Feasting on the Words of Christ

For a long time I've had no interest in studying my sctiptures.  It has really been an off and on struggle ever since my mission.  I made excuses why I couldn't or didn't have time, but the honest truth was I just didn't like it.  I never really felt fed by my scripture study experience and it had become drudgery.  Stories of people reading and not wanting to sleep or eat were incomprehensible to me.

Now I think I finally get it!  Last week was a ladies' meeting at my synagogue.  The meeting itself was alright, but as the meeting wound down me and another lady got to talking about her trying to decide whether or not our synagogue was the place for her.  She told me a couple comments I had made in our new members class she had appreciated and we got to talking about what we're each looking for and whether or not we feel like we're getting it at our synagogue.  Then our discussion turned toward some scriptural teachings, and we decided to go to my house to continue it.  We sat at my kitchen table across from each other and read many scriptures together and I understood certain scriptures in greater depth than I had before.  We talked and read for a couple hours.  I truely felt fed.  It had been a while since I've felt that way.  When she left I made dinner for my kids and went through nightly routines and when I got them to bed I realized I hadn't eaten since lunch, but being so fed spiritually I didn't actually hunger physically, and I went to bed content.

I'm still not great at reading daily, but I've had a taste and I want more, and I will figure out how to feed myself spiritually on a more regular basis.  This was like a feast after a fast.  I really want continual daily growth.  This was so joyful, I know I would love my life more if I feasted more regularly.

How do you carve out time to feast on the words of Christ?  May you eat and be filled regularly.  God bless you.

Things We Couldn't Say... at the Mormon Church

My sister from western Colorado asked if she could write a guest post, and she being my sister, I agreed.  Enjoy.

A Guest Post By Diane Cummings

I was recently told, by someone who believes himself to be in a position to know, that quoting Scripture in church is not okay. Apparently, only people who are "apostate" quote scripture. Or, at least, "apostates are really good at making it sound as though scripture justifies their position." I find this to be a very curious concept. Why, I wonder, would scripture sound like it is backing an alternative position so easily? I think it does back an alternative point of view; not because of twisting the meaning, but because of believing what the scripture literally says.

Let’s look at some real-life examples and see where it leads us.

YW Leader: So if you were suffering from depression, what should you do?
Beehive: I would pray.
YW Leader: Well, you could pray, but you should talk to the Bishop about it, because he has the authority.

What do scriptures say about this?

2 Nephi 28:5 says: "And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;"(emphasis mine).

This did have the desired effect, though, on the girls. Later, the same girl raised her hand to answer a question. When called upon, she only said, "Never mind." Ah, the sweet sound of a successfully stifled opinion.

How about this example?

Leader: How can you know if something is true?
Me: If it agrees with the word of God in the scriptures, it’s true. If it disagrees with those scriptures, then it isn’t true.
Leader: But you have to believe in modern revelation. If a modern prophet says something, it trumps the scriptures.
Me: No, it doesn’t. Scriptures win, every time.
Leader: Was Jesus a living prophet?
Me: Yes.
Leader (triumphant): And he trumped the scriptures!
Me: No, he didn’t. He lived the law perfectly.

There’s more to it than that, really. He kept the law of Moses. He fulfilled the law. He fulfilled the scriptures. He quoted the scriptures. He did not live, keep, or teach the traditions that had been allowed to replace the scriptures in importance. You see the difference? He kept the law as God told it to Moses, not the tradition taught by the Pharisees. He quoted the scriptures, not the leaders of the day. He did the work of his Father, not the work of his ecclesiastical leaders. We would be without a Savior if Jesus had put the will of men before the will of God; but he didn’t. He did the will of his Father. He fulfilled it all.

If, on the other hand, you say that anything a modern leader says can trump the scriptures, and you’re talking about some of the verses in 3 Nephi 11 where Jesus is teaching the people about baptism (which Leader did bring up), then what you’re really saying is that modern leaders can trump Jesus. Not okay. That is a real apostasy.

The following conversations are composite accounts of various real conversations, had recently between myself and said Leader.

