto the story (2 Kings 6). The king of Syria is a little upset with the Prophet Elisha, who keeps warning the king of Israel what the Syrians are planning. So the king of Syria's master plan is to surround Elisha during the night with "horses, and chariots, and a great host" (verse 14). Elisha gets up early in the morning and sees the army surrounding him, and his servant gets a little stressed about the situation. Elisha calmly responds, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (verse 16).

The poor servant is probably hoping the ninja convention is in town, because he's not seeing all these people who are supposed to outnumber the Syrians. I'm sure Elisha could sense the fear in his servant and prayed, "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see" and sure enough, there were horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha (verse 17).

It is so easy in life to get caught in the trap of believing we have to do everything ourselves. Walk into a bookstore and check out the self-help section, there are shelves of books devoted to all the different ways you can help yourself overcome various problems from gambling to addictions to depression to debt to time-management and more. I strongly believe one of Satan's most effective tools is getting us to believe we have to fix ourselves before the atonement will work in our lives. "You've sinned, you can't pray now" or "how can you even think of reading your scriptures after what you've done?!"

I think we try to fight too many battles which the Lord has designated as being His, not ours. We should follow Jehoshaphat's example more closely in our lives. Start with prayer, real prayer, not your pre-recorded "prayer #7" (admit it, you have prayers you pull out when you don't want to put in the effort). Whenever possible, we need to "study it out in your mind; then you must ask [God] if it be right" (Doct and Cov 9:8), but there are times when all we can do is admit we have no idea what to do and plead for guidance. Sometimes fasting is needed, and you might have to enlist the help of those around you as well.

Once you've done all you can and receive your answer, go out to the front of the battle and sing praises to the Lord and let Him take care of the rest. Be where you should be, doing the things you should be doing and you'll find there are more that be with you than against you. Stop to open your eyes and see the horses and chariots of fire set to protect you.

"Any two people can be a majority, as long as one of them is God."

Lesson 27: Wachutalkinbout Willis??

There's a brief story tucked away in the reading for this week's lesson (#27) which is a bit confusing on the first time through. It's not really covered in the lesson, so I thought I'd go through it here.

As a brief preface, the end of Solomon's rule wasn't a happy one for the people, unless you were lucky enough to be of the tribe of Judah. King Solomon placed a heavy tax on the people and placed them in conditions similar to slavery. When Jeroboam took over, he made things worse instead of better. To keep people from going to Jerusalem to the temple, he made two golden calves for the people to worship from the comfort of their own land; one in Bethel and the other in Dan. He then appointed a feast day which coincided with the official feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.

Imagine a state-sanctioned party which included a feast, lots of drinking, and ceremony consisting of offering sacrifice and some fertility rites. Sounds a bit like the Calgary Stampede, doesn't it? (Oops, that was my outside voice again, huh)

Anyhow, an unnamed man of God comes on the scene in 1 Kings 13. He comes in, tells Jeroboam another king will be raised who will overthrow the idol worship, splits the altar by the power of God. Jeroboam does a little bit of back-pedaling and invites this guy (who really needs a name) to come back for supper.

"...If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:

"For so it was charged me by the word of the Lord..." (1 Kings 13:8-9)

Not only was he told not to eat or drink until he got home, he couldn't go back the same way he came. He tells the king there is no reward worth breaking a commandment from the Lord.

On his way home, he met up with "an old prophet" (1 Kings 13:11) who told him an angel came and said it was okay to come in and eat. The King James Version reads "...but he [the old prophet] lied unto him [the man of god]" (1 Kings 13:18). The Joseph Smith Translation offers a bit of help here: "...Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water, that I may prove him; and he lied not unto him." (footnote b)

Wait a minute, now I'm even more confused. It's easier to read this story as if the prophet had been a false prophet, but here he is acting under the Lord's direction and intentionally trying to trick the man of God. It almost seems a bit under-handed. But I guess it wouldn't be the first time the Lord has tested his prophet, remember Abraham?

So the man of God goes back with the prophet and has dinner, then on his way home is killed by a lion as a result of his disobedience (1 Kings 13:20-24). Ouch, that seems a bit harsh. But what can we learn from the story?

The man of God received his directions from the Lord Himself. Pretty straight-forward: 1) don't eat or drink until you get back, and 2) don't go home the same way you came. Fairly simple and direct personal revelation. So on his way home, someone else comes and says it's now okay (for whatever reason) to do contrary to the Lord's command, and he goes along with it. He received the original instructions through personal revelation, shouldn't any amendments or adjustments also come through the same channel?

The punishment of physical death seems to be a representation of the natural spiritual consequences we face when we are disobedient. There are many "spiritual lions" just laying in wait, ready to pounce on us when we step off the path.

Is the natural consequence of an action a punishment, or just how things work? For example, if we choose to disobey the law (in Alberta, anyway) by driving without wearing a seatbelt, when we get thrown through the windshield as the car hits something, is that our punishment or just the natural consequence? When we disobey a commandment, are we punished by being separated from the Spirit, or is that just natural cause and effect?

