Lovest Thou Me More Than These?

After the death and resurrection of the Savior, some of the Apostles returned to what they were doing when the Savior first found them - fishing. Peter and the other fishermen loved fishing, which is presumably why they chose to make a career of it. Maybe they imagined their ministry had concluded, so they could "retire" and go back to their love of fishing. It's hard to know.

The resurrected Savior found them fishing and felt the need to drive a point home to them while gathered around a campfire cooking, yes you guessed it, fish. Jesus motioned to the fish and asked Peter, "Lovest thou me more than these?"

I'm sure that Jesus was disappointed to find the Apostles fishing instead of helping Him with his work and glory. They could have been out strengthening the struggling disciples, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and serving their fellowmen. Had they forgotten and moved on so quickly?

"Do you love me more than the things of the world? More than your vocation, hobbies, and passions?" was the question.

With sincerity the answer came "Yes, Lord", to which the Master responded three times "Feed my lambs... feed my sheep... feed my sheep."

The Lord was very clear that the priority of his disciples should not be entertainment or employment. The top priority and focus of our lives should be ministering to his lambs and sheep and building His Kingdom.

Do you love God more than these things?

On the Road to Emmaus

Two Disciples walk and dine with the resurrected Lord as recorded in Luke 24:13-35. What can we learn from this account?

What were these disciples doing at the time they encountered Jesus?
The disciples were discussing and pondering the events of and leading up to the Savior's crucifixion. This is why the Lord "drew near and went with them." As we talk of and ponder about the Savior, we invite him to draw near to us as well.

How did Jesus teach them?
First, he has asked a good open-ended question that allowed the disciples to share what they knew. Then, he met them where they were and expounded the scriptures unto them. He taught the prophesies of the prophets concerning His resurrection and helped them to understand. Our own teaching should be patterned after the Savior; teach people not lessons by starting where they are.

How did the disciples respond to His teachings?
As Jesus was about to depart, "they constrained him, saying, abide with us." They sought for Him to be with them. Do we seek for the Savior to stay with us? Do we make every effort to keep Him with us?

How did they feel when with the Savior?
The scripture describes it best: "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" This burning of their heart is a manifestation of the Holy Ghost, which testifies of truth and testifies of Christ, who is truth. The Holy Ghost can be manifested in many ways, but it is commonly described as a burning within. When we study the scriptures or have spiritual experiences, the Holy Ghost testifies to us of truth, and we feel it inside.

What were they doing when the Savior revealed Himself to them?
Their eyes were opened, and they realized it was the Savior when he "took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them." Similarly, the Savior will reveal Himself to us as we worthily partake of the sacrament each week. We'll feel his love and know that he is there.

What did they do after learning it was the Savior?
The disciples "rose up that same hour, and returned to Jerusalem" to tell the other disciples and the Apostles that they had seen the resurrected Lord. They had gained a testimony and needed to share it with others. As we are converted to the Lord, we also have a desire to share our testimony with others and to help them become converted.

Giving God Your Mite

I've often read about the "widow's mite" in the New Testament and thought that it was significant because she was poor and yet still acted obedient in keeping the law of the tithe. This in and of itself is a great example and a fine lesson, but today I understood it a little different.

You know the story:

42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
43 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:
44 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.

Being all in
The key phrase that stood out to me is "[she] did cast in all that she had." The widow was all in with her faith and showed it by being all in with everything with which the Lord had blessed her. Are we all in with our faith? Do our daily choices reflect that? Can we be identified as a disciple by our fruits?

Some may think, "well, it's easier to be all in when you're poor." I propose that being all in is the same test and level of difficulty regardless of wealth, popularity, or prominence. In every circumstance it requires faith in the Lord's promised blessings.

The woman giving her all financially must trust completely on the Lord for sustenance. The rich woman giving her all financially would still have to trust completely on the Lord for sustenance, but that's not really what this is about. It's not about selling all that we have and giving to the poor, though that could be required of some; this is about the desires of our hearts.

What is the desire of your heart?
Being all in is giving your heart to the Lord. It all starts with the desires of your heart. King Benjamin told his people to "watch themselves" before telling them to watch their thoughts, words, and deeds. This is because words and deeds come from thoughts and thoughts come from desires. We must be willing to consecrate ourselves - all of our desires - to the Lord and allow Him to make much more of our lives than we ever could on our own.

Only one thing we can truly give
When the Lord owns our desires, the rest (thoughts, words, deeds) will automatically fall into place. We also learned from King Benjamin that we are and always will be unprofitable servants. Anything that we possess and give to the Lord was already his in the first place, except our will or the desires of our heart. God would never take away our agency, so it is truly the only gift that's ours to give.