Leader: In scripture Jesus says, when he was teaching the Nephites, "I declare unto you my doctrine." And a few verses later, he says, "And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil." So anything other than what the church teaches is apostasy.
Me: You skipped the verses that say what his doctrine actually is. In verses 30-35 of 3 Nephi 11, the passage you mentioned, we find out what the doctrine is: Do away with contention. Repent and believe in Jesus. Believe in him, and get baptized. We, as a church, have declared more than this and established it for doctrine. You have to repent, believe in him, pay your tithing, and not have gay parents. This is not what the scripture said.

In fact, the idea that you have to pay tithing to get baptized sounds a lot like Mormon 8:32, which says: "Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say: Come unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins." This is not a good thing, and the next verse continues the condemnation Moroni began back around verse 27. In verse 33 he goes on: "O ye wicked and perverse and stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches to get gain? Why have ye transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls? Behold, look ye to the revelations of God; for behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things must be fulfilled."

Leader: Isaiah 24:5 says: "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant." So we have to be really careful when dealing with apostates.
Me: In that verse it says the earth is defiled because the people have changed the ordinance. The church has changed the ordinances. The church has changed the endowment many times.
Leader: What do you mean by "the church?" Who do you mean?
Me: I mean the leaders.

Let’s take a closer look at this verse. Who, today, has "authority" to change the ordinances? The leadership of the church. Can the common members change the ordinance? No, only the leaders. Have the common members changed the endowment? No, the leaders have; although some of those changes were based on opinion polling and focus groups, which is a whole different topic. Have the common members changed the initiatory? No, the leaders have. All changes to wording, procedure, recordings, etc. in any of these ordinances has been done by the leadership. This verse is a warning to the leaders, and a caution to the lay members in listening to or following the leaders rather than following God.

Me: You really haven’t been very clear. How do I know if something I would say is "apostate" or not?
Leader: You ask me. I’ll tell you if it’s apostate doctrine.

A scripture applicable here would be 2 Nephi 26:29 – "He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain, and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion."

It seems to me that telling people to ask you, rather than to ask God, is setting yourself up as a light. Why is Leader the great source of all knowledge? They aren’t pointing us to God anymore. They point to themselves saying, "We know what is and is not okay. Ask us."

These examples are some of the reasons I choose a literal interpretation of scripture, rather than a tradition-protecting interpretation. I think the scriptures–and God–mean what they say. I have found this view of the scriptures is "good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding; yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me." (Alma 32:28, at the end) I cannot turn my back on God, even if it leads me in unexpected directions. I love the Lord and want to put him first in my life. I choose to put my trust in him, not in any mortal man. (2 Nephi 4:34) This is my desire and testimony.


Diane Cummings
4 Nov. 2016

Commandments of Health Really are Spiritual

I got a gym membership with childcare 3 days ago, and have gone twice now (so sore!) and am resting today (a Sunday).  I wanted to get in better shape so I would feel better about how I look, and have better energy and endurance to keep up with my kids.

Yesterday I was listening to something someone shared with me about how to receive a Second Comforter experience, and he talked about keeping the commandments and to keep them you have to search the scriptures to learn them.  A lot of things on this path I've not wanted to do my own research about, but have preferred to read or listen to the research of others.  Some things I have researched for myself (head coverings, early Relief Society) but when it came to a visit with God I didn't want to have to dig through the scriptures (honestly my mission almost ruined the scriptures for me largely due to the lack of freedom about what to study).  This morning my heart was softened, and I repented of this anti-scripture mentality and was going to start searching the old testament commandments.  So I went to Genesis Chapter 1, and a verse or two in after thinking I should remember to look for the "Joseph Smith Translation" footnotes, the Spirit said, "Then you should really start with Moses 1"  And there it is Moses encountering God and being physically exhausted afterwards.  And the Spirit said, "and you want to see God, but a couple little work outs at the gym leave you sore?  Do you really think you are ready for the physical toll of an encounter with God?"  And I remembered another part of the talk/interview I'd listened to he talked about the laws about what to eat having things in common with the word of wisdom, and there being a connection between health and spirituality.  And this was a HUGE "Ah ha" moment for me.  Surely ALL commandments ARE spiritual.  The LDS Church teaches the word of wisdom like a way to live longer, and sometimes that drugs and alcohol can interfere with feeling the influence of the Spirit, but this brings a whole new insight and reason to be healthy.  Joseph Smith was a farmer and they are strong!  And he was tired after encounters with God.  Now, I'll be working out with a completely different motivation than I started with!  If my health has been something preventing the ability to encounter the divine I will do what it takes to regain the physical stamina I once had before having kids.  Let God and your love for Them and your desire to return to Their presence motivate you to gain the physical stamina to be able to withstand such an encounter. 

