Quiet in Chaos

Sometimes we need to stop and listen

At home alone today, I found myself annoyed. It's muggy today, and I've had a growing headache, but really, it was just too loud. What was too loud? To be honest, the television. I was bored, so busied myself with a late 80's Keanu Reeves, and Alex Winter movie that has the power to numb the mind like no other movie in existence, except maybe it's sequel. Don't get me wrong now, it was an excellent time, but my mood was growing more bogus by the minute. After the movie I kept up the mind numbing going for another 20 minutes before I just turned it off. I needed something else. What was it?

Silence!

Silence is golden they say, and it's true. Man did not evolve in the constant stimuli of the Vegas Strip. No, man evolved in the quiet of forests, deserts, and plains. Even just a couple hundred years ago, your ancestors came home most nights to a dinner lit by the setting sun, and a few oil lamps if they could afford them. The family busied themselves with chores to ready themselves for the coming day, then lay down next to a coal stove with the rest of the family for the night, having prayed, and read a few words of scripture as a family. If that wasn't your family a couple hundred years ago, then go back a few hundred more.

The point of the story is that we are not meant to live with constant stimuli, yet we do. Some of us don't have a choice in the matter, but most of us do. Most of us can have silence, but choose not to. Why? Have we forgotten what our ancestors had to learn centuries before us; To live with their own thoughts? Maybe so. This is why so many of us can't sleep at night, and why all our best thoughts come to us in the shower. Those few moments of silence we find are the only times our brains have to think for themselves!

It's also the only time that the Holy Ghost isn't competing for our attention. Yes, these are the moments that we can allow God to speak to us, and are the perfect times for prayer, and contemplation.

The Manhattan Temple: Quiet among chaos

I also want to suggest another place to find that much needed silence. That is, the Temple of the Lord. When we enter the Temple we are asked to turn off our phones, and other devices. This isn't only for the sake of others, but for us, to foster a spirit of reverence, meditation, and contemplation within ourselves. Throughout most of the Temple we whisper when we speak, and in most cases, we don't speak at all.

My favorite room in the Temple is the Celestial room. For those who don't know, the Celestial room is a large room, beautifully, yet simply decorated. This is the room that, after making covenants with the Lord, we (Latter-day Saints) take time to sit, pray, meditate, and contemplate. This is a special place, set apart from the world. Temples are mostly built from granite, and the walls are all about 3 feet thick, so the silence of the celestial room, where nigh a whisper is heard, is a profound silence, even when nestled in snugly next to a 6 lane interstate.

This silence gives us an opportunity unlike any other to commune with the Holy Spirit. The Temple is God's house. The Holy Spirit is strong in his house. Compounded with almost complete silence, the silence truly does become profound. It is in the silence of God's Holy House that the Spirit can reveal God's deepest secrets, and desires for us. It is here that many of often come to contemplate big decisions, or come for confirmation of spiritual truths. It is in his Holy House that so many Latter-Day Saints come to simply feel that they have come home to their loving Father.

If you can, I encourage you to go to the Temple, and commune with your Heavenly Father. Linger longer in the Celestial Room, with the intent of embracing the silence, and letting the Lord's Spirit settle into your heart there. Give the Lord the time you would give an old friend you're meeting for brunch at a quiet diner downtown, after all, going to the Temple is a lot like meeting an old friend for brunch in a quiet diner downtown.

If you can't go the Temple, I encourage you to strive to do so. Whether you need some long talks with your bishop, or have yet to enter the waters of Baptism, you will be blessed for every effort in getting into the Lord's Holy House.

A Novel Idea

I have noticed, in American, possibly world culture, the novelization of our people. Not the writing of our lives into novels, but living our lives as if we were in a novel. The basics of a  novel are:


· A problem that needs to be solved

· A protagonist to solve the problem

· An antagonist to oppose the protagonist

· A theme, or structure (mystery, action, romance, etc) to how the problem will be solved

· And a plot, or the actual steps and progressions the protagonist takes to solve the problem, or the antagonist takes to thwart the protagonist

(Please accept my apology for ruining every book/movie you ever attempt reading/watching again.)