So, here's what I take from this story:
1. It is sometimes harder to be faithful under seemingly good circumstances than it is in the face of opposition. There wasn't anything Jeroboam could throw at this man to make him go against what the Lord had commanded. We see this many times in the Book of Mormon where the Nephites can stay faithful during times of war and hardship, but when things started getting easy for them they started to waiver.
2. Continuing personal revelation is vital, especially in our day. The directions we receive from the Lord through personal revelation are as binding as those which come to us from the prophet or other leaders.
3. There will be all kinds of convincing arguments on why we should disobey the commandments (usually just one or two at a time). In the end, the reasons and reasoning are irrelevent.

Lesson 24: Get a Shower Curtain

The story of King David is probably one of the most tragic in scripture. David goes from being highly favored of the Lord to losing it all over a moment of weakness. He went from shepard to war hero almost over night after he defeated Goliath. He was spared from Saul's many attempts to kill him, from throwing spears to putting him in battle so the Philistines would kill him. All the while, David remained humble and obedient. Even when Saul stumbled into the cave where David was hiding, David merely cut off part of Saul's robe (and felt guilty about it afterwards). God even referred to David as "a man after his own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14). For those keeping track, that's a pretty big endorsement which isn't handed out lightly. In fact, aside from this reference to David, I can only find one other instance in the scriptures where the Lord refers to someone's heart (Doct. and Cov. 124:15 where the Lord loves Hyrum Smith "because of the integrity of his heart").

This week's lesson comes from 2 Samuel 11-12. This story, while tragic, has a few lessons we can apply in order to keep us from falling.

1. Do Your Duty
This whole sordid affair would never have happened if David had been where he was supposed to be. This was a time of war, and the kings were supposed to be in battle, "But David tarried still at Jerusalem" (2 Samuel 11:1). It doesn't say why he stayed behind, but it is clear that he wasn't where he needed to be.

President Heber J. Grant said: "There is but one path of safety to the Latter-day Saints, and that is the path of duty. It is ... the keeping of the commandments of God, the living the life of a Latter-day Saint." (“The President Speaks,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1936, 659.)

The army of Gideon, though only 300 in number against the vast hosts of the Midianites, "stood every man in his place" (Judges 7:21) and were victorious. If David had "stood ... in his place", he would never have been in the position to be tempted like this.

"Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved..." (Doct. and Cov. 87:8).

2. "...let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly..." (Doct. and Cov. 121:45)
Dave stays home, but the story still could've had a positive ending. He's out walking on the roof of his house and sees a woman washing herself (2 Samuel 11:2). If he walks away now, nothing happens and we still have a happy ending. But no, he wants to find out who she is. Why does he want to know that? What difference does it make what her name is?

He sends messengers, who should've just told her to buy a shower curtain or close the windows. Instead, they bring her back to David, dinner may or may not have been involved, "Hey babe, what's your tribe?" and boom, the doctor tells them they're in love.

A man with virtuous thoughts would have turned away on the roof and not watched. He wouldn't have pondered on it and tried to find out more about her. He wouldn't have invited her to the castle, and she wouldn't have ended up pregnant.

"...whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matt 5:8).

David's physical actions were only the fulfillment of the actions he had already taken in his heart.

3. It Takes Two to Tango
Let's not forget here that it still takes two to end up with the 9-month flu. Sure, it might be hard to tell the king, "no thanks, I'm married" (you can almost hear Dave say, "that's okay, so am I"), but I find it hard to believe it would have happened without her consent. When do our standards really count? When it's easy, or when times get hard? Maybe if she had the courage to be true to her covenants it would've given David the strength he needed to be true to his.

Would it have been harder for Bathsheba to turn down Dave's advances, or for Esther to reveal her nationality when being a Jew meant certain death? Was it easy for Shad, Rack, and Benny (VeggieTales flashback) to face the fiery furnace rather than worship Nebuchadnezzar's idol (see Daniel 3)? It may seem a little harsh, but I'm not inclined to cut Bathsheba much slack here. Have I done dumb things? Most definitely. But I've also been given the strength I needed to keep from doing other dumb things and I have no doubt that at some point along the line, the Spirit was telling Dave that what he was doing was wrong. Unfortunately a prompting from the Spirit is much like the desire to exercise; if you ignore it long enough, it'll go away.

Peer pressure is a powerful force. I often wonder how my life would have been different without the influence of some truly great friends in high school. I suspect David wouldn't have been in this mess if Jonathan had still been alive to "[strengthen] his hand in God" (1 Samuel 23:16).

4. Trying to hide your mistake only leads to more (and bigger) mistakes
Even if David had admitted his fault, he would've been in an eternally better position than the result of his actions to follow. Instead, he calls Uriah home from the battle and tries to get him to spend some time at home. Faithful Uriah instead spends the night sleeping on the king's doorstep. The only solution David can see is to have Uriah killed in battle and quickly marry Bathsheba (although I'm sure people even back then could tell it hadn't been 9 months between wedding and baby). Sending someone into battle to have them killed is the same tactic Saul had used on David, unsuccessfully, years earlier.

As a result of David's plot "he hath fallen from his exaltation" (Doct. and Cov. 132:39). That's not a good thing. That's actually the opposite of good. His eternal inheritance was lost over a moment of indiscretion.

It would have been interesting to ask David as he stood on his roof watching Bathsheba if he thought what he was planning in his heart was worth the cost he'd end up paying.