The Truth About Relief Society Part 3: The Teachings of the Modern LDS Church

If you haven't first read Part 1 and Part 2, I recommend reading them first.  Part 2 will be directly referenced throughout Part 3.

In Daughters in My Kingdom, an LDS Church publication about the history of Relief Society, it talks about the founding of Relief Society and about Joseph Smith teaching the sisters it says, "The Prophet's teachings in this setting guided the work of the Relief Society sisters and the priesthood leaders who served them.  Those teachings continue to influence the work of the Church today."  (Daughters in My Kingdom, p. 17)  The purpose of this part is to analyze the truthfulness of this claim and see just how much Joseph Smith's teachings really influence us today.

 Gifts of the Spirit

We saw in Part 2 Joseph Smith teaching about the gifts of the Spirit coming straight from 1 Corinthians 12, and then expounding on it teaching all believers would manifest one or more of these gifts and the women were included.  And the gifts were tongues, the interpretation of tongues, prophesy, knowledge, wisdom, healing, and being healed.  But what are we taught in General Conference about spiritual gifts?

In "Life's Lessons Learned" by Joseph Wirthlin, he talks briefly in passing about the gifts of the Spirit, "We all possess spiritual gifts. Some are blessed with the gift of faith, others the gift of healing. In the body of the Church, all of the spiritual gifts are present. In my case, perhaps one of the spiritual gifts for which I am most grateful is that I have been blessed with an obedient spirit. When I heard wise counsel from my parents or Church leaders, I listened and tried to make it part of my thoughts and actions.

"Brethren of the priesthood, I urge you to cultivate the gift of an obedient spirit."An obedient spirit has never been referenced in the scriptures as a spiritual gift.  Obedience is a personal choice, and more of a character attribute than it is a gift of the Spirit.

In his talk "Eyes to See and Ears to Hear" Kim Clark talks about spiritual gifts and even the day of Pentecost in the New Testament.  "Just before His suffering in Gethsemane and on Calvary, Jesus made His disciples this remarkable promise: 'He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.^'

"Jesus fulfilled that promise: beginning with the day of Pentecost, the disciples were blessed with the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. Through their faith in Christ, repentance, and obedience, the Holy Ghost became their companion, changed their hearts, and blessed them with an abiding witness of the truth.

"These gifts and blessings strengthened the Lord’s disciples. Although the times they lived in were dangerous and confusing, they received the spiritual gift of eyes to see and ears to hear."  In actuality the day of Pentecost was accompanied by much more than "eyes to see and ears to hear."  It was an outpouring of the Spirit in which the apostles saw visions, and spoke in tongues and those listening through the interpretation of tongues each heard them in their own language.  Yes, in one sense this can be called "eyes to see and ears to hear" as the things they saw and heard were spiritual and only able to be seen and heard if one had the necessary gifts of the Spirit to do so.  As he continues it is obvious he doesn't mean for us to think we can receive the same visions and tongues and the interpretations, no he only thinks, "We need eyes to see more clearly the Savior working in our lives and ears to hear His voice more deeply in our hearts."  And while I agree with this statement I don't consider it to be the same in any way as the gifts of the Spirit and certainly not on par with or greater than the works of Christ as He promised His apostles.

