The Messages of Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes can be easily misunderstood. I know because that's where I was before I reread it - I thought it was just about the second verse proclamation that "all is vanity." Discussing it with a Christian friend of mine, I realized how shallow my understanding was of this small but valuable book of scripture. So I took a second look, and as I reread it I marked the passages that seemed most quotable or full of hope.

One of the questions I wanted answered was whether or not Solomon thought wisdom was a good and useful thing or not. As his quest for discovery unfolds, he seems to have two opposing viewpoints on the issue. But although he wrote, "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow," (1:18) he also wrote, "For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail." (2:26)

Then there was the question of worldly possessions. Was Solomon an ascetic or a hedonist? (In the caricature sense, not the original philosophic meanings of the words.) It's discussed in chapter 5: "The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep." And yet, "It is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion."

One of the big messages I take away is that we are not here to gain the physical, but to learn, and that from God. "Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor." (4:13) Very quoteworthy, that first part, and the second part reminds me of "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," from Matthew 5. Solomon also writes, "Let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth." (5:2)

There's a lot of value in Ecclesiastes, even while it has it's tricky verses. (I still haven't an answer to 7:16: "Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?") The way I look at it is that Solomon is asking questions because he was once himself on the same path of inquiry and confusion that we are on, and he is willing to open the big questions for debate in order to bring us along the path from questioning toward faith. He wants us to realize how foolish and vain man is, and all the earth even, so that we can learn how great and wise God is, and that our true purpose lies in the world to come. He points out our immortal nature in 12:7 - "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Also, remember that Solomon was full of vigor and hope in his life work, as he explains in the last chapter: "And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs."

Writing this post reminds me how awesome and rich Ecclesiastes is, just as all true scripture. What insight have you gained as you've read? Comment below!

What is Faith in Jesus Christ?

I remember Christ always taught us to have faith in him. Who could forget the story of Peter, walking on the water toward Christ, and how when he saw the boistrous waters around him he feared and began to sink. And Christ caught him and said, "O ye of little faith."

The Book of Mormon says, "For it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men... For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name."  -Moroni 7:37-38

I talked with a woman on a plane ride yesterday -- a woman of great faith in Christ. I told her about my fears in life, my pains and discouragement. She urged me to have faith in Christ. How sad it would be if I didn't have that faith. I confessed I did not understand how Christ saves us, how the Atonement brings us back to God. I believe it does, but I don't know how, and when I wonder and think about it I realize I am also hearing in my mind another voice, telling me what to fear and why good things are impossible. If Satan can say such things in my mind, and I don't know how to dispute them, then my faith depends on what I have not received. I have faith that I can learn the truth about it, but fear because I don't know the truth yet.

Still, I would like to think that I know a lot about how Christ saves. At least I know the simple doctrine of it.

"We believe that man will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
"We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
"We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost." - Articles of Faith, 2-4

So if we are saved by faith, repentance, and the ordinances of the gospel, then it seems straightforward, as long as I understand what faith and repentance are! Repentance is clear enough to me, even if it's not easy: when I learn of my sins, I give them up for righteousness instead. Faith is believing that good things are true, that God can bring us to them: believing in life, love, friends, family, etc. I say that this is faith, and I also say it is much the same as Faith in Christ:

"And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them." - Moroni 7:24

So have faith, I say, and trust in the promise of faith:

"And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." - Moroni 7:33

The Resurrection of Christ

I did not expect to be writing concerning the Resurrection directly; it has always seemed a straightforward topic to me. But I've found a talk by an Apostle which lays out the doctrine of Christ's Resurrection so carefully and sweetly, and because it ties so nicely with what I have written on the spirit of man, I must include it here.


(You may also see the transcription here.)

The spirit body of man

It is interesting to me that I hear such different opinions on the topic of the spirit. To me it is simple: all things which are alive have a spirit, also known as the soul. The spirit and the body are like a hand in a glove; when the hand is removed, the glove is dead and unmoving. Likewise our body, when we die, disintegrates, but our spirit leaves our body to progress to the next world - the spirit world. There we await our resurrection, when our bodies are restored from corruption and reunited with our spirits, never again to be separated.

Such things are clear to me, I have known them from childhood. The Bible teaches these doctrines plainly:

"O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again." - 1 Kings 17:21, The prayer of Elijah to raise the widow's son.

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." - James 2:26

"By which also he [Christ] went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing..." - 1 Peter 3:19-20

 Perhaps there are even better references than these. (Any suggestions?) Here is another scripture, an account of the apostles seeing the resurrected Christ:

"And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." - Luke 24:36-39

 He also went on to eat some fish and honeycomb, to show, we may suppose, that he had a physical body capable of the most natural act of eating physical food. He was a resurrected being, and the first to ever have "lived again":

"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept... For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." - 1 Corinthians 15:20,22

There are many more things to discuss here, but I will have to return to finish this entry. It is getting late as I write now.

Angels

Who, my friends, are angels, these beings we have read about in scripture? And what is their purpose? Angels serve God in heaven, therefore their work is in ministering to the children of men on earth.

Angels have appeared in times past, and they still appear, and will always appear, so long as there are those with strong faith. Speaking of the last days, John the beloved wrote:

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people," - Revelation 14:6

An angel, Moroni, a resurrected being, appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith to guide him to obtain and translate the gold plates, which translation became the Book of Mormon. Moroni stands atop the temples of Christ's Church, sounding the trumpet to announce the restoration of the gospel.

Angel Moroni delivering the gold plates to Joseph Smith

Angel Moroni atop a modern temple

Temple in my hometown, San Diego

If we are faithful, we may one day become angels like Moroni. And even in this life, Christ calls us his "saints" if we follow him and are baptized, as is shown in the title of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. we can both learn as though from angels and teach with the tongue of angels:

"Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?
"Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ, for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." - 2 Nephi 32:2-3

Relevant notes:
-On the topic of the name of the Church: Christ revealed to his ancient disciples in the Americas that the church, if it taught his gospel, ought to be called in his name. (3 Nephi ##:##) In the Doctrine and Covenants, Christ revealed to Joseph Smith that the name of his modern church should be: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. (D&C ##:##)
-Angels, we have learned in modern revelation, look like men because they are, in fact, either the "spirits of just men made perfect" prior to their resurrection, or otherwise they are postmortal, resurrected men. (D&C 129:1-3) Also, "there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it." (D&C 130:5)
-The wings of angels, I take personally as a beautiful, poetic metaphor for the power, grace, glory, etc. of these heaven-sent beings. God himself is described metaphorically in Ruth, Psalms, and Malachi as having wings, and men too in Isaiah 40:31.

About this blog

This blog has been long in coming. I had been deliberating over what form and website to create what I wanted to make, but finally I just start writing. I'm learning that perfection doesn't come with sufficient preparation alone; it also requires after-the-fact rework. So, when I write a post, expect it to change as I correct mistakes and gain new insights. I want this to be a dynamic forum for exploration, sharing, and discussion, so please share your opinions in the comments and I will respond in kind. I need to get to know my audience, after all, or how can I know how to write to you?

In this blog I hope to develop my understanding and explore my hypotheses regarding spiritual truth. Spiritual truth encompasses the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the scriptures, modern revelation, and personal inspiration (when it comes from God). I aspire to base my content in facts and scripture, while still including my opinions, experiences, testimony, and outstanding questions.

Ideas for the blog? Topic suggestions?