Lesson 19: As Parents in Zion

I know, two posts for the same lesson. Weird huh. Especially after I can go two or three lessons without managing to post anything. I figure in the end it will all average out.

Chapter 2 of Judges seems to be a quick summary, not only of the end of Joshua's life, but also of things to come for the Israelites. We see a pattern start to develop, where the Lord provides a faithful judge who helps to free Israel from oppression, the people repent and are faithful again, the judge dies, and the people return to their old ways.

There was one line that really grabbed me and made me think of a talk Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave in April 2003 general conference. Judges 2:19 reads,

"And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way." (emphasis added)

It seems Israel has short-term memory problems. As soon as there is no longer anyone to remind them of what God has done for them, they turn and fall away again, "more than their fathers". I wish the record was more detailed, but the focus of the book of Judges seems to be the military activites as opposed to the spiritual matters. I would like to know what the parents taught their children during the faithful cycles.

One of the things Elder Holland said really jumped out at me:

"...no child in this Church should be left with uncertainty about his or her parents’ devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Restoration of His Church, and the reality of living prophets and apostles...

"I think some parents may not understand that even when they feel secure in their own minds regarding matters of personal testimony, they can nevertheless make that faith too difficult for their children to detect."

I wonder what an Israelite "Family Home Evening" would've looked like. Did the parents teach their children why they believed? Why they offered sacrifices to God? Why the Passover was so important to them? Were the children left to draw their own conclusions as they watched their parents?

Then I wonder, "what about my children? What do they know? Again, from Elder Holland:

"Do our children know that we love the scriptures? Do they see us reading them and marking them and clinging to them in daily life? Have our children ever unexpectedly opened a closed door and found us on our knees in prayer? Have they heard us not only pray with them but also pray for them out of nothing more than sheer parental love? Do our children know we believe in fasting as something more than an obligatory first-Sunday-of-the-month hardship? Do they know that we have fasted for them and for their future on days about which they knew nothing? Do they know we love being in the temple, not least because it provides a bond to them that neither death nor the legions of hell can break? Do they know we love and sustain local and general leaders, imperfect as they are, for their willingness to accept callings they did not seek in order to preserve a standard of righteousness they did not create? Do those children know that we love God with all our heart and that we long to see the face—and fall at the feet—of His Only Begotten Son?"

Children tend to take the direction of their parents and take it a few steps further, regardless of the which way their parents were facing. Where parents faithfully teach their children, we find a stronger generation (like Helaman's stripling warriors who absolutely had no doubt of their parents' conviction). Quoting from Elder Holland's talk again, where parents "flirt with skepticism or cynicism... children expand that flirtation into full-blown romance."

I feel chapter 2 of Judges stands as a caution to parents everywhere. We can't let our children just guess what they think we feel is important. We are accountable before God on how well we (not the primary teachers, not the young men/young women leaders) teach our children the doctrines of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost (D&C 68: 25).

As I reflect on my own teaching moments with my children, I recognize many opportunities for improvement. As an example, earlier this week I decided to do my lesson preparation upstairs at the table rather than down in my "cave". My son asked me if I had a big talk to do or something because apparently that's the only time he's seen me with my scriptures out and writing notes down on paper. Improvement opportunity, knocking at the door.

Lesson 19: Just a Little Off the Top

The story of Samson used to be one of my favorites as a child, probably because he was really strong and was pretty close to being a super hero. As I got older though, I saw this story as a tragic example of someone who had enormous potential, but didn’t use it.

Israel had been in captivity under Philistine rule for forty years by this time because they had done “evil again in the sight of the Lord” (Judges 13:1). As the Lord often does, He sent a baby to deliver Israel. A barren couple was visited by an angel and told they would have a son who “shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5).

Samson’s mother was told her son was to be a Nazarite (Hebrew meaning ‘set aside’ or ‘consecrated’) from the womb. As such, he was to abstain from wine and strong drink (couldn’t even eat moist grapes), couldn’t cut his hair, and couldn’t come in contact with dead bodies (see Numbers 6:1-8 for more details).

You’d think someone with such potential and great blessings would be faithful and obedient. Angelic announcements seemed to be effective in the other cases (John the Baptist, Christ). You don’t hear about angels coming to tell mothers their child will grow up to be on welfare, or work on the fry line if he really applies himself. This sort of thing seems to be reserved for exceptional circumstances. Sadly, Samson never really seemed to grasp the nature of his calling.

The first record we have of Samson is when he asked his father to set him up with a certain Philistine woman for his wife (Judges 14:1-2). The scripture states “it was of the Lord” (Judges 14:3), but I think that was Samson’s way of trying to rationalize it to himself. He probably had a plan worked out in his mind, much like when King Saul rationalized keeping the flocks of the Amalekites because he intended to use them for a sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:20-22). After the Lord made it very clear how important it was not to marry outside the faith, I find it hard to believe this marriage to a Philistine would be sanctioned, especially when Samson’s specific call was to deliver Israel from the Philistines.

A lesson we can draw here is one many missionaries learn in the field: you can’t do the Lord’s work using Satan’s methods. You can’t convert someone through a “Bible bash”, and you can’t defeat the Philistines by marrying one. That would make for some very awkward moments at family reunions.