Really it's hard to find many sources in modern teachings about spiritual gifts.  Some talks mention them in passing saying to seek them, but really not much if anything about what they are, or how to use them, or what each one should be used for.  The spiritual gifts found in the scriptures is just not expounded on because it is such a rare occurrence in the LDS Church for someone to actually have any of them, so if we talked about them and brought them to attention we would have to face the reality these gifts Christ promised to those who believe in Him are for the most part absent among us.  I would think that within each ward there would be at least one holding each gift so we could benefit one from another, but in all the several wards I've been in I have never heard of even one person who had and openly exercised their gift to benefit the ward.  Healing blessings I would receive would really be prayers for the doctor to do a good job.

Keys and Guarding Against Corruption in the Church

To quickly recap, Joseph Smith taught the sisters that both the Relief Society and the Church had the keys and that there were aspiring elders who had already led to corruption within the Church and warned them to guard against such things within their Society.  While a search for Spiritual Gifts conference talks generates about two and a half pages of results, a search for keys generates ten pages of talk titles to sort through. 

Spencer Kimball in his talk, "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" declared the comfort we should receive from this quote from Wilford Woodruff, "I say to Israel, the Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so he will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from his oracles of God and from their duty."  So not only is there no possibility of corruption but once someone gains the position of leading the Church they lose their agency and are incapable of leading the Church astray.  Many other bloggers have written about this topic so I will recommend you to them.

Searching for general conference talks about corruption results in talks referencing the evils and corruption that is in the world, never within the church or even warning to watch for it.  It simply isn't considered a possibility, or at least not one they want us to be aware of.  But they are more than happy to preach about the keys, and the fact that they are the only ones who have them.

Seeking the Presence of God

Joseph Smith taught the sisters that as they would be faithful they would receive angels, Christ and ultimately come to the presence of the Father all in this life.  It was clear he was talking about now and not some hypothetical or distant future.  Jörg Klebingat in his talk, "Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence" (I actually had hope reading the title.) expounds much more on how to have confidence than he does about approaching the throne of God.  In fact the only time he really talks about being in the presence of Christ or God is as a hypothetical question in his introduction and in his testimony at the end saying, "I testify of a loving Savior who is anxious for your 'confidence [to] wax strong in the presence of God.'"  Instead the body of his talk was about things like taking spiritual responsibility, exercise and eating right, embracing obedience, getting good at repenting and forgiving, and accepting trials as a part of mortality.  All of these things are great, but he neglected to tell us how they will aid us in approaching the throne of God, aside from having more confidence.     All other references I found were either about being in God's presence after the resurrection, or leaving it because of the Fall of Adam.  We no longer teach it as a possibility within this life.

So all these topics taught by Joseph Smith are largely ignored, set aside, or outright contradicted in the LDS Church's current teachings.  I could have done more research to collect more sources, but I found no joy, or light in the things I found and prefer going back to sources of light.  So Part 4 will resume teachings of Joseph Smith to the Relief Society in Navoo.

The Truth about Relief Society Part 2: Joseph Smith's Teachings

If you haven't already read Part 1 I recommend reading it first.

Joseph Smith's Teachings From the 6th Meeting

In the sixth meeting of the Female Relief Society of Navoo, Joseph Smith wished to address the sisters, but before doing so "That as his instructions were intended only for the Society; he requested that a vote should be taken on those present who were not members to ascertain whether they should be admitted." (JSP Navoo Relief Society Minute Book p. 34)  Some sisters were given a "no" vote and before proceeding with the meeting a committee was appointed to inquire about the objections. The committee returned at the end of the meeting to present their results and the objections against one of the women was removed. (ibid p. 41) (This could be examined too in relation to how "no" votes are handled now, but for that discussion I will just direct you here as the purpose of this post is only the topic of Relief Society.)  Joseph Smith wanting this teaching to only be for the Relief Society sisters, shows both the seriousness of the topic and a certain amount of what was going on in the church at the time as you will see.

