Improving Our Time

I wanted to share a parable with you all from the New Testament: that of the talents. In Matthew chapter 25, Christ tells his disciples of a man who entrusted a certain sum of money to his servants before departing for “a far country” (Mat 25:14). This parable brilliantly captures the essence of the Plan of Salvation—let’s take a closer look at what it means for us.

Matthew 25:15 says, “And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.” The traveling man represents our Heavenly Father and we his servants; he has entrusted each of us with a certain degree of stewardship according to our abilities. Eventually each of us will stand before the Lord to give an accounting of how we spent our time in this life. Depending on how we managed ourselves, we will either lose our stewardships or receive additional responsibility. The latter is what we in the church call “Exaltation.” It is receiving greater responsibilities and more opportunities from our Father in Heaven because we’ve proven we can handle them.

The prophet Amulek provides an additional witness to this in Alma 34: “if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness, wherein there can be no labor performed” (Alma 34:34). But what does it mean to “improve our time?” I believe it means to develop self-mastery and learn to spend our time doing the things that contribute most to our salvation and happiness.

Let us look to our Father in Heaven as the supreme example of good self-management: He is the Father of numberless spirit children and yet He knows each by name, hears and answers every prayer, spoken and unspoken, and keeps meticulous track of their every thought, word and deed. He is the architect of worlds without number and the author of the Plan of Salvation. What is the secret to His success? It is the ability to focus on what is most important and to delegate, to share his responsibilities with others. Through a flawless network of prophets, angels, the Holy Ghost, and other inspired messengers, the Lord accomplishes His great purposes and communicates His will to the children of men. His is a life of focus, balance, and joy.

Focus and balance are essential to the life of the disciple. We are required to be in the world but not of the world, to provide for our temporal needs while living up to our covenants and sharing the gospel with others. There are numerous scriptural and secular helps to assist us in doing so. One which I would like to go over in detail from a gospel perspective is called the Productivity Pyramid, a model used by the Franklin-Covey company to help teach people the skills, habits, and mindset necessary to achieve their highest priorities. It has four levels—for the base we have our Governing Values; above that is Goal-Setting; moving further up is Weekly Planning; and at the top is Daily Planning.

Our Governing Values are our core beliefs, ideals, and highest priorities and should define everything we think, say, and do. The principals of the Gospel of Jesus Christ provide a template for sound governing values—developing our talents, pursuing greater knowledge, striving for improved personal righteousness, and so forth—as the prophet Helaman told his sons, “Remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation” (Hel 5:12).

Once we have defined our own personal Governing Values, we can move up the pyramid to the next level: Goal-Setting. A goal is defined as an accomplishment with a deadline. It is made up of a series of smaller steps, also with deadlines, that culminate in the eventual realization of the goal. Concerning goal-setting, Elder Ballard stated, “I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in life” (PMG, 146).

We should set goals to develop Christ-like attributes. The apostle Peter admonished, “Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 1:5-8).

Our goals reflect our Governing Values and are the focus of the next level up on the pyramid: Weekly Planning. On my mission I learned the importance of setting aside time each week with my companions to prayerfully reflect on our goals and figure out what needed to be done on a daily basis to achieve them; on the weeks we didn’t do so our efforts were more scattered and disorganized, and as a result the work suffered. Planning weekly is perhaps the single most important thing we can do to achieve balance. As a missionary, the weekly planning session lasted two hours; as regular people, however, we should spend about 30 minutes each week going over upcoming deadlines, obligations, and appointments and focusing our efforts on our goals.

The last key to achieving balance is the Daily Planning session. Ten to twenty minutes each day, whether in the morning or at night, helps us to focus our efforts on the most important tasks at hand. Preach My Gospel gives several pointers to help us plan more effectively (PMG, 150-151):

• Have a meaningful activity planned for every hour of the day.
• Accept full responsibility for your efforts. Never blame others for difficult circumstances or lack of progress.
• In your prayer at the end of the day, give an accounting of your work.

Following these patterns of self-mastery should be the pursuit of a lifetime. As we focus on what is most important we will find that our satisfaction, our confidence, and our ability to influence others for good will increase. Our relationships will bring us more fulfillment and our labors greater rewards. Our love for the Savior and His Atonement will grow, and our sensitivity to the whisperings of the Spirit will be sharpened. Of this I bear witness in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Final Report

My mission president required a final report from each departing missionary. These reports were to include lessons learned, our precious experiences with the Spirit, and stories of the people we taught. Here's mine.