At the beginning of the week-long wedding feast, Samson challenged the men to solve his riddle before the seven days were up. After three days, they came to his wife and threatened her so she nagged him until he gave her the answer. Big surprise, she tells the men and Samson loses the bet and has to cough up thirty sheets and thirty outfits (if only someone could’ve seen that coming). He went out, killed thirty Philistines to pay off the wager.

For someone whose call it was to free Israel, Samson only seemed to go against the Philistines when it served his own selfish purposes:

• Killed thirty men to pay off his bet (Judges 14:19)
• Burned the Philistine fields because they gave his wife to his “best man” (Judges 15:4-5). Granted, that had to sting a little...
• Killed 1,000 men who came up against him (Judges 15:15)
• Carried away the gates of the city on his back so he could escape after sleeping with a harlot (Judges 16:3)
• Pulled down the Philistine temple, killing everyone inside so he could be “avenged of the Philistines for [his] two eyes” (Judges 16:28)

Losing his eyes was his own fault, really. He hooked up with Delilah (no mention whether or not they were actually married), who was offered 1100 pieces of silver to find out the source of his strength. She asked Samson, “Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee” (Judges 16:6). Who could resist an offer like that? ‘Tell me how to take your strength away so you can be taken captive.’

He gives her three false answers, and each time the Philistines are waiting to take him. The fact he really didn’t realize the source of his strength is evident when he tells her to cut off his hair. He really expected to be able to shake off his attackers as he had previously, but “he [knew] not that the Lord was departed from him” (Judges 16:20). He really expected to completely disobey the Lord and still receive His promises. Without his God-given strength, he was easily taken captive. The Philistines put out his eyes and forced him to work in the prison house.

The Philistines later offered sacrifices to their god, Dagon, and decided to bring out their trophy for some entertainment. Samson called upon God for one last act of strength, which he used to pull down the support pillars of their temple. “So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life” (Judges 16:30).

Just imagine how different the story could’ve been if he had stayed faithful, if he could’ve tempered his arrogance with humility, if he let “virtue garnish [his] thoughts unceasingly” (Doct. and Cov 121:45) rather than being led by his appetites. People in all the years since would’ve used him as an example of what could be done in the Lord’s strength, but instead he stands as an example of “don’t try this at home”.

Lesson 15: Complain Much??

Last week's lesson had the Israelites complaining they couldn't drink the water, there was no food, then there wasn't any water at all. Each time, the Lord miraculously provided for their needs.

This week, they complain because all they have to eat is manna.

"...Who shall give us flesh to eat?

"We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; and the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic:

"But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes" (Exodus 11:4-6).

Oh, the injustice of it all! You sure have it tough all right. Nothing but the miraculous daily manifestation of the Lord's loving providence. I guess we all have our burdens to bear.

The Lord tells Moses that he will provide meat for the people, so much that it will "come out at [their] nostrils, and it be loathsome unto [them]..." (Exodus 11:20). Sometimes I think the most fitting punishments the Lord gives us are the things we want, rather than the things we need.

Moses apparently falls into the same trap we sometimes do. How often do we expect the Lord to operate within our limited view and perspective? It's as if we are saying, "If I don't understand it, it must not be possible."

Moses reminds the Lord that there are 600,000 men in the camp (just in case He forgot...) and wonders how God can provide enough for everyone as promised. Will they kill all the flocks and herds for food? Will they need to go fishing?

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord's hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not" (Exodus 11:23).

The camp of Israel is soon covered in quails two cubits deep (about three feet) and extending a day's journey all around the camp. If you're keeping track at home, that's a lot of quail. Verse 32 says the smallest catch was ten homers (turns out, nothing to do with the Simpson's). I was a little rusty on my metric-to-homer conversion, so I had to look it up. That's roughly 65 US bushels, or 2.3 cubic meters. Imagine a container 1m long x 1m wide and 2.3 meters tall, filled with quails, and that was from the guy with the smallest catch. It's no wonder they were stricken with a plague while they were still chewing (see Exodus 11:33-34).

You'd think that would be enough to convince the people. Sadly, no. Moses, following the direction of the Lord, appoints one leader from each tribe to scout out the promised land. When they returned, they brought with them the fruits of the land, along with a very disturbing report of the strength of the inhabitants.

"We be not able to go up against the people," they cried, "for they are stronger than we" (Exodus 13:31) and we look like grasshoppers compared to them (verse 33). The people get so upset, they appoint a new leader who will lead them back to Egypt (see Exodus 14:4, Nehemiah 9:17).

There are (at least) two problems with that solution. First, how do you think the Egyptians will react? "Hey, we missed you guys, nice to have you back!" Highly unlikely after all the Egyptian first-born sons died and the army was drowned in the Red Sea. They probably won't be breaking out the milk and cookies for you.

Second, I don't recall the position of prophet being up for debate or public vote. Bad things happen when you try to go around the Lord's chosen prophet.

Wilford Woodruff once said, "... the very moment that men in this kingdom attempt to run ahead or cross the path of their leaders, ...they are in danger of being injured by the wolves ... I have never in my life known it to fail" (Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses, 5:83).