In just the previous meeting one sister spoke in tongues, followed by a sister who interpreted, and one who prophesied, and after the conclusion of the meeting two sisters administered to one who was sick and healed her. (ibid p. 32-33)  Reports of this meeting came to Joseph and so he chose to address the sisters at the following meeting.  He taught from Corinthians about the gifts of the Spirit.  "He said the reason of these remarks being made, was, that some little thing was circulating in the Society, that some persons were not going right in laying hands on the sick etc.  Said if he had common sympathies, would rejoice that the sick could be healed." (ibid p. 35-36)  He continued on "no matter who believeth; these signs, such as healing the sick, casting out devils etc. should follow all that believe whether male or female.  He asked the Society if they could not see by this sweeping stroke, that wherein they are ordained, it is the privilege of those set apart to administer in that authority which is confired on them -- and if the sisters should have faith to heal the sick, let all hold their tongues, and let everything roll on." [emphasis added] (ibid p. 36)  Today in the Ordain Women movement women are only asking for what Joseph Smith gave them in the first place, and they are being excommunicated for doing so.  Joseph Smith continued to teach the sisters, "Respecting the female laying on hands, he remarked, there could be no devil in it if God gave His sanction by healing -- that there could be no more sin in any female laying hands on the sick than with wetting the face with water -- that it is no sin for anybody to do it that has faith, or if the sick has faith to be healed by the administration." (ibid p. 36)  He cautioned the sisters about speaking in tongues "If any have a matter to reveal let it be in your own tongue. Do not indulge too much in the gift of tongues, or the devil will take advantage of the innocent.  You may speak in tongues for your comfort but I lay this down for a rule that if any thing is taught by the gift of tongues it is not to be received for doctrine." (ibid p. 40-41) Joseph Smith taught the sisters in his day they had the same power to do the the same things as the men, because these were Spiritual Gifts that all who believe have access to.  And the spiritual gifts he spoke of were those found in the scriptures namely tongues, the interpretation of tongues, prophesy, knowledge, wisdom, healing, and being healed.

He next taught them about maintaining their proper place and order within their Society.  "President Smith continued by speaking of the difficulties he had to surmount ever since the commencement of the work in consequence of aspiring men 'big great Elders' as he called them, who had caused him much trouble, whom he had taught in private counsel and they would go forth into the world and proclaim the things he had taught them; as their own revelations -- Said the same aspiring disposition will be in this Society, and must be guarded against -- that every person should stand and act in the place appointed, and thus sanctify the Society and get it pure" He then spoke about not having long and not having many opportunities to teach them, "He spoke of delivering the keys to this Society and to the church." [emphasis added] (ibid p.37) If Emma and her counselors held keys as the leaders of the Relief Society they had just as much a claim to the continued line of authority as did the 12 apostles according to this quote.  And in the context of the church being plagued with aspiring men who had their own goals and not the welfare of the church in mind, the claim of these three sisters' authority might even be more legitimate.  "He said if one member becomes corrupt and you know it; you must immediately put it away.  The sympathies of the heads of the church have induced them to bare with those that were corrupt; in consequence of which all become contaminated --" (ibid p. 38)  No wonder Emma chose not to go west following after men her own husband admitted were corrupt and contaminated. This teaching to the sisters of the church shows that the leaders of the church were already embarking on the road to apostasy, and not only was it very possible for the church to be led astray it was something to very carefully be guarded against.

Joseph Smith also taught of the urgency and importance of doing good and seeking a relationship with God.  "If you do right, no danger of going too fast: he said he did not care how fast we run in the path of virtue.  Resist evil and there is no danger."  When after speaking of their gift for charity some quote often used in the church he continues with things you will never hear at church, "if you live up to your privilege, angels can not be restrained from being your associates -- females if they are pure and innocent can come into the presence of God; you must be innocent or you cannot come up before God.  If we would come before God let us be pure ourselves.  The Devil has great power -- he will so transform things as to make one gape at those who are doing the will of God -- you need not be tearing for their deeds, but let the weight of innocence be felt; which is more mighty than a millstone hung about the neck.  Not war, not jangle, not contradiction, but meekness, love, purity, these are the things that should magnify us. ... iniquity must be purged out -- then the veil will be rent and the blessings of heaven will flow down." (ibid p. 38)  Joseph Smith believed it was possible and wanted the sisters to come into the literal presence of God in this life.  It was something for them to strive for and seek.

