Mormon Life - Sunday School

Old Testament Lesson 36: The Glory of Zion Will Be a Defense

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: The more I love Isaiah, the more I love the Savior, and the more I love the Savior, the more I love Isaiah. Introduction This amazing thing happens in 1st Nephi.

"And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah . . ." (IN 19:23)

Think of that! Nephi is reading Isaiah to Laman and Lemuel to help the believe in the Lord their Redeemer. They probably understood his language and his idioms better than we do, but those were not the elements that would increase their testimonies. Nephi must have believed that even hard-hearted and backsliding Israelites could be encouraged and fortified spiritually by reading Isaiah. And if it will work for Laman and Lemuel, it will clearly work for us. I know it has worked for me. The more I love Isaiah, the more I love the Savior, and the more I love the Savior, the more I love Isaiah.

I am excited by the opportunity to discuss this remarkable prophet in the next few lessons. I hope you are too. I have learned that I can learn to understand his teachings. The task requires attention and exertion, but the results are certainly worth the effort.

If you have a few moments, open your scriptures to Isaiah and begin reading in any place. You will not have read far before you find stirring and powerful testimonies of the Savior. For example:

(12:5) Thou has done excellent things
(25:1) Thou hast done wonderful things
(8:12) His hand is stretched out still
(6:3) Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory
(40:18) To whom then will ye liken God?
(40:31) They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength
(42:6) The Lord . . . will hold thy hand and will keep thee, and will give thee for a covenant of the people, and a light of the Gentiles.

There is at least one other important reason for making a careful search of this book.

"It just may be that my salvation (and yours also!) does in fact depend upon our ability to understand the writings of Isaiah as fully and truly as Nephi understood them" (Bruce R. McConkie, "Ten Keys to Understanding Isaiah," Ensign, Oct. 1973, 78).

I. ISAIAH DESCRIBES THE CONDITIONS OF THE WORLD IN THE LAST DAYS. Much of Isaiah appears to be trans-generational. The messages apply equally well to his day and to ours. The warnings are clear.

"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it" ( 1:19,20).

Israel has often refused and rebelled.

"Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment" (Isaiah 1:5,6).

Isaiah writes to a society that is almost terminally ill. The culture is filled with disease. Why?

"Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers" (2:6)

The footnote for "be replenished from the east" (6a) says, "are filled, supplied with teachings, alien beliefs." The footnote for "please themselves in" (6c) says, "strike hands with, or make a covenant with . . ." Do we allow ourselves to be influenced by alien teachings? Do we make covenants with the children of strangers?

Other descriptions of the world in the latter days are given in the Gospel Doctrine Manual. I will write the references here for those who do not have that book.

1:3-5
1:11-15
2:7-8
2:11-12
3:5
3:9
3:14-15
3:16-24
5:8
5:11,12
5:20
5:21
5:24

You will find other descriptions throughout Isaiah. Watch for them. Ponder them and try to find application in your own life.

II. ISAIAH COUNSELS THE FAITHFUL TO STAND IN HOLY PLACES. The conditions mentioned in Isaiah saturate the world, but in Isaiah 4:5,6, Isaiah tells us how to find safety from these conditions.

"And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion , and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain" (Isaiah 4:5,6; this passage is a bit clearer in 2N14:5,6).

Isaiah here identifies three places that will protect us from heat and storm and rain—from the spiritual assaults that will confront us in every other part of our lives. They are (1) every dwelling place of mount Zion , (2) her assemblies, and (3) a tabernacle [the temple]. Can you see why these places will assist us in our efforts of repulse the world. Our homes, our gatherings of saints, and our temples, are places where we can control the environment. And since we live in a world were Satan "maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about" (D&C 76:29),we must have places were we can find refuge. These holy places are the very opposite of the world which becomes less and less holy with each passing moment.

D&C 45:32

"But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die."

D&C 87:8

"Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen."

D&C 101:22

"Behold, it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy places . . ."

Isaiah provides a wonderful prophecy about temples in his writings:

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:2,3).

This prophecy must be a reference to all the temples now in use.

"Elder McConkie noted that the gathering of Israel referred to in Isaiah, with mention of the mountain of the Lord's House 'in the tops of the mountains,' is figurative language for places where temples will be built."

"'The gathering of Israel is into the stakes of Zion in the nations of the earth. This temple is a fulfillment, as far as Australia is concerned, of that prophecy of Isaiah. It is just as literal a fulfillment as the building of the temple in Salt Lake'" ("News of the Church," Ensign, Oct. 1982, 77).

Isaiah has something else to say about the blessings of the last days. This prophecy follows right after the temple passages quoted above.

"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (2:4).

This is a description of a millennial condition, but the language in which it is presented is instructional. What would happen if we were to take all the revenue now being used in this world for military affairs and apply it to the solving of social issues like hunger?

In the Gulf War, which lasted seven weeks, about $70 billion was spent. For example, one Tomahawk Cruise Missile costs $750,000. We used 288 in the war. The AGM-88 HARM missile costs $200,000. We fired at least 1000 of them. And so on.

The Plain Truth from March 1987 observed the following:

--1 M-16 automatic rifle costs $660. With that money you could purchase 82 garden spades at $8.00 each.

--1 M-1 Abrams Tank costs 2,800,000. That money could purchase 6,222 farm bullocks at $450 each

--1 F-15 fighter jet rings in at $27,000,000. 1,350 78 horsepower tractors at $20,000 each would ring in at the same price. The bill for I trident missile submarine is 2,000,000,000. That amount would purchase 25,000 homes at $80,000 each.

"American statesman Charles Sumner, commenting on the cost of war, once said: 'Give me the money that has been spent on war, and I will clothe every man, woman, and child in an attire of which kings and queens would be proud. I will build a schoolhouse in every valley over the whole earth. I will crown every hillside with a place of worship, consecrated to the gospel of peace.'" (Gordon B. Hinckley, "In Grateful Remembrance," Ensign, Mar. 1971, 20).

III. ISAIAH DESCRIBES THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL IN THE LATTER DAYS. The scattering of Israel is a product of her wickedness. In spite of the unceasing efforts of God to redeem his people, Israel will not submit.

"What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant" (5:4-7).

Isaiah intersperses his descriptions of the apostasy and/or rebellion of Israel with warm and moving invitations from the Lord to Israel, invitations like this one:

"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:16-18).

Isaiah 5:26-29 is a description of the latter-day gathering of Israel. The imagery is of a war. Words like ensign and arrows and horses are all images of battle in the Old Testament. The gathering will be a time when the strength of Israel goes forth to battle with Lucifer for the souls of men. The missionary force is the army marching to war.

"And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it."

The hiss in verse 26 is a "whistle; i.e. signal for the gathering" (fn 26b). Someone has said that missionaries must be hissers before they become kissers. I love the description of these wonderful youth and older couples as lions and young lions.

When my grandfather traveled from Kanab, Utah to Salt Lake for Conference, the trip took two weeks. But Isaiah foresaw a day when elders would travel to their fields of labor and return home very rapidly.

"None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken . . ."

I went to Brazil without removing my shoes, and I came home as quickly.

This force is unstoppable! Brigham young spoke of the effect of Mormonism in the last days.

"When the wicked have power to blow out the sun, that it shines no more; when they have power to bring to a conclusion the operations of the elements, suspend the whole system of nature, and make a footstool of the throne of the Almighty, they may then think to check "Mormonism" in its course, and thwart the unalterable purposes of heaven. Men may persecute the people who believe its doctrines, report and publish lies to bring tribulation upon their heads, earth and hell may unite in one grand league against it, and exert their malicious powers to the utmost, but it will stand as firm and immovable in the midst of it all as the pillars of eternity. Men may persecute the Prophet, and those who believe and uphold him, they may drive the Saints and kill them but this does not affect the truths of "Mormonism" one iota, for they will stand when the elements melt with fervent heat, and the heavens are wrapt up like a scroll and the solid earth is dissolved. "Mormonism" stands upon the eternal basis of omnipotence. Jehovah is the "Mormonism" of this people, their Priesthood and their power; and all who adhere to it will, in the appointed day, come up into the presence of the King Eternal, and receive a crown of life" (JD, vol 1, p.88).

IV. ISAIAH RESPONDED WILLINGLY TO HIS CALL TO BE A PROPHET. Isaiah saw the Lord at the time of his call to the prophetic ministry (see Isaiah 6:1). Where did he see the Lord? Where was he sitting?

Compare Isaiah 6:3,4 with D&C 110:2,3. How are these two visions the same? How are they different?

How did Isaiah react to seeing the Lord? How would you react? Why is Isaiah fearful of seeing the Lord? He is worried about his own iniquity, but he is also worried about the people among whom he lives? If the Lord came to your home, would you worry about those who live there with you or under your stewardship?

Isaiah knew the temple as a place with a great altar where sacrifices were offered and burned. From this altar a heavenly being removes a coal. Where does he place it (6:6,7)? What is it's effect on Isaiah (6:7). Are there other places in the scriptures where sin is cleansed by fire?

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire" (Matthew 3:11 ).

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel. But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me . . . Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost" (2N31:13,14,17).

The question in 6:8 seems to grow out of Isaiah's awareness of the iniquity of Israel. "Whom shall I send?" Isaiah's answer is the answer of all true disciples: "Here am I; send me." When the Lord asked for a man to take the message of repentance to King Noah, it was Abinadi's response. When someone was needed to call Herod to repentance, John the Baptist must have said or felt words like these. When the Lord needed a messenger to Rome, Paul presented himself. Here am I; send me!

Who will take the message to your neighbors and friends? Who will tell your brother-in-law and your uncle's boss? Who will take a stand against pornography in your community? Who will volunteer following retirement to go to Lansing or Laos or London?

And we cannot say, "I'll go if it doesn't take too long. How long would Isaiah be expected to serve?

Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate . . ." (6:11)

Since Isaiah is not immortal at this time, the Lord is probably telling him that the responsibility he has accepted is a lifetime duty. And so it is for us. Failure to act will result in solemn consequences.

"No assignment is menial in the work of the Lord, for each has eternal consequences. President John Taylor warned us: "If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those whom you might have saved had you done your duty."' And who of us can afford to be responsible for the delay of eternal life of a human soul? If great joy is the reward of saving one soul, then how terrible must be the remorse of those whose timid efforts have allowed a child of God to go unwarned or unaided so that he has to wait till a dependable servant of God comes along" ("To Learn, To Do, To Be:" President Thomas S. Monson, C.R., April 1992).

Conclusion I suspect that very few people have fulfilled their callings with as much faithfulness as Isaiah. His devotion to the work and the to the Lord, and his eloquence in testifying of the solemnities of eternity (see D&C 43:34) were part of the inducement for the Lord to say,

"AND now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah" (3N23:1).

Old Testament Lesson 35: God Reveals His Secrets to His Prophets

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: Perhaps many of us need to listen and follow more attentively. Introduction I was presenting a missionary discussion to a family in my mission field many years ago. The parents were polite but distant. The daughter, however - a young lady about 18 or 19 - was enthralled. The idea of a living prophet aroused in her a remarkable enthusiasm, and she had many questions. I was delighted to answer them. I explained that David O. McKay was a prophet in the same way that Jeremiah and Isaiah and Moses were prophets, and that the Lord revealed his will to his children through his living prophets as he had done in ancient times.

"How?" she asked.

"How what?" I replied. I was uncertain of her meaning.

"How does he reveal the Lord's will to you? How does he get the word out?"

I spoke of General Conference and of the messages delivered every six months by the Lord's mouthpiece. She was excited, as she should have been. She seemed to be golden in the brightest sense of the word. So was I. Speaking of his conference talks reminded me of something else.

"Not only that," I continued. "Every month President McKay writes the editorial in the Improvement Era. Every month we get a written message from the prophet of God."

She could hardly sit still. But she had one more question for me. I was ready. I had been a missionary for nineteen months and knew that I could answer any question about prophets that an investigator could ask . . . any question, that is, except this one. Her eyes bright with anticipation, she asked, "What did he say last month?"

I am ashamed to report that I had never read a single editorial from President McKay in my life!

Perhaps many of us need to listen and follow more attentively. I asked a Gospel Doctrine class in the middle of April several years ago to mention new things that they were doing because President Hinckley had asked Church members to do them during the most recent General Conference. I had gone through his talks carefully and made a list of 35 activities President Hinckley had encouraged. In my class of 50 students, only one class member mentioned one thing that had changed in his life.

Today we will emphasize the importance of listening and following living prophets as we review the teachings of Amos and Jonah.

I. AMOS TEACHES THAT THE LORD REVEALS HIS SECRETS TO HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS. (Amos 3:6,7) Amos points out several things in chapter three that are so obvious that they really do not need repreating. For example: Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (Amos 3:3) Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? (Amos 3:4) Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [bait; snare] is for him? (Amos 3:5) Shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? (Amos 3:5) Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? (Amos 3:6) shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not known it? (Amos 3:6, JST). And finally, following the parallelism of the earlier verses, "Will the Lord do anything until he has revealed it unto his prophets?" (Amos 3:7, JST) The answer to each of these questions is "No" of course. The Lord would never act in a way that affects his children without a prior warning or explanation. Our great challenge is implied in the following verses from Ezekiel:

"Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against [better: about] thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not" (Ezekiel 33:30-32).

The Israelites who regarded Ezekiel as a prophet are talking about him all over the city. They look forward to the opportunity to hearing the word of the Lord from him. So they come, and they sit before him, and they listen to him, but . . . they do not do them. Can you identify things in your life that are different because prophets spoke to us last April? Surely we all came and sat and listened while they spoke . . . but then what?

II. AMOS PROPHESIES OF ANCIENT AND LATTER-DAY ISRAEL. (Amos 7,8,9) Amos has a vision in chapter 7 that coveys a striking image to all of us. Here it is:

"Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more . . ." (Amos 7:7-8).

Plumblines are used to insure verticality. The image of this vision reminds me of Bemjamin's warnings to those that "list" [or lean or incline] to obey the evil spirit (see Mosiah 2:32,33) and of the times the Lord has enjoined, even commanded us to walk uprightly before him (see Ps. 15:2; Ps. 84:11; Prov. 2:7; Micah 2:7; 1 Nephi 16:3; Alma 45:24, etc.)

Amos warns that one day the Lord will place a plumbline in the midst of his people to see if they are listing or walking uprightly. If they are not vertical, He "will not again pass by them any more . . ." That is, He will not always be merciful and forgiving. A time of accounting will come.

Take a look at Amos 7:10-17. What happened when Amos prophesied the destruction of Jeroboam by the sword, and the captivity of Israel? What should have happened? When the prophets say things we do not want to hear, what ought we to do? These verses are a good example of the promise in Amos 3:7.

Amos 8:11-13 is a prophetic description of what happens to people who reject the words of prophets. People wander and run and seek for meaningful direction in their lives, but because they are not willing to acknowledge the existence of living prophets, the cannot find it.

But even in the midst of these divine warnings and injunctions, the Lord affirms his concern and love. As happens so often in the scriptures when the children of the covenant stray, the Lord concludes the messages of Amos with an affirmation of love. Think about the meaning of these phrases from the end of Amos 9.

Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom (Amos 9:8).
I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth (Amos 9:9).
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old . . . (Amos 9:11).
And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them (Amos 9:14 ).
And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God (Amos 9:15).

III. JOEL PROPHESIES THAT GOD WILL BLESS HIS PEOPLE IN THE LATTER DAYS AND POUR OUT HIS SPIRIT UPON THEM. (Joel 2,3) Joel 1:15 identifies the day of which Joel is speaking. "Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come."

Joel 2:1 echoes that message: "BLOW ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand . . ." There is a great deal in Joel of warning and prophesied destruction.

Chapters 1 and 2 and 3 all tell of an awful famine (see Joel 1:10-12) and of a great and terrifying army, such as has never been known before in the earth (see Joel 2:2). This army will be will be nearly invincile and will fight with fire and "nothing shall escape them" (see Joel 2:3). Indeed, the day of the Lord "is great and very terrible . . ." (Joel 2:11).

But the Lord issues an invitation in Joel 2:12:

"Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him . . ." (Joel 2:12-14).

In fact, the rest of the book of Joel mentions several blessings that will come to the faithful. Here are some of them:

The Lord will answer his people and send them food (see Joel 2:19, 24-26).
Turn unto the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and he will turn away the evil from you. (Joel 2:13, JST)
He will drive away the attacking army (see Joel 2:20).
He will make it possible for us to be unafraid, to be glad, and to rejoice (see Joel 2:21-23).
He will reveal himself unto his people, and they "shall never be ashamed" (see Joel 2:27)
He will pour out his spirit on all of his people (see Joel 2:28,29)
Those who pray to the Lord will be delivered (see Joel 2:32).
The Lord will punt an end to the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem (see Joel 3:1).
The Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of his children (see Joel 3:16).
Israel will know the Lord and Jerusalem will be holy again (see Joel 3:17).
Judah and Jerusalem will be safe for a long time (see Joel 3:20).
The Lord will dwell in Zion (Joel 3:21).

Conclusion I spent time in July of 2006 in New York and visited the cabin built on the spot where the Church was organized on Tuesday, April 6, 1830. As I stood in the room, I was reminded that a revelation was given that day to those assembled there. Appropriately enough, much of the revelation was about following prophets:

"BEHOLD, there shall be a record kept among you; and in it thou shalt be called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of the church through the will of God the Father, and the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ . . . . Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory. For thus saith the Lord God: Him have I inspired to move the cause of Zion in mighty power for good, and his diligence I know, and his prayers I have heard" (D&C21:1-7).

Amos and Joel are, among other things, a divine invitation to us to claim the blessings that come from giving heed to the words of living prophets.

Old Testament Lesson 35: God Reveals His Secrets to His Prophets

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

"How?" she asked.

"How what?" I replied. I was uncertain of her meaning.

"How does he reveal the Lord's will to you? How does he get the word out?"

"Not only that," I continued. "Every month President McKay writes the editorial in the Improvement Era. Every month we get a written message from the prophet of God."

I am ashamed to report that I had never read a single editorial from President McKay in my life!

Today we will emphasize the importance of listening and following living prophets as we review the teachings of Amos and Jonah.

II. AMOS PROPHESIES OF ANCIENT AND LATTER-DAY ISRAEL. (Amos 7,8,9) Amos has a vision in chapter 7 that coveys a striking image to all of us. Here it is:

Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom (Amos 9:8).
I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth (Amos 9:9).
In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old . . . (Amos 9:11).
And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them (Amos 9:14 ).
And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God (Amos 9:15).

But the Lord issues an invitation in Joel 2:12:

In fact, the rest of the book of Joel mentions several blessings that will come to the faithful. Here are some of them:

The Lord will answer his people and send them food (see Joel 2:19, 24-26).
Turn unto the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and he will turn away the evil from you. (Joel 2:13, JST)
He will drive away the attacking army (see Joel 2:20).
He will make it possible for us to be unafraid, to be glad, and to rejoice (see Joel 2:21-23).
He will reveal himself unto his people, and they "shall never be ashamed" (see Joel 2:27)
He will pour out his spirit on all of his people (see Joel 2:28,29)
Those who pray to the Lord will be delivered (see Joel 2:32).
The Lord will punt an end to the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem (see Joel 3:1).
The Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of his children (see Joel 3:16).
Israel will know the Lord and Jerusalem will be holy again (see Joel 3:17).
Judah and Jerusalem will be safe for a long time (see Joel 3:20).
The Lord will dwell in Zion (Joel 3:21).

Amos and Joel are, among other things, a divine invitation to us to claim the blessings that come from giving heed to the words of living prophets.

Old Testament Lesson 34: ''I Will Betroth Thee unto Me in Righteousness''

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: In order to emphasize the message of this book of scripture, let me point out that in the book of Hosea, some form of the word mercy appears 12 times. The word justice does not appear at all. Introduction Elder Ronald E. Poelman of the Seventy spoke of the message of Hosea.

My message today might best be illustrated through the experiences of a young couple whom I will call John and Gayle.
John was a thoughtful, kind young man, affectionate, with a frank and open manner. He sincerely tried to obey the Lord's commandments and found honest contentment in the joys of family life. Gayle, his wife, was young, attractive, high-spirited, but inclined toward more worldly interests and activities. The society in which they lived was, in general, one of affluence and materialism. People seemed preoccupied with temporal gain, social status, entertainment, and self-gratification. Religious leaders were concerned about the apparent breakdown in family life and moral standards.
In the early years of their marriage, John and Gayle were blessed with children, first a boy and then a girl; but Gayle seemed uninterested in her domestic responsibilities. She longed for excitement in her life and was frequently away from home at parties and entertainments, not always with her husband. In her vanity, Gayle encouraged and responded to the attentions of other men until eventually she was unfaithful to her marriage vows.
Throughout, John encouraged Gayle to appreciate the joys of family life and experience the rewards of observing the laws of God. He was patient and kind, but to no avail. Shortly after the birth of a third child, a son, Gayle deserted her husband and children and joined her worldly friends in a life of self-indulgence and immorality. John, thus rejected, was humiliated and brokenhearted.
Soon, however, the excitement that had attracted Gayle turned to ashes. Her so-called friends tired of her and abandoned her. Then each successive step was downward, her life becoming more and more degraded. Eventually she recognized her mistakes and realized what she had lost, but could see no way back. Certainly John could not possibly love her still. She felt completely unworthy of his love and undeserving of her home and family.
Then one day, passing through the streets, John recognized Gayle. Surely he would have been justified in turning away, but he didn't. As he observed the effect of her recent life, all too evident, a feeling of compassion came over him - a desire to reach out to her. Learning that Gayle had incurred substantial debts, John repaid them and then took her home.
Soon John realized, at first with amazement, that he still loved Gayle. Out of his love for her and her willingness to change and begin anew, there grew in John's heart a feeling of merciful forgiveness, a desire to help Gayle overcome her past and to accept her again fully as his wife.
Through his personal experience there arose in John another profound awareness, a realization of the nature of God's love for us, his children. Though we disregard his counsel, break his commandments, and reject him, when we recognize our mistakes and desire to repent, he wants us to seek him out and he will accept us" (Ronald E. Poelman, "God's Love for Us Transcends Our Transgressions," Ensign, May 1982, 27, 28).

In order to emphasize the message of this book of scripture, let me point out that in the book of Hosea, some form of the word mercy appears 12 times. The word justice does not appear at all.

I. USING THE SIMILITUDE OF A FAITHFUL HUSBAND AND AN ADULTEROUS WIFE, HOSEA DESCRIBES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LORD AND ISRAEL. Around the framework of the great metaphor (similitude) mentioned in the heading above, Hosea uses many other comparisons. A few of these are mentioned in the Gospel Doctrine manual. The list below contains 22 of my favorites: If you look for these comparisons, watch for the words like and as to help you identify them.

Hosea 1:10
Hosea 2:3
Hosea 4:16
Hosea 5:10
Hosea 5:12
Hosea 5:14
Hosea 6:3-5
Hosea 6:4
Hosea 7:4-11
Hosea 7:16
Hosea 8:1
Hosea 8:8
Hosea 9:10
Hosea 9:11
Hosea 10:1
Hosea 10:4
Hosea 10:7
Hosea 11:10,11
Hosea 12:11
Hosea 13:3
Hosea 13:7,8
Hosea 14:5-8

The story related by Elder Poelman in the introduction is very much like the opening accounts in the book of Hosea.

Hosea was commanded to take a wife "of whoredoms and of the children of whoredoms" (Hosea 1:2). He did and three children were born. Note the meaning of their names: Jezreel means God scatters. Loruhama means Not having obtained mercy. Loammi means not my people. What do those names suggest about the message the Lord is trying to send to Israel with Hosea and his family?

The Lord used this family to accuse Israel of infidelity.

"For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink" (Hosea 2:5).

But he also them to show Israel his love.

"Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine" (Hosea 3:1).

What do we learn about Israel when the Lord calls her an unfaithful wife? The Lord has used this analogy in other places (see Jer. 3:14 ; Is. 54:5; Ezek. 16:1-59).

Notice the description in this verse:

"And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD" (Hosea 2:13).

How would a husband feel in such a situation? What if this sort of infidelity happened many times? What would you expect a husband to do? How often would a husband allow his wife to abandon him before he discontinued all his efforts to reclaim her?

In Hosea 2:6-12, the Lord details the punishments that will come.

"Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

"And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.

"For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

"Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.

"And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

"I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

"And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them."

With most men, the story would end here. A man who had been treated by his bride in the way that Israel has treated the Lord would say, "I am out of here" and he would be. Why doesn't the Lord respond in that way? What does he announce in addition to and immediately after the punishments and judgements above?

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

"And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

"And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.

"I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

"And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

"And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

"I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

"And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;

"And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.

"And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God" (Hosea 2:14-23).

What is it that the Lord wants Israel to learn from this?

II. BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE, THE LORD CONTINUES TO INVITE ISRAEL TO REPENT AND RETURN TO HIM. It may be that Israel will return to the Lord as a response to the judgements that will come. But one day that will change and she will follow and obey him for another reason.

"And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi [husband]; and shalt call me no more Baali [master]" (Hosea 2:16).

What difference does it make if a relationship is based on love (husband) rather than fear (master)?

In Hosea 11, the Lord uses another comparison to illustrate his relationship with Israel. It begins in Hosea 11:1. In this verse, the Lord and Israel are compared to a father and a son. What did the Lord do for his son?

"I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them" (Hosea 11:3,4).

How did the child respond to this kindness?

"And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him" (Hosea 11:7).

How might parents respond to a rebellious child? Should parents be more patient that spouses?

How does the Savior feel about his rebellious child?

"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned toward thee, and my mercies are extended to gather thee I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city" (Hosea 11:8,9, JST).

Read these two pleas from the Lord to his children:

"O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?" (Hosea 13:9,10).
"O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips" (Hosea 14:1,2).

What promise does the Lord make if they will return?

"I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him" (Hosea 14:4).

Conclusion Elder Poelman ended his talk (the one cited in the introduction) with this testimony:

"God is our father; he loves us; his love is infinite and unconditional. His sorrow is great when we disobey his commandments and break his laws. He cannot condone our transgressions, but he loves us and wants us to return to him.

"I know of no greater inducement to repentance and reconciliation with our Father in Heaven than an awareness of his love for us personally and individually. That such awareness may increase within each of us is my prayer." (Ronald E. Poelman, "God's Love for Us Transcends Our Transgressions," Ensign, May 1982, 29).

Old Testament Lesson 33: Sharing the Gospel with the World

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: Which scriptural missionaries had the hardest assignments? Abinadi? Lehi? John the Baptist? Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah? Moses? Lesson 33 is in part the account of a missionary that got a call to Ninevah. Introduction I have 7 sons and one daughter who have received mission calls. All my missionaries but one have been to Spanish Speaking missions. I wonder what mission call would be the hardest. Are there places that now have no missionaries that would present particular difficulties?