Israel just couldn't get it through their collective heads that God really was with them, despite all the signs and wonders. But then again, how do we react when things get tough? Do we put our faith in God and step forward, even if we don't know how He is going to "prepare a way for [us] that [we] may accomplish the thing which he commandeth [us]" (1 Nephi 3:7)? Or do we complain because things are too hard? So what if the inhabitants of the land are huge? The Lord's hand is not "waxed short". As Caleb and Joshua pleaded, "...the Lord is with us: fear them not" (Numbers 14:9).

Lesson 14: Water, Bread, and Short Memories

I know, this isn't much good after we've already had the lesson, but it has been a busy week. I missed last week all-together, so I figure this is better than nothing.

The lesson covered Exodus 15-20, 32-34, but we only got through chapters 15-18 in class. There are a couple of recurring themes in these chapters. One, the Israelites sure liked to murmur, a lot. Two, everything points to Christ as the Savior and Deliverer. The beauty of symbolism is that it will mean different things to different people. I'll just share a few things which stood out to me and let you draw your own conclusions.

Moses and the Israelites get to Marah, and the water is bitter, so the people start to murmur. Moses prays and was shown a tree which, when cast into the water, would make it sweet. Moses then put the children of Israel under a covenant to keep the Lord's commandments.

This brought to mind a couple of things. First, when we take the sacrament, we renew our covenant to keep the Lord's commandments. Second, without the effects of the atonement (can't help but think of the cross when the tree is mentioned), the Gospel would be bitter. We would be unable to return to our Father, so there would be no sweetness in the Gospel.

Israel travels further and murmurs about not having anything to eat. They cry out "Would to God we had died ... in Egypt, ... when we did eat bread to the full..." (Exodus 16:3). In other words, 'God can't provide for us as well as the Egyptians could.'

God provided Israel with manna, to "prove them, whether they will walk in [God's] law, or no" (Exodus 16:4).

It turns out that many of the Israelites couldn't handle the complex rules around the gathering of manna. Let's review:
-Don't store it overnight (Exodus 16:19). When they did, the manna was spoiled and had worms.
-Gather twice as much on day six because there won't be any on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:22). Sure enough, people are wandering around on the Sabbath, looking for manna.

I start to point my finger at the Israelites, wondering why they just couldn't grasp the little things. Why can't they go two minutes without complaining about something. Then I think about my own life and how often I don't seem to be able to handle the simple instructions:
-Daily prayer and scripture study. How many promises have we been given if we will spend a little time each day in prayer and study? Good grief, if this isn't one of the hardest habits to develop. I can read books for hours at a time, but can't seem to make a habit of reading the scriptures daily.
-You can't live today on yesterday's spiritual experiences. Without nourishment, yesterday's testimony gets weak and may spoil.

How can I make sure I don't fall into the murmur mire like the Israelites did? One of the best ways seems to be the scriptural admonition to "always remember":
-Christ (sacrament prayers, found in Doctrine & Covenants 20:77, 79)
-the greatness of God, His goodness and long-suffering towards us (Mosiah 4:11)
-the captivity of our fathers and their deliverance at God's hand. (Alma 29:12)

Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said that "those with the shortest memories have the longest lists of demands" (Neal A. Maxwell, "'Murmur Not'," Ensign, Nov 1989, 82). This was especially true with the Israelites. They were soon out of water again, and murmuring against Moses, "Is the Lord among us, or not?" (Exodus 17:7).

Something clicked for me while I was teaching the lesson this afternoon. These same people who complained to Moses would have risen in the morning, gone out of their tents and gathered their omer of manna. They would have to know that this stuff doesn't grow naturally in the desert. It hadn't been that long since the Lord first provided them with manna, maybe a couple of weeks? A month? They have food provided for them miraculously on a daily basis, and they start complaining as soon as they get thirsty.

Moses smote the rock with his staff as instructed by the Lord, and water came out. I thought of the Roman soldiers breaking the legs of the thieves on the cross, then piercing the side of Christ's (the Rock of Israel) lifeless body to make sure he was dead, and water came out.

It's so easy to look down on the Israelites, but I hope when things get tough my first instinct will be to look to God rather than murmur and complain. It's going to be a bit of an uphill climb, because sometimes I'm pretty quick to complain...

Lesson 12: Daydream Believer

This week's lesson deals with Genesis 40-45. When we last left our hero Joseph, he had been falsely accused by Potiphar's skanky wife and placed in jail. This week, he eventually gets out and saves Egypt and his family from a seven-year famine. Not very interesting when condensed down so far... I'll go over some of the things which stood out for me, and we'll see how much ground I can cover.

First, after Joseph has been in prison for an undisclosed amount of time (long enough to earn the trust of the prison keeper), Pharaoh's butler and baker wind up in prison. Here's one more reason why Joseph is a hero to me. He sees these two men and asks them, "Wherefore look ye so sadly today?" (Genesis 40:7)

I missed this for years, then it jumped out and bit me. Joseph is in prison, because his former boss's wife was a tramp. He got that job because his brothers sold him to some traveling Ishmaelites, who in turn sold him in Egypt. It seems like the bad luck just keeps coming for him, but he stops to inquire why these two men are having a bad day in prison. I don't know what prison life was like under Joseph's direction, but I wouldn't think it strange that two newcomers were a little depressed.