THE PROTAGONIST

In a novel (or movie) everything happens to, for, or because of the protagonist. Every event furthers his cause. Every struggle leads her closer to the book's climatic apex. When coincidence favors the hero we cheer on her cause! When bad things happen, it’s a travesty, and somebody must pay! VOLDEMORT DID THIS! We yell as we keep ourselves from hurling the book across the room. We cry for him or her when tragedy strikes his friends, families, and classmates. "Somebody must pay." we loathely mutter under our breath.



THE BOOK OF LIFE


What does the book of life say about you? Are you the protagonist; the antagonist? A supporting character? A minor character?


NONE OF THE ABOVE!!


No, this is the book of life. There are no protagonists or antagonists. There are no supporting characters, nor minor characters. We are not ranked by our importance, or casted role. We are people. People are good and bad; we are each a mix of good and evil. We are all special, and all important, but none of us is more special, or important than another. "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." (D&C 18:10) and "...God is no respecter of persons." (Acts 10:34)


PERCEPTION


When we see ourselves as protagonists in the book of life, then everything that happens, happens to, for or because of us. Why did Nancy in accounting lose her job? To create an opening for you, of course! Why did you get into that nearly fatal accident? Because you have an important lesson to learn. Why were you diagnosed with cancer? Because God singled you out and wants you to grow from the experience.


Bullhonky! All of it!


Bad things don’t happen TO us. Good things don’t happen FOR us. Good things happen and bad things happen. "He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the evil, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matt 5:45) God does not esteem one flesh above another because one is more righteous than the other. (1 Nephi 17:35)


The novelization of our lives has created a perception in us that we are all protagonists. As protagonists we are entitled, yes, ENTITLED to good things. As the protagonist, the author of the Book of Life breaks his contract when he makes us suffer! He cannot be the kind and loving author we always thought he was if he makes our lives unbearable, can he?


When we look at life from a broader perspective, when we see that our story is the story of everyday life, we begin to see that God hasn’t singled us out for greatness or damnation. We begin to see that the pages of the book of life are full of everyday things, and those things are beautiful. The greatness is up to us.


DETERMINATION


Where our story leads depends entirely upon us. Despite our burdens, despite our pain, despite our insecurities, it is up to us to move. It is my faith that God does not give us trials, but that trials come as a part of our mortal existence, and our test is how we handle those trials.


Heavenly Father is very aware of our burdens, but our burdens do not define his love for us.

The greatest novel ever written won’t be the man who the saves the world from a tyrant. The greatest novel ever written IS the novel of every person who rises from their slumber, and with faith, hope and charity determines to make today better than yesterday and lives with faith that tomorrow will be better for the things done today.


So your challenge then is to rise up, take hold of your burden and with faith, find the determination to carry your burden. It is not the legacy of the Saints of God to fall slack when the journey lengthens, the oxbows break, the rations run low, and death takes our loved ones. No, it is our legacy to stand tall, and determine that our journey is not over. You woke today with the breath of life in your nostrils. You still have that breath now. God still has need of you. Do not burden yourself with the entitlement of this generation.


THE ATONEMENT


The more I study it, the more I learn that the Atonement is not just about death, resurrection and eternal life. The atonement is about healing. It is about helping us cope with this mortal life. It is about bringing peace to our souls, whatever our burdens. Heavenly Father is very aware of our burdens, but our burdens do not define his love for us. Jesus asks us to take his yoke up with him, or rather he offers us to make a covenant with him, that if we carry the burden of caring for his people, he will carry the burden of our grief, sin, and heartache. He will heal us, and teach us happiness. (Matthew 11:28-30)


Thanks to Henry Bingham for his help in preparing this article 

A World in Turmoil

A WORLD IN TURMOIL

I don’t like watching the news. It’s not because I don’t want to know what’s going on in the world, but because it either makes me sad or angry, there is enough spin to throw me off the carousel, or I don’t care what Megan Fox wears to every TMNT premier, especially right after hearing about some act of terrorism, or mass genocide somewhere in the world.