Which scriptural missionaries had the hardest assignments? Abinadi? Lehi? John the Baptist? Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah? Moses? Lesson 33 is in part the account of a missionary that got a call to Ninevah.

I have in my files an article about the atrocities committed in Jonah's day by the Assyrians. Ninevah was their capitol city. The article is entitled "Grisly Assyrian Record of Torture and Death" (Biblical Archeology Review, January/February, 1991, pp. 55-61). The article, liberally interspersed with photos and drawings of carvings and etchings from ancient Assyria, depicts the awful way Assyrians treated captive individuals and nations.

Nahum was speaking of Ninevah when he wrote:

WOE to the bloody city! it [is] all full of lies [and] robbery; the prey departeth not; The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and [there is] a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and [there is] none end of [their] corpses; they stumble upon their corpses: Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts (Nahum 3:1-3)

It was to this city that Jonah was called. His experiences getting there and serving there teach 6 great lessons about missionary work.

I. THERE ARE NO EASY CALLS. Years ago I pulled an advertisement off the Internet. It was filled with reds and blacks and huge fonts. This is what it said:

"IN 1998, 60,000 YOUTH SPENT $10,000 EACH GIVING 2 YEARS OF THEIR LIVES, WORKING 12-HOUR DAYS, 6 DAYS A WEEK, AND CALLING HOME ONLY 4 TIMES. THESE WERE MORMON MISSIONARIES.

1N 1999, HOW MANY PENTECOSTAL YOUTH WILL SPEND ABOUT $2000, GIVE 10 DAYS OF THEIR SUMMER, WORK WITH A LOCAL MISSIONARY, AND CALL HOME AS OFTEN AS THEY LIKE?

WE CAN DO BETTER. THE COMMISSION IS POSSIBLE. THE WORLD WAITS . . . THE LORD CALLS . . . WILL YOU ANSWER? YOUTH MISSION!"

The advertisement then listed some of the places where service might be given - places from Trinidad to Texas - and gave a number to call.

This might be an easy call. At least it looks easier than the average call sent to these Mormon missionaries. But Jonah's call was not easy. He was to take a message to the bloodiest city on the planet. He was to go alone, with no companion. And he was not sent with a message of God's love and forgiveness.

"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me" (Jonah 1:2).

Cry what?

"And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (Jonah 3:4). This is a message that will certainly win the hearts of the people of Ninevah.

There is nothing here about mercy or additional opportunities for repentance. In 40 days, God will destroy this city. But even a call to serve in Indianapolis cannot be easy. The cost, the hours, the rules: all combine to present an expectation of sacrifice and dedication.

II. YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE. What was Jonah's response to this terrifying call?

"But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD" (Jonah 1:3).

If you can find a map that shows Joppa and Ninevah, you will learn that the direction Jonah ought to have gone was Northeast. But he got on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea and set off for Tarshish, which is probably in Spain. What direction did he go?

Every young man has been called to serve. It is a responsibility one cannot escape.

"The question has been often asked, Is the mission program one of compulsion? And the answer, of course, is no. Everyone is given his free agency. The question is asked: Should every young man fill a mission? And the answer of the Church is yes, and the answer of the Lord is yes. Enlarging this answer we say: Certainly every male member of the Church should fill a mission . . ." (Spencer W. Kimball, "Planning for a Full and Abundant Life," Ensign, May 1974, 87).

"Doors have been opened to the preaching of the gospel in nations never dreamed of or hoped for just a few years ago. Now the demand for increased numbers of full-time missionaries is greater than ever before. And again we issue the call for every worthy young man to heed the voice of the prophet to serve as a full-time missionary. We call on you bishops and branch presidents to see that every worthy and able young man has an opportunity to go forth into the mission field" (L. Tom Perry, "But the Labourers are Few," Ensign, May 1992, 24).

Notice what happened to Jonah as he tried to evade his duty. The storm sent by the Lord, the fish prepared by the Lord, and the humility engendered by his time with the fish all show us that God expects us to do what he has called us to do (see Jonah 1:4-17).

"The living God never leaves us alone even when we seek to move away from him. When the living God called Jonah to go to Nineveh, the prophet, out of fear of men, strove to go to Tarshish instead. The living God was not busy elsewhere or slumbering; he delivered Jonah unceremoniously to Nineveh! That is the sort of thing the living God does" (Neal A. Maxwell, Things As They Really Are, p.36).

III. GOD WILL PREPARE A WAY. This is the testimony of Nephi, of course. God doesn't give commandments unless he arranges the necessary tools and events for them to be fulfilled.

The problem of how to get Jonah to his mission field was not a problem of transportation but attitude. God meant to get Jonah to change his mind and the storm and the fish worked pretty well. God's preparations are always comprehensive and effective, as Nephi learned, even though they may proceed in unexpected, even unusual ways. Traveling by fish and lopping off heads are not the most obvious ways of getting things done, but they worked! And they teach us something about God. He does not ask or command without preparing for every eventuality.

"Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights" (Jonah 2:17).

The fish is in a very real way symbolic of the answer to many questions and concerns about missionary service, in fact any kind of church service.

How can I serve? I have no money?
What if my girlfriend won't wait?
What if my parents won't support me?
What if I lose my scholarship?
People terrify me!
I can't memorize!
I can't speak!

In 1985, Dallin H. Oaks, told of an experience of his great-grandfather, for whom God prepared a way, even when it seemed impossible.

"In 1895 my great-grandfather, Abinadi Olsen, was called on a mission to the Samoan Islands . Obedient to the call of the prophet, he left his wife and four small children, including my maternal grandmother, Chasty Magdalene, in the town of Castle Dale, Utah. He traveled by train and ship to the mission headquarters in Apia, a journey of 26 days. His first assignment was to labor on the island of Tutuila.

After many weeks of living in what he called a grass hut, eating strange food, suffering severe illnesses, and struggling to learn the Samoan language, he seemed to be making no progress in his missionary work. Homesick and discouraged, he seriously considered boarding a boat back to Apia and telling the mission president he didn't want to waste any more time in Samoa. The obstacles to the accomplishment of his mission seemed insurmountable, and he wished to return to his wife and children, who were struggling to support him in the mission field.

A friend who heard Abinadi Olsen describe the experience some years after his return, quoted him as follows:

"Then one night, as I lay on my mat on the floor of my hut, a strange man entered and in my own language told me to get up and follow him. His manner was such that I had to obey. He led me out through the village and directly up against the face of a perpendicular solid rock cliff. 'That's strange,' thought I. 'I've never seen that here before,' and just then the stranger said, 'I want you to climb that cliff.'

I took another look and then in bewilderment said, 'I can't. It's impossible!'

'How do you know you can't? You haven't tried,' said my guide.

'But anyone can see' - I started to say in objection. But he cut in with, 'Begin climbing. Reach up with your hand—now with your foot.'

As I reached, under orders that I dared not disobey, a niche seemed to open in the solid rock cliff and I caught hold. Then with my one foot I caught a toe hold.

'Now go ahead,' he ordered. 'Reach with your other hand,' and as I did so another place opened up, and to my surprise the cliff began to recede; climbing became easier, and I continued the ascent without difficulty until, suddenly, I found myself lying on my pallet back in my hut. The stranger was gone!

'Why has this experience come to me?' I asked myself. The answer came quickly. I had been up against an imaginary cliff for those three months. I had not reached out my hand to begin the climb. I hadn't really made the effort I should have made to learn the language and surmount my other problems" (Fenton L. Williams, "On Doing the Impossible," Improvement Era, Aug. 1957, p. 554; Dallin H. Oaks, "Reach Out and Climb!" New Era, Aug. 1985, 4-6).

For three days Jonah had the opportunity to rethink his priorities. He may have decided that some things are actually worse than a mission to Ninevah.

"And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went . . ." (Jonah 2:10 ; 3:1-3).

IV. GOD WILL SPEAK IN A VOICE YOU WILL HEAR. The fish and the events in Ninevah suggest another lesson. God will speak to us with different kinds of voices. When the invitation to serve failed to motivate Jonah, God spoke with another voice; the voice of the belly of a fish. This time Jonah listened.

"Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice" (Jonah 2:1,2).

Perhaps the message of Jonah when he arrived in Ninevah is further evidence of this. Who knows how the Assyrians would have responded if Jonah had pulled out his flip chart and started on the six discussions. Instead he announced that in forty days, God would overthrow the city.

"So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them" (Jonah 3:5).

The king commanded,

"Let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that [is] in their hands. Who can tell if we will repent, and turn unto God, but he will turn away from us his fierce anger that we perish not?" (Jonah 3:8-9, JST).

The Lord has made it clear that he will try to get our attention. He mentioned a number of different voices that he might use.

"How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!" (D&C 43:25).

V. THE LORD LOVES TO FORGIVE. One of the superlative messages of this story is the response of the Lord to the repentance of Ninevah. These people were about as awful as anybody ever was, but when they repented, the Lord forgave them. That divine pardon must sent a message across the ages to us. The Lord delights in mercy (see Micah 7:18).

Satan whispers to sinners (as we all are!), especially those whose sins seem particularly heinous, that forgiveness will never come. Ninevah shows us this in not true. The infinite reach of the agony of Gethsemane is surpasses the depth and breadth of almost any sin.

I have made the mistake in my life more than once of assuming from appearances that someone I had met was beyond hope and the reach of the Savior's mercy. One of those was the husband of the Relief Society President in a branch where I worked for 8 months. In those 8 months I visited with his wife many times, but I never spoke a word to him. He refused to remain in the house when the Elders were there. But we heard from time to time of his furious and unflinching opposition to the Church and its work, and especially to the requirements it made of his wife. President Faust spoke of her in an Ensign article.

"She walked over so many cobblestones and on so many sidewalks that she would wear out a pair of shoes each month. Her husband, at that time not a member of the Church but concerned about the many demands upon the limited resources of the family, asked her, 'Couldn't the Church at least buy you a pair of shoes?'" (Ensign, Oct. 1997).

I could not imagine that he would ever change. He was so remote from the meaning of the Gospel that I never considered trying to change him. But in 1995 when I returned to my mission field for a visit, I went to visit that wonderful Relief Society President who spent so much on shoes, and was greeted warmly in her home by her husband, a distinguished, spiritual man I had never spoken to before. He told me that he had been the High Priest Group Leader in his ward. He mentioned a surgery he was expecting in a day or two and asked for a blessing. What a revelation it was to lay my hands on his head and feel the Lord's love for a wonderful, repentant, righteous man I had thought was probably beyond redemption.

Neal A. Maxwell calls this inclination to judge the "Jonah Reflex."

"Surely, as Latter-day Saints we must avoid the Jonah reflex. Moreover, knowing of and believing in the prophecies does not relieve us of the responsibility to do all we can to avoid the conditions which, unchecked, will bring them to pass.

Jesus . . . prophesied that in the last days, because of iniquity, the love of many would wax cold (Matthew 24:12). Yet we must not regard iniquity or human hardening and coarsening with a sense of inevitability" (Neal A. Maxwell, Sermons Not Spoken, p.38).

VI. DON'T MAJOR IN MINORS. The gourd in Jonah seems much more significant to me than the fish. We focus so much on the experiences of Jonah under the sea that we may miss the meaning of the book. When Jonah realized that the Lord intended to forgive Ninevah, "it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry" (Jonah 4:1). In fact, Jonah suggests that it was this propensity of the Lord to forgive even Israel's worst enemies that caused him to flee when first called:

"And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil" (Jonah 4:2).

Jonah built a shed on the east of the city and waited to see what God would do. What God did was teach Jonah another lesson. First he made his preparation. He prepared a gourd (4:6), a worm (4:7) and a terrible east wind (4:8). When the gourd grew, Jonah rejoiced. When it died from the worm and the wind blew, he wanted to die. The question the Lord asked of him is this one: "Does it make sense to worry more about the death of a temporary plant than 120,000 people?" (4:9-11).

The Lord taught an interesting lesson about this inclination to worry too much about the less-important things. The instruction took place at McIlwaine's Bend on the Missouri River. Elders from Kirtland who had traveled to Missouri at the Lord's command were returning to their homes and farms in Kirtland. They had been away for two months and their anxiety is not hard to understand. Two months of absence during the summer for a farmer could be catastrophic. They were hurrying. But the Lord said to them:

"[V]erily I say unto you, that it is not needful for this whole company of mine elders to be moving swiftly upon the waters, whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief" (D&C 61:3).

Farms matter but souls matter more. This is certainly the lesson of the gourd and the people of Ninevah. Put your efforts and emotions into the things that matter most.

A wonderful example of a correct attitude in this matters comes from an experience related by Elder Boyd K. Packer.

"I recall not too many years ago riding to the office one morning and turning on the radio as they were excitedly announcing that someone had placed a bomb at the temple. The front doors of the temple had been blown off. Remember that? Most of you don't because it is just not that important - it isn't worth remembering. We were then using the parking lot north of the Relief Society Building ; and as I went to the office, I glanced across the street. There was a lot of action around the temple - people, police cars, fire trucks, and everything. But I was late to a meeting; so I had to resist the temptation to go over and see what was going on. I was in meetings with combinations of the Brethren all day. As I went back that night about 6:30 or 7:00, there was no one at the temple; but there were some big sheets of plywood over the place where the door had been. Then it struck me. All day long in meeting with the Brethren, not once, for one second, was that thing ever brought up. It wasn't even mentioned. And why? Because there was work to do, you know. Why be concerned about that?" ("To Those Who Teach in Troubled Times," Charge to Religious Educators, 2nd Edition, pp. 72-76).

Conclusion "[A]t some moment in the world to come, everyone you will ever meet will know what you know now. They will know that the only way to live forever in association with our families and in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, was to choose to enter into the gate by baptism at the hands of those with authority from God. They will know that the only way families can be together forever is to accept and keep sacred covenants offered in the temples of God on this earth. And they will know that you knew. And they will remember whether you offered them what someone had offered you" (Henry B. Eyring, "A Voice of Warning," Ensign, Nov. 1998, 33)

Old Testament Lesson 32: ''I Know That My Redeemer Liveth''

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: This lesson is about a man named Job who chose in spite of danger and disaster to stand fast. Introduction In the play and movie A Man For All Seasons, Sir Thomas More was confined in prison because he refused to sign an oath with which he did not agree. While he was there, his daughter Margaret was allowed to come and visit him to try and convince him to sign. The following dialog is from their discussion about this matter:

Margaret: In any state that was half good, you would be raised up high . . . for what you've done already. It's not your fault the state's three-quarters bad. Then if you elect to suffer for it, you elect yourself a hero.

More: That's very neat But look now, Meg. If we lived in a state where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us good, and greed would make us saintly. And we'd live like animals or angels in the happy land that needs no heroes. But since in fact we see that avarice, anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust and stupidity commonly profit far beyond humility, chastity, fortitude, justice and thought, and have to choose, to be human at all . . . why then perhaps we must stand fast a little - even at the risk of being heroes (A Man For All Seasons, by Robert Bolt, Vintage Books, New York, 1962, p. 81).

This lesson is about a man named Job who chose in spite of danger and disaster to stand fast.

I. JOB IS SORELY TESTED. Job's trials are a warning to us that personal righteousness will not protect us from trials and tribulations. Job was a very good man. A careful reading of his story shows us the following about his excellence.

He was perfect (1:1)
He was upright (1:1)
He feared God (1:1)
He avoided evil (1:1)
He instructed many (4:3)
He strengthened weak hands (4:3)
He supported those who were falling (4:4)
He strengthened the feeble knees (4:4)
He walked in the Lord's ways (23:10)
He did not turn away from the commandments (23:11)
He loved the Lord's words more than food (23:12)
He delivered the poor (29:12)
He cared for the orphans (29:12)
He helped those whom no one else would help (29:12)
He gave the widow cause to sing with joy (29:13)
He was eyes to the blind (29:15)
He was feet to the lame (29:15)
He was father to the poor (29:16)
He searched for people in need of his assistance (29:16)
He never found joy in the suffering of his enemies (31:29)
He never wished evil on his enemies (31:30)
He opened his home to strangers (31:32)
He did not try to hide his sins (31:33)
He would not follow a multitude to do evil (31:34)
He refused to be silent because of the disapproval of others (31:34)

What a man! But his undiluted goodness did not protect him from trials. When the Lord used Job's goodness as evidence of the success of the gospel plan, Satan responded with a challenge:

"Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face" (Job 1:9-11).

Let me try to paraphrase this observation from Lucifer. "Of course he loves you and obeys you. You bless him in everything he does. Being good is making him wealthy. But let him suffer a little and he will not keep his covenants nor serve you."

How do you feel about your covenants? Would your commitment to them waver if they offered no protection? Are you determined to honor your covenants not matter what happens? Lucifer was sure that Job was not.

"And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath [is] in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD" (Job 1:12).

Read Job 1:13-19. The visits of the four servants with their announcements of awful calamities cannot have occupied more than five minutes, and yet in those few moments Job received word that he had lost everything he had - his oxen, his asses, his sheep, his camels, most of his servants, and all ten of his children.

Satan was of course wrong about the nature of Job's reaction to this devastating setback. Job did not curse God nor blame him for this catastrophe. He said:

"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21).

The Lord pointed out to Satan that Job had remained faithful in spite of Lucifer's attempts to destroy his faith (see Job 2:2,3). To this observation Satan replied,

"Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face" (Job 2:4,5).

"And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life" (Job 2:6).

"Job has not suffered physically," the Adversary pointed out. "When the pain is personal, he will not keep his covenants."

I had an associate in Arizona who got a single boil on the end of his nose. We called him "Rudolph" for the duration of his discomfort. And he had some discomfort. His nose was so sore that he breathed only through his mouth, refusing even to afflict his nasal membranes with the passage of air. Job had "sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown" (Job 2:7) This affliction, which might have been a result of a disease like elephantiasis, caused Job to be severely disfigured. When his three friends came to comfort him in his calamity, they "knew him not" (Job 2:12). He said of his affliction,

"My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome" (Job 7:5).

And

"My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest. By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat . . . My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat" (Job 30:17,18,30).

Job was so miserable that he "took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes" (Job 2:8). His wife did the very thing Satan was sure Job would do.

"Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die" (Job 2:9).

To this challenge, Job gave one of the finest lessons in scripture:

"But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10).

That is, if we believe that God is smart enough to know when we need a blessing, then we must believe that he is smart enough to know when we need a trial.

These first three trials - the loss of property and family and health - were tragic. But they were only the beginning of his troubles. The next struggle came when Job tried to sleep. Instead of escaping pain and anguish in restful slumber, Job found his sleep filled with nightmares and discomfort

"When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions . . ." (Job 7:13,14).

"So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day" (Job 7:3,4).

The 5th trial came in the from of ridicule from those who had respected him. He was humiliated because of his afflictions. There was a time when men listened to Job and respected him greatly (see Job 29:21-25),

"But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock . . . They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth. And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword. They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face. Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me. Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction. They mar my path, they set forward my calamity . . ." (Job 30:1,8-13).

In the midst of this adversity, Job might have found some solace in the solicitations and associations of family and friends. But this did not happen, and its absence is the 6th trial:

"He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me. They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight. I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth. My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children's sake of mine own body. Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me. All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me . . . Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me" (Job 19:13-19,21).

Job's own expressions show us a man whose pain is multiplied by the fact that the Lord will not answer his prayers and explain to him why he is being punished so severely. This 7th trial must have been particularly distressing.

"I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me" (Job 10:2).

"Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me. How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?" (Job 13:22-24).

"Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment" (Job 19:7).

"Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him . . ." (Job 23:3-9).

"I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not" (Job 30:20).

Life for Job finally became a nearly unbearable burden. He wished he had never been born, or that he could die. This is the 8th trial.

"Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months . . . Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes. Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest . . . There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures . . ." (Job 3:3-6, 10-13, 17-21).

"Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?" (Job 6:8-11).

Finally we come to Job's conversations with his friends. They had come to comfort him,

"And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great" (Job 2:12,13).

This kind of compassion is promising. Their shared grief seems to say a great deal about their love for him. But this apparent humanity does not last long. Before much time has passed, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar arrive at a mistaken conclusion of the cause of Job's suffering and accuse him of grievous iniquity. Why else would God punish him so dramatically?

ELIPHAZ: "Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed" (Job 4:7-9).

BILDAD: "If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous" (Job 8:6).

ZOPHAR: "Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth" (Job 11:3-6).

Job was, we have been assured, pure and upright - even perfect - and he knew it. How unfair it was for his friends to assume that his tribulation came because of wickedness.

The final verses of the Sermon on the Mount make it pretty clear that storms blow into the lives of the good and the bad; that is, those whose lives are built on the Rock and those whose lives are built on sand. The story of Job offers compelling evidence of this. In the entire book we do not read any evidence that he was evil in any way. But it is a natural reaction to think that those who suffer are under some kind of condemnation. Job teaches us that this is an assumption we cannot make.

II. JOB WONDERS WHY HE HAS BEEN SUFFERING. Job seems to have some of the same feelings about suffering that are shared by his three accusing friends.

"Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?" (Job 31:3,4).

The question he is asking is, "Why is this happening to me? God must know that I have been good." In a compelling series of verses, Job describes his freedom from sin. Perhaps he could understand his afflictions if he had done anything at all to deserve them. The following statements are Job's affirmation of things he has not done.

(31:5) If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit

(31:7) If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands

(31:9) If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door

(31:13) If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me

(31:16) If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail

(31:19) If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering

(31:24) If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence

(31:29) If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him

(31:33) If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom

Finally Job cries out for understanding:

"Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me" (Job 31:35).

There is a lesson here for us as well. When trials come, and they will, we must not ask the wrong questions.

When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this, now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial? Willing sacrifice of deeply held personal desires in favor of the will of God is very hard to do. Yet, when you pray with real conviction, "Please let me know Thy will" and "May Thy will be done," you are in the strongest position to receive the maximum help from your loving Father. (Richard G. Scott, "Trust in the Lord," Ensign, Nov. 1995, 17)

III. JOB OFFERS US THREE KEYS FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERING. Job kept his covenants in spite of his pain and his lack of understanding, and he tells us how he did it. Three great passages show us how to keep our covenants and God's commandments when our lives are collapsing around us.

1. INTEGRITY: "As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul; All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live" (Job 27:2-6).

"I made my covenants with my eyes wide open, and they were not conditional. I will keep them regardless of the cost."

2. TESTIMONY: "Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another" (Job 19:23-27).

"I know that my Redeemer lives and no matter what happens to this body (even if it is eaten by worms), I will see Him, in my flesh, for myself."

3. TRUST: "Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand? Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 13:13-15).

"I know God loves me more than I love myself. I trust that whatever he does to me is better than anything I could ever do for myself."

B>IV. AFTER JOB HAS FAITHFULLY ENDURED HIS TRIALS, THE LORD BLESSES HIM. God did answer Job (Job 38:1), but it was not the answer he had hoped for. God described himself to Job in most dramatic and unusual terms. The underlying message is that God is so great that no man can question his purposes or his actions. The following questions God asks come from Job 38 and 39. Each of the questions contains an inference of the greatness of God.

(38:4) Where were you when God laid the foundations of the earth?

(38:6) On what were the foundations of the earth fastened?

(38:8) Who shut up the sea behind doors?

(38:12) Have you ever commanded the dawn?

(38:16) Have you walked in the depths of the sea>

(38:17) Have you seen the gates of death?

(38:18) Can you comprehend the expanse of the earth?

(38:22) Have you entered the storehouses of the snow?

(38:25) Who cuts the channel for the torrents of rain

(38;29) From whose womb comes the ice?

(38:31,32) Can you bring forth the constellations?

(38:35) Can you send the bolts of lightning on their way?

(38:37) Can you count the clouds?

(38:37) Who tips over the bottles of rain when the earth needs rain?

(38:39) Do you hunt prey for the lioness?

(38:41) Who feeds the ravens?

(39:5) Who decided the wild donkey should be wild

(39:9) Will the wild ox consent to serve and help you?

(39:13) Why are the ostrich and peacock so different?

(39:19) Did you give the horse his strength?

(39:19) Did you decide what the horse should look like?

(39:26) Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom?

(39:27) Does the eagle soar at your command?

These questions seemed to reach deep into Job's heart and to show him his mistake in questioning God's purposes:

"Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further" (Job 40:3,4).

God speaks again to Job of his (God's) powers and greatness. Job again responds:

"I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:2-6).

The initial conversations between God and Satan disappear in the second chapter of Job. The book becomes more than a demonstration of the goodness of Job and the power of his plan. Much of the book is a picture of a man who suffers and keeps his covenants anyway, knowing that God is good and also just.

"And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. He had also seven sons and three daughters" (Job 42:10-13).

Conclusion Can we return to the play A Man For All Seasons? More has one more thing to say about men like Job. The statement he makes about his own commitment to his consciousness of right and wrong is one of the finest quotes I have found in my life.

When a man takes an oath [or makes a covenant], he's holding his own self in his own hands, like water. And if he opens his fingers then - he needn't hope to find himself again. (Robert Bolt: Vintage Books, New York [1962], p. 81).

Old Testament Lesson 31: ''Happy Is the Man That Findeth Wisdom''

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). AUTHOR'S NOTE: I feel a need to say once again that it is not my intent to show you a better or even a different way to teach these lessons. The manual is the product of inspiration, correlation, and prophets. The lessons as prepared and presented there are the expression of the Church with regard to teaching these materials. I have a quiet but continuous fear that these lessons I am writing will pull some of you away from the place you ought to be.

Please spare me that condemnation. If these musings show you undiscovered insights in the scripture blocks covered in each lesson, I will be delighted. If they assist you in understanding the doctrine and the word, I will be content. If they cause you who are teaching to set aside correlated materials to teach something else, I will be devastated.

Introduction This is what the Bible Dictionary says about Proverbs:

The Heb. word rendered proverb is mashal, a similitude or parable, but the book contains many maxims and sayings not properly so called, and also connected poems of considerable length. There is much in it that does not rise above the plane of worldly wisdom, but throughout it is taken for granted that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (1:7; 9:10). The least spiritual of the Proverbs are valuable as reminding us that the voice of Divine Inspiration does not disdain to utter homely truths. The first section, chs. 1-9, is the most poetic and contains an exposition of true wisdom. Chs. 10-24 contain a collection of proverbs and sentences about the right and wrong ways of living. Chs. 25-29 contain the proverbs of Solomon that the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah , copied out. Chs. 30 and 31 contain the "burden" of Agur and Lemuel, the latter including a picture of the ideal wife, arranged in acrostic form. The book is frequently quoted in the N.T., the use of ch. 3 being specially noteworthy.