"I'm sorry you missed milk and cookie hour, but we have craft time just after lunch... "

How often do we get so caught up in our own problems that we don't notice there are people around us who are having a hard time too? There's a quote from Elder Neal A. Maxwell which has become one of my personal favorites:

"When, for the moment, we ourselves are not being stretched on a particular cross, we ought to be at the foot of someone else’s—full of empathy and proffering spiritual refreshment" (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, April Gen Conf, 1990).

Instead of sitting down to commiserate over the discomforts of prison life, Joseph does what he can to lift their spirits. Turns out they had disturbing dreams, which Joseph interprets for them. Works out well for the butler, sadly not so much for the baker. Butler promises to put in a good word for Joseph, then forgets for two years.

Pharoah has a dream this time, and none of his wisemen or magicians can (or will) interpret it for him. I didn't catch on to this one either until I read a bit more on Egyptian culture...

Dream 1: seven fat cows are eating by the river, seven scrawny cows come up out of the river and eat the fat cows and are still scrawny as ever.

Dream 2: seven good ears of corn grow up on one stalk. Seven shriveled ears come up and eat the seven good ears.

This should've been a no-brainer to the wisemen. Cows were a symbol of the Egyptian goddess Isis, who represented agriculture and food. The [Nile] river represented fertility and life. The ears of wheat would also represent life and sustenance. So seven plentiful symbols of food are consumed by seven scrawny symbols of food... doesn't really take a genius here. The only guesswork left is to figure out they represent seven years. This would be like me not catching on to the fact Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader and is really Luke's father.

Joseph not only interprets Pharaoh's dreams, but offers a suggestion on how to prepare for the upcoming famine. To the credit of Pharaoh, he recognizes Joseph as "a man in whom the Spirit of God is" (Genesis 41:38). Once again, Joseph is placed in the #2 slot. And, unlike his previous posts, he gets to keep it this time.

I bet Potiphar's wife was feeling a little nervous when she got the news Joseph was second only to Pharaoh. How easy it would've been for him to issue the order to have her put in prison, or worse. As we will see when the brothers come to buy food, Joseph possesses a very forgiving heart. But that's another story...

Lesson 11: Dream a Little Dream

"So, I keep having these dreams where everyone is bowing down to me."

"Oh! Oh! Can I be the president of your fan club?"

That's probably not how Joseph envisioned his brothers' reaction when he told them about his dreams, but he had to know that it wouldn't go over well. I've often wondered why Joseph even bothered telling his brothers about the dreams at all. They already harbored enough resentment over the whole coat issue (the Hebrew suggests it was a coat with long sleeves, similar to something worn by royalty).

One thing I've learned through my children is that they have a hyper-sensitive sense of what they perceive to be fairness. It must skip a generation, because I don't remember being that way. I just learned to deal with the fact that I was the only child who wasn't spoiled...

So when Jacob gives Joseph the fancy coat, that didn't go over very well with the other kids. In fact, they "could not speak peaceably unto [Joseph]" (Gen 37:4). That must've made for some incredibly awkward dinner table conversations...

"Nice coat Joseph, looks like a bathrobe. Did it come with slippers too?"

Then Jacob would threaten them with washing dishes or cleaning the kitchen if they didn't stop fighting (just speculating on that part, it's not actually in the scriptures).

So when Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers as they were feeding the flocks (45 miles away), the brothers took advantage of the situation, and little Joe gets sold off to Egypt.

He ends up a servant to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard, and is eventually put in charge of the whole house. Potiphar's wife was a little loose in the morals department and poor Joseph ends up in jail for sticking to his standards.

We sometimes get stuck in the idea that good things happen to good people and bad things come as punishment. That philosophy makes it very difficult to deal with the tough times that just happen as part of life. Joseph didn't get caught in the self-pity trap, he continued to gain favor and ended up as #2 on the prison's corporate ladder.

One thing we can learn from Joseph's example is his attitude towards trials. As Bishop H. Burke Peterson once said, “Whatever the source of the trial, if properly approached and handled, it will draw us closer to God” (H. Burke Peterson, BYU Devotional, 16 Feb 1996). And that seems to be exactly how Joseph handled his trials, and as a result, "the Lord was with Joseph" (Gen 39:21).

President George Q. Cannon taught:

"No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, [God] will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character [to do so]. ... We have made Him our friend, by obeying His Gospel; and He will stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the better and purer for them, if we only trust in our God and keep His commandments ("Freedom of the Saints," in Collected Discourses, comp. and ed. Brian H. Stuy, 5 vols. (Burbank, California: B.H.S. Publishing, 1987¬92), 2:185; emphasis added)."

One of the challenges of this life is to see trials not as punishments, but as God's invitation for us to draw nearer to Him. And since we're going to have trials anyway, it seems to be pretty good company...

Thank You For Everything, Sister Holt

I found out this afternoon on facebook that Margaret Holt, my Grade 9 seminary teacher, passed away today. I haven't seen any other details, but I wanted to put down some of my thoughts and feelings.

