Transitioning to Eternal Life

It has been nearly a year since I returned home from my two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  These are some thoughts I submitted as a response to the church's magazine, The Ensign.  I don't know that they will be published, but I can at least share them here:

Carefully examining my reflection in the mirror, my heart was filled with joy and determination as I placed the black tag on my shirt pocket.  This was a daily sacrament for me, a time when I could remember and rejoice that I was a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I refused to ever think that my time as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints would ever come to an end; then it did.  In a small room at church, just before Sacrament Meeting, my Stake President commended my efforts and then released me from my calling.  He told me to remove my tag and left me alone to do so.  I knelt in prayer to thank God for the blessing of being His missionary, and then took the tag from my pocket for the last time as tears flowed across my cheeks.  I was sad, but simultaneously filled with a determination to never turn back now that my hand was placed to the plow.  The words of Elder David A. Bednar echo the feelings of my heart in that moment, “A release as a full-time missionary is a call to serve as a lifelong missionary.” (Becoming a Preach My Gospel Missionary, from a devotional address given at the Provo MTC on June 24, 2011)

As I have moved forward with that determination over the past year, the Lord has taught me some invaluable lessons of how to continue down the path of discipleship.  I hope that I can illustrate the doctrines and principles from my experiences that can be applied to every situation.

Oftentimes I would dread talking with people because they would inevitably ask me some question that was impossible to answer in words.  The mission, like all experiences with the divine, is an experience that cannot be fully communicated from one person to another; it must be experienced personally, and everyone wanted a summary of thirty seconds in casual conversation.  The most antagonizing question, though, was this: “How are you adjusting to real life?”  

Such a question implied that people wanted me to adjust, or settle, to a lower standard of living than what I had just experienced.  The thought was terrifying, because it promoted the thought that the mission really was the best two years of life, and there was nothing to look forward to now that it was over.  Instead of adopting that attitude, I determined that I would continue progressing forward.  Rather than adjusting to my surroundings, I would transition to an even higher standard and lift others up.  Then when people would ask that question, I would give a polite response and inwardly think, “I have been adjusting to eternal life very well over the past two years, how about you?” This helped me to remember that a disciple of Christ continues ever onward in his progression, and never goes back to what he was before turning his heart to God.

One of the driving factors of that progress as a missionary was the clear vision that I had of who I was and what was expected of me in that time period.  That vision quickly fades when we leave the structure of the mission, unless we do something about it.  After crossing the Jordan River with Joshua, the Israelites raised an ebenezer, a stone of remembrance of what God had done for them.  Following the counsel of wise leaders, I have raised my own ebenezers as consistent reminders that I am a son of God, a disciple of Christ, and that the Lord has worked many miracles for me in my life. An ebenezer might be a picture of Christ, pictures from our missions, a record of blessings and miracles in a daily journal, or anything that helps us remember.  I always have my black tag where I can see it daily and remember that even though it is not written for others to see, the Savior’s name is still written upon my heart.  Remembering these things helps me to see how my mission began before I ever had a black tag on my pocket, indeed even before this life began, and it will continue today, tomorrow, and forever.  I can then continue with a motivation to pray earnestly, feast upon the scriptures, and serve the Lord’s children each day of my life.

During my mission I had the misconception that I would never have opportunities to learn and grow so fully and rapidly as I did during those two years.  I testify that our rate of progress can be accelerated after our missions if we will apply what we were taught on our missions.  The structure and rules of mission life placed a protective guard around our personal agency so that we could learn willing obedience in a safe environment.  When we return home that structure of accountability is removed.  With that increased freedom, we have the potential to fall farther or rise higher than ever before.  In other words, when the consequences (good or bad) administered by the church itself and the men within it become less imposing, the spiritual consequences of the same divine laws increase.  As we continue to consecrate ourselves and obey willingly throughout our lives, our freedom increases and our rate of growth increases.  This is part of the process of becoming like our Father in Heaven, who has a divine mastery of His moral agency.  Returning home from a mission requires us to either turn to the Lord for an increased vision of His will for us or settle for mediocrity.  If we desire it, God will direct us in how to move forward and the Savior’s Atonement will empower us to carry out every command we receive by the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  As members of His church trained by missionary service, we are called to serve.

LDS Bible Videos - Parable of the Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan

"Charity isn't an act but a condition or state of being." - Dallin H. Oaks

The story of The Good Samaritan as recorded in Luke chapter 10 is an oft told tale.  The man in dire straits on the side of the path is ignored by his own people, the Jews, but is loved and saved by one who was despised by the Jews: a Samaritan.  What is that could motivate a man to reach out to his enemy in such love?  What could have prepared this Samaritan to do what the even the Jews would not do for one of their own?  Such an act comes with consistent personal preparation and a willingness to act according to the thoughts of God even when they contradict the thoughts and traditions of men.