The Proverbs are wonderful! They are rather like scriptural bumper stickers. I have often invited classes to rewrite them in more modern English on horizontal half sheets of cardstock and have then covered the walls of my classroom with them. Unlike some parts of the Old Testament, these gems are almost always clear and therefore penetrating. And almost all of them bridge the gap between ancient and modern Israel.

For example, how would you re-write these?

"As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion" (Prov. 11:22).
"The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute" (Prov. 12:24).
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23).
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise" (Prov. 6:6).

Ecclesiastes is also a treasure house of wisdom, but it must be understood in the context of the information given in the Bible Dictionary:

A Greek translation of the Hebrew Koheleth, a word meaning "one who convenes an assembly," sometimes rendered Preacher. The book of Ecclesiastes consists of reflections on some of the deepest problems of life, as they present themselves to the thoughtful observer. The epilogue (Eccl. 12:9-14) sets forth the main conclusions at which the writer has arrived. The author describes himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem" (1:1).
The book of Ecclesiastes seems permeated with a pessimistic flavor, but must be read in the light of one of its key phrases: "under the sun" (1:9), meaning "from a worldly point of view." The term vanity also needs clarification, since as used in Ecclesiastes it means transitory, or fleeting. Thus the Preacher laments that as things appear from the point of view of the world, everything is temporary and soon gone - nothing is permanent. It is in this light also that the reader must understand 9:5 and 9:10, which declare that the dead "know not any thing," and there is no knowledge "in the grave." These should not be construed as theological pronouncements on the condition of the soul after death; rather, they are observations by the Preacher about how things appear to men on the earth "under the sun." The most spiritual part of the book appears in chapters 11 and 12, where it is concluded that the only activity of lasting and permanent value comes from obedience to God's commandments, since all things will be examined in the judgment that God will render on man.

It would be worth your while to take a careful look at Lesson 31 in the Gospel Doctrine manual for the Old Testament. The writers offer wonderful insights about many of the most important messages of these books. I would like to focus on a few other principles that are emphasized in these pages.

I. AVOIDING SIN AND SINNERS. "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not" (Prov. 1:10).

This warning is delivered so many times in the Old Testament in one form or another that it is easy to ignore. I am intrigued by the use of the word "entice" in this verse. What does it suggest to you? How do sinners entice others to sin? How are we enticed by the media? By advertizing? How is enticing different from encouraging or inviting or persuading? I think that enticing is an appeal to the natural man within us all. James said,

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed" (James 1:14).

Of course, behind the enticements to evil, if we look carefully, we will see the bitter countenance of Satan.

"Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually" (Moro. 7:12).

We can also be enticed by righteousness.

"But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God" (Moro. 7:13).

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father" (Mosiah 3:19).

Moroni tells us that we can judge clearly between the enticements of good and evil. The difference is clear enough that we "may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night" (Moro. 7:15).

It is to this truth that Solomon alludes when he says, "Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird" (Prov. 1:17).

Did you ever try to catch a wild bird with your hands? This is not an activity likely to offer much success. And while we are not usually as wary as birds, Moroni has promised us that we can discern the difference between good and evil very clearly. We can, if we are wiling, always see the net being spread. Lucifer will attempt to disguise his tempters and his temptations, of course, so we must be wary and watchful.

Provers returns to this theme near the end of the book:

"Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long" (Prov. 23:17).

II. IMMORALITY. As you make your way through Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, you will find a powerful collection of warnings about this matter. For the writer of these books, immorality is almost always described in feminine terms, but if you will, when you see the word "woman" or "strange woman", think "immorality", the messages of these passages will be quite clear.

"And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her" (Eccl. 7:26).

Two of the most powerful passages about immorality in the standard works are in the book of Proverbs. The first is in Provers 7. Watch for the "enticing" as you read this chapter.

"My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding" (Proverbs 7:1-8).
"Void of understanding" Those who understand what is at stake will avoid immorality as they would avoid poisonous serpents and runaway trucks.
"Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night . . ." (Proverbs 7:8,9).
"In the twilight, in the evening . . ." How much of immorality takes place in the hours between sunset and sunrise?
"And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart" (Proverbs 7:10).

"The attire of an harlot" How important is modesty of mind and dress? In 1913 Joseph F. Smith warned about "the present day fashions [which] are abominable, suggestive of evil, calculated to arouse base passion and lust, and to engender lasciviousness, in the hearts of those who follow the fashions, and of those who tolerate them" (Conference Report, October 1913, p.8).

What were people wearing in 1913 to cause that kind of concern?

"She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner." (Proverbs 7:11,12).
"lieth in wait at every corner"

How many times a day to you encounter immoral words, images, situations? Elder Ezra Taft Benson said,

Recently, a young man commented that if he quit reading books, watching television, seeing movies, reading newspapers and magazines, and going to school, there was a chance he might live a clean life. This explains, in large part, the extent to which the insidious evil of sexual promiscuity has spread . . . (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.409-410).

We must be vigilant and careful as we protect our lives and thoughts from this plague.

"So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon" (Proverbs 7:13-17).
"I have decked my bed"; "I have perfumed my bed" The images of immorality are almost always made to appear appealing and beautiful.
"Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves" (Proverbs 7:18).
"let us solace ourselves with loves" The acts of immorality are so often referred to as love. Whatever else might be happening to the young person in this passage of scripture, it is not love!
"For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed" (Proverbs 7:19, 20).
"the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey" The "goodman" is is the husband in this story. The message here is that no one will ever know.
"With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks" . . . (Proverbs 7:21,22).
"as an ox goeth to the slaughter" How I pray and long for the members, and particularly the youth, of this church to see clearly what is at stake in this business of immorality.
"Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life" (Proverbs 7:23).
"knoweth not that it is for his life" We know. It is all about spiritual life and death
"Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her" (Proverbs 7:24-26).
"she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her" Jacob mentions, for example, David and Solomon (Jacob 2:24) who were "certainly strong men slain in part by immorality."
"Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death" (Proverbs 7:27).
"Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death" Satan's message that her house is the way to pleasure and fulfillment, that its chambers are chambers of freedom and love and self-expression, is among the most pernicious of Satanic lies in 6000 years of lies and deceit.

The second of these passages is in Provers 9. Again, as you review these verses and my commentary, ignore gender issues. This is a message for everybody.

"A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing" (Proverbs 9:13).

The quality of simpleness applied to the young man in Proverbs 7 is here applied to the woman.

"For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city . . ." (Proverbs 9:14)
"in the high places of the city" I think it used to be more difficult to find immoral images and opportunities than it is now. They glare at us and call to us from the magazine stands in our grocery stores, and from the programs on our TV's and from the alluring screens of our computers and our multiplexes.

"We are coming apart at the seams. Anyone can see that. Just read any newspaper any day. Evil has unclothed herself and walks the streets in brazen, impudent defiance "(Boyd K. Packer, "What Every Freshman Should Know," Ensign, Sept. 1973, 38).

"To call passengers who go right on their ways . . ." (Proverbs 9:15)
"To call passengers" How many escape the call? I am not speaking of submission here. But everyone hears the call. It is an evil echo permeating the pathways and highways of almost the entire planet.
"Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him . . ." (Proverbs 9:16)
"Whoso is simple, let him turn in" Some submit at once. They are not made for resistance and refusal.
"Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant" (Proverbs 9:17).
"she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet . . ." Others must be cajoled or enticed. "The experience will be wonderful, exciting, pleasurable, all the more because it will be our little secret."
"But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell" (Prov. 9:18).
"her guests are in the depths of hell" Read the 38th Psalm (verses 1-12) and see where the knowledge of his sins has taken David.

III. HONOR THE SANCTUARY. I was flying from California to Utah one Sunday, hoping to make it in time to fulfill a high council speaking assignment. The topic was reverence. The plane was delayed and for a while I thought I would be too late to give my message. Actually, I entered the chapel as the opening song began. But while I was waiting and flying, I found myself captivated by a few verses in Ecclesiastes 5.

"Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words" (Eccl. 5:1-3).

I think this passage is an appeal for reverence in the house of God. I have applied that message to chapels and temples. The first footnote in the chapter leads to the Topical Guide heading, Reverence.

What are the activities that are mentioned in these verses that sabotage reverence?

"Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God" Don't move around once you have arrived. Sit down and prepare for worship and edification.
"Be not rash with thy mouth" This warning comes in other ways in this passage. "Let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing." "a fool's voice is known by multitude of words" We ought to be quiet. The phrase "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10; D&C 101:16) might be more of an invitation that a commandment. "Don't move. Don't speak. Listen and meditate and you will feel my presence and my power. You will know who I am."
"For a dream cometh through the multitude of business"

We ought not to be conducting business during the meetings or while in the chapel waiting for meetings. I am not certain what the meaning of the word "dream" is in this phrase, but I suspect that it has something to do with being unaware of ones actual surroundings.

Conclusion The book of Ecclesiastes ends with this injunction:

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man" (12:13).

This is the underlying message of all scripture, including the two books we have studied in this lesson.

Old Testament Lesson 30: ''Come to the House of the Lord''

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: Like Hezekiah's kingdom of old, we too face a siege by an enemy at least as destructive as the Assyrians. We must make advance preparations so that the waters of life can come to us in our extremities. Introduction In 1980 I walked through Hezekiah's tunnel, a passageway built to provide water for the city of Jerusalem during the attack of the Assyrians. It was an astonishing stroll. We made our way through the darkness and sang hymns about light: "Lead Kindly Light," "The Lord is my Light," "There is Sunshine in my Soul Today," and so on. The tunnel is not straight. It bends and angles many times through nearly 1800 feet. If, as I understand, this construction began at both ends simultaneously, how in the world did they manage to find each other in the middle of all the limestone? Anyway, the tunnel was only a little shorter than I am and I managed to leave pieces of my cranial protoplasm on a number of small protrusions extending from the ceiling. What I thought of then as a spectacular feat of engineering now seems to be a lesson with deeper spiritual values. We too face a siege by an enemy at least as destructive as the Assyrians. We must make advance preparations so that the waters of life can come to us in our extremities. It will require faith and great effort, but if we wait until the enemy is at our gates, we may find ourselves unable to complete preparations before it is too late.

I. HEZEKIAH ORDERS THE HOUSE OF THE LORD TO BE CLEANSED. "And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers" (2 Chr. 28:24,25).

Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah, pushed the idolatry of Judah to new levels, erecting pagan altars throughout Jerusalem and Judea, and closing the doors of the Temple. The account of Ahaz's reign tells us that he "made Judea naked, and transgressed sore against the Lord" (2 Chr. 28:19). And when the judgements of God loomed over his people, he got worse.

"And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz. For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel" (2 Chr. 28:22,23).

So where did Hezekiah come from? I am astounded to see this kind of son from that kind of father. Once again the Lord and the Scriptures teach us that we can overcome our roots.

He was 25 when he became king, and "He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them" (2 Chr. 29:2).

The Assyrians to whom his father had paid tribute (see 2 Chr. 28:21), were not yet any threat, but Hezekiah, long before his workmen attacked the rock and brought the water of Gihon into the city and the pool of Siloam, was already arranging for his people to have living water.

He called the priests together and instructed them.

"And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,

"And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.

"For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs.

"Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.

"Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.

"For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.

"Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.

"My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense" (Chr. 29:4-11).

He charged the priesthood to do their duty and to enable all of his people to have the blessings of the temple. Does this sound at all familiar?

His longing for righteousness is a sweet insight into his life and into the future of Judah. "Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel . . . " (2 Chron 29:10).

Can you see the preparation Hezekiah is making to preserve his people from any enemy? In the beginning of his ministry he focused on the temple, the priesthood, and covenants. First he ordered the cleaning of the temple. Why does it matter that the temple is clean?

"And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it; and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God. But if it be defiled I will not come into it, and my glory shall not be there; for I will not come into unholy temples" (D&C 97:15-17).

I have had a sense of the need to keep the temple clean. As I have performed interviews with my ward members, as I have taught and prepared them for temple experiences, I have often tried to share the feeling I have that a part of my responsibility is to ensure that the cleanliness of the temple is not compromised by permitting people to go to the temple who shouldn't. That must be a part of what temple recommend interviews are about. But the preservation of purity in the temple is more than a priesthood responsibility. Every member who goes to the house of the Lord should examine his soul for uncleanness as he would examine his feet for dirt. No one wants to bring mud into the temple.

We have been gathered to the valleys of these mountains for the express purpose of purifying ourselves, that we may become polished stones in the temple of God, for it is written, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out." Christ is represented as a living stone, chosen of God and precious, and the Apostle represents the Saints "as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." We "are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone, in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord." Then my brethren, "what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol.12, p.161, February 16, 1868)

Once the temple was prepared, Hezekiah invited everybody to come. He planned a special Passover, held later than usual because of delays in preparing the temple (see 2 Chr. 30:2,3). Invitations were even sent to the nation of Israel, because Hezekiah knew his northern neighbors needed the living water as well as his own people.

"So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written. So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria" (2 Chr. 30:5,6).

Not many of them came. Many had already been carried away into captivity, and the rest were not very repentant:

"So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem" (2 C hr. 30:10,11).

And so a great repentance occurred in Judea. People came to the feast (30:13) and took away the pagan altars out of Jerusalem (30:14) and killed the Passover lamb (30:15,17), and both the priests and the people sanctified themselves (30:17,18).

It would take a great effort not to love Hezekiah. He did things for his people that few kings had done before. We must believe that a great many souls were better prepared for eternity than they had ever been before as they partook of the living waters provided by Hezekiah.

II. THE ASSYRIANS INVADE THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH. ISAIAH AND HEZEKIAH PRAY FOR HELP, AND AN ANGEL OF THE LORD DESTROYS MUCH OF THE ASSYRIAN ARMY. When Assyria had conquered the northern kingdom, she turned her attention to Judah.

And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him. (2 Chr. 32:2-7)

Hezekiah was a man of great faith who trusted in the Lord but still made weapons "in abundance." His statement of comparative numbers in verse 7 is like the testimony of Elisha in 2 Kings 6: "Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (6:16). What is the lesson we ought to learn from faith and works? How do we arm ourselves against the encroaching erosion of satanic doctrines? What weapons do we need in abundance? Faith? Scriptural knowledge? Repentance? Family unity? The Holy Spirit? How well armed are you? How well armed is your family?

Read the message of Sennacherib's servants to the people in Jerusalem in 2 Chronicles 32:9-17. How often are we taught by Lucifer's emissaries that our faith is not sufficient to protect us from the overwhelming challenges of mortality? How often do we fear that the encroaching and surrounding darkness will envelop us no matter how much faith we have? We are sometimes like the spies sent by Moses to have a look at the promised land. Ten of the twelve were so concerned by the size of the walls they forgot the promises of God and the goodness of the fruit of the land.

Did you notice as you read that the people of Judah were threatened with hunger and thirst ["Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst . . ." (32:11)]? But they were in no danger of hunger and thirst? Hezekiah had made abundant preparations for the water and the bread of life so that they could have it in abundance.

Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah gave themselves to prayer (32:20; Isaiah 37:14-20). Notice where Hezekiah went to pray (Is. 37:14). Is that important? Is the temple a place for the resolution of our most serious problems?

The Lord's answer came through Isaiah. It was filled with promises.

"Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake" (Isaiah 37:33-35).

The result?

"Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses" (Is. 37:36).

The Lord guaranteed that the Assyrians would not shoot a single arrow in Jerusalem. A promise, repeated four times in the scriptures, is worth a note here.

"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD" (Isaiah 54:17).
"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall revile against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord" (3 Nephi 22:17).
"Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you--there is no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper . . ." (D&C 71:9)
"That no weapon formed against them shall prosper; that he who diggeth a pit for them shall fall into the same himself . . ." (D&C 109:25).

III. JOSIAH AND HIS PEOPLE COVENANT TO SERVE THE LORD. Josiah was the great-grandson of Hezekiah. He came to the throne when he was eight years old (2 Chr. 34:1). By the time he was 16 - a truly critical age in our culture, Josiah "began to seek after the Lord" and to remove the pagan altars evidently erected by his father (2 Chr. 34:3). This is heady stuff for a 16-year old. But this young man demonstrated throughout his life that he was willing to take a stand against evil of any kind.

Like his ancestor Hezekiah, he determined to repair the temple (34:8). His servants, attending to this important work made a wonderful discovery. They found a copy of the book of the law - the five books of Moses. I wonder how long the people had been without it. Can you imagine what would happen in our day in only a generation or two if no one had scriptures. Think about the people of Zarahemla who had no records:

"And at the time that Mosiah discovered them, they had become exceedingly numerous. Nevertheless, they had had many wars and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time; and their language had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people of Mosiah, could understand them" (Omni 1:17).

What would happen to your family, your ward, your stake, if you had no scriptures? Notice how Josiah reacted when the words of the book were read to him and realized how far his people had strayed:

"And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes. And the king commanded . . . saying, Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book" (23 Chr 34:19-21).

Josiah's whole intent seems to have been to repair the temple and to repair his people. He brought everybody to the temple:

"Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem . And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah , and the inhabitants of Jerusalem , and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD. And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers" (2 Chr. 34:30-32, emphasis added).

The three parts of this covenant will excavate tunnels through the hardest hearts to allow the flow of living waters into our lives:

to walk after the LORD
to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes
to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book

I am confident that our immersion in the scriptures will increase our desire to do the things Josiah and his people covenanted to do. What a tragedy it would be if our own books were misplace or buried under the flood of daily duties so that years passed without their power being injected into our lives!

Conclusion Have you ever been really thirsty? I mean so thirsty that nothing else mattered? I remember hiking out of a deep canyon up a precipitous hillside and then several miles back to my car and a cooler of soda and ice water. I had lost my canteen while fishing a mountain river, and was fearful of the dangers of drinking from the stream. So my son and my brother-in-law and I hiked. They were both young and healthy and left me staggering in their dust as they practically loped up the incline and down the trail. When I got too far behind, they stopped and waited till I closed the gap, and then they were off again. I longed for liquid with an intensity that I have never experienced before nor since.

Hezekiah's and Josiah's people were suffering from that kind of spiritual thirst. The solutions provided by their leaders are eternal: temples, cleanliness, priesthood, repentance, scriptures . . . These activities are the tunnels that carry to us the living water promised by the Savior:

"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14 ).

Old Testament Lesson 29: ''He Took Up . . . the Mantle of Elijah''

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: Let us be hearers and doers. Introduction As I have read and taught these chapters in the books of Kings, I have found what I think are some worthwhile insights on following prophets These principles will form the outline for this Old Testament Lesson. Once again I offer this disclaimer. This lesson is not meant to replace the one in the Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Manual. It's purpose if give some additional insights into the scriptural background of the lesson and to illustrate with Old Testament examples some great principles taught here. I call these:

PRINCIPLES FOR FOLLOWING PROPHETS. This all started at Mt. Sinai where Elijah fled to get away from a death sentence pronounced by Jezebel, the queen of Israel (2K19:1-3). The Lord gave Elijah some great counsel about true conversion and told him to go back to Israel.

"And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room" (1K 19:15,16, emphasis added).

PFFP #1: GOD CHOOSES HIS PROPHETS. In thy room means "in thy place." Not even the present prophet picks a successor. The Lord makes those choices now as he did in ancient Israel.

"In our own dispensation when the Lord took the Prophet Joseph Smith from this life, the mantle of leadership fell upon Brigham Young. Documents of Church history are replete with examples of the divine confirmation of this fact. And after Brigham Young passed away, John Taylor wore the mantle - and so on in turn with each president. The established orderly pattern of succession dictates that the Lord has conferred the keys of presidency upon each apostle who is set apart as a member of the Council of the Twelve; and that when a quorum of First Presidency is dissolved (which occurs at the moment of the death of a president of the Church), the entire leadership of the Church and kingdom devolves upon the Council of the Twelve - their senior member presiding. In a general sense, every member of the Council of the Twelve has received the mantle already - the mantle of authority, light, revelation, direction, and the keys of presidency. However, in a specific sense the man who has seniority in that council receives the mantle at the death of the president of the Church, and he alone becomes the mouthpiece for the entire Church. He succeeds the prophet before him. Therefore, at the moment when President Harold B. Lee passed away, President Spencer W. Kimball stepped forth to preside over the Council of the Twelve and, therefore, over the entire Church." (Reed C. Durham Jr., "Q&A: Questions and Answers," New Era, Sept. 1975, 15-16)

PFFP #2: CALLS FROM THE PROPHET (AND OTHER CALLS) MAY NOT BE CONVENIENT. "So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee" (1K 19:19,20).

I was sitting at my computer on Sunday morning, August 5th at 8:34 when the phone rang. The stake executive secretary said, "Why aren't you in the Stake President's office?" The obvious answer is the one I gave. I did not know I was supposed to be. Bro. Pratt had called the evening before and left a message on my answering machine, but no one had listened to it. He said the Stake Presidency was waiting for me and my wife at that moment. Withing fifteen minutes of that phone message, I had been called to be a bishop.

Someone the other day said he thought such callings always came with a premonition. Not mine. I had no clue until the words were spoken. And even when premonitions come, they do not usually come with much advance notice. "In four months you will be called to be a Stake President. Get ready." I have a friend you learned from the Spirit that he would be called to be the bishop of his ward when the changes were made the following week. He took off for California and stayed for a month. The Stake President waited. The week after his return he was called.

Elisha was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen. He clearly came from a wealthy family. It was seed time. He had work to do, crops to plant, a family to support. If he couldn't do that, at least he wanted to say goodbye. Elijah said to him, "Go back again: for what have I done to thee?"

This is reminiscent of the teaching of the Savior:

"And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God . And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:57-62).

Elijah's response to Elisha's concerns seems to mean, "You are not under any compulsion. A call has been issued. Decide what you will do about it." Which brings us to the next fundamental.

PFFP#3: I WILL MAKE ANY SACRIFICE TO FOLLOW A PROPHET. So Elisha went back, but not to bid farewell to his parents.

"And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him" (1K 19:21).

Elisha's break with the past was complete. His slaughtering of the oxen (not all 24 animals) and his destruction of the farming implements necessary to carry on with his past vocation were a clear indication that he would not be looking backward but forward. He built the fire with the plowing equipment, killed the animals, and went after Elijah to become his attendant and to wait on the will of the Lord.

Does this story make you think of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19 who also had lots of stuff? The Savior told him to sell it all and give the money away and follow him.

"Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions" (Matt. 19:21,22).

Our prophet has asked many sisters to sacrifice extra earrings; young men have been encouraged to forgo tattooing or other body piercing. Young men have been asked by prophets to sacrifice a couple of years, but Ammon and his companions were asked to sacrifice 14 years. No sacrifice is too great.

The next principle requires a bit of introduction. Ahab, the apostate king of Israel, invited Jehosaphat, King of Judah, to join him in an attack on Syria in an attempt to regain territory lost in a previous war. Jehosaphat was willing but wanted to know what the Lord thought about it. "And Jehosaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day" (1K22:5).

Ahab called in four hundred prophets, false prophets of course, and they all assured him of resounding victory: "Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king" (1K22:6).

Jehosaphat was not impressed. "Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?" (1K22:6)

Ahab knew of one; a prophet named Micaiah.

"There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil" (1K22:8, emphasis added).

This statement of King Ahab contains the next fundamental.

PFFP #4: IF I DON'T LIKE WHAT THE PROPHET SAYS, I PROBABLY NEED TO HEAR IT. Our spiritual sensitivity ought to alert us when we hear things from the pulpit of the Conference Center that we do not like. Our discomfort - our hatred - is certainly a warning to us that we need to repent. We are not bothered by explanations of doctrines we believe or by directions to activities that we are already performing. People who are bitter about the constant warnings regarding R-rated movies, for example, are those people who like to go see R-rated movies.

PFFP 5: I WILL FOLLOW YOU ANYWHERE. I am pretty sure that this lesson is not one the writer of Kings meant to teach, but it is in the text and worth an observation or two.

Elijah knew he was about to be translated, and tried to get away from Elisha for the ceremony. But Elisha refused to leave him. Three times, Elijah explained that he had been called by the Lord to a certain place, and asked Elisha to tarry. And three times Elisha said, "I will not leave thee" (2K2:2,4,6) and traveled by his side.

Finally they came to Jordan.

"And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground . . . And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven" (2K2:8,11).

PFFP#6: SUSTAIN THE PROPHET WITH YOUR ACTIONS, NOT JUST WITH YOUR HAND. While all of this was happening, there were spectators about.

"And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan" (2K2:7).

They saw the river divided and Elijah translated, and they saw Elisha then as he picked up the mantle that had been dropped by Elijah, smote the waters of Jordan, and crossed back over on dry ground. And they knew something. God had shown Israel that Joshua was the successor to Moses by the division of the Jordan, and how the Lord had identified the successor to Elijah in the same way.

"And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him" (2K2:15).

Their bowing is much the same as our raising of hands. They thereby acknowledged that he was the prophet of Israel, the divinely appointed replacement to Elijah, But they had a concern.

"And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?" (2K2:16-18)

Can you see the lesson here? If they were willing to admit that he was the prophet, and if they were willing to bow before him, then they should have been willing to believe his words and leave Elijah in the care of the Lord.

PFFP #7: STAND AS WITNESS OF THE PROPHET. The next story comes from 2K5, and the story of Naaman the leper. A little maid served the wife of Naaman in the house of Naaman. She was an Israelite slave, captured in a military action and dragged away from home and family and church and country and friends to serve the woman who was married to the commander of the forces that had captured her. Under such circumstances, no one would have blamed her for forgetting all about Elisha and his prophetic and powerful calling.

But when she learned that her master had leprosy, she stood as a witness:

"And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria ! for he would recover him of his leprosy" (2K5:3).

Her testimony in such adverse circumstances thrills me. It also reminds me of my duty to

"stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life - "(Mosiah 18:9).

I remember vividly a time when I did not stand.

In 1968 I enrolled in a sociology class at Utah State University. The class was a required undergraduate credit and filled to the last seat in the last row. The experience was only saved from unbearable dreariness by a delightful instructor who taught students in preference to lessons, and who was flexible enough to explore almost anything we cared to mention.

One afternoon talk turned to Mormon History, and a question from a non-member about an event someone had mentioned called the Mountain Meadows Massacre. I sighed and slumped in my chair, hoping the subject would either change quickly or be dealt with fairly. I had been studying this very event in a Church History class at Institute, and had made it my business to read some of the literature available. I knew the tried and tired charges that had been flung so often at the church over the years. I hoped not to hear them again.

The event at Mountain Meadow was an indefensible atrocity, but it was the work of individuals and local leaders. In spite of the endless exertion of our enemies, no single shred of reliable evidence has ever linked the massacre to the authorities of the church. But class members brought up the old accusations and tried once again to make the connection. The discussion simmered and then boiled.