It also makes my life feel small, and insignificant. My problems are infinitesimal in comparison to the rest of the world’s problems. I broke my foot in late July. So what? A young mother in Iraq wishes her son still had a foot. I don’t always like my job. So what? A street urchin begging for change in Denver’s 16th Street mall gave up on employment months ago.  My apartment is small, overpriced, and laid out strangely. So what? A war veteran, who will be sleeping underneath Portland’s Burnside Bridge tonight, would be happy to wake up here every day. It’s too hot outside. So what? Millions of people live in the hot African sun, with no shelter to speak of, and less water to drink for the whole day than I just washed my hands with.

What right do I have to complain while my brothers and sisters suffer throughout the world?

Earlier today I was reading about violent acts of anti-Semitism throughout the world. If anything gets under my skin its violence, abuse, or hatred of any one people based on something that separates them from others, i.e. race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, class. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in this kind of hatred in recent years. I see it all over the internet, on TV, out of the mouths of loved ones, on the street, everywhere. I am continually appalled by the thoughts, words, and actions of otherwise upstanding citizens.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

Are we not commanded to love our brothers and sisters as we love ourselves? I was recently asked what that means, because every person thinks of love differently than every other person. I’ve thought about that question a lot since it was presented to me, and the answer came to me while studying for our Elders Quorum lesson. That answer comes from our prophet, Joseph Fielding Smith. President Smith’s third wife, Jesse, “often said of her husband, ‘He is the kindest man I have ever known. I have never heard him speak an unkind word.’ He would respond, with a smile, ‘I don’t know any unkind words.’” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, chapter 15)

You can rest assured that President Smith was human. Like any other man, I am sure he knew many unkind words. However, I think what he meant was that his heart didn’t know any unkind words. This goes the step beyond Thumper’s mother’s saying, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” The saying, though classic, and well said, still allows us to feel unkindness in our hearts. President Smith’s example is for us to have no unkindness in our hearts at all. If there is no unkindness, then there is nothing you have to keep yourself from saying.

Is this not an attainable Godly Attribute? Can we not turn our hearts in love toward our brethren? Can we not change the world, just a little bit at a time by committing ourselves to loving our fellow creatures in Christ?

COMFORT

As Latter-Day Saints we have a sure knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, and know our place in it. We know that this life is but a small part of our own eternity. My Patriarchal Blessing tells me, “While the world is in commotion and there’s a lot of unrest, and there’s not the happiness that needs to be there, remember that in the Kingdom of God things are intact.”I think this is important for people like me, who empathize with the world, and are saddened by the poverty, and the acts of hatred and violence that are so prevalent in today’s world. If you’ve gotten this far in reading, then you are also likely to benefit from such comfort.

While all is NOT well in Zion, it is well in the Kingdom of God, and will all be straightened out on the other side. The saddest part may be the number of people whose hearts are closed to the word of God because of their hatred for the God’s children who do not match their narrow description of good human beings.

Seek to Serve

It's hot tonight in Oregon, and Oregon doesn't believe in AC, just box fans in the window. When its this hot I can't sleep. When I can't sleep I either listen to the Helen Jane Long radio station on Pandora (calm piano), or listen to the scriptures/conference talks on the Gospel Library app for Android.

Tonight, I chose the October 1997 General Conference. I got through the first two talks before I had to move to a cooler location. (I.e. the couch) So here I am, on the couch blogging from my smartphone.

Before I started this though I was stalking my measly 200 friends on Facebook. One of them posted this meme:

Found here

This meme went perfectly with those first two conference talks. In the second talk, "Called to Serve", President Boyd K. Packer talks about our service in the church, not just serving in callings, but serving with our hearts, and spirits, not just when called by revelation from Priesthood Authority, but when revelation from the Holy Ghost calls us to serve.