One experience I had in Mexico City taught me this principle very clearly.  Being one of the three most populated cities in the world and having a high poverty rate, Mexico city is home to countless beggars.  Many of these people are sincere in their needs, many are seeking money to fuel their vices and addictions, and those they solicit are often unable to discern between the truly needy and the deceptive greedy.  I often gave a peso or two as I could just to avoid conflict and to help those who might actually need it, but because my logic and the thoughts of man taught that giving money to beggars does not help them.  I don't dispute that, but one night I realized that this is not always true.  The thoughts of God impressed upon my spirit led me to act in a way very opposite of what I considered to be correct.  Several of us gringos (foreigners) went to el Palacio de Bellas Artes, a very ritzy theater in the center of Mexico City.

As we waited for our taxi outside the theater after watching a presentation of traditional Mexican dances, a very poor and desperate man approached our group.  He told us of how he was taught that he should work for all of his money and he was ashamed to be begging.  He was stranded far from home, and he was ill.  His plea was rapid and seemed rehearsed, but he then broke into tears as the shame of what he had to do overcame him.   The thought was clear in mind, "Give him money."  He thanked me and then walked away.  My thoughts couldn't turn away from him, though, and I continued to watch him as he was rejected by countless people of his own country.  I knew that I hadn't done enough; he need someone to pray with him.  One of our group had an extra copy of El Libro de Mormon (The Book of Mormon), so two of us approached the beggar where he was pleading in vain with another group and told him we had something more to give to him.  His first words were, "¿Ustedes son cristianos?" ("Are you Christians?").  As we confirmed that we were he asked that we would pray with him, so I was given an opportunity to follow the impression I received as I placed my arm around his shoulder and prayed for my brother I had just met.  As I looked into his face after our prayer, I could see that the desperation in his face had been replaced with peace.

He expressed gratitude and told us that he had begun reading in the Bible just fifty days prior to our meeting; he had turned his life to God.  As we gave him the Book of Mormon, he pressed it to his lips and then carefully guarded in his arms the remainder of the time that we were speaking.  He was overjoyed to have a second testament of our Savior Jesus Christ, and he could feel from our words, and even more from our actions, that our testimonies of Christ, of the restoration of Christ's church, and of the Book of Mormon were true.  We were about to leave, and he praised God for sending us to provide for him the blessing he had sought at the Lord's hand - we were the foreigners who had done for him what his own people would not.  The gratitude he had for what had transpired motivated me to place my last $200pesos into his hand as we parted.  He merely wept and thanked God as we made our way to our taxi.

This blessing to serve another came to me simply because I recognized that the Lord was placing thoughts in my mind and heart that were foreign to my own logic, and I followed.  I had prepared myself through study of the scriptures, prayer, repentance, and consistently seeking for opportunities to serve in my daily life.  The Lord had filled me with compassion drop by drop over days of such preparation and experiences, and then when a poor, wayfaring man of grief crossed my path I was unable to turn him away.  Had I filled my time with seeking my own pleasures and worldly pursuits, my thoughts would not have yielded to the subtle impressions of the Spirit of God.  We must all learn from this beggar, and give glory to God and humble ourselves to plead for His mercy and compassion daily.  If we will beg with desire, sincerity, and gratitude, then we will become compassionate; we will be instruments in the hands of God to answer the prayers of His children.

In Luke 10:33 it says of the Samaritan, "he had compassion on him," (emphasis added).  It doesn't say that he developed compassion, found compassion, decided to have compassion, or that compassion magically appeared in his heart at that moment.  He had compassion already.  This wasn't the singular defining moment of the Good Samaritan's life, it was simply an expression of who he already was and a step further down the path of who he was already striving to be.  At some point in his life, the Samaritan had felt the hand of the Master upon him, and his spirit likely felt an ineffable intimation within his soul calling him to follow in the footsteps of the Savior.  The choice to have compassion, the choice to be a witness of God in all times, in every circumstance, and in every action was made long before the Good Samaritan found himself serving his enemy on the road to Jericho.  So, too, must we answer the call and become disciples of Christ.