The instructor moderated brilliantly, his questions and insights moving class members to emotion, frustration, anger. Many raised their hands and their voices to speak, to question, and to condemn. Time passed, and not one single student had spoken one single word in defense of the church.

The instructor himself, after announcing himself as a member of the church and Gospel Doctrine teacher in his ward, declared his certain knowledge that the outrage had been ordered by Brigham Young himself. I knew he was wrong. I knew the facts. I was armed with ammunition enough to make a stand and a defense, and I had just returned from two years in South America doing that very thing. But I sat, still and silent, unwilling to risk the ridicule.

Suddenly, she was standing, a lovely, young girl with long brown hair. Her hands gripped the back of the chair before her; her knuckles were white with the strain. Her voice shook and there were tears, but she was more than a sociology student for a moment. She was, like Jeremiah of old, "a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls." (Jeremiah 1:18) She said, "Dr. Forsburg, I have been a member of the church for less than a year, and I have never heard of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. I don't know what you are talking about. But I know you are wrong!" That was all. She finished and she sat, surrounded by sudden and absolute silence.

I have forgotten all of Dr. Forsburg's lessons, but I will never forget hers. She was a witness standing in defense of the Lord and his prophet, because the one who should have been standing would not.

I am impressed that Naaman trusted this girl sufficiently to journey to the land of his enemies to seek a blessing from the prophet. International protocol took him first to the King of Israael with a letter from his king about the anticipated miracle. The Israelite King, who was a pauper in faith compared to the maid in Syria, nearly had a heart attack when he read the letter asking him to heal Naaman.

"And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me" (2K5:7).

Elisha heard what had happened and sent for the Syrian General, who came expectantly to the door of the man of God to receive a miracle and a blessing from him.

PFFP #8: WHETHER BY THE VOICE OF THE PROPHET OR THE VOICE OF HIS SERVANT, IT IS THE SAME. "And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean." (2K5:10)

There were at least a couple of reasons why this directive did not please Naaman. One of them was the messenger.

"Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper" (2K5:11).

Who are you willing to take direction from? The Bishop? The Quorum President? The Stake President? I was set apart from my mission by a General Authority. My sons were all set apart by their Stake Presidents. Does it matter? Not if your great concern is the leprosy. If the message is the prophet's message, does it matter at all who delivers it?

PFFP #9: I WILL DO THE LITTLE THINGS AS WELL AS THE BIG THINGS. Naaman had another concern about the directions received from Elisha through Gehazi. Why did it have to be the Jordan River?

"Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage" (2K5:12).

In response to this blast, Naaman's servants (more than one) counseled him.

"And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?" (2K5:13)

Surely if Naaman had been told to travel to Mt. Hermon, climb to the very top, dig an eight-foot hole and look for a blue stone to rub on the leprous spots, he would have done it. But bathing? Seven times? In a muddy river?

If a letter came from the office of the First Presidency asking all High Priests to settle their affairs and raise as much capital as possible in preparation for an August move to Jackson County, most of us would become instantly involved in the business of getting ready. But what if one of the Prophets said something like this?

"Let us be good people. Let us be friendly people. Let us be neighborly people. Let us be what members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints ought to be." (Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, May 2001, p. 6)

For the prophets to have real power in our lives, we must hearken to everything they say; not just the most exciting and unusual things they say.

PFFP #10: I WILL DO WHAT YOU TELL ME TO DO UNTIL I HAVE DONE IT ALL. "Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean" (2K5:14).

What would have happened if Naaman had quit after only six dips in the river? What if Nephi had given up and gone back to the valley after only two attempts to get the plates. What if Peter had refused to let down his nets one more time (see Luke 54-11)? What does Alma say will happen if we fail to nourish the tree even after it has sprouted? (Alma 32:38)

I can imagine someone saying, "I tried reading the scriptures. I read them almost every day for a week and a half. Nothing happened, so I quit." Or this: "I paid my tithing last week, and I'll tell you what I got. I got ten percent less enjoyment out of my income." Where are all these promised blessings?

PFFP #11: I WILL REMEMBER THAT THE PROPHET CAN SEE THINGS I CANNOT SEE. This fundamental and the one that follow are related, but there is a significant difference. The context was a continuing war between Israel and Syria. But each time the King of Syria made an incursion, the King of Israel knew in advance and was able to take defensive measures or else avoid the conflict altogether. The Syrian Monarch was mad! He called a staff meeting:

"Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?" (2K6:11)

He suspected a spy, but one of his servants knew better. My guess is that it was Naaman.

"And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber" (2K6:12).

King Ben-Hadad wanted Elisha, either to destroy him or to employ him, and he sent horses and chariots and a great host to Dothan to get him. When Elisha's servant saw the enemy, he ran to Elisha in a panic: "Alas, my master! how shall we do?" (2K6:15)

Here is the lesson.

"And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2K6:16,17).

We often refer to priesthood leaders, including the prophet, as watchmen on the tower. We need watchmen because we are often afflicted with the same deficiency of vision people suffered in the days of Enoch: "their eyes cannot see afar off . . ." (Moses 6:27). The awareness that prophets can see afar off gives a special emphasis to prophetic teachings about getting out of debt and supporting the Perpetual Education Fund and paying an honest tithe. Some things we can see, like the horses and chariots of fire, only with prophetic help.

And speaking of the usually invisible horses and chariots of fire, Jeffrey R. Holland said this:

"In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike—and they will—you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham's seed" (Jeffrey R. Holland, "For Times of Trouble," New Era, Oct. 1980, 15).

PFFP #12: I WILL BELIEVE THE PROPHET'S WORDS EVEN IF WHAT THEY SAY SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE. Elisha smote the Syrians who had come to capture him with blindness and led them into the center of Israelite strength in Samaria. The king, finding them in his power, wanted to destroy them. "Shall I smite them?" he asked Elisha. Elisha refused to give permission. Instead the King made a great feast for his enemies and sent them home (2K6:21-23).

But then (in the very next verse) the Syrians come again and besiege Samaria. Famine followed, as you can imagine, and people were so desperate for food that "an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver" (2K6:25)

These folks were hungry enough to pay about two pounds of silver for a donkey head. And donkeys were unclean under the Law of Moses. They also were willing to pay 5 pieces of silver (five shekels, or about two ounces) for a half pint of dove poop.

But things got worse than that (see 2K6:26-29), and the king blamed Elisha for this scourge of famine, probably because Elisha had refused the king permission to destroy this very army when it was in his power to do so. After he had heard the exchange in the verses above, the king cried:

"God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day" (2K6:31).

When the king's servant came for Elisha, Elisha gave him a message.

"Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria" (2K7:1).

Now you must remember that Elisha is talking to a man who may have been eating donkey heads garnished with dove poop. The man was understandably skeptical.

"Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he [Elijah] said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof" (2K7:2).

The siege showed no signs of ending. And even if it did, food would have to be shipped in. This is reminiscent of another prophecy from Utah's history. The year was 1848.

The year 1848 in Utah - the year following the advent of the pioneers into Salt Lake Valley - was a very trying one. The people were threatened with famine, and it was only by the exercise of the most rigid economy and putting the people on scant rations that they could hope to make the meager supplies of provisions last until the next harvest. The settlers were but half clad as well as half fed, and such clothing as they had was in tatters, and in many cases consisted of the skins of wild animals. It was in the midst of these conditions that Heber C. Kimball in a congregation of the saints made the following remarkable prophecy:

"It will be but a little while, brethren, before you shall have food and raiment in abundance, and shall buy it cheaper than it can be bought in the cities of the United States."

"I do not believe a word of it," said Elder Charles C. Rich, a member of the Council of the Apostles; and perhaps nine-tenths of those who had heard the astounding declaration were of the same opinion. Even the prophet Heber himself was heard to say "that he was afraid he had missed it this time." His biographer, however, relates the fulfillment of the prophecy in the following passage:

The occasion for the fulfillment of this remarkable prediction was the unexpected advent of the gold-hunters, on their way to California. The discovery of gold in that land had set on fire, as it were, the civilized world, and hundreds of richly laden trains now began pouring across the continent on their way to the new Eldorado. Salt Lake Valley became the resting-place, or "halfway house" of the nation, and before the Saints had had time to recover from their surprise at Heber's temerity in making such a prophecy, the still more wonderful fulfillment was brought to their very doors. The gold-hunters were actuated by but one desire: to reach the Pacific Coast; the thirst for mammon having absorbed, for the time, all other sentiments and desires. Impatient at their slow progress, in order to lighten their loads, they threw away or "sold for a song" the valuable merchandise with which they had stored their wagons to cross the plains. Their choice, blooded, though now jaded stock, they eagerly exchanged for the fresh mules and horses of the pioneers, and battered off, at almost any sacrifice, dry goods, groceries, provisions, tools, clothing, etc., for the most primitive outfits, with barely enough provisions to enable them to reach their journey's end. Thus, as the Prophet Heber had predicted, "States goods" were actually sold in the streets of Great Salt Lake City cheaper than they could have been purchased in the City of New York. (B. H. Roberts, New Witnesses for God, Vol.3, p.243, 244)

The scriptures contain a promise, often repeated to prophets, that may help understand this matter. These two examples were from promises made to Samuel and Enoch.

"And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground" (1 Sam 3:19).

"Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify" (Moses 6:34).

Conclusion Surely in the list of the 12 principles above are one or two things that we ought to work on individually. I had a friend who had a dream of a heavenly council in which names were being considered for an important service in part of the Lord's kingdom. Someone said, "Let's call _________ [and here he mentioned the name of the dreaming friend]. He listens to the Spirit and the prophets."

"Yes, he listens," another replied, "but he doesn't do anything about it."

May that never be true of us. Let us be hearers and doers (see James 1:22).

"Karl G. Maeser was taking a group of missionaries across the Alps. As they reached a summit, he stopped. Gesturing back down the trail to some poles set in the snow to mark the way across the glacier, he said, 'Brethren, there stands the Priesthood. They are just common sticks like the rest of us but the position they hold makes them what they are to us. If we step aside from the path they mark, we are lost.'" (Boyd K. Packer, "The Spirit Beareth Record," Ensign, June 1971, 88)

Old Testament Lesson 28: ''After the Fire a Still Small Voice''

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: We must learn a lesson from the Lord's care for Elijah. The ravens were ready. A widow was willing. God can help us meet our needs if we are diligent in his service. And he almost always helps us through the intervention of his disciples. Introduction We do not understand with perfect clarity the activities of those in Paradise, but I have wondered what Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were doing during the reigns of Jeroboam and his appalling successors. We know they are Gods now (see D&C 132:37), but in those early years of apostasy, the view from above must have been heartrending.

In 875 BC Ahab ascended to the throne in Samaria. "And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him" (1 Kings 16:30). He was bad enough on his own, but he compounded the depth of his iniquity when he chose a wife:

"And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria . And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him" (1 Kings 16:31-33).

During the reign of Ahab God did what he has always done when his people wander away from their covenants and begin the service of false Gods. He sent a prophet—in this case a man whose name and deeds have echoed across the centuries, and whose presence has been pivotal in at least two dispensations besides his own—a prophet named Elijah.

I. ELIJAH SEALS UP THE HEAVENS, IS MIRACULOUSLY SUSTAINED, AND RAISES A WIDOW'S SON FROM THE DEAD. "AND Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word" (1 Kings 17:1).

God has many ways of getting people's attention. You might consider a review of D&C 43:25 where many of these methods are listed. God has often used the weather to alert people to his commandments and his will. But in this case he announced the drought beforehand and then had Elijah add a remarkable postscript: "there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word." Elijah then promptly disappeared.

"And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there" (1 Kings 17:2-4).

At first the people (including Ahab) who knew of the warning might have been laughing. Baal worshipers were not much into divine weather control. One wonders how many months went by without dew or rain before Ahab began to send out the search parties. And as the months continued to pass—36 of them without a drop of moisture - Ahab and his people progressed from concern to fear to terror. But, apparently, they did not progress to repentance.

The people in the days of Nephi, son of Helaman responded with reformation to a similar circumstance: "For the earth was smitten that it was dry, and did not yield forth grain in the season of grain; and the whole earth was smitten, even among the Lamanites as well as among the Nephites, so that they were smitten that they did perish by thousands in the more wicked parts of the land. And it came to pass that the people saw that they were about to perish by famine, and they began to remember the Lord their God; and they began to remember the words of Nephi. And the people began to plead with their chief judges and their leaders, that they would say unto Nephi: Behold, we know that thou art a man of God, and therefore cry unto the Lord our God that he turn away from us this famine, lest all the words which thou hast spoken concerning our destruction be fulfilled" (Helaman 11:6-8).

Why had God chosen Elijah to exercise such power? I think it was more than the confluence of need and opportunity. One phrase from 1 Kings 17 tells us much about what made this man powerful: "he went and did according unto the word of the LORD" (I Kings 17:5). How would you like that for an epitaph on your tombstone? Anyway, there must be a correlation between power and obedience.

Ahab would not have dreamed of searching for Elijah in a place where there was no food. But he searched everywhere else. Obadiah told Elijah

"As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not" (1 Kings 18:10).

Note that Ahab believes that rain will only come at the command of Elijah, and still there is no nuance of repentance in him.

The ravens supplied Elijah with food and he remained hidden until the drought dried up the brook. Then Elijah was commanded to go to "Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee" (1 Kings 17:9).

We must learn a lesson from the Lord's care for Elijah. The ravens were ready. A widow was willing. God can help us meet our needs if we are diligent in his service. And he almost always helps us through the intervention of his disciples. The ravens were much more the exception than the rule. Like the manna in the wilderness, they were a special provision for a special time and place. But mostly the help we need and pray for comes from those who, like the widow of Zarephath, are willing to do good. These are people who follow the promptings of the Spirit, without knowing many times that they have been prompted at all.

And not all of that divinely directed assistance concerns physical challenges. I love a little story from the Ensign called "Fresh Crab and French Bread" that addresses this principle.

I love the faith of this widow of Zarephath. I love the faith of all widows. My own mother became a widow when I was 17. I was continually astonished at the depth of her spirituality. The impoverished widow of Zarephath was about to cook her final meal. There was nothing else for her and her son to eat. But when she was asked to share with Elijah, she shared. She listened to his promise of sufficient food - "For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth" [1 Kings 17:14]) - believed him, and made him a small meal and trusted in the goodness of God. That trust was rewarded.

"And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah" (1 Kings 17:15,16).

I hope you pause often in your study of these marvelous stories to search for the lessons. Did the Lord intend that we should learn something about ourselves from this story? Did he intend that we should learn something about him?

Here is another story from the Ensign to illustrate the principle that a little can be enough when it is combined with sufficient faith.

"One Shovelful of Coal"

Have you ever been deterred from giving because you had so little to give? This widow shows us that the attitude with which we give matters much more than the amount we are able to give. If we give all we have, it will always be enough. Remember the small boy with his loaves and fishes? "There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?" (John 6:9). The answer to the question, "what are they among so many?" will always be, "Enough; enough to feed a multitude." When we give all we have, it will always be enough.

Remember the widow in the New Testament making a contribution to the temple treasury?

"And he called [unto him] his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living" (Mark 12:43,44).

Would the Lord withhold blessings from her because she did not give enough? The few drops of oil and the measures of flour, given with open generosity and trust, are more than a tanker of Canola Oil and the harvest of a hundred acres of wheat.

But the miraculous multiplication of the oil and flour was not the greatest miracle this woman was to see. When her son died, Elijah restored him to life and to his mother. I suspect that on a spiritual level, bringing the prophet into our homes will always give us and our children life. Have you brought President Hinckley's teachings and counsel into your home? In what ways? What blessings have come to you because you have given him access to your family?

II. ELIJAH CHALLENGES THE PRIESTS OF BAAL AND OPENS THE HEAVENS FOR RAIN. In the third year Elijah made his way to Ahab.

"And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, [Art] thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim" (1 Kings 18:17,18).

It is always difficult for the unrepentant to isolate the cause of their distress. Ahab blamed Elijah for the lack of rain, rather than his own iniquity or the iniquity of his people. In what ways might we be like that? Why is it so difficult for us to look inside ourselves for the causes of our problems?

Elijah said to his adversary:

"Now therefore send, [and] gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table" (1 Kings 18:19).

And Ahab had to comply. The need for moisture was a larger consideration than any amount of pride or rebellion. If this man who had sealed the heavens wanted a convocation on Mt. Carmel, he could have it.

Elijah spoke to the 850 false prophets and all of Israel. His question is one for all the ages of men. "How long halt ye between two opinions?" (1 Kings 18:21 ), For goodness sakes, make up your mind about God and your relationship with him!

Do you know people who are struggling to choose between God and the world? Between riches and righteousness? Between friends and faithfulness?

Elijah organized a contest between Baal and God involving divine intervention in the offering of sacrifice. The false prophets and priests failed in their efforts to call forth a display of power from Baal. Then, in the evening, Elijah prayed,

"And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again" (1 Kings 18:36.37).

This man who had sealed the heavens now offered to gathered Israel a second evidence of the power of God.

"Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God" (1 Kings 18:38,39).

The rains came but still no sign or repentance. Jezebel, upon hearing of the death of her false prophets, swore to end the life of Elijah. No multitude of zealous Israelites intervened to protect him. Did the people still fear Jezebel more than God? Elijah was forced to flee for his life, and ended his journey at Mt. Horeb which is Mt. Sinai (see 1 Kings 19:3-8).

III. ELIJAH IS COMFORTED BY THE HOLY GHOST AND INSTRUCTED TO CONTINUE IN GOD'S WORK. Elijah seemed to be convinced that his ministry had failed and that he was the only faithful Israelite left. He must have wondered how the years of drought and famine, and the spectacular display of power on Carmel could have failed to reclaim his people. Perhaps this the underlying purpose behind the lesson God taught him so eloquently at Mt. Horeb.

"And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:11,12).

President Packer spoke of this matter of the still small voice and of our need to learn to hear it.

"Many years ago John Burroughs, a naturalist, one summer evening was walking through a crowded park. Above the sounds of city life he heard the song of a bird.

He stopped and listened! Those with him had not heard it. He looked around. No one else had noticed it.

It bothered him that everyone should miss something so beautiful.

He took a coin from his pocket and flipped it into the air. It struck the pavement with a ring, no louder than the song of the bird. Everyone turned; they could hear that!" (Boyd K. Packer, "Prayers and Answers," Ensign, Nov. 1979, 19)

We can all hear the great winds and the earthquakes. We can all hear the sound of money. Those divine and penetrating echoes from eternity are the ones we most often miss.

"It is difficult to separate from the confusion of life that quiet voice of inspiration.

Answers to prayer come in a quite way. The scriptures describe that voice of inspiration as a still, small voice.

If you really try, you can learn to respond to that voice." (Boyd K. Packer, "Prayers and Answers," Ensign, Nov. 1979, 19,20)

Joseph Smith learned to hear that voice clearly. He testified:

"Yea, thus saith the still, small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest . . ." (D&C 85:6).

Do your bones quake from the still small voice, or does the Lord need something a little stronger to get your attention?

Conclusion There are many lessons to be learned here. One of the most important has to do with the failure of miracles and signs to reform the Israelite nation. The role of miracles in true conversion is problematic. If people could be truly converted - that is, converted to a lifetime of righteousness and obedience - by miracles, God would surely use them. But mostly he does not, not for skeptics and unbelievers. Richard Bushman wrote of this matter. Joseph was surrounded by enemies and doubters. In such conditions,

Joseph Smith might have been expected to answer the skeptics' charges with miraculous "proof." After all, the scriptures promised signs to believers. But Joseph Smith didn't. Why?
The answer lies in the Lord's reply to those who sought signs and miracles as "proof." In July 1830 the Lord told Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to "require not miracles." (D&C 24:13.) "He that seeketh signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation," the Lord said a year later. (D&C 63:7.) "Faith cometh not by signs," he continued, "but signs follow those that believe. Wherefore, I, the Lord, am not pleased with those among you who have sought after signs and wonders for faith, and not for the good of men unto my glory." (D&C 63:9—12.) Miracles occur to bless the faithful, not to convert skeptics" (Richard Bushman, "I Have a Question," Ensign, Feb. 1990, 62)

Old Testament Lesson 27: The Influence of Wicked and Righteous Leaders

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Introduction Prophets are not required to do things that make sense to anyone but God. Their prophetic utterances are often received with ridicule and derision. Their actions are frequently misunderstood. But what Ahijah did to Jeroboam must have seemed strange beyond all comprehension:

"And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces . . ." (1 Kings 11:29,30).

There was of course a divine and significant purpose in the act - it was intended to teach Jeroboam a lesson about the will of God.

"And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee . . . I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes" (1 Kings 11:31,35).

With the call came a great promise:

"And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee" (1 Kings 11:38).

With the calling and the promise of God safely in his heart, we might expect that Israel - at least the 10 tribes - would have a truly and continually righteous king. But we have seen with Saul and David that righteous kings have been in short supply among the descendants of Israel so far.

As we review the division of Israel and subsequent events, we will examine some profound principles of leadership taught in the scriptures.

Leadership Principle #1: Rehoboam became king of all 12 tribes when Solomon died, and "all the congregation of Israel come, and spake unto Rehoboam . . ." What they wanted was a little relief. Solomon had taxed them and worked them to exhaustion.

"Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee" (1 Kings 12:4).

This request of the people brings us to our first principle of leadership. Notice where Rehoboam went for advice on the matter of this request.

"And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?" (1 Kings 12:6).

This is Leadership Principle #1 (LP#1). WHEN THINGS REALLY MATTER AND YOU NEED GOOD ADVICE, TALK TO THE GUYS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE.

Joseph Smith said it this way:

"The way to get along in any important matter is to gather unto yourselves wise men, experienced and aged men, to assist in council in all times of trouble. Handsome men are not apt to be wise and strong-minded men; but the strength of a strong-minded man will generally create course features, like the rough, strong bough of the oak. You will always discover in the first glance of a man, in the outlines of his features something of his mind" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843-44, p.299).

Paul, in the book of Hebrews, said,

"But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Heb. 5:14).

So Rehoboam brought in the bearded brigade and asked for advice. That was good! And their advice was good, too.

"If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever" (1 Kings 12:7).

"Give them what they have asked for," the old men suggested. "Serve them."

LP#2 comes from 1 Kings 12:7. BE A SERVANT TO THOSE YOU LEAD. You will remember what the Lord said about this:

". . . whosoever shall be great among you, let him be your servant" (Matt. 20:32).

"But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant" (Matt, 23:11).

I got a call early in the morning the day after a putrid evaluation of my abilities by my seminary students. I was devastated by my scores, and my supervisor, who had administered the evaluation, was surprised as well. I could not sleep that night and about 4:00 AM went back to the Seminary to pray and ponder over the matter. At 5:00 AM my supervisor called. "I could not sleep," he said. "I've been sitting in my office trying to understand what is wrong, and I think I have figured it out . . ." And he had! What he told me changed the way I taught and changed my life. He was more than a supervisor. He was a servant. I will be forever grateful for him and to him.

<>LP#3: IF YOU GO TO KIDS FOR COUNSEL, YOU MAY NOT GET MUCH VALUABLE HELP.

1 Kings 12:8 begins with a word that links it to the counsel given by the elders in the previous verse: "But he forsook the counsel of the old men . . ."

What did Rehoboam do after he abandoned the counsel of the old men? He "consulted with the young men" (1 Kings 12:8). Their advice to the king? "Thou shalt speak unto the people . . . my little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins" (1 Kings 12:10). In other words, tell them you are going to increase their burdens.

My brother-in-law was a bishop when he accompanied his explorers on a river trip in Idaho. One day they stopped in a gorge where a towering rope swing offered the thrill of swinging off a the top of a cliff and dropping 40 feet into a deep pool of water below. The boys coaxed their bishop to give it a try. The other youth leaders - scoutmasters and assistants - told him he was an idiot for even considering it. But he did consider it and did take the advice of the 16- and 17- year-old youths and he did come home with ugliest and largest bruise I had ever seen. It covered his back in blue and yellow and purple from his neck down. He was so worried about being entangled in the rope when he let go that he forgot to plan his fall and hit the water flat on his back.

So Rehoboam delivered his answer to the people:

"And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him; And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions" (I Kings 12:13,14).

The people were not at all pleased.

"So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only" (1 Kings 12:19,20; The Septuagint says Judah and Benjamin followed Rehoboam).

God refused to give the Southern Kingdom of Judah permission to war against the rebellious tribes following Jeroboam (see 1 Kings 12:22-24) and so the division of Israel's descendants was complete.

LP#4: NEVER MAKE IMPORTANT DECISIONS BASED ON FEAR.

Jeroboam set up his kingdom in the north, but he soon perceived that he had a problem. The temple, that incredible building erected at such sacrifice and expense by his people and the people of Judah, was in Jerusalem, in what was now a foreign nation.

"And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah" (I K. 12:26,27).

Jeroboam was frightened. What if he lost his kingdom? What if his people, in their love for the temple, turned against him and abandoned him? You remember, don't you, the promise Ahijah made to Jeroboam when he ripped his clothes? Be righteous and the Lord will "build you a sure house."

In his fear, Jeroboam "the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto [his people], It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi" (1 K. 12:28-31).

King Jeroboam, in his fear, led the people into idolatry.

Elder Holland wrote and article in the March 2000 Ensign and said something about LP#4.

"Once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don't give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. "Cast not away therefore your confidence." (Heb. 10:35) Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you" (Ensign, March 2000, p. 9).

LP#5: TRUST THE PROPHET ALWAYS; NOT JUST IN A CRISIS.

We find a remarkable, almost entertaining inconsistency in Jeroboam. In I K. 14:1, his son gets sick.

"And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh : behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people. And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child" (1 K: 14:2,3; emphasis added).

Jeroboam the king had chosen not to trust the prophet's promise about a "sure house," but when he was faced with the loss of his son, he turned to him at once. He sent his disguised wife to try and fool a blind man (14:4). But Ahijah knew who was coming and what she wanted, and had his message ready. He prophesied the destruction of the house of Jeroboam (14:7-11) and concluded with this solemn note: "when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die" (14:12).

LP#6: REMEMBER HOW MUCH INFLUENCE ONE WICKED MAN IN A POSITION OF POWER CAN HAVE.

"And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him" (2 Chron. 12:1; emphasis added).

1 K.14:l6 tells us that Jeroboam "did sin, and . . . made Israel to sin." What an indictment! It is difficult not to think of Amalikiah:

"Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men" (Alma 46:9).

How carefully a leader must guard his conduct. As Alma said to Corianton, "When they saw your conduct they would not believe in my words." (Alma 39:11)

LP#7: TEACH PEOPLE FROM THE SCRIPTURES.

The next lesson comes from 2 Chronicles 17, and from a great king of Judah, three generations removed from Rehoboam, named Jehoshaphat. "The Lord was with Jehoshaphat ...he sought to the Lord God. ..and walked in his commandments. . . and his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord. . ." (2 Chron. 17:3,4,6).