Part 3 will contrast these teachings with what the LDS church teaches today.

"The Lord maketh no such things known unto us..."

How many of us go to class studying the Book of Mormon, and we talk about how great Nephi is, and how bad Laman and Lemuel are, but then when it comes to having the faith that we can have visions just as Nephi did we hear things like, "But most of us just get a feeling in our heart."  Or even this quote from a general authority which was then quoted by other general authorities stating:  "[We] should [bear] in mind that some of the General Authorities have had assigned to them a special calling; they possess a special gift; they are sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators, which gives them a special spiritual endowment in connection with their teaching of the people. They have the right, the power, and authority to declare the mind and will of God to his people, subject to the over-all power and authority of the President of the Church. Others of the General Authorities are not given this special spiritual endowment and authority covering their teaching; they have a resulting limitation, and the resulting limitation upon their power and authority in teaching applies to every other officer and member of the Church, for none of them is spiritually endowed as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Furthermore, as just indicated, the President of the Church has a further and special spiritual endowment in this respect, for he is the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator for the whole Church."  In other words, "The Lord maketh such things known unto us (The First presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), but ye need not inquire of the Lord for He maketh no such things known unto you. Now sit down, be quiet, and follow the damn prophet!  oops, I mean our beloved prophet."  We hear this sort of thing so much that even when we try to shake off the chains of unbelief we still fall into this trap on a subconscious level.  Only the church's elite are allowed to receive revelation and if you think you did then you are obviously getting it from the wrong source.  At least this is what they want us to think.  But who are we to tell God who he can and can't give certain spiritual gifts to?  If God wants to He can call and make anyone worthy a prophet, or seer, or revelator.  Does being sustained automatically give you those gifts?  No, it only gives you the responsibility to seek them out.

We hear this idea so often that we start to believe it.  It's most typical form is the admonition to follow the prophet instead of following the Spirit and the direct revelation we can receive from God for ourselves.  I remember a time when being taught to confirm the truth of things taught was a normal occurrence.  Now that seems to have faded from our teaching with a huge emphasis on following the prophet replacing it.  As I've been trying to increase my relationship with God, and remove all the unbelief I thought this was the first thing to go.  It has to go to make room for the belief in personal revelation.  But as I was discussing with some friends a frustration I have about not knowing what to do with my Sundays as a family to make it a better day of worship, one person talked about having the Lord guide what we should do.  And the first thought that came to my mind was that the Lord wouldn't tell me, and that I couldn't get the guidance I wanted from Him.  Then I had a huge epiphany.  "Oh my goodness!  I am Laman and Lemuel!  I've had this idea drilled into me so much I've come to believe like they did that, 'The Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.' (1 Nephi 15:9)"  When reading the scriptures it becomes clear that the reason God didn't talk to Laman and Lemuel is because they never humbled themselves to ask.  Each of Lehi's sons could have had Nephi's vision for themselves but Nephi was the only one who asked for it. 

For every step forward I make I have to fight off an old paradigm that has kept me in spiritual bondage and has been inhibiting my progress.  This deeply ingrained belief that the most God will ever guide me is through vague feelings and never a more direct revelation has held me back on many occasions.  Everyone has every right to receive revelation and in ways that are more than just feelings. Anyone who tells you they are between you and the Lord is seeking to put you into spiritual bondage under them.  If God is the leader let us each be led directly by Him!  The ONLY middle man in your salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ himself.  He is the middle man because He did the work.  He paid for your sins after He lived a perfect life.  And praise be to the Father for sending Him.  We each have a spiritual mission in this life to fulfill, and if we continue to believe that we can't get our own revelation for our own life we will never come to a place that God can teach us what it is and how to fulfill it.  Now awake and arise from the dust.  Shake off the chains which have you bound.  Fear not but be believing.  Whatever heartaches you have to bare will bring you that much closer to the Savior who carried the ultimate heartache, even the sins of the world.  And He will be your comfort as you bare yours.