To Know God and Jesus

John 17:3—“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” It is clear that in order to have a fullness of joy, our understanding of the gospel must exceed a mere understanding of the principals we study and teach. It is good to be able to list off God’s titles, his works, and his character traits, but it is not enough. To know God is to have spiritual intimacy with him. Intimacy is love compounded with trust; it is a two-way street, and it is the key to becoming a self-driven missionary. Over the course of the last two years, I have developed an inkling of this kind of intimacy in several different ways:

1. Forgiveness and cleansing of sins through the Atonement. Before my mission I was screwed up. Like, bad. But through the miraculous gift of repentance I overcame my addictions and tasted the fruit of the tree of life. It was beyond description, the most remarkable thing I have experienced in my entire life. Through the Atonement, I have felt the forgiveness, cleansing, and strengthening that came by the Holy Ghost when my desires to serve God finally caught up with the covenants I had made at my baptism eleven years earlier. I have learned to be merciful and patient with others’ weaknesses just as the Savior does. And I have forgiven myself for who I was before. I love my Savior because of the gift he has given me, and like the sons of Mosiah I will forever be grateful and live my life to serve him: “Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yeah, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble. And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for they were the very vilest of sinners. And the Lord saw fit in his infinite mercy to spare them” (Mosiah 28:3-4).

In a way that is as ironic as it is sublime, some of the most sincere, spiritual people I have met on my mission are people who messed up in serious ways but later repented. They love Jesus Christ, more than most of the members I knew back home who never committed any serious transgressions, because of the gift he gave to them. They’ve felt the healing and know with all that is in them that the gospel is true and tangible. I’ve learned to love them for how far they’ve come rather than judge them for their weaknesses—for who among us is truly without sin?

2. Healing and consolation through the Atonement. For those who are not guilty of grievous sins and therefore do not need forgiveness to the extent that others do there is still the chance to feel the love of God through the Atonement. Christ suffered everything that we ever have or ever will so that He could know us. He understands the trials we undergo as we take upon us the burden to share the gospel to a world weary with sin. In moments of calm and solitude, when I looked back on the day’s labors only to realize I had fallen short of what my Savior, my leaders, and I expected of me, I would sorrow as Nephi did. I have since come to understand that the Atonement applies to missionaries as well as investigators, that when I feel discouraged or doubt myself I can turn to the Lord with a broken heart and have it mended. I believe I have learned what the Savior meant when he said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30)

3. Exact obedience. The happiest times on my mission were also the most obedient. Have you ever tried to go just an hour without breaking one of the mission rules? A day? A transfer? If the Savior were a WA-TAC missionary, he would be exactly obedient. That is how he conducted his entire life. He did not sin, ever. It was a tremendous feat of discipline and love. He lived a life of consecration and exact obedience so that he would be worthy to suffer for our sins at the end. No missionary, however good at finding, teaching, and baptizing they think they are, can come to know the Savior without striving for obedience. That is the price we pay.

4. Receiving personal revelation. The Lord is interested in our lives—I know this to be true because He gives me direction daily. Much of it pertains to missionary work; a great deal is for after my mission—what school I should attend, what career to pursue, how to raise my children. Some of this comes through my study of the scriptures, to be sure, but most of it has come through pondering and as a result of my willingness to work. As President Uchtdorf put it this last General Conference, “The greatest answers to prayer usually come on our feet, not our knees.” As I have put forth the effort to find, the Lord has put people in my path who are ready to hear. Revelation is what sets us apart as a church and as a mission. What are we doing to receive it?

Becoming a Chosen Missionary

It took me a long time, somewhere around 18 months, before I came to an understanding of what it means to be a consecrated missionary. It happened when I was serving in the office with Elder Draper. We had the opportunity to take a group of dying missionaries to the temple for their PPI with the Lord. That final trip to the temple is a sacred experience in which each WA-TAC missionary has the opportunity to give accounting before God and find out whether or not their sacrifice of two years was acceptable to our Father in Heaven. My greatest fear was that when my time came I would feel the Lord’s disappointment with my work. I felt like up to that point I had not been the missionary I was intended to be.

