EQ Pre-Lesson: Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 9: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith

Chapter 9: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon

This week we are discussing Chapter 9 of the Joseph Fielding Smith Manual. Instead of going over the lesson as a whole in this blog, I'm going to cover a few vital points.

What is truth?

"All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also, otherwise there is no existence." (D&C 93:30)

Some would say that there are two types of truth, spiritual truths, and temporal (or scientific) truths. However, truth is all in one. Truth exists without bias. One truth does not put itself above another. Truth IS; no more, no less. Interpretation and application is what gives order and meaning to truth. Deciphering the truth, it's importance, and meaning is sometimes the most difficult thing to do. 

The gospel is true. It contains many truths. It is up to each of us to discover the truth(s) of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and of the Book of Mormon. Just as scientists dedicate their lives to discovering the universe, and all things in it, we dedicate ourselves to discovering God, and all his teachings. We begin this process by following Moroni's promise, "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." (Moroni 10:4) This is just a beginning though. We can't do do this once, and expect to be enlightened for life. We have to go through this same process over and over throughout our lives.

So, after having found the Book of Mormon to pass the test of truth, it is then our duty to determine it’s value. As I said before, the order and importance of truth is irrelevant without interpretation and application. So, how important is the Book of Mormon to you? Has it changed you? “Have ye been spiritually born of God?... Have ye experienced this mighty change of heart?” (Alma 5:14) These aren’t questions anybody can answer, except for you. Ponder the change the Book of Mormon has brought about in you. The greater the change, the more you should consider its importance.

"Do eternal consequences rest upon our response to this book?
Yes, either to our blessing or our condemnation"
- President Ezra Taft Benson -

STANDING AS A WITNESSES

That's a peculiar phrase isn't it? It's strong. It's powerful. It doesn't inspire movement. Wait, what? Standing as a witness inspires us to stand. This isn't about taking the gospel to the world. This is about standing firm. This is about holding firm to the Iron Rod when the scorn from the great and spacious building gets personal. This is about standing strong in your testimony in the face of temptation, persecution, false doctrine, harassment, ridicule, or provocation. This is about being firm and immovable. Standing as a witness at all costs.

So, let's tie all of this together:

1. Discover the truth of the gospel. Not "your truth," but the unalterable truth that does not change based on your opinions, how you feel, or who you're trying to impress.
2. Evaluate the importance of the truth you have discovered. What does it mean to you? Is it something  you need to protect, and keep for your own, or something you want to share with others?
3. Stand as a witness. Be firm, and immovable.

Homework:
Read the lesson
Evaluate areas of your life where you struggle to stand as a witness of the Book of Mormon, and the restored gospel.
Strengthen your testimony in those areas so that you may stand firm, and immovable as a witness of the Book of Mormon, Christ, and his restored gospel.

EQ Lesson 4/27: Let's not take the wrong way

This week our Elder’s Quorum lesson covers Elder Claudio D. Zivic’s talk, “Let’s not take the wrong way.” I’ve split this talk into 5 sections, and will talk about each section individually.

Be Anxiously Engaged
“Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.” (D&C 58:27)

Elder Zivic opens up with a story about a child playing piano. It’s almost too bad he never comes back to this story, but he gives us something for which to think about before moving on to the next section.

Elder Zivic talks about a young boy who was taking piano lessons at this parent’s request. For some time, he ran from his lessons, and didn’t want to play piano. Then one day, he started participating. He started giving it his all. He had begun to love playing piano, and then he ran with it, practicing far more than was required of him. There are so many ways to apply this, and I am sure that we all have examples of this very same thing happening in our own lives. Since this is Elder’s Quorum I would like to focus on church/spiritual things.

Throughout our lives we all have to gain, and reaffirm our own testimonies. When we gain our own testimony a change comes over us. Our duties become more enriching, and we want to learn more about it. We want to “be anxiously engaged.” This is great! We need to be anxiously engaged, and learning about the Gospel every chance we get. However, this comes with a warning!

Tread carefully
“And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost.”(1 Ne 12:17)"

When we are anxiously engaged in the Gospel we have to be careful about what we study, learn, and the conclusions we come to. Yes, we can, and should have autonomy in our studies, but as in Elder Zivic’s story we need to be aware of the signs on the path. The signs aren’t always what we expect, we have to know what to look for. The trail to Delicate Arch from Elder Zivic’s story are a series of Cairns that hikers have placed to tell others they are taking the correct path. These cairns are small piles of rocks. They are obvious markers, but if somebody, like Elder Zivic doesn’t know to look for them, they will just wonder why somebody would make such a curious little rock tower. It is up to individual hikers to educate themselves about the cairns, and then to follow them.