In the eyes of God, the poor man who consecrates himself (his heart and soul) and everything he has to the Lord to build up His kingdom will always give more than the billionaire who donates millions to the same cause but stops short of fully consecrating his will and desires. This is how the widow's two mites infinitely dwarfs the thousands of mites donated by others. Jesus points her out as our example to follow.

Conclusion
Give your mite to the God by giving your whole self to Him. Kneel down and commit yourself, all the desires of your heart, to the Lord, and then go and do His will. This truly is the only offering you can possibly place on the alter; anything else was first given to you from Him. Be willing to give up anything and everything for God by loving Him first, and then show it with how you live each and every day.

This Parable Is Actually about Me

This Parable Is Actually about Me

How often do you read one of the Savior's parables and think that you're the righteous one, the Good Samaritan or the shepherd seeking out the lost sheep? Do you ever think in your mind that the foolish virgin or the prodigal son is someone else? Someone less active in the gospel. I know I've been guilty of that. A comment made in Sunday School helped me realize I've been looking at these parables completely wrong. They're about me.

I am the lost sheep

In Luke 15 the Savior shares a parable about a shepherd with 100 sheep, one of which is lost. The shepherd leaves the 99 and searches until he finds the lost sheep. Once found, he carries it on his shoulders rejoicing. How easy is it to assume the lost sheep is the neighbor or friend of yours who is not attending church?

The reality is that I am the lost sheep because I make mistakes, mistakes that distance myself from God. I'm in need of daily repentance. I need the Savior to find me, to carry me, to never give up on me. Don't we all?

I am the lost piece of silver

In the same chapter, Luke 15, the Savior shares another parable about something that is lost. This time a woman loses one of her ten pieces of silver. She lights a candle, sweeps the house, and searches diligently until she finds it, rejoicing that it has been found. Isn't it easy to think someone else is the lost piece of silver, waiting to be found, and that we're the woman who must go to the rescue?

We do have a responsibility as disciples of Christ to search out the lost sheep and the lost piece of silver. But there's more to this parable than just that. Sometimes I am the lost piece of silver. Sometimes I feel down, hopeless, lost. Don't we all have moments like that? Or days? Weeks? Months? It's so easy to hide, to quietly sit in the back of the room, to go through the motions, to smile like everything is OK when we're feeling empty and lost inside.

Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to be found, to be served, to be lifted. When the candlelight of a concerned family member, ward member, or friend shines on us, seeking us, we must be willing to be found. Why do we have chapels to gather together weekly if not to lift one another? There's a time to lift others and a time to allow others to lift us.

I am the prodigal son

In the Savior's parable of the prodigal son (also in Luke 15), I always figured I was the son who stayed home, who stayed faithful. I applied the parable from that perspective and truly have benefited from what I've learned. The prodigal son receives his inheritance and wastes it away "in riotous living." He hits rock bottom and humbly returns to his father, who receives him with open arms. The father was obviously awaiting the return of his son for "when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran [to him]."

I now realize that I am the prodigal son. I have been given such tremendous blessings in my life. Blessings that I don't feel I've earned but which the Father has entrusted me nonetheless (e.g., my beautiful, incredible, compassionate wife!). Yet I make so many mistakes. I lose my patience. I make selfish choices. I squander opportunities the Lord gives me to progress. I fall short. I'm the one who has to kneel at the end of each day, with humble head bowed, to beg for another chance, to plead for redemption. Through the grace He so fully proffers me, a grace I may never fully comprehend, my Father hears my prayers, and with knowing compassion and love, runs to my aid with open arms. 

I am the foolish virgin

In Matthew 25 the Savior taught a parable of ten virgins who awaited the arrival of the bridegroom. The five wise virgins brought sufficient oil for their lamps such that they would be prepared for his late hour arrival. The foolish had insufficient oil and were gone seeking a refill when the bridegroom arrives and shuts them out. I always assumed I was one of the wise virgins and pitied the foolish, but now I see it differently.

Oil in the lamp represents faith, testimony, and preparedness, all of which have a very short shelf life. If I'm not constantly refilling my lamp, I quickly begin to run on fumes and can easily run out completely. In this case I am unprepared for the bridegroom. Not just unprepared for the Second Coming, a great advent of which no man knows the timing, but prepared to receive the Savior daily in my life. I've covenanted to take His name upon me and to remember Him. That's a promise to receive Him. He stands at the door and knocks, but am I opening the door of my heart and letting him in? Am I prepared to do so?

I sometimes fail to dedicate the necessary time to refill my lamp. It impacts my day. It can impact my week. When I drop the ball on spiritual preparation or fail to make time to attend the temple, I am not prepared to receive the Savior. This parable is a reminder to me, the foolish one, to do better next time, to try harder, to constantly fill and trim my lamp, to always be prepared.

Conclusion 

The Savior's parables humble and instruct me.