After a lot of prayerful consideration, I went to the temple with this question: What defines a missionary’s sacrifice as acceptable before the Lord? The answer came in the form of more questions: 1) What have I done to change the lives of others and built the Kingdom of God; 2) How has my testimony of the Savior increased and how has my outlook on the Gospel of Jesus Christ been enhanced; 3) What habits and skills have I developed that will help me to be a better husband, father, and leader in the church after I get home? I gave this a lot of thought and was pleasantly surprised when I realized it wasn’t as bad as I had originally suspected. However, I knew there was plenty of room for improvement. I held a personal inventory and made a promise to the Lord that I would step it up for the rest of my mission by doing and becoming what He expects of me. My focus changed completely and I fixed everything on the work. I set a goal to baptize at least one person each month for the rest of my mission, a goal which, though I did not meet entirely, I met numerically and spiritually through obedience and hard work.

I’ve reflected again and again on that decision. I feel like it was the first step to becoming a chosen missionary, not only called to the field but chosen by God and trusted with an important stewardship. The chosen missionary multiplies their talent and gives it back to the Lord with interest. That is what I strive for daily, though I all too often miss the mark. Because of the Atonement, I can look back on many of the mistakes I made before and on my mission and see them as stepping stones to success.

It is never too late to become a chosen missionary, no matter where you are in your mission or how short you may have fallen in your work. After Martin Harris lost the manuscript for the first 119 pages of the Book of Mormon, the Lord chastised Joseph Smith and gave him a second chance: “But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work” (D&C 3:10). I testify of the power of the Atonement in missionary work. Weakness is greatness in the making if we trust the Lord.

The Power of the Spirit in Teaching

Those who know me well know that I never left Yelm completely, not in spirit. I served there with Elder Romney during my third and fourth transfers and loved it more than any other area I served in before or since. Though we were on bike and the cold snap in November 2009 almost killed us, we experienced the most success that I have seen on my mission outside of a zone leader companionship. It was in Yelm, during a lesson with one of our investigators, Antwoine Smith, that I learned just how powerful a role the Holy Ghost can play in teaching the gospel.

Antwoine Smith lived in Renton, but he came down weekly to visit with his fiancé, a member of the Yelm Ward. He was very eager to learn, but we just could not get him to commit to baptism. Elder Romney and I went over one night to teach him and try once again to get him on date. Our efforts were backfiring. We were desperate, and we didn’t know what to do. With prayers in our hearts, we got the idea to direct Antwoine to the fourteenth chapter of Matthew. We discussed the story of Christ walking on water and of Peter exercising faith to let go of the boat, take a step into the unknown, and go to the master. When Peter began to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” A period of silence followed, and Antwoine consented to be baptized. He told us the reason he was so hesitant to be baptized was his fear of going under the water. When he heard of Jesus reaching out to save Peter from drowning, it instilled in him enough courage to follow the Savior. If the Spirit had not come to our rescue in that hour of need we likely would have never been able to resolve Antwoine’s root concern. We didn’t know what he needed, but the Lord did, and He made up for our weakness and inexperience by giving us the solution to Antwoine’s concern. “Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; for it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say” (D&C 100:5-6).

The Lord Prepares People to Receive the Gospel

I must have been the most clueless greenie ever to set foot in the WA-TAC. Naturally I was terrified when my trainers sent me on a tracting split with one of the priests from our ward. Neither of us knew what we were doing, but we had faith (well, maybe just hope) that we could find someone. With my heart in my throat, I knocked on the door of Gary Arndt, who poked his head out and told us to come back the next day. When we returned, it turned out that he had met with missionaries in the past in Lakewood before he moved to Spanaway. He accepted the baptismal commitment on our second lesson and became the first person I baptized on my mission.

A year later in Lakewood, after what I affectionately refer to as a “Black Hole Day” because nothing went right, Elder Marr, Elder Palmer, Elder Bartlett, and I were in the car picking our brains for something we could do to find someone. A rough-looking man with tattoos and a handlebar mustache was passing by, so we rolled down the window to talk to him. Our invitation was simple: “Do you want to check out our church?” He answered in the affirmative, which caught us off guard, but we recovered quickly and brought him to the church the next day or so.