1. A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief
   LDS Hymns, 29
   
   
   1. A poor, wayfaring Man of grief
   Hath often crossed me on my way,
   Who sued so humbly for relief
   That I could never answer nay.
   I had not pow'r to ask his name,
   Whereto he went, or whence he came;
   Yet there was something in his eye
   That won my love; I knew not why.
2. 2. Once, when my scanty meal was spread,
   He entered; not a word he spake,
   Just perishing for want of bread.
   I gave him all; he blessed it, brake,
   And ate, but gave me part again.
   Mine was an angel's portion then,
   For while I fed with eager haste,
   The crust was manna to my taste.
3. 3. I spied him where a fountain burst
   Clear from the rock; his strength was gone.
   The heedless water mocked his thirst;
   He heard it, saw it hurrying on.
   I ran and raised the suff'rer up;
   Thrice from the stream he drained my cup,
   Dipped and returned it running o'er;
   I drank and never thirsted more.
4. 4. 'Twas night; the floods were out; it blew
   A winter hurricane aloof.
   I heard his voice abroad and flew
   To bid him welcome to my roof.
   I warmed and clothed and cheered my guest
   And laid him on my couch to rest,
   Then made the earth my bed and seemed
   In Eden's garden while I dreamed.
5. 5. Stript, wounded, beaten nigh to death,
   I found him by the highway side.
   I roused his pulse, brought back his breath,
   Revived his spirit, and supplied
   Wine, oil, refreshment--he was healed.
   I had myself a wound concealed,
   But from that hour forgot the smart,
   And peace bound up my broken heart.
6. 6. In pris'n I saw him next, condemned
   To meet a traitor's doom at morn.
   The tide of lying tongues I stemmed,
   And honored him 'mid shame and scorn.
   My friendship's utmost zeal to try,
   He asked if I for him would die.
   The flesh was weak; my blood ran chill,
   But my free spirit cried, "I will!"
7. 7. Then in a moment to my view
   The stranger started from disguise.
   The tokens in his hands I knew;
   The Savior stood before mine eyes.
   He spake, and my poor name he named,
   "Of me thou hast not been ashamed.
   These deeds shall thy memorial be;
   Fear not, thou didst them unto me."
   
   
   Text: James Montgomery, 1771-1854

   Music: George Coles, 1792-1858, alt.

   Hymn sung prior to the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith. See History of the Church, 6:614-15.

Falling Upward

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall."

-Confucius

Christ Walking On The Water

Julius Sergius von Kleve

FALLING UPWARD

Children stumble and fall as they learn to walk as men walk; men stumble and fall as they learn to walk as Christ walks.  If we find that we aren't falling, it may simply mean that we've not yet stood up.  Children are not punished for falling, but rather their parents applaud their efforts.  We are not punished for falling; rather Christ rejoices in our efforts to walk in his footsteps.  I once heard it said that "Christ allows us to hit rock bottom so that we can realize He is the rock."  Punishment is the natural result of our choice stop trying, to stop getting up.  Such rebellion against continued effort will eventually cause us to stop falling, but only because we will have become lower than all things; when we stop falling, we stop rising upward.

Falling upward is a phenomenon that is foreign to the natural laws taught to us by science.  Even our examples above demonstrate that getting up is a separate event from falling down.  The human race first progressed by falling. "Adam fell that man might be," (2 Nephi 2:25, emphasis added).  I don't know how to explain it, but despite the fact that I sin, or fall, every day; when I look back from time to time I see that I am on higher ground than before I fell.  Somehow, falling itself empowers us to progress in a way that climbing alone cannot do.  Author, James L. Ferrell phrased it this way, "the humility of those who found happiness by falling down rendered the pride of the world powerless," (Ferrell, Falling to Heaven).  This happiness in falling is found only when we fall at the feet of Him who redeemed us, even Jesus Christ.  It is by grace that we are lifted upward when we fall.

The lyrics of Josh Groban's song, "Let Me Fall," illustrate this relationship between falling and progressing.

"Let me fall

Let me climb

There's a moment when fear

And dreams must collide

"Someone I am

Is waiting for courage

The one I want

The one I will become

Will catch me. . . .

"Let me fall

If I fall

There's no reason

To miss this one chance

This perfect moment

Just let me fall"

"Teach-repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin . . ."

(Moroni 8:10).  As we grow and learn, our accountability, or responsibility, for our mistakes and sins increase, and the consequence of falling is greater.  If we were left on our own without the aid of the Atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, any fall would be fatal - we would have been better off if Adam and Eve had remained in a non-progressing state in Eden and had we never existed.  The good news, though, is that Christ paid the price for all of our falling ways, and He only asks that we obey Him.  He has commanded us that we come unto Him by repentance and baptism in His church and that walk in accordance to His example and teachings.  By His sacrifice we are strengthened to obey, and we are forgiven for our failures.  The greatest challenge is simply to choose Him and commit in heart and mind that we will continue to choose Him throughout our lives.  It is that commitment that allows our dreams of becoming like our Father in Heaven and living in His Kingdom can overcome our fears when the moment of collision takes place.  Let us commit to Him.

One might ask, "How can one who is perfect truly understand the struggles and pay the price for one who is capable of committing sin?"  We must again look at the criteria given by the prophet Moroni, "those who are accountable and capable of committing sin," (Moroni 8:10, emphasis added).  Those with enough understanding to be accountable for their actions are capable of sinning.  Christ had a perfect understanding of all things, thus He was perfectly accountable for every action he made.  As I see it, Christ was more capable of sinning than any of us, and even still He perfectly demonstrated a life without sin.  If there is anyone that can teach us of limited understanding how to live without sin, it is Jesus Christ.  Fall before Him and see how your life turns upward, oriented toward

salvation and exaltation in the Kingdom of God.