Thank you for being so willing to teach a bunch of rowdy 14-year-olds at 7:00 AM every day. Your love of the gospel was transparent and infectious. You put up with a lot from us, but I hope you knew how much got actually through. Sure, we did stupid things like dress up the fire extinguisher, and there was the time Malcolm jumped out and almost gave you a heart attack as you came up the stairs one morning. But we also listened and learned and you made it fun. You gave us some of our first real experiences in learning from the scriptures and from the Spirit. You showed us how to study and learn at home and introduced us to real heroes in class. I hope you realized the impact you had on our lives.

It might be a little selfish on my part, but I feel honored to have had the opportunity to have you as part of my class as you came back to visit during the summers after you moved. Even though I was at the front supposedly teaching, I still learned from you as you shared your insights and thoughts. Each time you came to visit, I wanted to thank you for the way you helped shape my life, but I would always freeze and the words never came out. So I guess this is my way of trying to make up for having missed those opportunities.

Thank you for countless hours of preparation and study. Thank you for sharing your testimony with us. Thank you for the love which always came through your lessons. I wish there was a way to repay you.

"Finally, I bid you farewell, until I shall meet you before the pleasing bar of God..." (Jacob 6:13)

Lesson 8: Pitching Your Tent

I seem to have missed a couple of lessons somewhere... Oops (in my defense, things have been a little crazy on this end).

This week's lesson deals with Abraham, Lot, and essentially their choices in mailing addresses. After they left Egypt, they found the land couldn't support both of them because their herds were so great, and their herdsmen apparently weren't getting along. Abraham, not wanting any strife between the two families, gave Lot first pick on where to settle (Gen 13:9). Lot saw the Plains of Jordan and how well-watered they were and called dibs. Abraham stayed in the land of Canaan at Bethel.

Seems rather innocent, doesn't it? Here's the kicker, "...Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom" (Gen 13:12, emphasis added). What could be so wrong about that? Well, read the next verse.

"But the men of Sodom were wicked ... exceedingly" (Gen 13:13).

Did that make Lot a bad person just because he chose a view of the city? No, it's clear from later events that Lot was still righteous, but he ends up paying a price. And somewhere between chapters 13 and 14, Lot has moved into the city.

Meanwhile, Abraham is visited by three holy men (see JST Genesis 18:23 for clarification), they tell him, among other things, Sodom and Gomorrah are about to be destroyed because of their wickedness.

Abraham then prays to the Lord on behalf of the righteous, asking if the cities could be spared. The Lord replies that if he (Abraham, not God. See JST Gen 18:29) can find fifty righteous, the city would be spared. I'm not sure if Abraham knew that was a tall order, but he continues his "negotiations" until the Lord agrees to spare the city for the sake of five righteous people.

The three messengers from the Lord visit Lot, warn him, and help him to escape with his wife and two daughters (couldn't even find five righteous people to save the city) before Sodom is destroyed. His sons-in-law thought he was crazy, so they stayed behind, along with their wives (Lots' daughters) and Lot's grandsons. On the way out, Lot's wife looked back (or went back) and perished as well (see Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk "Remember Lot's Wife" for a more in-depth discussion). So Lot comes out with only his two unmarried daughters, who weren't overly stellar examples of the Young Women values, and no mention of any of his prior wealth.

How many times do we, like Lot, pitch our tents towards Sodom? We know there are evils and dangers in the world, and yet we sometimes try to keep "one foot in Babylon and one foot in Zion" (Carlos E. Asay, "Be Men!," Ensign, May 1992, 40). He may have thought there was no harm in facing his tent towards Sodom, just as I'm sure he was convinced he could still live his standards while surrounded by "exceedingly wicked" men in Sodom.

Abraham on the other hand chose to stay in Bethel (which means "House of God"), much like the Nephites who chose to set their tents "with the door thereof towards the temple" (Mosiah 2:6).

In our day, we are constantly bombarded by the evils of the world. President Hinckley said, "All of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah haunt our society. Our young people have never faced a greater challenge. We have never seen more clearly the lecherous face of evil ("Living in the Fulness of Times," Ensign, Nov. 2001, 6.)." The direction in which we have pitched our tents will largely determine our ability to withstand and remain faithful.

Lesson 5: Raising Cain

I'm going to try posting before the lesson this week, see how that goes...

Lesson 5 contrasts the lives of Cain and Enoch. I'll look at Cain this time around and see if I have time to cover Enoch later in the week.

Adam and Eve had high hopes for their son Cain. If we read the Genesis account, it sounds like Cain is their first son, but in Moses it's clear that they had several sons and daughters already (see Moses 5:12). By the time Cain comes along, it sounds like there are many who have chosen not to follow the Lord, and Eve's desire for Cain was that "he may not reject [the Lord's] words..." but sadly his attitude was, "Who is the Lord that I should know him?" (Moses 5:16)

Adam and his posterity had been commanded of the Lord to "offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord..." as "... a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten..." (Moses 5:5, 7). We need to know that part before the next part makes sense.

Satan told Cain to "Make an offering unto the Lord" (Moses 5:18). Either the record left out a few parts, or Cain could be trusted to mess it up on his own. Instead of offering the firstling of the flock, he brought some of his crops.