This man, Skip Day, was one of the most sincere people I have ever been privileged to teach. He was living out of a camper trailer on the side of the road that was hours away from being impounded. Through divine intervention, we were able to find him a place to stay temporarily so he could get back on his feet. The Lord worked one miracle after another and after his first Sunday at church, a powerful Fast and Testimony meeting, Skip broke down and set his heart upon baptism, which he obtained a few weeks after I left Lakewood.

I know the Lord is preparing people every day in each of our areas. I have a testimony of the power of ministering angels and the preparatory work they do.

One Church—the Members Really Are the Means

Lacey 3^rd & 6th: one of my favorite areas. Elder Davis and I butted heads a bit at the beginning before we figured out how to work well together. By the second or third week we hit our stride as we made obedience our creed and One Church our focus. We worked very closely with 3^rd ward, visiting as many less-actives as we could and getting fellowship at all of our lessons. We had a recent convert, Sister Sutherland, who kept giving us referrals. We had the trust of the ward, and as a result, we got stuff done. We had two baptisms that transfer—both member referrals.

One of those was Chelsea Bopp, a girl who had performed in a musical with several members of the church. They took the leap of faith and shared their testimonies with her. The result? She identified with the church’s beliefs and the young women’s values and consented to come on a church tour. We hardly had to teach her at all; she had so much fellowship outside of our lessons that her concerns were resolved without us. Within a few weeks, she was baptized. It was a glorious occasion.

Nearly a year prior to that, I served in the blessed land of Yelm with Elder Romney. Though perhaps the most taxing three months of my mission, it was, in my opinion, the most successful and brought me the most satisfaction of any time in Washington. Three months of driving rain, cycling, and trying to find my way as a new missionary in a new area with a companion who was no more experienced than I was provided a solid base of faith and hard work that instilled in me a degree of confidence that I had never before experienced. I developed a great love for the ward and for the people we were teaching, and as a result we had three baptisms from member referrals. Part of me died when I got the fateful call to leave. My experience was, to me, the greatest testimony of One Church and the power of member work.

The Book of Mormon—the Lord’s Silver Bullet

I love the Book of Mormon. I read it in seminary; I read it after high school and five times over the course of my mission. I attribute my conversion almost exclusively to that book and its teachings. The first time I prayed with real intent to know it was true, I felt the Spirit tell me to talk to my Bishop and make changes in my life so that I could serve a mission. It was a painful process, but it was so rewarding, and through the whole process the Book of Mormon was there to give me comfort, guidance, and support. From the examples of righteous men found within its pages I have caught a vision of the kind of husband, father, and leader I want to be. I am grateful for those who labored and sacrificed to bring it about, whose tears and prayers were heard by a God who loved us enough to give us direction in our day. I am grateful for the blood that was shed in these last days to bring it to fruition.

I am not the only one who can attest to its truthfulness. I have seen many lives changed by the plain and precious truths it contains. In Yelm, while helping a sister named Dauna O’Leary become active in the church again, I watched her change from a skeptic to a die-hard follower of the Savior. Her faith, when we began teaching, was small but growing at an exponential rate. The Book of Mormon brought Christ into her life and the Spirit into her heart and home. I was able to baptize her younger son, O’Ryan, before I left and to return to Lacey a year later to watch her older son, Ammon, enter the waters of baptism.

On another occasion, while tracting with Elder Cook in Tacoma one evening, we met a young man from Vietnam named Lam Nguyen. Though he was only about 18, he was the primary bread winner for his family working as a roofer. His English was only slightly better than our Vietnamese, but we managed to get him on a church tour nevertheless. It became clear to us that the language barrier could pose a big problem in teaching him, so we asked the Lord for inspiration and gave him a Vietnamese Book of Mormon. Over the next few weeks we taught him the Restoration, Plan of Salvation, and Gospel of Jesus Christ from the Book of Mormon, praying that the Spirit would speak to his soul and convey the truthfulness of our message. The result? He progressed quickly, far more so than we could have anticipated. By the time we taught him commandments, he had a solid testimony of the Book of Mormon and took a pay cut so that he could get Sundays off work. He was baptized shortly after we met him. His conversion was a great testimony to me of the power of the Book of Mormon in missionary work and personal conversion. Truly the Lord has prepared it for our day to facilitate the rolling forth of His work.