In the third year of his reign, "he sent to his princes . . . to teach in the cities of Judah And with them he sent Levites . . . and with them. . . priests." (2 Chron 17:7,8).

"And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people" (2 Chron 17:9).

Jehoshaphat, in an effort to bless his people, caused them to be taught out of the "book of the law" - the scriptures. He knew that when a need arises to solve problems, nothing works better than that.

"Bend your efforts and your activities to stimulating meaningful scripture study among the members of the Church. Often we spend great effort in trying to increase the activity levels in our stakes. We work diligently to raise the percentages of those attending sacrament meetings. We labor to get a higher percentage of our young men on missions. We strive to improve the numbers of those marrying in the temple. All of these are commendable efforts and important to the growth of the kingdom. But when individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, these other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow" (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.44).

LP#8: WHEN YOU HAVE A PROBLEM YOU CAN'T SOLVE, GET DIVINE HELP.

Later on, a confederation of three armies combined to come against Jehoshaphat in battle. When the King was warned of this impending attack, and when he knew that he could not prevail against so great a force, he was fearful. But notice what he did when confronted by a problem for which he knew he had no solution: his actions are so different from those of Jeroboam, who also feared.

"Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah" (2 Chron 20:3).

He set himself to seek the Lord. The foundation of Jehoshaphat's faith lies in his knowledge that if God is on your side, you are never out-numbered.

Jehoshaphat himself began to seek for divine help, and he called on all Judah to fast.

"And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD" (2 Chron. 20:4).

Jehoshaphat offered a wonderful prayer, expressing his faith and reminding the Lord of his promises. He begged for the Lord's help and concluded with this declaration:

"And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee" (2 Chron. 20:10,11,12, emphasis added).

Then the Spirit of the Lord moved one of the congregation and he spoke to them all with this promise:

"Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's" (2 Chron.20:15).

This man, a prophet to the people, counseled Jehoshaphat to take his people the next day and go down to the place where they would meet the invading army. But he said to them,

"Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you" (2 Chron. 20:17).

What happened the next day is one of the great stories in the Bible. The people of Judah "rose early in the morning and went forth into the wilderness. . ." (2 Chron. 20:20). Jehoshaphat gave them this instruction as they departed.

"Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper" (2 Chron 20:20).

"Let us go up to the battle," he said, "with perfect faith, because we believe the word that came to us from the Lord through his prophet."

LP#9: BELIEVE THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS-BELIEVE THEM ENOUGH TO ACT ON THEM.

And so they went. Jehoshaphat did not appoint archers or pikemen or charioteers or a phalanx of swordsmen to lead the way. " And when he had consulted with his people, he appointed singers. . . as they went out before the army" (2 Chron. 20:21).

Surely no more courageous or unusual congregation ever went into battle. They might have said to their enemies what David said to Goliath:

"Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear~ and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied" (I Samuel 17:45).

And so they came, but without even a sling. They came with hymn books!

"And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped" (2 Chron. 20:22-24).

The attacking armies turned on each other, "and none escaped." It took three days for Judah to gather the spoils (2 Chron. 20:25). Which brings us to the final principal, one that we must not forget.

LP#10: FALL ON YOUR FACE AT HIS FEET, GIVING HIM THANKS.

"And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day" (2 Chron. 20:26).

Of course in this context the word blessed means thanked. They did not forget to give thanks, nor must we. When God raises his banners and marches in our defense; when he smites our enemies before us and opens doors that no mortal effort could open; when he loves us and forgives us and saves us, we must be like the tenth leper. We must fall "down on our face at his feet, giving him thanks." (Luke 17:16)

Old Testament Lesson 26: King Solomon: Man of Wisdom, Man of Foolishness

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: Wisdom was a gift Solomon had sought and the Lord had provided (I Kings 3:9-11). But it did not save him, because somehow he was turned out of the path of his duty. Introduction President Heber J. Grant made an applicable remark:

There is but one path of safety to the Latter-day Saints, and that is the path of duty. It is not a testimony, it is not marvelous manifestations, it is not knowing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, that it is the plan of salvation, it is not actually knowing that the Savior is the Redeemer, and that Joseph Smith was His prophet, that will save you and me, but it is the keeping of the commandments of God, the living the life of a Latter-day Saint (Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1915, p.82).

To the interesting list of things that will not provide safety, we might add wisdom. Solomon was the wisest of all men, "So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart" (1 Kings 10:23,24).

It was a gift Solomon had sought and the Lord had provided (I Kings 3:9-11). But it did not save him, because somehow he was turned out of the path of his duty.

I. THE LORD BLESSES SOLOMON WITH WISDOM, RICHES, AND HONOR. Have you seen the movie Aladdin? If you had your own genie and three wishes, what would you ask for? What an opportunity that would be. Solomon was invited by the Lord to ask for anything: "In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee" (1 Kings 3:5). Whenever we have opportunities to choose, whether they be of this significance or not, we show clearly whether or not we hunger and thirst after righteousness. Solomon certainly did. He was a man of exceptional righteousness. He saw the Lord on at least two different occasions (1 Kings 3:5; 9:2). He sought for blessings that would enable him to bless others (1 Kings 3:7-9). He judged Israel with insight and inspiration - with unparalleled wisdom - as is shown in the case of the two harlots who claimed the same baby (1 Kings 3:16-28). How wise was Solomon? The Lord said to him:

"I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee" (1 Kings 3:12).

For much of his reign, Solomon presided over a kingdom of unsurpassed peace and prosperity. The Queen of Sheba visited him and concluded that everything she had heard of Solomon was understated.

"Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice" (1 Kings 10:8,9).

The record suggests that Solomon received annually 666 talents of gold (1 Kings 10:14). At today's prices that is probably in the neighborhood of $15,000,000.00. The description of his wealth is astonishing (1 Kings 10:14-23).

II. KING SOLOMON DIRECTS THE CONSTRUCTION OF A GREAT TEMPLE AND HAS A PALACE BUILT FOR HIMSELF. David longed to build a temple, but the Lord would not allow it.

Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: [As for me], I [had] in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou [hast been] a man of war, and hast shed blood (1 Chron. 28:2,3).

Of all the sons of David, Solomon was chosen for the throne and for this sacred duty. "And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel . And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father" (1 Chron. 28:5,6).

David gave the charge to Solomon, and also gave him the pattern for the temple, which he had received by revelation.

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it. Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD (1 Chron. 28:9-13).

David gave his son the pattern for the temple, which he had received "by the [S]pirit."

All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern (1 Chron 28:19).

The Lord made a powerful promise to the children of Israel as they labored on the temple.

"Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel" (1 Kings 6:12,13).

My son wrote home from his mission field in California and sent a photo of himself standing on a hillside with his left hand raised and his index finger pointing to the roof of a house on the slope of that hill. He wrote a caption for the photo: Meg Ryan's house! I guess it is pretty impressive to be able to say that you live and work in an area where somebody as famous as Meg Ryan lives. But I have often thought that I should have sent a photo back to him - one of me with my finger on the top of the Timpanogos Temple - to which I wold have added the caption, God's house!

The Lord's promise in verse 6:13 to dwell among his people is a sobering reminder of the implications of the explosion in temple construction. In a way never seen before in the history of the world, God dwells among his people.

Brigham Young said,

I have determined, by the help of the Lord and this people, to build him a house. You may ask, "Will he dwell in it?" He may do just as he pleases; it is not my prerogative to dictate to the Lord. But we will build him a house, that, if he pleases to pay us a visit, he may have a place to dwell in, or if he should send any of his servants, we may have suitable accommodations for them. I have built myself a house, and the most of you have done the same, and now, shall we not build the Lord a house? (JD, vol. 1:p. 376).

In the 1990s, President Hinckley determined, with the help of the Lord, to build Him a multitude of 'houses.' How blessed His people are to have so may places where we can go and receive his richest blessings and highest ordinances.

The 6th chapter of 1 Kings ends with a this declaration: "And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which [is] the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it" (1 Kings 6:38).

Notice how the next verse (1 Kings 7:1) begins. What do you think the historian who wrote Kings meant to convey to us by using the word 'But' to begin the description of Solomon's own house?

But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.

Note the size of the temple: "And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits" (2 Kings 6:2).

And the size of Solomon's house? "He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars" (1 Kings 7:2).

Does it matter that Solomon spent more than twice as much time and made a bigger house for himself than he made for the Lord? Is it possible to anticipate the future troubles of this great king because of what we see happening here?

As a point of interest you might note that Solomon's temple was about 100 feet long and 30 feet wide and 45 feet high. Modern mini-temples average about 110 feet by 80 feet, and are about 50 feet high. The Salt Lake Temple is 186.5 feet long and 118.8,5 feet wide. It is 210 feet high.

The temple of Solomon was adored with incredible riches. Note in 2 Chron. 28:14-18 that David had prepared 108,000 talents of gold for use in the temple. Gold today is selling for about $600.00 per ounce. Each talent weighed just over 75 pounds (75.6 lbs). A talent of gold was worth $725,760.00 at today's prices. But David had 108,000 talents. Thus, the gold of the temple alone was worth over $78 billion (see 1 Kings 6:20-22).

III. SOLOMON DEDICATES THE TEMPLE. The dedicatory prayer for this temple is in 1 Kings 8:23-53. It is quite wonderful and worth a careful reading or two for what it teaches about those who reverence the temple in any age of time. You will discover as you read (and mark!) that the temple can help us resolve our most serious problems. This may be because the Lord pays special attention to what happens at his house. Solomon prayed that the Lord's, ". . . eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there" (1 Kings 8:29).

Here are some of the problems mentioned in the prayer with which involvement in the temple can help.

unanswered prayers (8:30)
encroaching enemies (8:33)
drought (8:35)
famine, disease, plague (8:37)
a plague of the heart (8:38)
repentance (8:46,47)

President Boyd K. Packer understood what the temple can do for us. He said,

Temples are the very center of the spiritual strength of the Church. We should expect that the adversary will try to interfere with us as a church and with us individually as we seek to participate in this sacred and inspired work. Temple work brings so much resistance because it is the source of so much spiritual power to the Latter-day Saints and to the entire Church (Boyd K. Packer, "The Holy Temple," Ensign, Feb. 1995, 36).

How can we overcome the 'resistance' that so often surrounds our efforts to do temple work? How can we insure that we are the recipients of the spiritual power that is available there?

IV. SOLOMON BECOMES EXCESSIVELY WEALTHY AND MARRIES MANY NON-ISRAELITE WOMEN WHO PERSUADE HIM TO WORSHIP IDOLS. 1 Kings 10 describes the wealth of Solomon and some of the ways in which he used that wealth. Does this description give you any concerns? Ought this wealth to have been used in any different way? I wonder if there were any poor in Israel, or any homeless. Were there hungry and sick and afflicted whose lives might have been blessed by the gold that went into the shields and chargers and drinking vessels and around his throne.

Note that the first word of 1 Kings 11 is the same as the first word of 1 Kings 7. In spite of his remarkable accomplishments and his righteousness, something happened to Solomon. The record suggests that Solomon, in order to solidify and protect his political alliances, married many women not of the covenant. What kinds of rationalization might have led Solomon to this terrible mistake?

But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods; Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, and it became as the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, as David his father, and went not fully after the Lord (1 Kings 11:1-6, JST).

The cost of Solomon's rebellion was the same as the cost of Saul's. God took away most of the kingdom and gave it to another, more faithful man.

And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee . . . (1 Kings 11:29-31).

Conclusion The commandment to marry in the covenant is one about which God has never been ambiguous. Beginning in Genesis 24 with Isaac and Rebekah, and continuing throughout the ages to our own time, the prophets have made the will of God perfectly clear. Solomon is only one of many examples of the wisdom of these abundant warnings.

God intended when He led Israel out of Egypt, that there should be no intermarriages between Israel and the nations which surrounded them, and a great many of the evils that came upon Israel were due to this. I may say, however, for the men of this Church, that there have been but comparatively few instances (probably because there have not been so many temptations for them) of their taking wives who were not of the Saints. They have not married strange women as did many of the Israelites, as did Solomon the wise king, which God gave to Israel. He married strange wives, and through these marriages he was led away into idolatry in his old age, and the anger of God was brought upon him and his house because of this. Many of the evils that fell upon Israel were due to intermarriage on their part with women who were not of their faith, and who were from nations who did not have the same worship that Israel had. Marriages of this nature are contrary to the command of God. We are commanded not to marry with those who are not of our faith, and no woman ever did it, no girl ever did it that has not sooner or later had sorrow because of this. God is not pleased with such marriages, and it is not in the nature of things to expect blessings to follow such intermarriages (Journal of Discourses, Vol.26, p.319, George Q. Cannon, August 26th, 1883).

Old Testament Lesson 25: ''Let Every Thing that Hath Breath Praise the Lord''

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: "Let us not forget our hymns when we go to the house of worship. Let the congregation sing; and by all means let the choir members become familiar with the beautiful sentiments that are contained in our hymns, and so shall our Father in heaven delight in the songs of our hearts, which shall become prayers unto Him, and which He will graciously answer with blessings upon our heads." - Heber J. Grant Introduction The book of Psalms is, among other things, a collection of Israelite hymns. It is the longest book of the Bible, and is filled with testimony and doctrine.

The names "Psalms" and "Psalter" come from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), where they originally referred to stringed instruments . . . then to songs sung with their accompaniment. The traditional Hebrew title is Tehillim [meaning "praises" . . .] even though many of the Psalms are Tephillot [meaning "prayers"]. In fact, one of the first collections included in the book was titled "The Prayers of David, Son of Jesse" (Ps. 72:70) (NIV Study Bible, p. 781).

Take a moment and glance at some of the Psalms. Can you see the difference between a prayer and a praise? Psalm 9 begins with these words: "I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart . . ." Psalm 11 begins, "In the Lord I put my trust . . ." Psalm 12 begins with the plea, "Help, Lord . . ." Psalm 14 teaches that "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." The distinguishing characteristic is this one: are the verses to God, or about God.

The identification of the Psalms as prayers and praises is an interesting parallel to our own hymnal. Pick up a hymn book and look at almost any hymn. Is it a prayer (sung to the Father and/or the Son) or is it a praise (sung about the Father and/or the Son and their work)? Which of the following are prayers? Which are praises?

"The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning" (#2)
"We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" (#19)
"God of Power, God of Right" (#20)
"Joseph Smith's First Prayer" (#26)
"Come, All Ye Saints of Zion" (#38)
"Come, O Thou King of Kings" (#59)

The Gospel Doctrine lesson manual provides a useful doctrinal approach to the Psalms. When I teach Psalms, I spend time teaching some of the doctrinal insights, and I also spend time teaching the importance and purposes of music. But in seminary and institute classes I have more time to teach the book of Psalms than you will have in Sunday School. Since the Sunday School manual gives an excellent doctrinal overview, I have chosen in this cyberspace Sunday School to offer some thoughts and insights about music and the book of Psalms.

I. THE SONG OF THE HEART.

The singing of our sacred hymns, written by the servants of God, has a powerful effect in converting people to the principles of the Gospel, and in promoting peace and spiritual growth. Singing is a prayer to the Lord, as He has said: "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads" (Doctrine and Covenants 25:12) (President Heber J. Grant: Improvement Era, September 1940).

Every word Pres. Grant spoke of our hymns is also true of the Psalms. Their language and doctrine and lyrical qualities (even without the music) can have "a powerful effect in converting people to the principles of the Gospel, and in promoting peace and spiritual growth."

David spoke of this power when he wrote "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times" (Psalms 12:6).

The hymns, like the Psalms, have power to touch us and teach us.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland told of an inactive man who was reclaimed by an experience in the shed behind his house. In terror he had fled there, although he did not know the source of his fear. For the first time in half a century, he fell to his knees and prayed: "O Lord, save me from whatever it is that terrifies me so."

Quaking, trembling, perspiring on his knees in this shed out behind his home, he continued his prayer. He said, "I was lisping like a child the only prayers I knew, when there came into my heart the words of a song that I had not heard nor sung for that half century. I think I did not ever know the words, and I surely do not know them now. But I heard them with symphonic accompaniment and angelic choirs. I heard them, music and word, in that shed behind my home in the middle of that night."
The hymn was "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet."
The man said, "I heard the angels sing. I've never missed a church meeting since that day. I've never smoked a cigarette, and I've tried to do everything I should have done for all those years. But I want you to know that I did not then, and probably do not now know, the words to the hymn that I heard sung that night in a shed behind my home with celestial symphony and an angelic choir." (From a speech by Jeffrey Holland, "Remembered and Nourished by the Good Word of God," given at the Marriott Center, BYU, Sept. 26, 1976.)

President Grant remembered this story:

I recall one incident showing how song has the power to soothe irritated feelings and bring harmony to the hearts of men who are filled with a contentious spirit. It occurred many years ago, and involved a quarrel between two old and faithful brethren whose membership dated back to the days of Nauvoo. These men had been full in integrity and devotion to the work of the Lord. They had been through many of the hardships of Nauvoo, and had suffered the drivings and persecutions of the Saints, as well as the hardships of pioneering incident to the early settlement of the West. These men had quarreled over some business affairs and finally concluded that they would try to get President John Taylor to help them adjust their difficulties.
John Taylor was then the president of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. These brethren pledged their word of honor that they would faithfully abide by whatever decision Brother Taylor might render. Like many others, even in these days, they were not willing to accept the conclusions and counsels of their teachers, or bishops, or presidents of stakes, who would have been the authorized persons, in their order, to consult, and which would have been the proper course to pursue, but they must have some higher authority. Having been personally acquainted with President Brigham Young, in the days of Nauvoo, and feeling their importance in their own devotion to the work of the Lord, nothing short of an Apostle's advice would seem to satisfy them.
Accordingly they called on President Taylor, but did not immediately tell him what their trouble was, but explained that they had seriously quarreled and asked him if he would listen to their story and render his decision. President Taylor willingly consented. But he said: "Brethren, before I hear your case, I would like very much to sing one of the songs of Zion for you."
Now President Taylor was a very capable singer, and interpreted sweetly and with spirit, our sacred hymns. He sang one of our hymns to the two brethren. Seeing its effect, he remarked that he never heard one of the songs of Zion but that he wanted to listen to one more, and so asked them to listen while he sang another. Of course, they consented. They both seemed to enjoy it; and, having sung the second song, he remarked that he had heard there is luck in odd numbers and so with their consent he would sing still another, which he did. Then, in his jocular way, he remarked: "Now brethren, I do not want to wear you out, but if you will forgive me, and listen to one more hymn, I promise to stop singing, and will hear your case."
The story goes that when President Taylor had finished the fourth song, the brethren were melted to tears, got up, shook hands, and asked President Taylor to excuse them for having called upon him, and for taking up his time. They then departed without his even knowing what their difficulties were.
President Taylor's singing had reconciled their feelings toward each other. The Spirit of the Lord had entered their hearts, and the hills of difference that rose between them had been leveled and become as nothing. Love and brotherhood had developed in their souls, and the trifles over which they had quarreled, had become to no consequence in their sight. The songs of the heart had filled them with the spirit of reconciliation.
Let us not forget our hymns when we go to the house of worship. Let the congregation sing; and by all means let the choir members become familiar with the beautiful sentiments that are contained in our hymns, and so shall our Father in heaven delight in the songs of our hearts, which shall become prayers unto Him, and which He will graciously answer with blessings upon our heads. (President Heber J. Grant: Improvement Era, September 1940)

The significance and power of music are a matter for some reflection. For the truth, as expressed in D&C 25:12, is that when we sing sacred hymns from our heart, we pray. Please note that the revelation makes no mention of musical talent or of the song of the vocal cords. Any sacred thoughts that come from our hearts accompanied by worthy music ascend to heaven as prayers.

II. SING REDEEMING LOVE. Alma referred to this kind of music in his sermon to the people of Zarahemla. He encouraged them to remember those who were in captivity in the Land of Nephi and who were rescued from sin and bondage by the goodness of God. "They were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved" (Alma 5:9, emphasis added). The Anti-Nephi Lehies were also "brought to sing redeeming love" (Alma 26:13).

It must be this longing to "sing redeeming love" that turns a song into a prayer. The scriptures are filled with examples. When Christ came among "an innumerable company of the spirits of the just" in the Spirit World to deliver them from the bands of death (D&C 138:12), "they sang praises to his holy name." (D&C 138:24.) When Christ was about to depart from the room of the Last Supper to go the Garden of Gethsemane, he and his disciples sang a hymn (see Matthew 26:30). Isaiah instructed us to sing when we are resurrected. "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust . . . the earth shall cast out the dead" (Isaiah 26:19).

"And the graves of the saints shall be opened; and they shall come forth and stand on the right hand of the Lamb, when he shall stand upon Mount Zion, and upon the holy city, the New Jerusalem; and they shall sing the song of the Lamb, day and night forever and ever." (D&C 133:56).

Israel sang after they had crossed the Red Sea. "I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously . . ." (Exodus 15:1). The Doctrine and Covenants gives the words of a song to be sung, a new song, when the time comes that "all shall know me, who remain, even from the least unto the greatest . . ." (D&C 84:98; the words of the song are in verses 99-102).

I think we must read the Psalms with this sense of music. Most of them are written as prayers, and probably all of them were written to be sung. When we sing words and sentiments like these, what happens is as real as what happens when we are on our knees, praying.

III. MAKING SOUNDS; MAKING MUSIC. The Psalms direct us to "praise the Lord" over one hundred and fifty times. This is the most often repeated admonition in the book. Look at the words of Psalm 150, the final Psalm:

PRAISE ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD (Ps. 150:1-6)

In addition, at least forty-six times the scriptures speak of singing those praises to the Savior and other members of the Godhead. For example:

And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end (Mormon 7:7).

We must not miss opportunities to sing redeeming love - to sing praises - because of how we sing. The quality that matters in music is why we sing.

I sang with the Utah State University Institute Choir at a session of General Conference many years ago. I had what I thought was the misfortune to be seated next to a young man who sang every note off-key and every note as loud as he could! I am sorry to confess that I was offended. With my limited musical ability I could easily recognize that I was making a much more useful contribution to the spirit of our music than he was. I have since learned that I had the matter exactly backwards.

Alexander Schreiner, one of the great Tabernacle organists, recalled a story about someone who asked a music director how he could stand to hear Brother Stanton bellow off-key at Church gatherings. "The wise old leader replied: Brother Stanton is one of our most devout worshippers, and when he bellows he is a supreme musician . . . . Don't pay too much attention to the sounds he makes. If you do, you may miss the music." (Music and the Gospel, p. 16; cited in the Ensign, March 2000, p. 19.)

I was so worried about the sounds I was hearing that I missed the music I was hearing. I am certain that our Father never pays too much attention to the sounds we make. If we are devout in our worship, God does not hear the missed notes or care about the dissonance. He hears the prayers.

When we listen to this choir . . . we listen to music, and music is truth. Good music is gracious praise of God. It is delightsome to the ear, and it is one of our most acceptable methods of worshipping God. And those who sing . . . should sing with the spirit and with the understanding. They should not sing merely because it is a profession, or because they have a good voice; but they should sing also because they have the spirit of it and can enter into the spirit of prayer and praise to God who gave them their sweet voices. (Joseph F. Smith, Conference Report, Oct. 1899, p. 69.)

President Grant had some challenges with singing. On one occasion he spoke of the difficulty he experienced in singing well.

I remarked some four months ago to Brother Horace S. Ensign that I would be willing to spend four or five months of my spare time if I could only learn to sing . . . one hymn. He told me that any one could learn to sing that had perseverance. I said to him if there was anything that I had it was perseverance. So I suggested that we sit down and I would take my first lesson of two hours on [the Doxology]. I have been continuing the lessons on it ever since. I have sung it as high as 115 times in one day. I have practiced on the "Doxology" between three and four hundred times, and there are only four lines, and I cannot sing it yet. I traveled from Holbrook, Arizona, to St. Johns, with Brothers Clawson and Kimball, some months ago, and I sang one hundred times that day and gave them nervous prostration. Now I tried to sing "O My Father" at Snowflake, Arizona, and I only got as far as the "O," and I did not get that right (Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1900, p.61).

But on another occasion, in a more serious moment, he taught this lesson about singing:

I have no ambition to become a singer. But I do feel that there is a great deal lost in the homes of the people by not having the songs of Zion sung therein. Many a missionary robs himself of strength and power and ability to accomplish good, and to make friends, by not knowing how to sing. . . . It is not the eloquence that you possess which will carry conviction to the hearts of the people, but it is the Spirit of Almighty God that is burning in your hearts, and your desire for the salvation of souls. Brigham Young said that the Spirit of the Lord would do more to convert people than the eloquence of men. And I say that the singing of the songs of Zion , though imperfectly, with the inspiration of God, will touch the hearts of the honest more effectively than if sung well without the Spirit of God. Sing with the Spirit of God. Love the words that you sing. I love the songs of Zion. (Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, p.170)

IV. DOCTRINAL DIMENSIONS. The Old Testament is probably the least-read book of scripture, and the book of Psalms is among the least read books of the Old Testament. To the casual reader the book may seem repetitive, even boring. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Psalms are alive with the power of the word. Doctrinal declarations flow continuously from its pages in powerful, refreshing waves. Testimony and love fill its pages from beginning to end.

Set a goal to read the Psalms this year. You might not want to read them straight through. Like the hymns we sing in our meetings, they are scriptural and spiritual garnish. Read one or two of the psalms each day and in 2-3 months you will have read (and loved) them all. You might find yourself inclined, as I have been, to write a psalm or two of your own.

Conclusion As you read and ponder, you will be taught about the mortal ministry and mission of the Messiah, about the blessings reserved for the righteous, about the judgements that await the wicked, about the establishment and beauty of Zion, about the sweetness to be found in the temple, about the joy of salvation and of seeing the Lord's face. You will read and feel the continuous testimony of God's goodness and greatness, the persistent testimony of the creation and the Creator; you will encounter the wonder and power and voice of God. You will receive instruction about the restoration, work for the dead, the power of the scriptures, and the everlasting mercy of the Son.

Old Testament Lesson 24: ''Create in Me a Clean Heart''

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: The Bible gives powerful warnings about the dangers of immorality. Introduction William Shakespeare wrote:

What win I if I gain the thing I seek? A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy? Who buys a minute's myrth to wail a week Or sells eternity to get a toy? For one sweet grape, who would the vine destroy? Or what fond beggar but to touch the crown, Would with the scepter straight be stricken down?

The willingness of some people to place the things of eternity - the things of true joy - on the altar of their desire for immediate pleasure and the gratification of appetites, passions, and desires, is terrifying. This poem could have been written as an additional psalm, not a psalm by David, but a psalm for him.