Just as hikers on their way to Delicate Arch have cairns, we have signs to lead us. As with the cairns it is up to us to educate ourselves about the signs, and subsequently follow them. So, what are the spiritual cairns we should be following? Let’s start with Paul’s words: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Gal 5:22-23)Joseph Smith also described the inspiration of the Holy Ghost as “pure intelligence.” (JS Quotes) Oliver Cowdery learned that the Spirit may “burn” in your bosom (but only after we’ve done our part in learning, and asked for confirmation in faith.) (D&C 9:8) Another spiritual cairn we should use is whether we are following in the footsteps of the prophets, and apostles. Are we following these spiritual markers as we learn, or are we wandering off into strange paths? If so, we had better find the path back as soon as possible.

Nourishment
When we are following the cairns set aside for us we find that we have spiritual nourishment along the way. We are fed, we are hydrated, and we are never lost. When we follow strange paths there is no guarantee. We may feel nourished at first, but the longer we go the hungrier we get, the less fulfilling our meals, and the more parched our spirits become. As Elder Zivic points out, Christ is the vine through which we get our nourishment, so it only makes sense that the closer we stay to him, the more nourished we are. This isn’t to say that we can’t study subjects not covered in the scriptures, or even controversial subjects, we just need to be careful that we don’t let those studies lead us from the truth, and nourishment Christ provides us.

Find your way back
If you aren’t on the right path, find your way back. Seek the help of your bishop, other members, and start praying for the Spirit’s guidance. When you’re on your way back you’ll start seeing those spiritual markers again. The Lord is merciful, and will lead you home; you just have to do the work.

Our time is now
We don’t know how much time we have on this Earth. You could keel over in the middle of this paragraph (please don’t), or you could live another 50 years. You don’t know when your time is up, so now is the time for you to be anxiously engaged in a good cause, follow the path of righteousness, find your way back, and be nourished by the good word of God. If you haven’t made that decision yet, then I encourage you to make that decision now. If you don’t know the “right way,” then ask you Father in Heaven, and he will show it to you.

Homework:
Read/Listen to Elder Zivic’s talk “Let’s not take the wrong way.”
Evaluate the path you are on. What spiritual cairns can you look to for guidance?
Lift your head up and enjoy your weekend

Conference Weekend!!!

As conference approaches I've started to think about the practice some members have of writing down questions and listening for the answers. I've never done this, so I thought, why not try it? And why not post my questions? I'll post any answers I get after conference.

So here it goes:

- Why am I so much more excited for this conference than previous conferences?
- How can I be a better husband?
- How can I be a better Elder's Quorum teacher?
- How can I be a better LDS example at work?
- How can I improve my attitude at work so I feel less disgruntled?
- What can I do to reduce murmuring in the workplace?
- How can I help in the missionary work of my ward?
- What work does the Lord want me engaged in right now?
- How do I find more purpose in prayer?
- Is President Monson the Lord's prophet? (I've struggled with this since President Hinckley died)

- How do I inspire myself to get of the couch, and get out into the world and do the work of the Lord?

- How do I get out of debt while paying my current obligations?

Okay, I think that's enough for now. I'll keep the more personal ones to myself. :)

What questions do you have for the Lord to answer during conference? Write them down at home, or feel free to leave them in the comments.

Oh, and don't forget to pray for the Spirit!

Pondering, a Lifetime Affair

In the October 1971 General Conference Bruce R. McConkie stated, “To worship the Lord is to study the gospel, to treasure up light and truth, to ponder in our hearts the things of the Kingdom, and to make them part of our lives. It is to pray with all the energy of our souls, to preach by the power of the spirit, to sing songs of praise and thanksgiving.” I love how he tells us to ponder in our hearts, and make them a part of our lives. This alludes to us not just to pondering for a little while, but to pondering for a life time. Pondering lasts our whole lives. When we ponder something, we are really interested in it, and we ponder that subject multiple times throughout our lives as the Spirit touches us, and as we learn, that knowledge enhances, and is enhanced by other knowledge.

Pondering is the key by which I understand most things, and come to many conclusions. My mind is often left unsatisfied with the typical answers to life’s most important questions, so I ponder them a lot. Questions like, “Why is it important for us to have the gospel?”, “How did God create the universe?”, and “How does one choose their favorite football team?” I am often alleviated at first with a spirit of comfort to know that God is in charge of these things, or of their level of importance in the scheme of things. Then it is usually some time later that I come back to the question, mostly because I’ve been introduced to new knowledge from the scientific community, or elsewhere. Then I study the new learning, and compare it to scripture, and pray for answers on how the two connect.