Conclusion

The last two years have been a remarkable, joyous part of my life. I know with a surety the truth of the message we bear. As I have struggled to align my will with the Lord’s by putting His work first and preparing myself to be a more polished instrument in His hand, I have seen miracles and success like I never could have imagined. I have come to love the Lord as never before as I have learned to love His children. I hardly resemble the scared, tactless greenie who left home two years ago (thank goodness). I am ready to return to the Utah, Ogden Mission and use the skills I have gained in the WA-TAC to strengthen whatever stake of Zion in which I happen to find myself. I am ready to be reunited with my family and to take a long nap. But I will dearly miss you all, and a piece of my heart will ever dwell in the Washington Tacoma Mission.

“Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God… and if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me” (D&C 18: 10, 15-16). Elders and Sisters, my joy is full. May God continue to bless you in your labors as you consecrate yourselves to this work, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Procrastination of Happiness

The world in which we live is a challenging place, especially for those trying to raise families in love and righteousness-- but it is also full of opportunities for work, innovation, and learning, more so than ever before. Yet many people fail to achieve happiness, even in these favorable circumstances. I often hear people say things like, “Man, I sure wish Jesus would get here quicker,” or “I can't wait until the Rapture.” Such comments both amuse and depress me; I believe they spring from a mindset of resignation and complacency. They are the desperate yearnings people who have lost hope that they can make a difference and believe that only God can solve their problems now.

This mindset is not limited to the religious; many people depend upon government, money, or retirement to bring them happiness. They say, “When I have this or that, I'll be happy,” as if happiness was dependent upon external factors. While these factors can contribute to overall well-being and amplify happiness that already exists, they cannot create it. Waiting for someone or something to fix our problems is the procrastination of happiness, and it is a form of being acted upon, of surrendering our agency to an uncertain future. It is not productive, and it is not in alignment with God's Plan of Happiness. In the end, the Lord has said that after the final judgment, “He that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still” (Mormon 9:14).

I cannot help but think of Isaiah, who described the mission of John the Baptist as, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3). As members of the church, our job is not to hold out against the tides of evil in the world until Christ comes again; our task is to prepare the world for his coming so that Zion, or at least the foundation, will already be built by the time he arrives.

We prepare by the choices we make every day-- what we think, how we spend our time and money, what we teach our children through our words and actions, and the example we set for others. In the end, happiness is an inward condition, a lifestyle of balance, productivity, and intimacy with God and our loved ones.

Following Christ's resurrection and visit to the Americas, the people of Nephi learned how to live after the manner of happiness: “And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.

“And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the Hand of God” (4 Nephi 1:15-16).

I testify that as we learn to depend less upon our circumstances and more upon living the gospel, we will have a greater amount of peace, satisfaction, and happiness in our lives until we receive a fulness of joy, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Stewards, Heirs, and Rulers

From the beginning our Heavenly Father has been looking for goods stewards. The end goal of the Plan of Salvation is to prove the children of men to see if they can be trusted with raising His grandchildren and receiving exaltation. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus gives the parable of the talents. These verses brilliantly capture the essence of the Plan of Salvation: a man entrusts his servants (us, his children) with varying degrees of stewardship, according to their abilities. The first two servants are proactive and end up increasing that which was given to them-- doubling it, in fact. To both of them, the master gives an identical response: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

The other servant chose instead to neglect his stewardship. In fact, he buried it in the earth so that he wouldn't have to think about it until his master returned to reclaim what was his. His lazy indifference and hollow excuses were met by the wrath of his master-- at the very least he could have deposited the money in a bank so that there would be interest on the principal. But he had nothing to show for the time and opportunities that had been bestowed upon him. He was thereafter relieved of his stewardship.

Here on earth, we are given many chances to prove ourselves. All too often, we fall short of the mark. Because of the Atonement, we can receive additional chances to prove ourselves. But, counsels the prophet Alma, “If we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness, wherein there can be no labor performed” (Alma 32:33). God expects improvement-- increase-- and if we fail to receive the light (meaning to accept and build upon the truths we have) we stand condemned before the lord (see D&C 93:31-32). We will wait in darkness and restless agony in the spirit world until the resurrection and judgment (see Alma 40:13-14). There the Lord will require from us an accounting of our stewardships.