The poem and the events of 2 Samuel 11-13 remind me of this statement attributed to Stirling W. Sill: "Be careful what you want, because you'll probably get it." [I do not have a source for this quote. If any of you do, please let me know at tedgibbons@yahoo.com.]

I. DAVID COMMITS ADULTERY WITH BATHSHEBA AND ARRANGES THE DEATH OF URIAH, BATHSHEBA'S HUSBAND. Samuel described David as "a man after [God's] own heart" (1 Sam 13:14). And he was. For so many years he was. His devotion and discipline are a standard for faithful disciples. His life was a pattern of piety and purity until that evening on his roof when he looked into his neighbor's yard . . .

The story of the decline of David is a warning for all of us. The tragic ending of this story may obscure another message here. David could have fixed this problem so many times before Uriah died and he lost his exaltation. Let us review the scriptures and analyze the areas where David could have done things differently and changed the history of his family and his nation.

And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem (2 Sam. 11:1).

I remember hearing President Packer say "it is a good feeling to know you are where the Lord want's you to be." David wasn't. I wonder how many times he regretted his decision to tarry at Jerusalem. Both power and safety come from being where we are supposed to be.

And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house . . . (2 Sam. 11:1)

Many mid-eastern homes had flat roofs and external staircases. In the heat of a late afternoon and early evening, a walk on the roof would give a chance for cool breezes and reflection. While he was walking he glanced over at his neighbor's house "and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself . . ." (2 Sam. 11:2)

This may be perfectly innocent. There is no inclination that David is looking for anything like this. He is just looking around, and sees something unexpected. There is a golden opportunity here for David to avoid the problems that are coming. All David has to do is take himself and his mind somewhere else. Well, I guess I'll go read the book of Genesis, or I'll to visit my son Amnon and see how he is doing. Or, I'll write a message to Joab and see how the war is going . . . David did none of these things. Instead, he continued to look, at least long enough to see that "the woman was very beautiful to look upon" (1 Sam 11:2).

I believe that this is the commencement of the problems. When I was dating the wonderful woman who is now my wife, I took her to a few movies. One of them was called Bonnie and Clyde. We had been in the theater for about the first 10 minutes when something was presented that was unacceptable to my future bride. I no longer remember what it was, but I remember what happened. Lydia stood up and said, "I'm leaving; are you coming?" and started for the door. She did not wait to see what I would do. She left, with me scurrying in her wake assuring her that I was about to leave also. A few weeks later we went to Grand Prix, and had a similar experience. I learned some important lessons about my wife. She has "zero tolerance." No movie, no TV show, no piece of literature gets a second chance. As Hugh B. Brown said, "Personally, I shall rebel if anyone tries to hold my head over a manhole into a sewer . . ." ("Purity is Power," BYU, Sept. 30, 1962). Lydia will not remain over the sewer to see if the smell improves. But David did. He watched long enough to see how attractive she was, and to become interested.

What counsel would you give David at this point. Take a cold shower! Play Racquetball! Go look at some family photographs! It would have been so easy, even at this point, to solve the problem. And it was a problem. David had some images in his mind that he ought to have evicted. A certain level of repentance is appropriate here. But David does something else: "And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" (2 Sam. 11:3)

I hope you who are reading this recognize that I am embellishing shamelessly. The only things we know for sure about this story are those we read in 2 Samuel 11. But if I offer a few conjectures, remember they are only that, and only intended to help us understand the story and the lessons.

I do not think David left the roof wondering how he could get his neighbors wife to commit an awful, immoral act with him. I know there are men who do this kind of thing. But not David. His problem was that he allowed those powerful, unexpected images to take up space and time in his mind. Finally, perhaps having convinced himself that his only motivation was neighborly interest, he make inquiries about her. He learned her name and that her husband was away serving the king and the kingdom. Time must have passed here. Elder Packer said,

People don't get in serious trouble in one step. I don't think anyone steps off a precipice into the depths of immorality and apostasy. They slide down the slippery sides of the chasm. (Improvement Era, May 1970, p. 7)

And now?

David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him . . . (2 Sam. 11:4).

What was he thinking? What was his intent here? In the compressed language of the scriptures, his sending for her and his adultery with her come in the same verse, but I have difficulty believing that he sent for her with that intent. He probably found a way to rationalize the invitation. He may have wanted a closer look at the woman he saw from his roof. But I doubt he sent for her so filled with lust that he had abandoned all concern for his own worthiness and eternal blessings.

She came. The king had sent for her. She had to come. And then, on that night or a later night, it happened. "[S]he came in unto him, and he lay with her . . . and she returned unto her house" (2 Sam. 11:4).

Even now this problem can be fixed. David and Bathsheba had committed a huge sin, but it was not larger than the atonement. I do not know what it might have cost David to confess and repent, but it would not have exacted the payment finally required of him. His intent to protect his name and his image - to cover his sins - in the end cost him almost everything, including Bathsheba.

When Bathsheba sent word that she was pregnant, David acted at once.

And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king (2 Sam 11:6-8).

David's intent is transparent. If Uriah spends the night at home, he will think the child to be born is his child. But Uriah did not go home. He slept on the King's porch. There is a hero in 2 Samuel 11, but it is not David. It is Uriah. Uriah is a faithful, disciplined, trusting servant. He stands in glaring contrast to the king himself, who is unfaithful and undisciplined and certainly not trustworthy. David tried a second time.

And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house (2 Sam. 11:10-13).

I hate to keep playing the same song on my harp. But I will. David can still repent. Anyone could, even this far into the minefield, he could find his way to safety without a cataclysmic explosion. But he would not.

"And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die" (2 Sam. 11:14,15).

David has, by this command to Joab, come a great distance from the inadvertent glimpse of a woman washing in a neighbor's back yard. David is on the verge of an unforgivable sin (D&C 42:18).

And when word came that Uriah was dead, David placed a final stone on the mountain of his hypocrisy when he declared to the messenger, "Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him" (2 Sam 11: 25).

The text of the announcement of Uriah's death implies that other mighty men were killed with Uriah that might have been safe were it not for the king's command (1 Sam. 11:16,23,24). The Lord imposed the punishment required by divine law.

"David's wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord" (D&C 132:39).

II. DAVID IS TOLD THAT HE WILL BE PUNISHED BECAUSE OF HIS SINS. "When all is said and done, there is nothing gained from pre-marital adventure except immediate pleasure, and that at tremendous risk and exorbitant cost. No really intelligent person will burn a cathedral to fry and egg, even to satisfy a ravenous appetite" (Henry A. Bowman, cited by Hugh B. Brown in "Purity is Power," BYU, Sept. 30, 1962, pp. 10,11).

David's adventure was not pre-marital, but the risk and the cost were the same: tremendous and exorbitant! The cathedral of David's hopes and eternal aspirations was a raging inferno now.

Nathan the prophet came to see David and warn him of the Lord's judgements upon him. The text of 2 Sam. 12 implies that many knew what had happened. ". . . by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme . . ." (2 Sam. 12:14).

Among the most chilling of all the statements in the scriptures is the one in 2 Sam. 12:7: "Thou art the man." Nathan then proceeded to prophesy of the exorbitant cost of David's transgressions.

"the sword shall never depart from thine house . . ." (2 Sam. 12:10)
"I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house . . ." (2 Sam. 12:11)
"I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor . . ." (2 Sam. 12:11)
"the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die." (2 Sam. 12:14)

David acknowledged his sin, but that did not change the nature of the sin nor the Lord's judgment. "And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath not put away thy sin that thou shalt not die" (2 Sam. 12:13, JST).

We live in a world where immoral images can be seen from almost every rooftop. Proverbs 7, in an allusion to the temptation to immorality tells us, "Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner" (Prov. 7:12).

President Benson, speaking 42 years ago warned us that

No sin is causing the loss of the Spirit of the Lord among our people more today than sexual promiscuity. It is causing our people to stumble, damning their growth, darkening their spiritual powers and making them subject to other sins.
Recently, a young man commented that if he quit reading books, watching TV, seeing movies, reading newspapers and magazines, and going to school, there was a chance he might live a clean life. And this explains, in large part, the extent to which this insidious evil has spread. (C.R., October 1964)

The message of the story of David and Bathsheba is repeated 2 chapters later in 2 Samuel 13. The participants are different, but the lessons have a familiar sound to them. And in the telling of this version, we find David's two oldest sons guilty of the same crimes committed by David: immorality and murder.

Amnon was in love (love is the word used in the scriptures. It is not my word) with his half-sister Tamar. He found a way to get her in his bedroom, ignored her pleas, and raped her.

"Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone" (2 Sam. 13:15).

He then had her thrown out of his house. How could hatred come so quickly?

I heard Elder John A. Widtsoe, who at one time presided over the University of Utah, say, "It is my observation that a young man and a young woman who violate the principles of morality soon end up hating one another." I have observed the same thing. There may be words of love to begin with, but there will be words of anger and bitterness later. (Gordon B. Hinckley, "True to the Faith," Ensign, June 1996, p. 5)

David knew what had happened. "But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth" (2 Sam. 13:21). Wroth, yes, but also paralyzed. David did nothing about this terrible act of the crown prince. Why do you think David would not, or could not, act?

After two full years (13:23), Absalom, a full brother to Tamar and half-brother to Amnon, had Amnon murdered in retaliation for what he had done (2 Sam. 13:28,29).

III. A REPENTANT DAVID SEEKS FORGIVENESS. The heading of Psalm 51 indicates that David's plea for forgiveness is in the matter of Bathsheba. When David composed this I do not know, but certainly he knew that there was no forgiveness in the matter of Uriah. Read this Psalm as a recipe for forgiveness. Wonderful doctrine can be found here. Note (mark?) the things David asks the Lord to do for him:

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness" (Ps. 51:1).
"Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin" (Ps. 51:2).
"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Ps. 51:7).
"Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice" (Ps. 51:8).
"Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities" (Ps. 51:9).
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Ps. 51:10).
"Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me" (Ps. 51:11).
"Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit" (Ps. 51:12).

All of us have sought forgiveness. David's words are a powerful description of what the Lord and the Atonement can do for the repentant. But in addition, David promises to do some things to show the reality of his repentance.

"Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee" (Ps. 51:13).
"my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness" (Ps. 51:14).
"my mouth shall shew forth thy praise" (Ps. 51:15).
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Ps. 51:17).

A willingness to teach and to testify, to praise and to be humble, are evidences of true repentance. David has taught us great lessons here. Similar feelings appear in Psalm 38. You might want to read and mark that passage as well.

Conclusion The Bible gives powerful warnings about the dangers of immorality. Let us conclude with a couple of passages and comments from Proverbs. Understanding these passages will be easier if you will think of the feminine pronouns as references not to gender but to immorality, and references to the male pronouns as allusions to anyone tempted by immorality. The first passage comes from Proverbs 7.

21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Verse 26 is thought-provoking. Certainly David is one of those "strong men" who "has been slain by her." The second passage is from Proverbs 9. Apply the same rules to the pronouns here.

14 For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,

15 To call passengers who go right on their ways:

16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

Old Testament Lesson 23: ''The Lord Be Between Me and Thee Forever''

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: "We need to measure very carefully who our true friends are. The measure of a true friend is one who will not have us choose between his way and the Lord's way." - Robert D. Hales Introduction Zoram, we are told, was a "true friend" to Nephi (see 2 Nephi 1:30), as was Amulek to Alma. Hyrum was a true friend and brother to Joseph. Likewise, the friendship of David and Jonathan has become a standard. Rarely have two individuals been as devoted to one another as these two.

As we study what they did for each other, we can learn principles that will assist us as we evaluate our own friendships and the influences they have on us.

We need to measure very carefully who our true friends are. The measure of a true friend is one who will not have us choose between his way and the Lord's way. A true friend makes it easier for us to live the commandments of the Lord. A true friend will not let us do anything we want. True friends will correct us when we do something wrong and bring us back on the straight and narrow path that leads to exaltation.
Every one of us needs to know when to walk or run away from those who would call themselves friends but in reality are not. Joseph of old recognized the evil in Potiphar's wife and ran from it (see Gen. 39:7-12). We too must recognize evil and shun it. If we allow machoism to overtake our personal lives and influence choices and decisions we make, we can severely limit our progression in this life and in the eternities (Robert D. Hales, "Return with Honor," Ensign, June 1999, 12).

There are those kinds of friends from whom we we should run. Judah's friend Hirah, the Abdullamite, was willing to pay Judah's debt to a harlot (Genesis 38:20). Jonadab, the friend of Amnon, counseled Amnon on how to put himself in a position to take advantage of his half-sister, Tamar (see 2 Sam. 13). Job's three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, came to comfort Job in his misery, and then added to his misery by telling him he was suffering because he was so wicked.

I. JONATHAN AND DAVID MAKE A COVENANT OF FRIENDSHIP. SAUL BECOMES JEALOUS OF DAVID AND TRIES TO KILL HIM. "And it came to pass. . . . that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul . . . Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul" (1 Sam 18:1,3)

The fact that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David just after the defeat of Goliath is interesting. Jonathan and his armourbearer, with only a few weapons and their faith in God, had attacked and routed the Philistine garrison (see 1 Sam. 14 and Old Testament lesson 22 from last week). David, armed with a staff and a sling, had gone against the Philistine champion, a man from whom the other Israelites had all fled. It is not hard to imagine that common faith and courage drawing these two young men together.

What does the final phrase of 1 Sam. 18:3 ("he loved him as his own soul") suggest about true friendship?

Jonathan was the crown prince of Israel. David and Samuel knew that Jonathan was not next in line for the throne, and it is likely that Jonathan knew it also.

"And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle "(1 Sam. 18:4).

Saul also was pleased with David. He took him into his own service after the death of Goliath "and would let him go no more home to his father's house" (1 Sam 18:2). David served Saul well.

"And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants" (1 Sam. 18:5).

But something caused Saul to turn against David.

"And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?" (1 Sam. 18:6-8).

What was the initial cause of Saul's anger at David? The final phrase of 18:8 suggests that perhaps at this time Saul had begun to suspect that the neighbor mentioned by Samuel in 1 Sam. 15:8 - the neighbor who would take the throne from Saul - was none other than David.

Reading these passages reminded me of a general conferences talk given by Elder Holland about the parable of the two sons.

The younger son has returned, a robe has been placed on his shoulders and a ring on his finger, when the older son comes on the scene. He has been dutifully, loyally working in the field, and now he is returning. The language of parallel journeys home, though from very different locations, is central to this story.
As he approaches the house, he hears the sounds of music and laughter.
"And he called one of the servants [note that he has servants] and asked what these things meant.
"And [the servant] said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
"And [the older brother] was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him."
You know the conversation they then had. Surely, for this father, the pain over a wayward child who had run from home and wallowed with swine is now compounded with the realization that this older, wiser brother, the younger boy's childhood hero as older brothers always are, is angry that his brother has come home.
No, I correct myself. This son is not so much angry that the other has come home as he is angry that his parents are so happy about it. ("The Other Prodigal," Ensign, May 2002, pp. 62,63).

Can you see Saul in these paragraphs? Saul is angry that his people are happy with David's success. How insidious a jealous heart can be!

Who is it that whispers so subtly in our ear that a gift given to another somehow diminishes the blessings we have received? Who makes us feel that if God is smiling on another, then He surely must somehow be frowning on us? You and I both know who does this - it is the father of all lies. It is Lucifer, our common enemy, whose cry down through the corridors of time is always and to everyone, "Give me thine honor."
It has been said that envy is the one sin to which no one readily confesses, but just how widespread that tendency can be is suggested in the old Danish proverb, "If envy were a fever, all the world would be ill" (Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Other Prodigal," Ensign, May 2002, pp. 62,63).

There must be a warning here for all of us. We are required by our religion to rejoice in, rather than resent, the good fortune of others.

Saul will later have other excuses for his hatred of David, but for now it is enough for him that Davis is doing well and is loved. "And Saul eyed David from that day and forward" (1 Sam. 18:9).

David knew of this burgeoning animosity. Saul had tried to kill him.

"And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice" (1 Sam. 18:10,11).

How did he respond?

"And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them" (1 Sam. 18:14-16; see also 18:5, 30).

Brigham Young said something about behaving ourselves wisely when others speak and think evil of us. He was giving instructions to departing missionaries in 1861. He said:

"You will have all manner of evil spoken against you, and all I ask of you and all that God or angels will ask of you is that not one word spoken against you shall be true; and I want you for my sake and for your own sake and for the sake of Christ and the Kingdom of God to live so that the wicked shall have no cause to speak evil against you" (cited in Wilford Woodruff: History of His Life and Labors, pp. 412-413).

II. SAUL FAILS IN THREE MORE ATTEMPTS TO TAKE DAVID'S LIFE. The account of David's marriage to Saul's daughter, and the events surrounding that marriage, sound very much like the plot of a poorly written soap-opera. What purpose did Saul have in offering his daughter to David? What was the underlying reason for the dowry he required of David? (see 1 Sam. 18:17,21,25)

When the Philistines failed to accomplish Saul's objective, his subtlety vanished. "And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David" (1 Sam. 19:1).

But Jonathan was a true friend to David and he knew what was right.

"But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee. And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain. And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past" (1 Sam. 19:2-7).

However, Saul's oath, sworn by the life of God, was soon forgotten.

"And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.

"And the evil spirit which was not of the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand [I have copied this verse from the JST; note that the JST always indicates that this evil spirit was not from God. See 16:14,15,16,23; 18:10]

"And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

"Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.

"So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.

"And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.

"And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.

"And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.

"And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster" (1 Sam. 19:8-16).

Michal also turns out to have been a true friend to her husband, David.

III. DAVID AND JONATHAN RENEW THEIR COVENANT OF FRIENDSHIP, AND JONATHAN SAVES DAVID'S LIFE. The foundation of the friendship of David and Jonathan is the Rock of Christ. Before this bulwark, all other considerations must defer. Thus Jonathan feels a greater responsibility to David than to his own father. The issue is not a generation gap. It is not a matter of filial rebellion against parental authority. It is not a matter of Jonathan's appreciation of David's personality more than that of his father. It is a matter of right and wrong.

Saul had planned to kill David at the three-day feast of the new moon. But David suspected perfidy and did not come. In his anger, Saul told Jonathan:

"For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die" (1 Sam. 20:31).

We were told in 1 Sam 16:14 that Saul lost the Spirit. Have you seen evidence enough of this to convince you? Samuel thought his life was threatened by Saul (see 1 Sam. 16:2); Saul tried repeatedly to kill David; and now . . .

"And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David" (1 Sam 20:32-33).

David fled from the household and presence of Saul for the final time. Future attempts to kill David would be made in locations of David's choosing.

IV. SAUL IS CONSUMED BY HATRED FOR DAVID. DAVID SPARES SAUL'S LIFE. Saul's maniacal rage continued even with David gone from his presence. What happened to the priests of Nob who gave David assistance? (see 1 Sam. 22:18,19). What did Saul intend to do to the city of Keilah where David had found assistance? (see 1 Sam 23:10).

What would cause a man to be so destitute of basic values and Christian principles that he would destroy a city to kill a single man? But Saul, even though he was conducting a war against the Philistines, was consumed by a different passion. "And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand" (1 Samuel 23:14).

We are told that Satan had great hold on the hearts of the people of Ammonihah (see Alma 8:9). Can you see this same reality in the heart of Saul. Here is a man who has been willing to kill the Prophet, his own son, and the man anointed by the Lord to become king in his place.

These chapters are great advertisements for the teachings of God regarding forgiveness. How badly is David being hurt by all of this? He is spending time in the wilderness and in hiding, but his heart is good and his people are trusting and happy. Saul, on the other hand, is being consumed by bitterness and the bile of festering hatred. It is as though he is being eaten up from the inside out. The Lord's teachings constitute an eternal principle. We must love our enemies, and forgive those who trespass against us, or the poison of our perversity will drain the life and joy and usefulness from our souls.

Think of Jonathan again. If anyone was truly threatened by David, it was Jonathan. Saul was safe, and had nothing to fear. David had never been a danger to Saul, and refused to injure him even when he had the opportunity. But Jonathan was the crown prince. The throne and kingdom, according to the expected order of things, should come to him. But it would not: rather, because of the wickedness of his father, the crown would go to David, his friend. What was Jonathan's response to this? And "Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God" (1 Samuel 23:16).

I love Jonathan, who was so utterly selfless and submissive to the Lord's will.

In 1 Samuel 24, Saul made another attempt to find and destroy David. He brought 3000 men (1 Sam 24:2) to go against David's 600 (1 Sam 23:13) into the wilderness of En-gedi. While he was in a cave "covering his feet" (which can mean, according to the interpretation you favor, either to sleep, massage his feet, or go to the bathroom), David, who was also in the cave, hiding, cut the hem from his robe but left Saul unharmed once again.

David is a great example of one who trusts the Lord. He knows he is to be king, but he is content to let the Lord handle the matter in his own due time. Saul was chosen by the Lord to be king, and David is content to let the Lord remove him when the time is right.

Conclusion Who are your friends? Would they consider you a "true friend" in the spirit of the quote from Elder Hales in the introduction to this lesson? Do you make it easier for them to be obedient and to follow the Lord? Like all of you, I have had friends of both kinds. These chapters have encouraged by to want to be a friend like Jonathan - one whose entire will is swallowed up in the will of the Lord, and whose only desire is that his friend should reach his highest potential.

Are those whom you call friends, true friends? Do your associates come to you and strengthen your hand in God? If not, it is probably time to find new associates with whom to spend your time.

Old Testament Lesson 22: ''The Lord Looketh on the Heart''

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: Our attitude is more important than our actions. Why we do a thing has more significance than the thing wen do. Introduction I was reading the Book of Mormon a few days ago, when a familiar passage was clarified. The passage from Mormon 7 teaches:

For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness. For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God. And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such. Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift (Moroni 7:6-10).

The message here is the message of this lesson. Our attitude is more important than our actions. Why we do a thing has more significance than the thing wen do. The text of Moroni 7 makes it perfectly clear than an evil man could do a really good thing, and even though others might be blessed or benefitted by that thing, he himself would not be - the act would not be a righteous act.

People might be deceived by such actions. We are trained to look only at the surfaces of people. We judge them by their body odor and their clothes and their friends and their employment and their hair and their families and their homes. But we hardly ever judge them by their hearts.

I. SAUL SEEKS GUIDANCE FROM SAMUEL AND IS ANOINTED KING. If our own children sought an opportunity from us to which we were openly and deeply opposed, and if we expressed our opposition and they persisted still in demanding their own way, we might be inclined to offer them their desires in such a way that failure would quickly follow. All right, I'll buy you a car. Here is a 1974 Ford Pinto with a cracked windshield and a cracked block. Good luck! But the Lord, even though he had unmistakably declared is opposition to an earthly king for Israel, still offered them the best man he could find.

Saul was a choice and goodly young man (1 Sam 9:2)
He was obedient (1 Sam 9:3)
He was diligent and reliable (1 Sam 9:4)
He had and demonstrated faith in the prophet (1 Sam 9:10)
He was chosen by the Lord (1 Sam 9:16,20; 10:1).
He was humble (1 Sam 9:21 ; 10:16 ; 10:22)
He was worthy to be born again and have a change of heart (1 Sam 10:6,9)
As a king he, like Benjamin, labored with is own hands for his own support (1 Sam 10:26 ; 11:5; see Mosiah 2:14)
He was forgiving to those who opposed him (1 Sam 10:27; 11:13 )

What lesson can we learn about the Lord and about ourselves from this event? If serving others is like serving God, and if the second great commandment to love our neighbors is "like unto" the first to love God, how should we serve others. What should we be willing to do for those whose interests do not exactly coincide with our own?

There is evidence that the Lord will condemn us for withholding our best efforts because of the sins or weaknesses in others.

"Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just - But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God" (Mosiah 4:17,18)

II. SAUL OFFERS A BURNT OFFERING WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORITY. The Philistines had "gathered themselves together to fight with Israel." Look at 1 Sam 13:5. How large was the army that had come to battle? How did the soldiers of Israel respond? In 1 Sam 13:6, we learn that they hid in caves and thickets and high places and rocks. In 1 Sam 13:7, they fled across the Jordan River to less dangerous country.

Saul watched his army diminish as "he tarried seven days" waiting for Samuel to come as he had indicated he would. During that time, "the people were scattered from him." (1 Sam 13:8) It was then, in a moment of fear, that Saul made a great mistake.

And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering (1 Sam. 13:9).

Saul had no authority to offer sacrifice. The Aaronic priesthood was for the tribe of Levi and Saul was a son of Benjamin (1 Sam. 9:1,2). He certainly did not have the Melchizedek Priesthood like Samuel. But he acted anyway. In his efforts to explain himself to a disappointed Samuel, he offered four excuses.

"The people were scattered" (1 Sam 13:11)
"Thou camest not" (1 Sam 13:11)
"The Philistines gathered themselves together" (1 Sam 13:11)

The fourth excuse may open a window and give us a useful glimpse into the soul of this man.

"I forced myself" (1 Sam 13:12)

What did Saul mean when he told Samuel that he had to force himself to offer a sacrifice? Does it sound to you like he is saying this? "I did not want to be disobedient, but I had to do what I had to do because the Prophet and the Lord clearly weren't ready to deal with the Philistine invasion."

I think this may be a fairly common excuse for disobedience. "I did what God would have wanted me to do if he had all the facts." A son of mine told me once that he would have attended Stake Priesthood Meeting, but a girlfriend needed help moving out of an apartment. Well, maybe she did. But it is hard to imagine that the packing and moving could only happen during a gathering of priesthood holders.

Samuel, who arrived on the scene "as soon as [Saul] had made an end of offering the burnt offering . . ." (1 Sam. 13:10 ), said, "What hast thou done?" (1 Sam 13:11).

"Saul prepared the burnt offering himself, forgetting that though he occupied the throne, wore the crown, and bore the scepter, these insignia of kingly power gave him no right to officiate even as a deacon in the Priesthood of God" (James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith, pp. 184,185).

Saul knew what he had done was wrong, but he did it anyway. What did it cost Saul to be disobedient?

"And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee" (1 Sam 13:13,14).

Disobedience might likewise make it impossible for us to inherit a throne. In fact, your future throne may be the price for your disobedience. The Lord said, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne" (Rev. 3:21).

The account of this tragic error by Saul is followed at once by the story of what Saul ought to have done. Saul, fearful of the decreasing size of his forces, relied on his own wisdom and power to solve the problem. But in 1 Sam 14, Jonathan, the son of Saul, armed with faith and the power of God, defeats a Philistine army with only one other soldier to aid him.

Jonathan, observing the enemy garrison, "said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few" (I Sam 14:6).

It is clear that Jonathan did not yet know the Lord's will in this matter. He therefore said, "it may be that the Lord will work for us."