This doesn't make sense, why would Satan tell Cain to do something righteous? Because he either knew Cain wouldn't do it right, or he told him to offer crops instead of the required firstling. It wasn't exactly a suggestion from the Lord that if you happen to have a firstling kicking around, that'll work. Otherwise, whatever you have will be fine. God specifically set forth the terms of an acceptable sacrifice, it had to be specific if it was going to be symbolic of the Savior's great sacrifice.

When God approved of Abel's offering but not Cain's, Satan was happy and Cain was "very wroth" (Moses 5:21). This confused me a little too. Why would Cain be so upset that God didn't approve of his offering, which Satan told him to do in the first place? Cain "loved Satan more than God" (Moses 5:18), so you wouldn't imagine approval from God would be high on his priorities.

A scripture from the Book of Mormon helped a little. Mormon saw the sorrow of his people and was hopeful they would repent and turn from their wickedness.

"But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin" (Mormon 2:13, emphasis added).

There is no happiness or divine approval to be found outside of the Lord's commandments. Satan knows this and Cain just learned the hard way.

Satan makes a deal with Cain saying, "If you swear your allegiance to me, I'll hand over your brother Abel and you can do whatever you want to him" (paraphrasing Moses 5:29).

Medium story short, Cain does, Satan does, and Abel winds up murdered. Cain exclaims, "I am free" (Moses 5:33). Just as Cain learned there is no happiness in sin, he now learns there is no freedom in wickedness. He is cursed to roam the earth as a fugitive and vagabond.

One of the other questions which came to me was, "Why didn't the Lord warn Abel?" Abel was clearly a righteous man, that has to count for something, right? 'Hey Abel, your brother wants to kill you for a few sheep.' Abel gets to live, Cain gets upset but doesn't kill anyone, seems like a happy ending.

We sometimes get caught up in the idea that faithfulness somehow equals an easier ride through life. Ask Job how that worked for him. He was allowed to be tried and tested because he was so righteous and faithful.

Amulek asked a similar question of Alma as they watched the many faithful women and children being thrown into the flames by the wicked judges.

"But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that ... the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day" (Alma 14:11).

In the end, Cain is forced to wander the land and doesn't get his brother's flocks like he thought he would. Apparently he didn't read the fine print on his contract, "Terms and conditions apply. Subject to change without notice. Dealer may sell for less, or just walk away altogether and leave you to take the blame for everything."

Marriage Advice from Adam & Eve

I had the best of intentions to get this up last week, but between work and a much-needed weekend away I never got around to posting it. So I'll post this one from last week's lesson and then get this week's post done in the next day or so...

If we only had the Genesis account, we'd be pretty upset with Eve. After all, it seems at first glance that she blew it for everyone by eating the forbidden fruit (which was probably zucchini, in my opinion). They got kicked out of paradise and we're stuck in a world of thorns and thistles. Moral of the story, be a little more cautious when your wife wants to try out a new recipe...

Fortunately, we have more information available to us. The prophet Lehi taught his son Jacob about the effects of the fall of Adam:

"And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden..." (2 Nephi 2:22)

That doesn't sound too bad so far.

"And they would have had no children..." (2 Nephi 2:23)

So now it seems Eve knew what she was doing when she ate the fruit. They were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth, something they could not do in their current condition. So, what does that have to do with marriage? Well, if we don't understand why Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit and leave the garden, the rest doesn't really make sense.

Tip #1 - Support your spouse.
When asked why he had eaten the fruit, Adam responded that the "woman thou ... commandest that she should remain with me" gave him the fruit and he ate it. He's not trying to pass the buck or blame his wife, he's saying he transgressed one commandment in order to obey the higher one. As is often the case in marriage, we sometimes give up something good for something even better.

Tip #2 - "thy desire shall be to thy [spouse]" (Moses 4:22)
How many of today's marital problems could be avoided or eliminated if each spouse held the other in the #1 position? President Gordon B. Hinckley taught:

"When you are married, be fiercely loyal one to another. Selfishness is the great destroyer of happy family life. If you will make your first concern the comfort, the well-being, and the happiness of your companion, sublimating any personal concern to that loftier goal, you will be happy, and your marriage will go on throughout eternity" ("Excerpts from Recent Addresses of President Gordon B. Hinckley," Ensign, Dec. 1995, 67)

Not just devoted, but "fiercely loyal". He's not just talking about letting another person take the place of your spouse, but activities and interests can become more important to you than your spouse if not done in moderation. Online games, time at the office, sports, etc., although not inherently "evil", can be placed in the position which should be occupied by your spouse.

Tip #3 - Work with your spouse
After they left the garden, "Adam began to till the earth... to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow... And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him." (Moses 5:1).

One thing that frosts my hide (and I hope I'm not guilty of this) is fathers/husbands who feel that when they get home from work their duty is done. One of the best, and arguably more important, places to work with your spouse is at home.

"By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners." (The Family: A Proclamation to the World, emphasis added)

Don't start "keeping score" of the things you do vs. what your spouse does, because we are by nature very poor score keepers. We tend to see the things we do and miss the other stuff that goes on around us. We only keep score when we want to win, which tends to promote a competitive atmosphere. Marriage is not a competition, it's a cooperation.

Anyhow, those were my thoughts from the lesson...