God does not simply want us to return to live with him-- we were already there in the pre-mortal existence. Satan's offer was to have us all return to Heaven-- Jesus Christ offered us the chance to return with interest. Only to those who receive the Light of Christ and magnify it by the way they live can receive the source of that light (See D&C 84:36-39). In the church we are blessed with abundant opportunities to serve and provide God with an increase.

Many have misconstrued this concept to say that Latter-Day Saints believe that we earn grace, that we earn exaltation and thrones, dominions, kingdoms, etc. Let me be clear in saying that we cannot earn those things because, let's just face it, none of us are good enough. But every blessing from God is conditional upon obedience to the eternal law to which the blessing is affixed (See D&C 130:20-21), which means we need to exert every effort to meet the conditions which God has set for our redemption.

Concerning the idea of earning grace through our own works, King Benjamin, a great Book of Mormon prophet, said this: “I say unto you, that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath... with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments... for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted to him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?” (Mosiah 2:20-25).

Salvation and exaltation come as a result of our meeting God's requirements-- the Atonemnt raises us to the level of the bar and allows us the chance to meet those conditions. Because of the Atonement we can have the chance to be “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if it so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17). Heirs inherit-- and rule-- servants labor and abase themselves. I testify that we are God's children and we can all be heirs of God's kingdom through the Atonement-- but first we have to be servants and let God prove us in his absence, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Understanding Mormonism Through Study of the Unfolding of the Restoration

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we tend to get a lot of flak for some of our more peculiar beliefs—usually doctrines that were revealed to the prophets a long time after the church was restored and have little or no bearing on our salvation (I like to refer to them as “Fringe Doctrines”). In particular, the Anti-Mormon community has long employed the tactic of presenting these fringe doctrines in such a way that, to the un-indoctrinated Latter-Day Saint, is often very convincing and portrays us in a negative light. The questions I am most frequently asked about the church are ones like, “How many wives do you have?” or “Don’t Mormons believe that you get your own planet?” Such questions arise from a misunderstanding of the doctrines of the Restoration and the process by which they were revealed.

A proper comprehension of Mormonism, then, is not to be acquired through a study of isolated principles taken out of context and scrutinized under a Biblical microscope—Mormonism cannot be confined to a single volume or even multiple volumes. Gaining a true understanding of Mormonism requires the student to look at the events which parallel the doctrines, principals, and organization of the church, for that is how Mormons believe that revelation is given—through a living prophet and according to the needs of his children. The prophet Joseph Smith wrote, “That which is wrong under one circumstance may be, and often is, right under another. God said, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ at another time He said, ‘Thou shalt utterly destroy.”’ This is the principle on which the government of Heaven is conducted—by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the children of the kingdom are placed” (Teachings of the prophet Joseph Smith, 256). On this basis the standard works of the church can be seen as a by-product of having a living prophet which, when coupled with the Holy Ghost, becomes a catalyst for revelation.

Central to the church’s belief is the doctrine of the Atonement: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried[…] rose again the third day, and ascended into Heaven[… ] all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it” (TPJS, 121). The meaning of this is two-fold: First, we assert that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world; second, we base that belief upon the testimony of His chosen and ordained servants, both ancient and modern. The more witnesses we have to the divinity of Christ the stronger our claims become.

The Bible plays an important role in Mormonism—it is a testimony of Christ by ancient prophets in the Middle East and contains all the principles of the gospel, meaning the process by which God’s children can reap the benefits of the Atonement and return to live with Him. Likewise, the Book of Mormon is the witness of Christ from the ancient people of the Americas. It, too, lays out the gospel in its entirety and gives additional insight into God’s plan for His children, including many of the events that will happen across the world just prior to the Savior’s second coming and how we can prepare for them. It also helps us to establish the validity of Joseph Smith’s claim to prophethood, for if he translated it from gold plates by the power of God as he said then he was indeed a prophet of God. This is one of the main reasons we rely so much on the Book of Mormon and why enemies of the church make such an effort to discredit it.