What he did know was that if the Lord worked with them, the two of them could defeat the entire Philistine army, for "there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few." He had no doubt heard the stories of Gideon and Joshua and Moses to fortify his faith in this truth. Why didn't Saul know that? Or did he know it and ignore the knowledge?

I really like Jonathan's armorbearer. His master had just suggested to him that the two of them make plans to attack and rout the Philistine army. How would you have responded? How many reasons can you think of not to go along with such an endeavor? But this young man, who certainly knew the goodness of Jonathan and the rectitude of his heart, said, "Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart" (1 Sam 14:7). Wow!

Saul's son devised a plan to ascertain whether or not the Lord would assist them. Here is is:

Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the Lord hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us (1 Sam. 14:8-10).

How do you like that plan? From the safety of a rocking chair in Riverton, Utah, it might seem all right, but how would it sound if you were out in the rocks creeping up on the Philistine outposts?

You know how this story will end. Even if you have never read it you know. The Philistines called to the two young me to "Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing" or two. And Jonathan turned to his companion and said, "Charge!"

Come up after me: for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel (1 Sam 14:12).

They attacked and before they had finished, "the multitude [of Philistines] melted away, and they went on beating down one another" (1 Sam 14:16).

Some lessons from this story:

Be like the armorbearer, follow righteous men even when the desired outcome seems impossible.
There is no restraint in the Lord. He does not need an army to defeat an army. How many missionaries did he send to the land of the Lamanites? How many men did Gideon take with him? How many buckets did the Israelites need to open a path through the Red Sea?
You may not always know what the Lord wants you to do, but when you do know, do it!

It is unfortunate that Saul did not learn these lessons.

III. SAUL DISOBEYS THE LORD IN THE BATTLE WITH THE AMALEKITES AND IS REJECTED FROM BEING KING. Meanwhile, back at the story of Saul: the unauthorized sacrifice was not his only problem. In 1 Sam. 15 he was sent on a mission by Samuel to destroy the Amalekites. There was no ambiguity in the direction given to Saul.

"Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass" (1 Sam. 15:3).

But something had happened to Saul since those days when he first met the prophet and was anointed king. There had been a time when Saul "was little in [his] own sight" (1 Sam 15:17), but not now. Now Saul was great, victorious king, no longer as willing to follow counsel. He had become proud.

"But Saul and the people spared Agag [the king], and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly" (1 Sam. 15:9).

The Lord told Samuel what had happened, and the prophet went out to meet the king, who said, "Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord" (1 Sam. 15:13).

Samuel pointed out that he had not. They could both hear the bleating of sheep and the lowing of oxen. Saul offered another excuse. "We kept the best of the animals for sacrifice," he said, "and the rest we have utterly destroyed" (1 Sam. 15:17).

"We almost kept the commandment," Saul claimed. What a frightening idea. What will it mean if we say to the Lord or to his servants, "I was almost morally clean." Or "I almost got to the temple when I was married." Or "I almost fulfilled my calling."

You probably remember the language of Paul and Agrippa at Caesarea:

"Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds" (Acts 26: 28,29).

Saul tried to blame the people: "the people took of the spoil" (1 Sam 15:21), he protested. And he let them "because [he] feared the people and obeyed their voice" (1 Sam 15:24).

But Samuel (and Saul) knew who was really responsible:

"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king" (1 Sam. 15:23).

The use of the words "stubborn" and "rebellious" are great insights into what was wrong with King Saul.

IV. THE LORD CHOOSES DAVID AS KING. Samuel gave us another a rather frightening look at the heart of Saul when the Lord told him to go anoint a new king. "And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me" (1 Sam. 16:2). Samuel had grieved and prayed all night for Saul (15:11), and he had mourned for him in his wickedness (15:35;16:1). But Saul was nearly beyond redemption. He was now willing to kill the prophet to assure his family's continuity on the throne of Israel.

When Samuel got to Bethlehem and began to meet the sons of Jesse, he thought he could select the new king on his own.

"And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him" (1 Sam. 16:6).

But even the prophet Samuel could not see all the things God could see.

"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Sam 16:7).

What lesson do you think we ought to learn from this declaration. What would the Lord like us to do in our interpersonal relationships that we are not doing? How should this lesson impact those searching for an eternal spouse? In what ways can we enable ourselves to better see the hearts of people. The Lord has given us some hints:

Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven. And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable walk with the children of men. For I remember the word of God, which saith by their works ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also (Moroni 7:3-5).

It fascinates me that Mormon is able to determine that these people will "enter into the rest of the Lord" only because he has observed their "peaceable walk with the children of men."

Conclusion What is in our hearts is more important that what is in our hands or our heads. We ought to pause from time to time in the midst of the mad mortal dash to accumulate more and better stuff to take a careful look at our innards. Where have we placed the affections of our hearts? If someone were to create a list of all the things we want, and organize that list in order of importance to us, what would be at the top?

We would want to be careful about making critical judgements based on a single act, of course, but even that has happened. Brigham Young declared that a single act of three young men would enable them to "enter into the rest of the Lord." When the Martin handcart company arrived at the crossing of the Sweetwater, it was running fast and carrying great chunks of ice. Men and women sat in the snow and wept at the impossible ordeal represented by that river. Then,

Three 18-year-old boys belonging to the relief party came to the rescue, and to the astonishment of all who saw, carried nearly every member of that ill-fated handcart company across the snowbound stream. The strain was so terrible and the exposure so great, that in later years all the boys died from the effects of it. When President Brigham Young heard of this heroic act, he wept like a child, and later declared publicly, 'that act alone will ensure C. Allen Huntington, George W. Grant and David P. Kimball an everlasting salvation in the Celestial Kingdom of God, worlds without end' (Gordon B. Hinckley, Church News, 7-29-95: "Prophet Pays Tribute to Utah's Pioneers").

Old Testament Lesson 21: God Will Honor Those Who Honor Him

Tue, 25 May 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: How can we honor the Lord more faithfully? What attitudes and efforts will keep us from honoring ourselves or others or the world in inappropriate ways? Introduction The Lord spoke powerfully about the idea of honor. He said

Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed (1 Sam 2:30).

President Karl G. Maeser said this:

"I have been asked what I mean by word of honor. I will tell you. Place me behind prison walls - walls of stone ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground - there is a possibility that in some way or another I may be able to escape; but stand me on the floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of that circle? No, never! I'd die first!" (Vital Quotations, comp. Emerson Roy West, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968, p. 167).

This is how the dictionary defines the word honor:

Honor: v.t. 1. to respect greatly; regard highly; esteem. 2. to show great respect or high regard for; treat with deference or courtesy. 3. to worship. 4. to confer an honor on; exalt; ennoble.

The stories from the first chapters of 1 Samuel can teach us great lessons about the importance of honoring the Lord and his servants.

I. THE SONS OF ELI HONOR THEMSELVES ABOVE THE LORD. Eli had two sons who assisted him the work, particularly the ordinance work, of the tabernacle. What does 1 Sam 2:12 tell you about these boys? The word Belial means 'worthless' or 'wicked.' What office did these sons hold according to 1 Samuel 1:3? 1 Samuel 2 suggests that there were a number of problems in the family of Eli, all of them related to these boys in some way. The first we have already mentioned.

(1 Sam 2:12) Hophni and Phinehas were worthless, wicked men.
(1 Sam 2:13-16) These two boys refused to be satisfied with the portion of the offerings that belonged to the priest. They wanted the best parts and they wanted them cooked in the way they preferred. If people offering sacrifices refused to comply with their demands, they said things like this: "Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force" (1 Sam 2;16).
(1 Sam 2:17) How would such conduct make people feel who came to worship and offer sacrifice? "Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD."
There was more than an unacceptable culinary practice going on here. In 1 Samuel 2:22 we are told that these priests ". . . lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." By the way, in that same verse we are told that "Eli . . . heard all that his sons did unto all Israel . . ."
(1 Sam 2:24) What did the degenerate actions of these boys cause to happen? Eli told them, " . . . ye make the Lord's people to transgress."
(1 Sam 2:25) Eli told them they were wrong, but they would not repent. "Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father . . ."
(1 Sam 2:27-29) The Lord sent a messenger to Eli who asked, "Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation . . ." What does the verb kick suggest in this context? What did the Lord mean when he said to Saul, "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks"? (Acts 9:5). Do we ever "kick" at the requirements of the Lord and his servants?
(1 Sam 2:27-29) The messenger made a further accusation against Eli: [Thou] "honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people."
(1 Sam 2:31) What did the Lord declare that he would do as a result of this continuing transgression?

Does all of this make you think of the words of Alma to his wayward son Corianton?

O my son, how great iniquity ye brought upon the Zoramites; for when they saw your conduct they would not believe in my words (Alma 39:11). Who did Hophni and Phinehas honor? Not the Lord. They honored themselves.

What happens to a person who puts his or her own desires about everything else? How will such an attitude affect friends and associates? How will the Lord deal with such a person. What examples of this problem have you observed in yourselves and others?

II. ELI HONORS HIS SONS ABOVE THE LORD. A great question about parental responsibility appears in these chapters. Eli had sons who were sinning grievously. What was his responsibility? He spoke to them (1 Sam 2:22-24). Was that enough? What calling did Eli have at this time (1 Sam 1:9) The Bible Dictionary tells us that he was "high priest and judge" over Israel. Does the reality of those responsibilities change the duty of a father with regard to his sons?

A great many people have had wicked children, but very few were ever rebuked and punished the way Eli was punished. Read 1 Sam 2:29-35 and ponder the depth of the Lord's disappointment in the conduct of Eli. And be assured that the problem is not that he had wicked sons. Samuel, the successor to Eli, also had wicked sons (see 1 Sam 8:3), but the Lord did not respond to their wickedness as he did to that of Hophni and Phinehas. The difference had to be in the way these fathers dealt with the wickedness of their sons.

What specific thing did the Lord say Eli had not done about the iniquity of his sons?

I will judge his [Eli's] house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not (1 Sam 3:13).

What restraint was lacking?

If a man is a bishop and knows that one of his sons is unworthy to participate in the blessing or passing of the sacrament, what must he do? Is it enough to talk, to warn, to call to repentance? If, as he waits for a sacrament meeting to start, a bishop sees his unworthy son sitting at the sacrament table, should he say or do anything?

Who did Eli honor "above" the Lord (see 1 Sam 2:29)? Are we ever guilty of trying to please others more than the Lord? In the language of D&C 121:35, do we ever "aspire to the honors of men"?

III. SAMUEL HONORS THE LORD. What did the Lord say he would do in Israel in 1 Sam 2:35? Who would that faithful priest be? Samuel, the son of Hannah.

Learning to honor the Lord must be the polar star of our lives. We must move ever closer to him rather than moving toward the satisfaction of our own desires or toward the praise and honor of others.

There is an attitudinal and behavioral bridge that we need to build in order for us to draw closer to Him, and thus be ready to return Home - cum laude or summa cum laude - to receive of His loving fulness, we must want to do this more than we want to do anything else. Otherwise, even if we avoid wickedness, our journey will end in the suburbs, somewhere short of the City of God (Neal A. Maxwell, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, p.4).

From that first night at the Tabernacle when Samuel responded to the Lord's voice by saying, "Speak; for thy servant heareth," until the final curtain fell in 1 Samuel 25:1, this great man was a pillar of obedience and righteousness and integrity. His entire life was one of honor to the Lord, as were the lives of Ruth and Hannah and Naomi. As Samuel honored the Lord in his prophetic calling, he demonstrated many of the qualitites of a prophet.

(1 Sam 9:6) He was a man of God
(1 Sam 9:6) He was honorable
(1 Sam 9:6) Everything he prophesied would in fact happen
(1 Sam 9:6) He showed people the way to go
(1 Sam 9:9) He was called a prophet and a seer
(1 Sam 9:19) He could tell people things that were in their hearts
(1 Sam 9:27) He would show the word of God
(1 Sam 12:4) He would never defraud people
(1 Sam 12:4) He would never oppress people
(1 Sam 12:4) He would never take anything from anyone
(1 Sam 12:7) He would reason with the people
(1 Sam 12:23) He would never cease to pray for the people
(1 Sam 12:23) He would teach the good and right way

What events now occurring in your life and your world give you the opportunity to demonstrate whom you honor?

IV. THE ISRAELITES HONOR THE WORLD. Israel's government at this time was a rule of judges, but in a very real way they were also a monarchy. Who was their king? 1 Sam. 12:12; see also Ps. 47:7; 89:18; 149:2) When they informed Samuel that they wanted a king rather than a judge, the Lord said, "Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them" (1 Sam 8:7).

Why did they want a king? The matter came up with the wickedness of the sons of Samuel, but there was another, more significant reason:

" . . . now make us a king to judge us like all the nations" (1 Sam 8:5).

"Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles" (1 Sam 8:19,20).

They wanted to be like all the other nations. Have you seen some of that among our own people? We sometimes want to watch the same movies, wear the same clothes, listen to the same music, read the same books as all the other nations.

This challenge can remain a stumbling block for Abraham's seed today. The temptation to be "like all the nations" is ever present. The standards and images of the world are not to become the ideals of Abraham's seed. The Old Testament in particular offers a warning to the Lord's covenant people of today as it chronicles the people of the past. In it we see the results of failing to bless all the families of the world because one desires to be like the world. Eventually Abraham's seed were lost, scattered, and taken captive by the world they so anxiously tried to imitate (S. Michael Wilcox, "The Abrahamic Covenant," Ensign, Jan. 1998, 47).

Conclusion Alma counseled his son Helaman,

O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God. Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day (Alma 37:35-37).

How can we honor the Lord more faithfully? What attitudes and efforts will keep us from honoring ourselves or others or the world in inappropriate ways?

Captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon put honor and humility in perspective: "Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country" ( Alma 60:36).

The scriptures teach us that honor includes such things as faith and trust in the Lord, payment of tithes and offerings, fear of the Lord, humility, and obedience.

We honor the Lord by placing our faith and trust in Him: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Prov. 3:5).

We show our honor for Him by paying tithes and offerings: "Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase" (Prov. 3:9).

We honor the Lord with our obedience to His commandments: "Forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments" (Prov. 3:1) [Robert D. Hales, "Return with Honor," Ensign, June 1999, 7].

Old Testament Lesson 20: ''All the City . . . Doth Know That Thou Art a Virtuous Woman''

Tue, 18 May 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: We must believe that God will never forget us or leave us empty if we seek Him. *The material posted here is meant only as a SUPPLEMENT to gospel doctrine study and should not be used as a replacement to the lessons. Follow the lesson manual. It is our hope that you will follow the Church's guidelines with respect to this: "If you have been called to teach a quorum or class . . . do not substitute outside materials, however interesting they may be." (Gospel Principles, p. 2)

Introduction About fifty years ago, Mr. F. M. Bareham wrote the following:

"A century ago [in 1809] men were following with bated breath the march of Napoleon and waiting with feverish impatience for news of the wars. And all the while in their homes babies were being born. But who could think about babies? Everybody was thinking about battles.

"In one year between Trafalgar and Waterloo there stole into the world a host of heroes: Gladstone was born in Liverpool; Tennyson at the Somersby Rectory, and Oliver Wendell Holmes in Massachusetts. Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, and music was enriched by the advent of Felix Mendelssohn in Hamburg."

And we might add, and Joseph Smith was born in Vermont, four years earlier.

Quoting Bareham further:

"But nobody thought of babies, everybody was thinking of battles. Yet which of the battles of 1809 mattered more than the babies of 1809? We fancy God can manage his world only with great battalions, when all the time he is doing it with beautiful babies.

"When a wrong wants righting, or a truth wants preaching, or a continent wants discovering, God sends a baby into the world to do it." (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle: pp. 323-24)

One of the messages of the Old Testament is that God prepares great mothers for great children. In this lesson we get an discerning look at three remarkable Christians, who are women and mothers: Ruth, Naomi, and Hannah.

I wonder if the placement of these stories is coincidental. If we examine the final chapters of Judges together with Ruth and 1 Samuel 1, we find these evidences of greatness:

RUTH: THE ANCESTOR OF DAVID AND CHRIST

NAOMI: THE MOTHER-IN-LAW OF RUTH

HANNAH: THE MOTHER OF THE PROPHET SAMUEL

SAMSON: HE HAD BIG MUSCLES

In fact, the book of Ruth is a great contrast to the wickedness of Judges. Whether intended or not, there are great lessons here about the things that matter most.

I. RUTH LEAVES HER HOME TO GO TO BETHLEHEM WITH NAOMI. [If you have not already done so, take a break now and read the book of Ruth and the 1st chapter of 1 Samuel. I will not spend much time here on the history, but you will need that background to understand what is being taught.]

Elimlech took his family to Moab for a decade. While there he died and his sons died. Naomi, wife and mother, was left with great sorrow. To her daughters-in-law she said, "the hand of the Lord is gone out against me" (Ruth 1:13).

Knowing that there was little in Israel for Moabite widows, Naomi encouraged her daughters to remain in Moab while she returned to her home in Bethlehem. Orpah agreed, weeping to leave her mother-in-law, but Ruth refused to leave Naomi. The content of Ruth suggests two reasons for this. First, she love Naomi, and would not send her away alone to a life without offspring or opportunity. Second, she had been converted to the God of Naomi.

And Ruth said, "Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me" (Ruth 1:16,17).

Life is filled with opportunities to make choices about the things that matter most. Orpah chose family, friends, familiarity. Ruth chose love and faith. Consider this:

The adversary is delighted when we act like sightseers, meaning those who are hearers rather than doers of the word (see James 1:22), or shoppers, meaning those preoccupied with the vain things of this world that suffocate our spirits. Satan baits us with perishable pleasures and preoccupations - our bank accounts, our wardrobes, even our waistlines - for he knows that where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also (see Matt. 6:21). Unfortunately, it is easy to let the blinding glare of the adversary's enticements distract us from the light of Christ (Sheri Dew, Ensign, Nov. 1999, p. 97).

Ruth would not be distracted by the "perishable pleasures." She left for Bethlehem with her mother-in-law.

Ruth's willingness to follow has been duplicated in the lives of so many wonderful women. Since my marriage I have lived in 13 homes. Each of them has been selected on the basis of my work and my requirements. My bride has never asked when we will get to live where she wants to live. "Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge . . ." she said. And then she did.

When they returned to Bethlehem, there seems to have been a great outpouring of sympathy for them. "All the city was moved about them, and they said, is this Naomi?" (Ruth 1:19)

Naomi responded, "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara" [the word means bitter] . . . I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty" (Ruth 1:20,21)

Certainly life had dealt roughly with Naomi. It often does with all of us.

Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Prov. 3:11-12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain (Elder Richard G. Scott, C.R., Oct 1995, p.18).
But Naomi was not as empty as she thought she was. She had one of the great daughters of all time, one who would give her an immortal scriptural legacy; and she had the honor of being an ancestor of the Son of God.
These are also lessons worth learning. As we walk down the sidewalk of sorrows that so often defines our mortal experiences, we must remember that we are loved by beings with absolute power, who know our needs and our limits, and who know what we can, with proper preparation, become.
Take a moment here to consider how good Ruth really was. In addition to her willingness to change her life and her religion and to stay with her destitute mother-in-law, we learn these wonderful things about Ruth:

She was willing to go into the fields and glean for food (Ruth 2:2).
Boaz, the owner of the field where she gleaned, knew of all that she had done for her mother in law (Ruth 2:11).
She sought a husband who would preserve her mother-in-law's inheritance in Israel rather than one who was young or rich (Ruth 3:10).
The entire city of Bethlehem knew how good she was (Ruth 3:11).
Naomi's friends told her that Ruth was better to her than seven sons (Ruth 4:15).
II. RUTH AND BOAZ MARRY AND HAVE A CHILD. The following is from the Bible Dictionary.

Levirate Marriage: The custom of a widow marrying her deceased husband's brother or sometimes a near heir. The word has nothing to do with the name Levi or the biblical Levites, but is so called because of the Latin levir, meaning husband's brother, connected with the English suffix ate, thus constituting levirate. This system of marriage is designated in Deut. 25:5-10 (cf. Gen. 38:8), is spoken of in Matt. 22:23 ff.; it also forms a major aspect of the story of Ruth (Ruth 4:1-12).

There is an allusion to this practice in Naomi's declaration to her widowed daughters-in-law.
"And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands?" (Ruth 1:11-13)
When Ruth met Boaz as she gleaned in his fields, he treated her kindly, fed her, and praised her for her goodness. When Ruth reported this, Naomi, who had though she was "empty," now saw a ray of hope for herself and her daughter.
"And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen" (Ruth 2:20).
There were no brothers of Ruth's dead husband to fulfill the levitate custom, but in the absence of a brother, a near kinsman could accept the obligation to marry the widow and raise up seed to the departed man.
"Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Boaz of our kindred . . . ?" (Ruth 3:1,2)
Ruth presented herself to Boaz and invited him to accept the duty of a near kinsman by marrying her. He was willing, but, he said, "there is a kinsman nearer than I." (Ruth 3:12) He took witnesses and approached the nearer kinsman and told him that the property of Elimelech was available for purchase, but, he warned, the purchase also involved a marriage.
"What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it" (Ruth 4:5,6).
Boaz agreed and said to the witnesses,
"Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day" (Ruth 4:10).
What comes next sounds almost like a blessing.
"The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem" (Ruth 4:11).
And a similar thing was said to Naomi:
"And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel" (Ruth 4:14).
You may remember that Samson imitated the world until he became "like any other man" (Judges 16:17), but Ruth and her husband and Naomi would, by their righteousness, "be famous in Israel" (Ruth 4:11,14).
III. HANNAH IS BLESSED WITH A SON WHOM SHE LENDS TO THE LORD AS SHE PROMISED. Hannah's longing for children is a marked contrast to the attitudes of many women in our day. The desire of hers to be a mother was so strong that she presented herself before the Lord at the Tabernacle in fasting and prayer as she sought this blessing in her life (1 Samuel 1:7-15).
She had to know that a child would require years of attention, innumerable batches of laundry (without a Kenmore), sleepless nights and tear-filled days, and yet she wanted a child. Perhaps she saw what so many cannot: children are a blessing more than a burden.
I like Hannah! Even though her husband's other wife made her life miserable with the mockery of her barrenness, Hannah turned to the Lord. She prayed in her sorrow (1 Sam 1:10); she vowed a vow that if given a son, she would give him to the Lord and make him a Nazarite all the days of his life (1 Sam 1:11); she poured our her soul to God (1 Sam 1:15); the Lord remembered her (1 Sam 1:19); she cherished her son and held him close until he was weaned (1 Sam 1:22); she brought him to the house of the Lord (1 Sam 1:24); and she lent the child to the Lord (1 Sam 1:28;2: 20).

You remember Hannah who wanted a child and she went to the sanctuary to pray . . . a prayer from her heart to God that she might bear a child. And how earnest she was in that prayer, so earnest, so sincere, that she said, "If God will give me this child, I will lend him to the Lord for this life." (See 1 Sam. 1:11.) How well the mothers know that life is eternal. How well she knew that in lending this child to the Lord for this life, that beyond and down through the ages of eternity, he would be her child, and she would be his mother (Matthew Cowley: C.R., Oct. 1953, p. 108).

After the birth of her son and his presentation at the tabernacle,
"Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation" (1 Samuel 2:1).
Take a moment to read the entire record of her rejoicing in 1 Samuel 2:1-11.
Hannah is another who might have believed, like Naomi, that the Lord had left her empty. But instead she believed and exercised faith and waited on the Lord, and the blessings came in abundance. First came Samuel. Then, later,
"The LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters" (1 Samuel 2:20).
Conclusion The stories remind me of the promise made by the Lord in 1 Nephi 21:15,16 and Isaiah 49:14-16.
"But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."
We must believe that he will never forget us or leave us empty if we seek him. Sister Sheri Dew said,
"We no longer have the luxury of spending our energy on anything that does not lead us to Christ" (Ensign, Nov. 1999, p. 98).
How well Ruth and Naomi and Hannah understood that, and how blessed they were for making the journey.

Old Testament Lesson 19: Reign of the Judges

Tue, 11 May 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: The book of Judges shows us the pattern for our own preservation. Introduction Years ago my wife accompanied me to a speaking assignment in the Mesa, Arizona area. We stayed at a motel near the Superstition Mall. On Saturday morning we decided to take a walk. A sidewalk encircled the buildings and the parking lot of the mall. We had only walked a few steps when I realized that I was looking at something unusual. Landscapers had planted some kind of deciduous tree at close intervals just next to the sidewalk nearly all the way around the mall. And every one of the trees was leaning - not just inclining - leaning at a precipitous angle toward the west. I could feel the wind on my face as we walked eastward on the south side of the Mall. It was not strong that morning, but it was constant. I wondered how many hours and days it had blown against those trees to push them so consistently and completely out of shape.

I watched the same process with fruit trees in my own yard in Orem as the constant canyon winds pushed them away from their normal upright position. I soon learned that when I planted trees, I needed a stake and an anchor to keep them growing straight.

Those trees are an effective metaphor for Israel in the Promised Land. There were forces working against her in that environment. She needed anchors to grow up in perfection. Five of those anchors are suggested by the stories in Judges. Four of these stories are given in the lesson. I will add a fifth and try to offer some new insights into those anchors mentioned in the Gospel Doctrine manual.

I. ANCHOR #1: A SAFE ENVIRONMENT Righteous parents have a duty to their children to create an environment in which those children can grow up in Christ, without unreasonable pressure from the world. These Israelite parents seem to have been righteous for a time:

"And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel" (Joshua 2:7).

But the Israelites made a calamitous mistake. What do the following phrases and verses tell you about the dangers in which Israel placed her children?

"And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem" (Judges 1:21)
"Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land" (Judges 1:27)
"And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out" (Judges 1:28)
"Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites . . ." (Judges 1:29)
"Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol . . ." (Judges 1:30)
"Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho . . ." (Judges 1:31)
"Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land . . ." (Judges 1:33)

Why would it matter if a few groups of idolaters were left in the midst of Israel? How much influence could so few have on so many? Why was the Lord so concerned?

Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee (Ex 34:12 [12-16]).

The Lord responded to this disobedience with a rebuke and a prophecy:

"And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you" (Judges 2:1-3).

You will not need to read much of Judges to learn just how contagious these pockets of heathen worship were to Israel.

What snares do Latter-day Saint parents place in the environment in which their children are raised? Could an unsupervised TV be such a snare? What about a collection of videos? Could the application of situational ethics or occasional dishonesty become a snare? How about speaking evil of leaders, or shopping on the Sabbath?

Have we embraced the counsel of the Lord and his leaders sufficiently to drive out all the enemies of righteousness from our homes? A safe environment is a powerful anchor to the young and growing soul. WE have been commanded to stand in holy places (see D&C 45:32; 87:8; 101:22). We must make our homes such places.

