"Gratitude in Every Circumstance"

My parents are serving the Lord in Africa. Sometimes it is very rewarding, and other times depressingly difficult. To anyone who is having difficulties in life right now, this talk offers some advice that you might find helpful in your moment of hardship. Reading/watching a conference talk ... it really works!

https://www.lds.org/…/2014/04/grateful-in-any-circumstances…

Here is one of my favorite parts:

"This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us... It blooms just as beautifully in the icy landscape of winter as it does in the pleasant warmth of summer."

I remember a two day hike I went on as a boy scout with my troop. We were doing some difficult climbs and practicing our repelling, and to make the trek easier we decided to bring our sleeping bags without our tents. After the first day's journey, we camped on the gentle slope of a stretch of pure granite rock. It could have been ideal -- my father and I, our group of friends, and all of us resting peacefully under the stars in their natural brilliance -- but then it began to rain! Each camper had to do what he could to waterproof his bag. I borrowed two large trash bags to cover mine, but I'm pretty sure they didn't do much. Surrounded by the sound of rain and by the cold, damp water creeping in at the seams, I found sleep impossible and was miserable through most of the night. 

We got up early and hung up the bags to dry, and mine was the worst: the water ran off in a constant stream. The frigid air made packing difficult, but one of the younger adult leaders, Brother Bach gave me a hand. We squeezed all the water we could from the sleeping bag, rolled it into my backpack, and set out for civilization.






I was grateful to be moving again, and I was finally feeling warm and dry! And yet, talking it over with Brother Bach, he said he'd had a blast that night. I was confused. "Well, I was soaked, cold and wet," I said, "and could hardly sleep. Why weren't you miserable too?"

"I was also cold and wet and miserable," he replied, "but I still had a blast!"

We walked on, and I thought about his response. And I began to understand. He had had the same challenges, but he was simply the kind of person who looked at life, even the tough spots, as a wonderful adventure!

"In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace.

"We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?

"Being grateful in times of distress does not mean that we are pleased with our circumstances... Being grateful in our circumstances IS AN ACT OF FAITH in God."

Techniques of Gospel Teaching

In June 14th of this year (2015), I taught the Gospel Essentials class, on the topic of faith. It was a straightforward lesson, focused on the text of the Gospel Principles manual, and more especially, on the scriptures referenced therein. As I reflected on the half-hour of teaching time, I decided that I had done a good job, but that I could also stand to improve upon my skills at engaging the audience. I recalled a training video we had watched at our latest stake conference, which had given direction to teachers about balancing classroom-wide discussion with focus on key doctrines:

"Sometimes I feel we think that if we had a discussion, we did the job, and it's over. And it seems to me these discussions all need to lead to an inspired conclusion, that's doctrinally-based."

In my case, I taught with a direct, leading style. While I invited questions and comments, I noted that the class was especially reticent. Some more encouragement could have made a valuable difference in the dynamic, and made the lesson more inspiring and thought-provoking. What could I do better next time, I wondered, in such a situation? I found an answer in the next thought from the training:

"[Discussion] often starts with a good question. And I think we've learned that the caliber of the answers is often related to the caliber of the question."

Ah, yes! A good teacher will ask inspired questions. I recall asking several questions, but they were on the fly and seldom really meaningful. Next time, I can plan out some really meaningful, engaging questions ahead of time. And this is all described in Chapter 2 of the missionary teaching manual, Preach My Gospel! I love when personal experience confirms the value of something I read. (Speaking of personal experiences, it may also have helped to have thought of a few ahead of time, to illustrate the principles.)

Although it's hard to do, PMG also teaches that a good gospel teacher must also live the gospel. The teaching helps with the living, of course, by the feelings and thoughts it inspires, but the living also helps with the teaching. It seems that people will learn more, in the long run, from what I do outside of the classroom, than from what I say in the short time we spend together within it. A lesson for life! Our private decisions play a large part in determining our public influence. How much more, when teaching about aspects of our character, should I be in practice with that aspect? I am sure that my abilities to relate about faith in the class certainly benefited from my efforts to live the principle, and the more I had been engaged with it, the better I could have conveyed its value and truth.

Elder Holland wrapped up the video training meeting by quoting Paul and Christ and calling teaching "about as fundamental a task as we have in the gospel, from earliest childhood to our senior citizen days." He said that we are all the product of whatever it is we have been taught, and testified that the Savior was the Master Teacher.

The Substance of Government, and What Follows

I rarely discuss politics. Perhaps it is because I often disagree with what is commonly said. It's not a reason not to talk about the disagreements, of course, but I like to avoid the conflict when I can. My strategy of avoidance, I know, will only be a temporary one. I knowingly put the conflict aside until a time of maturity, a time when the benefits of the resolution of differences outweighs the costs of the conversation. So today I make an experiment in my blog, and raise a political topic which has found its way again into my thoughts. Consider this quote by a well-known AI scientist, mathematician and rationalist:

"The substance of a democracy is the specific mechanism that resolves policy conflicts.  If all groups had the same preferred policies, there would be no need for democracy—we would automatically cooperate." --Eliezer Yudkowsky

Now read the quote again, but substituting 'government' for 'democracy'. Does having a successful community/nation rely more upon mutual policy agreement, or upon having an adequate mechanism for resolving disputes (an adequate government)? Promoter of good government have an interest in convincing people that government is necessary absolutely, but government as a mechanism of conflict resolution is clearly not necessary amidst a people who have no conflicts, and is little necessary for a people with few conflicts. Consider this quote by Joseph Smith, Founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in response to the (paraphrased) question, "How are you, one man, able to govern so many people so effectively?":

"I teach the people correct principles, and they govern themselves."

Is it the best we can do solely to promote the right kind of national government? Or is it a time to remind ourselves that the better we govern ourselves -- our inner selves, our interpersonal relationships, our families, our communities, our cities and counties and states -- the less need we have for government on a higher level? (I am setting aside international relations for brevity's sake.)

Governments resolve conflict, but we pay a price in taxes, displacement of labor from the work force, and less-than-ideal compromises. They have assisted us through the centuries, but they are not sufficient. The quest of government, the quest for lasting peace and prosperity, takes peace, love, trust, understanding, and every true principle, and it starts within the minds and hearts of people like you and me.

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