Once we understand the role of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon in the church, we can direct our attention towards the Doctrine and Covenants, the Journal of Discourses, and the unending stream of modern revelation that continues to pour forth. These revelations come about because of questions by church leaders, persecutions faced by members of the church, and world events. For example:

• Emma Smith, the prophet’s wife, was tired of cleaning up after the slovenly habits of some of the church leaders and voiced her complaints to her husband, who took it to the Lord. The Lord’s response was Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants. The Section heading reads thus: “Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, February 27, 1833[…] As a consequence of the early brethren using tobacco in their meetings, the Prophet was led to ponder upon the matter; consequently he inquired of the Lord concerning it. This revelation, known as the Word of Wisdom, was the result.” The section goes on to outline substances the Lord has instructed members of the church not to put into their bodies, as well as healthful dietary habits, for “the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days” (DC 89:2).

In response to this, critics of the church often say, rather skeptically, “How convenient for Emma,” as if insinuating that Joseph fabricated yet another revelation in order to placate his wife. However, other events in church history, such as the persecution Joseph and Emma faced during the translation of the Book of Mormon or the friction between them caused by the practice of plural marriage in Nauvoo, provide sufficient evidence for us to assert that Emma’s convenience was neither the Lord’s, Joseph’s, or even her own top priority. The Word of Wisdom is a witness for itself in the lives of individuals who practice the principles; and though some of the prohibited substances such as wine and tea are touted by the scientific community as healthy, time and research may very well expose other unforeseen factors and side-effects that outweigh the health benefits of these substances, the same as has happened with tobacco and coffee.

• On September 24, 1890, President Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto which announced the end of the practice of plural marriage within the church. In various discourses, he explains his reasoning: “Which is the wisest course for the Latter-Day Saints to pursue—to continue to attempt to practice plural marriage, with the laws of the nation against it and the opposition of sixty million people, and at the cost of the confiscation and loss of all the Temples, and the stopping of all the ordinances therein, both for the living and the dead, and the imprisonment of the First Presidency and Twelve and all the heads of families in the church, and the confiscation of personal property of the people (all of which of themselves would stop the practice [italics added]); or, after doing and suffering what we have through our adherence to this principle to cease the practice and submit to the law, and through doing so leave the Prophets, Apostles, and fathers at home, so they can instruct the people and attend to the duties of the Church, and also leave the Temples in the hands of the Saints, so that they can attend to the ordinances of the Gospel, both for the living and the dead?” (DC Declaration 1, pp. 292-293). The choice was simple: obey the law or face oblivion.

Again, in response to the Manifesto critics of the church often say, “How convenient for the Mormons.” It was convenient in some respects. It was also necessary for the survival of the church. President Woodruff declared, in the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple, “All these things would have come to pass, as God Almighty lives, had not that Manifesto been given. Therefore, the Son of God felt disposed to have that thing presented to the Church and to the world for the purposes in his own mind. The Lord had decreed the establishment of Zion. He had decreed the finishing of this temple. He had decreed that the salvation of the living and the dead should be given in these valleys of the mountains. And Almighty God decreed that the Devil should not thwart it. If you can understand that, that is a key to it” (DC Declaration 1, pp. 293). It should come as no surprise that God rescinds certain of His policies at times in order to provide His children with the best possible chance at salvation.

• The Family: A Proclamation to the World was released by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on September 23, 1995, in connection with the widespread disintegration of families and society in general. It defines the term “family,” spells out family responsibilities, warns of the consequences that will happen should society continue down its slippery slope, and provides the corrective and preventative process that will avert these disastrous consequences. We are now beginning to get a taste of the end result—juvenile delinquency, soaring crime rates, crushing poverty, and a general desensitization of society.

Missionaries for the church teach five lessons from Preach My Gospel, the most up-to-date missionary handbook. They teach the most basic truths of the gospel over the course of 5 lessons to help investigators build a foundation of faith and understanding which enables them to accept our more peculiar fringe doctrines. That is how the Savior learned the gospel—He started at the bottom and mastered each new truth as it came, acting in harmony with His knowledge. For those with struggling testimonies, He gave the following counsel: “Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled” (DC 1:37). I testify that as we study the basic truths of the gospel according to the context in which they are revealed our eyes will be opened to greater mysteries of God and that the principles which seem peculiar will begin to make perfect sense. I know that God lives and plays an active role in the affairs of the world and in our own lives and that He will continue to inspire the leaders of His church with revelation specific to our present challenges, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.