"Be not children in understanding..."

Last night I went shopping and brought along my oldest (4) son. When we were in the parking lot at the first store we went to he saw the full moon and got very excited pointed at it saying "Mom, mom, the moon, moon!"
"Yes, sweetie, it's a full moon tonight."
At the next store he saw it again and exclaimed, "Mom, mom, another moon! Two moons, mom!" I explained it was the same moon and we could just see it from another location, but he was sure he was right, "No mom, two moons!"

How often do we think we are right when we might not be?  From our observations and limited understanding the conclusion we come to seems the only one that could be true.  It has to be right.  It makes so much sense.  Of course there's two moons.  I saw one and it was in one place, and now I see another in a totally different place.  It must be another moon.  There's just no other logical explanation!  (At least none that a four-year-old can understand.)  But if when he gets older he never allows me to teach him differently there are many other things he will also lack understanding about, because one false conclusion will lead to many others.  Now, as a parent I'm not too worried about this.  As his brain develops he will be capable of understanding different concepts than he can now.  I expect he will give up the idea that there are two moons long before he enrolls in a college astronomy class.  For all I know he will forget the idea completely by the end of the week.

Sometimes when it comes to the gospel we seem to be satisfied with the understanding of a child, and have quit seeking after the mysteries of God.  We're perfectly satisfied thinking there are two moons, and how dare God try to tell us otherwise.  The apostle Paul wrote, "Brethren, be not children in understanding, howbeit, in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men." (1Cor. 14:20)  How do we gain greater understanding than that of a child?  First we must be willing to put aside foolish or childish notions when presented with new knowledge.  We must be humble enough to admit when we are wrong, and be willing to follow a different path when we learn a better way.  And then be willing to do it yet again, and again, as we come to better and better understandings of God's truths.  Sometimes we have to be patient while walking a new path for the understanding to come as to why we are on this new path.  God might give us a new instruction and we might have to follow it for some time before he enlightens our minds with the understanding we are seeking.  But He will give it to us when we are ready.  We have to trust in His promises that He will teach us here a little and there a little.  This means that we must live in such a way that we are preparing to receive greater understanding.  If we are given a new instruction and do not follow it we show God that we are satisfied with our childish understanding and don't want the further light and knowledge He has to offer us.  The more we follow God the more He will continue to teach us.

The decision to think we know enough is the most dangerous decision we can make in this life.  That is when we will start to lose even that which we have.  Repentance is ultimately when we choose to soften our heart and say to God, "I'm sorry I've been dwindling and stagnating.  Please give me strength to change and teach me more about Thy kingdom."

In the pursuit of understanding a personal revelation journal is key.  The first place to seek more knowledge is in the scriptures.  Are we reading them to check them off a to do list, or do we come to them with a question, search out the topic we need particular growth in, and pray and ponder on it as we read so we can be inspired as to what to change in that aspect of our life?  Another way to seek knowledge and understanding is through prayer.  Our prayers need to be real two way communication with God.  Ask Him a question and wait for the answer.  Write the answer in your journal even while you are still in the act of praying.  Prayer doesn't always have to be kneeling with eyes shut and arms folded.  That is what we teach our children so they will stop poking each other and making faces.  If we as adults still have to do this just to focus on our prayer then we've not grown beyond a child's understanding of prayer, and will consequently never get much more than a child's answers.  You can walk, and write and still be in the act of praying, and it becomes a powerful tool when used together with a revelation journal.  Prayer and scripture study might be typical answers but they don't have to be done the typical way.  Do what feels right for you and your journey.

As always, I love you.  These are the things that have helped me in my journey, and I hope they will help you in yours.  Let us all progress beyond a child's understanding as we seek a real relationship with our Savior, and Redeemer.