I was asked to talk about how the Book of Mormon has impacted my life. One thing that is repeatedly mentioned, in both a negative and positive form, is the practice of remembering the Lord. The negative form involves a slowness in remembering the Lord; the positive concerns remembering the mercies of the Lord, including his mercy and power to deliver one from evil. The importance of this practice is even more emphasized by Moroni in his final remarks. Along with gifts of the spirit and a exhortation to come unto Christ, Moroni invites us to remember the mercies of the Lord, he writes:
“Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye receive these things, and ponder it in your heart.”
For this talk, I would like to flesh-out the implications of the following questions: Why does he include this? What significance does it serve?
To answer these questions, it is first important to establish context. We learn from Moses 1 that God’s work and glory, or in other words, his purpose, is to bring about our immortality and eternal life. To bring this about involves proving ourselves to God through faith. When we have done all that we can do, exhibiting our desire to follow his will in each area of commandment, when then receive grace and light. However, the challenge of this test becomes more rigorous as it is administered from behind a veil. We can’t see God and so as the Apostle Paul remarks, we walk by faith, not sight. Yet, God has not left us without an awareness of him. He made himself known to Adam and Eve, who in turn made their knowledge of him known to their posterity, allowing them, and others, to exercise faith. And as Moroni teaches, God also sent angels to “make manifest concerning the coming of Christ,” allowing others to exercise faith in him. Without a this kind of knowledge, man would be unable to exercise faith in him, resulting in damnation. Therefore, each restoration of the gospel, involved God revealing himself so that people could place their faith in him.
But while God, from the beginning of the world, has provided knowledge of his existence, it is also important to bear in mind that this knowledge is limited. Although many people were able to enter into the presence of God while in the flesh, they were unable to directly transfer that experience to others who had not. The scriptures refer to this entering into his presence as a coming to a knowledge of God. This principle is still operative today. Yet, while it is operative in the sense of possibility, many have not received this type of knowledge. This is important to note. The lack of transferabilityof experience between the person who knows of Christ and one who only knows about Him, creates a dissonance that Satan exploits very well. Because the later person only has knowledge about God–a knowledge of his attributes and awareness of his existence– which is at times fragile, unstable, and often indiscernible, Satan works to take that vestige of knowledge away. He can do this by directly attacking one’s belief, often using his own mouthpieces in the world to argue against God’s existence. However, because such an approach can cause the believer to become more entrenched in his belief, this can often backfire. Another arrow he uses is creating fear and distress to the mind of the believer, but that also has a chance of backfiring as well, as the believer relies on Christ to ameliorate his fear. Likewise, he can create trials, but that can also backfire, as God uses those trials to refine and perfect his people.
So what other arrow remains in his quiver? Distraction.
In describing one of Satan’s common tacts, CS Lewis writes, ““…the safest road to Hell is the gradual one–the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,…” This quote is taken from the Screwtape Letters. The premise of the book involves the narrator, an evil spirit named Screwtape, teaching his “nephew”, Wormwood, how to tempt man. Much of the strategy suggested by the narrator to his nephew involves him employing small distractions to tempt the man (referred to as the patient) into sin. The focus then is not so much about bringing upon the complete moral corruption for the patient, but distracting him enough to not hear the voice or notice the workings of the Lord . This concept applies to us: If Satan can get us to slowly forget the workings of the Lord, then he can start to chip away at our faith, and ultimately hollow out our salvation. That is all he needs. Lehi’s vision serves as a perfect example to his concept. Satan’s main tactic of leading people away from God was to distract them.
The Lord, both ancientally and modernally, moreover, has warned against this. During the early church, he admonished the brethren, who were more devoted to financial investments than the things of heaven, to not be “encumbered.” In the account of Luke, The Lord chided Martha when she asked Him to reprove her sister, Mary, for neglecting to help her around the house because Mary was occupied with listening to Jesus teach. He responded, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part.” While Martha thought she was in the right, by attending to her household responsibilities, Jesus pointed out to her that there were more needful things requiring her attention, such as listening to what he had to teach. Additionally, Paul in Ephesians instructs, “Be careful then how you live…making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” Now, am I saying to sell your possession and retreat into ascetic seclusion? No quite, however scriptural precedent shows that such is possible. But I do bring up these examples to stress that we should be aware of potential distractions.
But let’s push this notion of little further. By asking ourselves what is one of our distractions. While there are many, here is a prominent one: phones. Our phones have become our idol, our source of attention, and even reverence. For instance, How often do we make sure that we have our phone with us before we leave the house, but yet forgetting to have the Spirit with us? Or what about taking time to update our status, but failing to check in (to update our status) with our maker? We are apt in using our phones with facility and ease, but what about prayer? Do we outsource our help and guidance, our focus, to man-made devices instead of Ahman himself. Are we as adapt at getting answers from God as we are with our phones? We are blessed to live in a time where knowledge, and furthermore, truth, is so readily available. Do we avail ourselves in acquiring it?
Afterall, The Lord has promised that those who lack wisdom or understanding will be given it.
These foregoing questions become all the more frightening when considered with evidence that the creators of social media platforms have admitted to engineering their devices to attract us in ways similar to casino slots. In light of this, Lehi’s dream becomes almost too real as phones and technology serve as voices of distraction, akin to those revellers in the Great and Spacious building, who used the power of their voices to diverate many from the precious fruit. And unlike the plot of a story, whose ending is unknown, we know the outcome of heading worldly distractions: to fall away, never partaking of the tree of life.
Each of these temptations have their inception in the mind. Could the solution be, then, to readjust our thinking? Is this where remembering comes in? It’s fitting to consider that after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, God gave them symbols by which they could remember the atonement. Moreover one practice that was practiced among the ancient Hebrews, which is practiced among the orthodox Jews today is that of devoting one’s thoughts entirely to the Lord. The rabbi’s, today, commit themselves to memorizing the Torah so that they can recite it while engaging in their daily activities, thereby keeping their thoughts on the things of God. Although they don’t have the complete truth, this is portion of truth worth emulating. Furthermore, In the book of Psalms, King David stresses how he mediates upon the word day and night. And lastly, the word of our sacrament contains a condition of partaking the bread and water so that we always remember him. The answer then is to remember God.
To then answer the questions posed earlier: It is important to note that Moroni is writing his record after the destruction of the Nephite people. It is reasonable, additionally, to assume that Moroni had a strong understanding of his people’s history. His dad, for instance, abridged the plates, likely sharing with Moroni his observations. Or even if such was not the case, his translation of the Jaredite record, would have provided him strong insight into the nature of man and the workings of the devil, allowing him to make connections about the pattern of human history. Therefore, Moroni perhaps included his council so that we could also avoid falling into temptation.
The practice of remembering the Lord is important because it cause our thoughts to be occupied on the things of God, thereby crowding out Satan from hijacking them. The Lord has always expected his people to be a “particular” people, set apart from the word. A feature of this is actively directing ourselves towards his will. Much of this happens in the mind. The Lord, moreover, has commanded that his people pray always. And while vocal praying and silent meditation are not always possible, we should carve out time, like Jesus and others, to be alone with God. Doing so strengthens the connection between us and heaven, making it harder for Satan to interfere.
In closing, I quote King David, whose poetic expression, captures this concept fittingingly. He exclaims, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.” Despite David’s own shortcomings, the imagery of thirst in a desert is a fitting one. When one is thirsty, satisfying one’s thirst is the primary objective–every other concern falls to the wayside. Thirsting for God is the same thing: our sole objective, pun intended, is to seek after God with all effort until our thirst is satisfied. For he as promised that all who seek after him shall find him.
No comments:
Post a Comment