II. ANCHOR #2: RIGHTEOUS PARENTS There is a second side to this equation. Children must be willing to follow the righteous example of their parents. Apparently the Israelite children who were born in the Promised Land were not.

"And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that [were] round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger" (Judges 2:12).

"They turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in" (Judges 2:17).

"This people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers" (Judges 2:20).

"I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not" (Judges 2:21,22).

Israel's children forsook the God, the way, the covenant, and the walk of their fathers. All of those can be anchors in the storms of life. What do the following verses suggest about the influence of righteous parents? Genesis 18:19; 1 Nephi 2:16; Enos 1:3; Mosiah 27:14; Alma 36:17. Even if our earthly parents are unwilling or unable to do this, we must remember that we have another Father who will.

III. ANCHOR #3: RIGHTEOUS FRIENDS (ESPECIALLY RIGHTEOUS WOMEN) The book of Judges shows us a continuing cycle of apostasy, periods of righteousness followed by wickedness and bondage and repentance. To whom were the Israelites in bondage in Judges 4:1-3? Who was the judge in Israel? (4:4).

Through his judge, Deborah, the Lord called a deliverer.

And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand (Judges 4:6,7).

Barak was willing to go. In fact he had only one condition that needed to be met for him to take his army against the 900 iron chariots of Canaan and all the Canaanite army. What was that condition? (Judges 4:8) Have you even been encouraged to do something difficult or dangerous because you had a great friend at your side?

My first six-week experience in the army was miserable. I had only been married a few weeks, and was suddenly thrust into the company of several thousand young men in an environment that fell short of ideal. I was not long off my mission and my loneliness for my new wife was compounded by the filthy language and undisciplined behavior of those soldiers. Only one thing saved me. By the grace of God I ended up in the same platoon and the same squad and the even the upper and lower levels of the same bunk with a former missionary companion and dear friend. I cannot tell you how much strength I drew from him in those awful weeks of basic training. When it was time to kneel in prayer, we knelt together. When it was time to go to church, we went together. When language and subject matter became unbearable, we stood together in an appeal for some restraint. Even then it was difficult, but without him, it might well have been impossible.

There is this thing that Barak is supposed to do, and he wants someone beside him who will help him do it. This is a part of the definition of true friendship. True friends will assist you and encourage you in doing what is right. In my own life I have learned what Barak seemed to have learned. A righteous woman is a source of great power.

Boyd K. Packer said something about this:

Men may miss many things that are spiritual. Women somehow instinctively make time for these things. It is that sensitivity that is refined by motherhood. Should that be tampered with, or put aside, or smothered? Oh, how great the loss! Never were we more in need of those tender virtues than today.

Brigham Young spoke of an even more dramatic difference between men and women:

[T]he male portion of the human family are the lords of the earth, and they are full of wickedness, evil and destruction, and especially in their acts towards the female sex. But God will hold them accountable. The fact is, let the pure principles of the kingdom of God be taught to men and women, and far more of the latter than the former will receive and obey them (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 18, p. 249).

IV. ANCHOR #4: FAITH IN GOD In the mid-eighties when I was working with a branch of missionaries at the MTC, I listened to a young missionary bear his testimony. He was from a tiny town in eastern Washington, and was on his way with only five others to begin the work in a country just opened for missionary work. "My town," he told us, "has six hundred people. I am going to a country of twenty million. But the Lord has called me and I'll get it done!"

I thought of him as I was studying the story of Gideon a few years ago. Gideon was a simple man from humble beginnings who, when he learned to trust in the Lord, accomplished unimaginable things.

Israel was in bondage again, this time to Midian. What terrible thing did the enemies of Israel do to her? (Judges 6:3,4) In these circumstance we first meet Gideon. Where is he and what is he doing when his call comes? (Judges 6:11)

When Gideon was told, "The Lord is with thee," (6:12) he was skeptical. He asks the kind of question some of us have heard from others, or perhaps even asked ourselves in times to trouble: "Oh my Lord, if thou LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?" (Judges 6:19)

Why is it that we sometimes determine only to worship a God who operates according to our standards and our timetable?

The call came:

"And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?" (Judges 6:13).

Gideon asks for a sign; in fact he asks for at least three of them before he gets started on his mission. I have never felt that these signs he seeks are the kind condemned by the Savior. Rather, they are the kind asked for by the father with the possessed son.

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt believe all things I shall say unto you, this is possible to him that believeth. And immediately the father of the child cried out, and said, with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief (JST Mark 9:20,21).

Gideon is not saying, "unless you show me a sign I will not believe." He is saying, "I want to believe. Please help me" (Judges 6:17).

Have we not all had such feelings? When the Lord gives us a task beyond our experience and ability, we must turn to the Lord for courage and support.

Gideon saw his meal consumed like a sacrifice (6:19-22); he saw the wet fleece and the dry fleece (6:36-40). As he prepared to go to battle against an army of 135,000 (see Judges 8:10), he watched his own army reduced from 32,000 (odds of 4-1) to 10,000 (odds of 13.5 to 1) and then to 300 (odds of 450 to 1). But he took his fears to God and overcame them and did the thing the Lord had commanded him to do. A similar experience follows:

Nearly forty years ago I was on a mission in England. I had been called to labor in the European Mission office in London under President Joseph F. Merrill of the Council of the Twelve, then president of the European Mission. One day three or four of the London papers carried reviews of a reprint of an old book, snide and ugly in tone, indicating that the book was a history of the Mormons. President Merrill said to me, "I want you to go down to the publisher and protest this." I looked at him and was about to say, "Surely not me." But I meekly said, "Yes, sir."
I do not hesitate to say that I was frightened. I went to my room and felt something as I think Moses must have felt when the Lord asked him to go and see Pharaoh. I offered a prayer. My stomach was churning as I walked over to the Goodge Street station to get the underground train to Fleet Street. I found the office of the president and presented my card to the receptionist. She took it and went into the inner office and soon returned to say that Mr. Skeffington was too busy to see me. I replied that I had come five thousand miles and that I would wait. During the next hour she made two or three trips to his office, then finally invited me in. I shall never forget the picture when I entered. He was smoking a long cigar with a look that seemed to say, "Don't bother me."
I held in my hand the reviews. I do not know what I said after that. Another power seemed to be speaking through me. At first he was defensive and even belligerent. Then he began to soften. He concluded by promising to do something. Within an hour word went out to every book dealer in England to return the books to the publisher. At great expense he printed and tipped in the front of each volume a statement to the effect that the book was not to be considered as history, but only as fiction, and that no offense was intended against the respected Mormon people. Years later he granted another favor of substantial worth to the Church, and each year until the time of his death I received a Christmas card from him (Gordon B. Hinckley, "If Ye Be Willing and Obedient," Ensign, Dec. 1971, 124,125).

V. ANCHOR #5: THE POWER OF COVENANTS How many babies can you think of in all of earth's history who had their birth announced to the parents in advance by an angel? Isaac, John the Baptist, Jesus, and . . . Samson. I cannot think of others. What was to be unique about Samson from the time of his birth?

Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines (Judges 13:4,5).

Numbers 6 explains what it means to be a Nazarite. The word comes from the root Nazar [it has nothing to do with Nazareth] which means, "To hold aloof; abstain from . . . impurity; spec. to set apart (to sacred purposes) i.e. devote; - consecrate, separate" (Strong's Concordance, p. 77). The three defining words in Numbers, with regard to the vow of a Nazarite, are separate (vss. 2,3,4,5), consecrate (vs. 7), and holy (vss. 5,8). A Nazarite made a vow - he entered into a covenant with the Lord - to be separated, consecrated, and holy. We ought to note that a person under the vow of a Nazarite could not, among other things, cut his hair. This the length of hair was indicative of the length of the vow. And this vow was made for Samson before he was born!

Samson was born with a most unusual and remarkable spiritual gift. He had muscles the size of Montana. He was born in Zorah, midway between the upper lands of Israel and the lower lands of the Philistines on the Mediterranean coast. Living in such a place, Samson had two choices. He could go up to the religious centers of his people, or he could go down to the worldly pleasures of the Philistines. According to the firsts words of Judges 14:1, what did Samson do? "And Samson went down . . ."

In the chapters that describe this man and his accomplishments, he seems to go down almost continually, systematically shattering every covenant he had made - every part of the Nazarite vow.

What does this man decide to do in Judges 14:1-3? Can you be separated, consecrated, and holy if you marry out of the covenant? Nazarites were not to touch any dead bodies. But in Judges 14:19, how many men does he kill to pay a gambling debt?

What does Samson do to violate his covenants in Judges 16:1?

These chapters are filled with accounts of the exploits of Samson. But none are more impressive that what happened at Gaza. The Philistines were anxious to capture Samson, and had tried many times. When they learned that he was in Gaza, one of their own cities, they

". . . compassed [him] in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him" (Judges 16:2).

But Samson did not wait till morning. He "arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron" (Judges 16:3).

Samson took the gates to the city, the posts upon which they were hung, and the bar used to secure them when they were closed and carried them to the top of a hill "before Hebron." If "before" means "near", Samson carried that load for about 40 miles!

Samson's next adventure was with Delilah. How much did the lords of the Philistines offer Delilah to help them capture Samson? (16:5) The value of this payment can be appreciated by a look at Judges 17:10 where a priest was hired for 10 pieces of silver a year!

You know this story. Delilah is finally able to get Samson to tell her what he perceived to be the source of his strength. His hair was the only remnant of his vow as a Nazarite and of his covenant with the Lord. He seems to know that if he breaks his final covenant of separation, the final traces of his spiritual gift will depart (16:17).

Why they have not departed already I cannot say. Certainly they have begun to depart. For when he awakens with his locks shorn, he was so far removed from his early spirituality (13:25) that "he wist [knew] not that the Lord was departed from him." The result of a lifetime of going gradually and continuously down was that he did not even know he had reached the bottom.

How would the history of Samson be different if he had kept his covenants? How would our feelings about him be different? But Samson was far removed from the attributes of a covenant people. He was more a Philistine than the Philistines.

What happens in our own day when members of the Church turn from their covenants? Do they begin to take on the attributes of the world as Samson did?

If Samson had been anchored securely to his covenants, he might have grown into one of the greatest men the world has ever known. But the winds of temptation and self-love twisted him into a shape almost useless to the Lord.

Conclusion Paul wrote to the Collossians about what would happen to them if they anchored themselves to Christ. He speaks of being "grounded and settled" and encourages us that we "be not moved away from the hope of the gospel . . ." (Col. 1:23). He tells us that if we receive Christ and walk in him, we will be "Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith" (Col. 2:7).

I have a great blue spruce in my front yard. It is grounded and settled and rooted and established. Like Israel of old, it was planted in a good spot, but unlike Israel, it grew straight and tall.

The book of Judges shows us the pattern for our own preservation. Let us tie ourselves and our children to the anchors of good environment, righteous parents, great friends, faith in God, and covenants, "that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall" (Hel. 5:12).

Old Testament Lesson 18: ''Be Strong and of a Good Courage''

Tue, 04 May 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by Ted L. Gibbons
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: I have always been intrigued by the things which are included in the scriptural history. I believe the book of Joshua gives us a wonderful patter for the kinds of things we ought to record. AUTHOR'S NOTE: This lesson will not follow the outline suggested in the Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Manual. However, the points covered in that lesson will be mentioned here. Please remember that your first line of preparation must be the scriptures, then the lesson manual prepared by the Church. This lesson is only provided to be a resource for your study and preparation.

Introduction When the Lord announced that Israel would cross the Jordan as they had crossed the Red Sea 40 years earlier, he gave special instructions about what was to happen during the crossing:

"Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night" (Josh. 4:2,3).

That lodging place was Gilgal (4:20). What was the purpose of making a heap of 12 stones from the midst of Jordan?

"That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever" (Josh. 4:6,7).

The stones were to be a monument and a memorial, providing an opportunity for Israelites to teach their children what great things God had done for them at the Red Sea and at Jordan (4:7,23).

We all ought to leave such a memorial - a record of some kind that will encourage our children to ask us about the great things the Lord has done for us in our lives. Sometimes those memorials might be something like the pile of stones. But the clearest way to leave such encouragement is to leave a record. We ought to have a history in our journals of what God has done for us, one that our children can review and cherish, one that will bring them to us in their longing to hear the stories and feel the power of our testimonies.

Those who keep a book of remembrance are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives. Journals are a way of counting our blessings and of leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 19821, p. 349).

Oliver B. Huntington wrote:

Many times have I wished that my father had kept an account of his life, that I might look over it, and see his by-gone days, deed and fortune; and never did he make the scratch of a pen towards it, until he had seen sixty cold winters; and as yet I know but very little of his life, not enough to make any record of, although I have a very short account written, but which is beyond my reach at present, if not forever. Like men in general I presume to suppose, that I shall have a posterity; and that may; like me; wish to know of their father's life, that they might view it, and perhaps profit thereby, or at least, have the satisfaction of knowing it. This is one object that induces me to write; that my nearest kindred, might know of their kinsman. I write also for a satisfaction to myself, to look over my past life, dates and events, and to comply with a requirement, oft repeated by the prophet Joseph Smith, "That every man should keep a daily journal." (Oliver Huntington Autobiography, BYU-S, p.26)

As we review the stories of Joshua, I will suggest 12 things (one for each stone) that might be worthy of an entry in the inventory of blessings that we ought to leave for our posterity.

ROCK #1: Be strong and courageous. Read Deuteronomy 30:6,7,23. What did the Lord command Joshua to do? Now turn to Joshua 1:6,7,18. Then look at Joshua 10:25. The same instruction is given here. What need have we of courage and strength as we confront the challenges of life? Joshua had nearly impossible things to do. God advised him:

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest (Joshua 1:9).

What a blessing you will be to your children as you tell them of the times when you went forward with nothing but your faith in God to sustain you.

ROCK #2: God will qualify you: How many prophets had the Israelites known personally before Joshua? For 40 years they had followed Moses and marveled at his power. Now he was going and Joshua was to take his place. How would the people respond? Would they follow him? Brigham Young might have had such concerns. You will remember that he was transfigured before the saints, and appeared to them and spoke to them as though he were the prophet Joseph Smith.

A similar thing happened with President Kimball:

The story really begins on the 26th of December, 1973. President Harold B. Lee passed away suddenly on that day. His death was completely unexpected. It is necessary to remember that over a period of twenty-five years, members of the Church had awaited the time when Harold B. Lee would become the president. There had been every reason to think that this would eventually happen, due to his relative youthfulness and because he occupied a position in seniority following Joseph Fielding Smith and David O. McKay, both of whom were of advanced age. In addition, Harold B. Lee had gained more than average prominence. . . . It was expected that when he became president he would preside for twenty years or more.
Suddenly he was gone!—called elsewhere after only one-and-a-half years. It was the first time since the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith when the president had died before it was time for him to die. In deep sorrow and concern the surging questions arose in the minds of the people, much as they did at the time when Joseph Smith was killed in Carthage, Illinois. "What will we do now? How can we carry on without the prophet? Our great leader has gone. Can the Church survive this emergency?" . . . .
We return to the 4th of April, 1974. There were gathered that morning in the Church Office Building, all of the General Authorities as well as the Regional Representatives and other leaders from around the world. We were to be instructed once again, as we had been periodically during the past seven years. On each preceding occasion Harold B. Lee had given us our direction and sounded the trump of leadership. Now he was no longer there, and we all felt his absence deeply. Again came the questions: "How can we proceed without our great leader?" "How can President Kimball fill the empty space?" And again the prayers went forth: "Please bless President Kimball."
The moment came when President Kimball arose to address the assembled leadership. He noted that he also had never expected to occupy this position and that he missed President Lee equally with the rest of us. Then he reviewed much of the instruction which President Lee had given over the past years, and our prayers in behalf of President Kimball continued.
As he proceeded with his address, however, he had not spoken very long when a new awareness seemed suddenly to fall on the congregation. We became alert to an astonishing spiritual presence, and we realized that we were listening to something unusual, powerful, different from any of our previous meetings. It was as if, spiritually speaking, our hair began to stand on end. Our minds were suddenly vibrant and marveling at the transcendent message that was coming to our ears. With a new perceptiveness we realized that President Kimball was opening spiritual windows and beckoning to us to come and gaze with him on the plans of eternity. It was as if he were drawing back the curtains which covered the purpose of the Almighty and inviting us to view with him the destiny of the gospel and the vision of its ministry. . . .
The Spirit of the Lord was upon President Kimball and it proceeded from him to us as a tangible presence, which was at once both moving and shocking. He unrolled to our view a glorious vision (W. Grant Bangerter, "Special Moment in Church History," Ensign, Nov. 1977, pp. 26,27).

What promise did the Lord make to Joshua? (Joshua 3:7)

How did he keep that promise? (Joshua 3:15-16)

How did Israel respond? "On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life" (Josh. 4:14).

When Joshua led the Israelites against Jericho, God once again showed his support for his prophet and his people. Joshua's battle plan was bizarre. But in those seven days of marching around the city, the people had ample time to reflect on just how they felt about this new leader. And when the trumpets sounded and the people shouted and the walls fell down flat, their testimonies of divine leadership must have multiplied a hundred fold.

ROCK #3: Walk to the edge of the light: God had promised to divide the Jordan, but when did he do it? (Read Joshua 3:13, 15-17, when Jordan is divided as the priests barely set foot in it.)

I wonder if there were any who stood beside the river thinking, "I'm not moving till I see the dry land where now I am seeing a river at flood stage." Sometimes we must move forward when the end is invisible and all that we can see is the next step.

Elder Boyd K. Packer said, "Shortly after I was called as a General Authority, I went to Elder Harold B. Lee for counsel. He listened very carefully to my problem and suggested that I see President David O. McKay. President McKay counseled me as to the direction I should go. I was very willing to be obedient but saw no way possible for me to do as he counseled me to do.

"I returned to Elder Lee and told him that I saw no way to move in the direction I was counseled to go. He said, 'The trouble with you is you want to see the end from the beginning.' I replied that I would like to see at least a step or two ahead. Then came the lesson of a lifetime: 'You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you'" ("The Edge of the Light," BYU Today, March 1991, pp. 22,23).

Your journal should contain stories of the times you moved forward in faith, waiting for the waters to part before you.

ROCK #4: Blessings come as needed: What happened after Israel crossed the Jordan and ate the food of the Promised Land? (Joshua 5:12: Manna ceased once they had fruit of the land.)

Take a quick look at Deut 8:4. What other miraculous things did the Lord do for Israel In the wilderness? Can you imagine wearing the same clothing for 40 years? But once other options were available, those miracles ceased. Hyrum M. Smith told a wonderful story from the life of Gerald Quinn about this principle (first paragraph told by Gerald Quinn; the rest told by Hyrum M. Smith):

I was raised in San Bernardino . . . during the depression. I was taught a marvelous lesson in faith when I was about nine years old. We were living in what could best be described as a converted chicken coop. We owned a piece of ground that bordered a very busy highway. On one occasion our father called us together and said, "I have been impressed that we should spend a day fasting and praying to see if the Lord can't direct us in a path that will help us have enough money to build a home."
His father had a job and all that job paid during the depression was enough for food and clothing for the family and that was all. At the end of this day of fasting, Bro. Quinn approached his children again. Remember Gerald Quinn at this point was about nine. And he said, "I have been impressed that if we will go out in front of our house on this busy street, that we'll be able to find enough change dropped from passing motorists to feed our family." And he said, "then I can take the money I get at work, buy the materials for the house and we can build the house ourselves." Sister Quinn was very supportive and she said, "if that's what you think is right, we'll do it."
Gerald and his young sister were assigned the task of going out and searching the highway. The next morning they went out and spent about 45 minutes walking up and down this highway about 600 yards on either side of the house. They came back with $.75 that they had found. . . . It bought food for the day. The next day they went out and did the same thing and brought back about $1.23. This was in nickels, dimes and pennies. Brothers and sisters, this went on for four years. Every day they would come back with anywhere from $.25 to $1.50 in change.
Bro. Quinn did exactly what he committed to the Lord he would do; took his money from work, bought the materials and they built a home. It was not a palatial place, but it was home. Bro. Quinn said, "I'll never forget the day we finished the home. We had a ceremonial burning of the chicken coop out back. Mom fixed a really neat meal and we all had just kind of a special day."
He said, "the next day, because it had become our habit, my sister and I went out to the street to collect our "daily manna". We spent an hour and didn't find one penny. We came back to the house frantic, approached our mother and said, "Mother, there is no money out there today.""
Mom sat them down and taught them a powerful lesson and said, "You didn't expect there to be any money today, did you?" And Jerry, not really understanding this whole process, said, "well, it's been there for four years, why not today?" And then his gracious mother said, "Because we don't need it anymore. And there won't be any money anymore. The Lord provided that while we were building our home. Our home is completed. There won't be any money anymore."
Jerry Quinn had to prove that. For the next three weeks he went out every day and never found another dime.
[From an audio recording by Hyrum M. Smith, "A Testimony of the Principles of Faith"]

ROCK #5: One man matters: What did Achan do that caused such difficulty for Israel?

BUT the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel (Josh. 7:1).

Notice the language of this verse and verse 11. "Israel committed a trespass . . . the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel." Even though Achan was the only one who sinned, the judgements fell on his family and his fellow-Israelites. They were defeated at the city of Ai (7:2-5), and "the hearts of the people melted, and became as water" (7:5).

This matter came up again later, in Josh 22:18,20.

Can you think of modern illustrations of this principle. Why couldn't a transgressor say "I'm only hurting myself"? Even if there are no literal consequences, what kind of pain do you feel when someone you know and love commits sin? How much difference did it make to the Nephites when Amalickiah rebelled and joined the Nephites? (see Alma 46-52)

And this principle works with the principles of righteousness as well. Just how much difference can one man make when that one man is a Moses or a Jeremiah or a Nephi or a Thomas S. Monson?

ROCK #6: We can learn lessons from our enemies: Israel was unstoppable. Cities and kings fell before them like grain before the reaper. The people of Gibeon were terrified. They took old sacks and old clothes and old food and made the short journey to Gilgal. What did they say to Joshua? (9:6-13).

The Lord had commanded Israel, "And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land." What mistake did Joshua and his leaders make?

And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them (Josh. 9:14,15).

This is the first lesson. It is the lesson of Alma: "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good . . ." (Alma 37:37). But there is a second lesson. What did the Israelites do when they learned that they had been induced to make an agreement under false pretenses?

And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them (Josh. 9:19,20).

This second lesson - keep your word - is one that must be highlighted by the first one. Seek the counsel of the Lord before you make important promises. But when you make them, keep them!

ROCK #7: I will fight your battles:

I do not require at their hands to fight the battles of Zion; for, as I said in a former commandment, even so will I fulfill--I will fight your battles (D&C 105:14).

A confederation of five kings undertook to destroy Gibeon because the city had made peace with Israel (see Josh. 10:2-5). The men of Gibeon sent to Joshua for help and he came, leading his army in forced march that lasted all night (10:9). What happened as these armies and their kings fled from the army of Israel?

"And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword" (Josh. 10:11).

These great hailstones make me think of a prophecy in Revelation 16:21: "And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent . . ." A talent is probably about 75 pounds according to the Bible Dictionary. We do not know how large the stones were in Joshua ten, but if they were at all like the ones mentioned in Revelation, they were great stones indeed!

And the story reminds me of this promise:

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed" (D&C 123:17).

Have you made a record of those times in your life when, after you have done all that you could do, God has stepped in and made up the difference?

ROCK #8: Nothing is too hard for the Lord:

There is a miracle recorded in Joshua 10 that in scope and implication eclipses nearly every other miracle in the scriptures.

"Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies . . . So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel" (Josh, 10:12-14).

The messenger of Isaac's birth said, when Sarah laughed, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Gen. 18:13, JST). To Mary, Gabriel said, "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:27). We need to have greater faith in this reality.

ROCK #9: Characteristics of a faithful servant: When enough of the conquest of the Promised Land was completed, Joshua sent the tribes to their inheritances. But first he praised them for their faithfulness. Note the things he said they had done and should do:

(Josh 22:2) "Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you"
(22:3) "Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day"
(22:3) "[Ye] have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God."
(22:5) "But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law"
(22:5) "love the LORD your God"
(22:5) "walk in all his ways"
(22:5) "keep his commandments"
(22:5) "cleave unto him"
(22:5) "serve him"

ROCK #10: When the three tribes who had received an inheritance on the other side of Jordan returned to their homes, they "built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to" (22:10). The other Israelites assumed that this altar was evidence of apostasy, "the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them" (22:12). The only authorized altar for priesthood service was at the tabernacle. But those who had build the altar explained that they had not built the altar in rebellion nor to offer burnt offerings thereon. Their purpose was to provide a reminder for their children and the children of the Israelites across the river, "But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD" (22:27) In fact, the altar was much like the pile of stones mentioned in Joshua 4.

Even the pattern was different from the temple altar. "Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made . . . it is a witness between us and you" (22:28). Notice what name they gave the altar in Joshua 22:34. The word in this context actually means witness. Are your home life and your work ethic and your interpersonal relationships witnesses of your love for the Lord?

ROCK #11: Remember: As Joshua dismisses Israel from the battlefields, he also charges them to remember how the Lord has blessed them:

(24:3) Remember what I did for Abraham
(24:5) Remember that I sent you Moses and Aaron
(24:5) Remember that I freed you from Egypt
(24:7) Remember that I save you and destroyed your enemies in the Red Sea
(24:8) I gave you victory over the Amorites
(24:11) Remember how you crossed Jordan
(24:11) Remember how I delivered the people of this land to your hand
(24:12) I sent the hornet before you (nature fought for you)
(24:13) I gave you a land and cities and crops for which you did not have to labor

Poor memories are a major problem in the standard works, where the word Remember appears 12,899 times! One of the blessings of a journal is that it helps us and our children to remember what the Lord has done for us.

ROCK #12: Choose you this day: Joshua invited Israel to "Incline [their] heart unto the Lord God of Israel" (24:23). It was time to make a choice.

Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods (Josh. 24:14-16)

Conclusion This matter of writing a journal (making a memorial) has received a great deal of emphasis. I have always been intrigued by the things which are included in the scriptural history. I believe the book of Joshua gives us a wonderful patter for the kinds of things we ought to record.

"We hope you will begin as of this date. If you have not already commenced this important duty in your lives, get a good notebook, a good book that will last through time and into eternity for the angels to look upon. Begin today and write in it your goings and your comings, your deeper thoughts, your achievements, and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. We hope you will do this, our brothers and sisters, for this is what the Lord has commanded, and those who keep a personal journal are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives" (Spencer W. Kimball, "President Kimball Speaks Out on Personal Journals," Ensign, Dec. 1980, 61)