I am the slothful servant who buries my talent.

My heart can be the stony ground, the thorny grown, or the wayside, unprepared for the seed.

I am the unforgiving debtor.

I am the prideful, hypocritical pharisee.

I hide my face as I pass by the wounded man on the road to Damascus.

The list goes on...

Please don't interpret my thoughts as self-loathing. I write in the spirit of self-reflection with a greater self-awareness. We can all do better, and there is so much to learn from the parables in the New Testament as we study them with eyes to see and ears to hear. When I put myself in the shoes of the sinner in these parables (aren't we all sinners?), my eyes are opened to the true dependence I have on the Savior, Jesus Christ. I recognize how critical His mercy is to my progression and my salvation. I feel closer to Him, more grateful for Him. I feel an urgency to do better, and because of Him, I can.

The Priesthood

In my last post (here), I studied the restoration of the Priesthood, so now I would like to dive into the Priesthood itself in more detail. The Priesthood is the power of God delegated to man to act in His name.

Why is the Priesthood important?
The Priesthood is important because it is the authority required to perform saving ordinances that are required for exaltation, such as baptism. We know ordinances such as baptism are required for salvation because Jesus taught that we must be baptized to enter into the kingdom of God (see John 3:3-5). Remember, Jesus did not just go to anyone to be baptized, he sought out John because he had the Priesthood authority to baptize. Even Jesus had to be baptized because it is a commandment for all of us (see 2 Nephi 31:5), and so he needed to be baptized by the proper priesthood authority.

How is this Priesthood authority obtained?
While many people think that studying theology is enough to claim devine authority, the Bible teaches the exact opposite. In Hebrews 5:4 we read, "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." Ok, so we have to be called of God the way Aaron was; we don't take it upon ourselves, so how was Aaron called? We can read about how Aaron was called of God in the Old Testament:

Called of God, as was Aaron
Aaron was called to receive the Priesthood through one of God's servants who also had the Priesthood, in this case Moses, the prophet at that time. God said to Moses in Exodus 28:1: "And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons." The event is also recorded in Exodus 30:30 where the Lord tells Moses, "And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office."

How is the Priesthood given/received?
The Priesthood is given and received by the laying on of hands by someone who has the Priesthood authority. There are many examples of this throughout the scriptures and I will share a three here:

(1) Moses gave Joshua the priesthood by the laying on of hands in Numbers 27:18, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him" - feel free to click the link and read the full context if you are unfamiliar with the story.

(2) When the Apostles met together to call new Apostles and give them authority, they also laid their hands upon them:

5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. (see Acts 6:6)

(3) Paul reminds Timothy of how he was given the Priesthood ordination by the laying on of hands in 1 Timothy 4:14, "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery."

Recap: How do we get the priesthood?
We must (1) be called of God by one of his chosen servants and (2) receive the Priesthood from someone else who has the Priesthood, by the laying on of hands.

Painting depicting how the priesthood was conferred by Christ as recorded in the New Testament:

Parable of the Tares

We talked about Jesus's parable of the tares today in Sunday School, and it really got me thinking. This parable is a lot more relevant in our lives today than I had previously thought. Here is the parable:

24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Matthew 13:24-30

To make it a little easier, we also have Jesus's explanation later in this same chapter. Let me quote that below, and then I'll talk a little bit about it:

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 13:36-43

This is an interesting parable because it begins at the time of Jesus Christ, and the end is in the last days and has not yet occurred. So Jesus planted the good seed as he started his Church and soon thereafter it fell into apostacy as the tares began to grow.

The servants in the parable wanted to gather up the tares to protect the wheat. However the wheat was young (just as the Church in the Christ's time was young) and would be damaged greatly by the gathering of the tares. This is because tares and wheat are related crops. They look nearly identical as they grow, so it is hard to distinguish between them. It is not until they are ready for the harvest that they can be told apart. At this point you can cut them all down and separate them easily. This separation is a form of judgment that will be passed upon all people.

Are you a wheat or a tare? This question is perfect for self-reflection. I know that this parable prophesies of the future (which may be closer than we think- though no man knows). An interesting comparison, is that it is hard to tell if those around us are wheat or tares. This is why we should not judge others. Just as the Lord told his servants not to judge the wheat/tares and pluck out the tares, we must not judge our fellow men and identify people as "tares". We never know when someone will change and repent. We may have days when we ourselves behave more like tares than wheat, so we must be forgiving of others who also have "tare" days.

Lastly, we know that judgment comes. Even though it will be after the end of the world, if we die a "tare," there will be no time to repent thereafter. Now is the only time that we can repent and become wheat. So let us not judge others for it truly is impossible to see their hearts (only God looketh on the heart), and let us strive to be found as wheat at the last great harvest!