This goes in line with the meme above because we don't know the fight others are putting up, but our Father in Heaven does, and he gives each of us the Gift and inspiration of the Holy Ghost to serve our fellow creatures.

The first steps are the hardest. We don't always know the voice of the Spirit if we aren't accustomed to listening to it. So we don't know if we are on a wild goose chase, or following the Spirit until we've tested our inspiration.  However, we can learn to hear that voice, and discern its origin.

Elder Packer tells us to " cultivate a spirit of service." And this may be the best advice. We need to first show the Lord that we are willing to serve, and will follow his inspiration. When we have proven that he can trust us with his revelations, then he can send us where he needs us.

How do we cultivate the Spirit of service? Just do it. Get out there, and serve. Start with helping set up chairs before church, prepare your lessons, talks, etc. Carefully and with your class in mind. Pray for guidance. Talk to your bishop about your desire to build your desire to serve.

There is also an unintended consequence of service. I've seen it more times than I know. That is friendship. When you serve others you learn to love them, and you make strong bonds based on mutual respect, and love.

This, I think, is an important lesson for our day. We live in a world that is perpetually more and more inward facing. Many people care only for themselves, and their conveniences. Few take their headphones off to listen, talk, or serve. It is a sad state of affairs.

Let us not forget the two greatest commandments, to love God first, and our neighbor second. I pray that we haven't yet forgotten, and if we have, that we can remember again.

Remember, you don't know the struggle of another, so be prepared to listen to the Spirit, and serve with all your heart. If you are prepared, the Lord will trust you to follow his guidance.

A Sacred Heritage

I have a mission box. In this box is several things I kept from my mission. Photos, mission scriptures discussions, letters, and other things I had decided to keep a long, long time ago. Among those trappings is a sheet of paper I received when I was ordained an Elder of the Melchizedek Priesthood. I don’t know how many of the brethren have this. It’s not something I ever hear talked about, so I’m assuming it’s not all that common. (Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not.) It is my Priesthood Lineage:

Peter, James, and John were ordained by the Lord Jesus Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. (Matthew 16:13-19, 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-10, Luke 9:28-36, 2 Peter 1:16-18)

Joseph Smith Jr. was ordained an Apostle of the Lord under the hands of Peter, James, and John in June of 1829. (Joseph Smith History 1:72, Doctrine & Covenants 27:12, Doctrine & Covenants 128:20, Church History in the Fullness of Times)

Brigham Young was ordained a High Priest 14 February 1835 by the First Presidency of the church: Joseph Smith Jr., Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams. He was ordained an Apostle by the Three witnesses the same day: Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris the same day.

Joseph F. Smith was ordained an Apostle of the Lord 1 July 1866 by Brigham Young.

Joseph Fielding Smith was ordained an Apostle of the Lord 7 April 1910 by Joseph F. Smith.

Glen Obid Hamblin as ordained a High Priest 29 April 1940 by Joseph Fielding Smith.

Living Webb was ordained a High Priest 28 July 1966 by Glen Obid Hamblin,

Living Marcum was ordained a High Priest 8 February 1976 by Living Webb.

Living Peterson was ordained a High Priest 9 November 1986 by Living Marcum.

Living Mecham was ordained a High Priest 28 June 1987 by Living Marcum

I was ordained an Elder of the Melchizedek Priesthood 18 November 1998 by living Mecham.

As I look over this sacred lineage I find myself wondering, what is the Priesthood "DNA" I carry? How has the Priesthood that I carry been used by those who preceded me? What can I learn from them? Am I upholding my lineage? Would my fore-bearers approve of how I've carried on their heritage? I can only hope so.

Do you know your Priesthood Lineage? What great things have your fore-bearers done with their Priesthood? What are you doing to honor your Priesthood Lineage today?