Sacrament Talk

 

Below is a copy of a talk I gave in sacrament meeting a while back, which was based off the Kingdom of Heaven is Within Series.  This talk draws from that discussion as well as presenting novel information.  

Sacrament Talk -- Serving As A Light Unto the World 

When Christ inaugurated his earthly ministry, he did so in a time of immense suffering and oppression.  Although the Jews were living in their ancestral land, they were not free.  The Roman government exerted strong control over their lives.  This was especially true when it came to taxes, which became a burden for many, pushing many into poverty.  And although Rome was tolerant of the Jewish religion, they weren't partial to it.  For a Jew living around the time of Christ, it would not be uncommon for him to see pagan temples dotted around Palestine. For many practicing Jews, this would have been an offense and desecration of their holy land. The Jews, then, were not free and they sought deliverance.  In seeking for this deliverance, they envisioned a warrior-like messiah who would  literally go to battle for them and deliver them from the oppression  

But instead of receiving a lion, they were given a lamb.  And instead of physically extricating them from their physical and temporal oppression, our Lord declared that the kingdom of God comes from within.  This statement, although simple, is radically profound.  Here, amidst the suffering and arguably systemic oppression by a pagan government, Christ focused on the individual, teaching that changing the world is first actualized from within. 

The Gospel accounts show that Christ was predominantly concerned with transforming the individual.  For instance, the opening statements of the Sermon on the Mount, known as the beatitudes, directs blessings to the individuals who have changed their character to become like God's.  Moreover, in verse 41 he instructs his followers “whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”  

To understand the significance of this verse, we have to understand the context.  During Roman occupation it was common for Romans soldiers to randomly select Jewish men from off the street to carry their equipment.  Jews were forced to comply.  Thus in verse 41 Jesus tells the predominant Jewish audience that when a Roman soldier compels any one of them to carry his gear and armor, they should not only comply, but go above and beyond.  Thus despite the unjust oppression by Rome against the Jews, Jesus places a high demand and expectation on how the Jews (as individuals) were to respond to the oppressive nature of their society.  In fact, as you read and study the Sermon on the Mount, you will find that Christ places the onus exclusively on the individual.

And even in the parable of the sower of the seed, which seems to be highlighting external causes that cause people to reject the word, the Lord provides the interpretation, explaining that the grounds upon which the seeds fell are metaphors for the condition within the inner person.  

1. The seeds that fell on the pathway/wayside are those who hear the message of the gospel, but don't understand it. 

2. The seeds that fell in the stony places are those who hear the word, receive it with joy, but later are "offended" by the word due to persecution and tribulation. 

3. The seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear the word, but disregard it because they are more concerned with the world than the kingdom of God. 

4. The seeds that were planted in the good ground are those who hear the word and understand it and are fruitful in it.

This fact runs counter to the growing portrayal of Christ as a social justice warrior; a God who is preoccupied with fighting for the oppressed by eliminating oppressive systemic structures of society, and less concerned with the individual behavior of the person.  True, Christ desires to liberate his people from oppression -- whether physical or spiritual --, but the liberation first begins with and within the individual.  And this is because sin is a greater threat to the individual than physical bondage or structural oppression. 

Cain is warned by the Lord that because of his actions, sin “crouches at the door.”  The imagery is unmistakable: sin is the predatory animal lying in wait to devour him.  Furthermore,  sin in the scriptures is often portrayed as a burden that enslaves us.  It was the sin of king Noah and his people which led to the Nephites' captivity and it was the sins of Israel and Judah which led to theirs.  Not surprisingly, Paul describes sin as a power that is the force behind the person's actions, bringing one into captivity. 

Sin is the result of an impure and hard heart.  It is the corruption of the inner person.  It is the result when someone has chosen to act contrary to the light of Christ -- which is their conscience.  This fact adds clarity to the Lord’s statement when he declares that it’s not what goes into the man that defiles him, but what comes out, “for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, [and] blasphemies….”  (Matthew 15)

In the scriptures, the “heart” refers to the inner core of the person.  In modern parlance, the heart refers to one’s character.  Once the heart is purified, then the Lord can begin to work through the person to bless him and others.  Observe Ezekiel’s prophecy that concerns the restoration of Israel in the latter days.  The Lord speaking declares:  

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. (36: 26-31)

It is by removing the wayward Israel’s “stony heart” and replacing it with a “heart of flesh” that the Lord is then able to put his spirit in them, causing them to obey his commands.  Ultimately, it is when the Lord transforms the individual lives of Israel they are then able to “dwell in the promised land and be the Lord’s people, causing the Lord to “multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field.”  

In fact, the Exodus account shows what happens to a people who are delivered from their physically oppressive environment without first having changed their hearts. The Israelites plead for deliverance and although they were delivered from their oppression, they did not leave their sins and weak character in Egypt, but instead, carried them into the wilderness.  In the words of Stephen, their “hearts [had] turned back to Egypt”.  Their corrupted hearts caused them to be expelled from God’s presence and to become vagabonds in the wilderness for 40 years.  The Israelites were only able to enter the promised land once the wicked generation died off and the rising generation had God’s name written on their hearts. 

Again, the early church's effort through Joseph Smith to establish Zion shares the same lesson.  No matter how much the saints external conditions changed thru the economic system of the law of consecration, Zion was unable to be established because, in the Lord’s words, the “people did not forsake their sins, their wicked ways, the pride of their hearts, and their covetousness, and all their detestable things, and observe the words of wisdom and eternal life which [he] gave unto them.” 

The purpose of the gospel is to provide us the mechanism that leads to the required inner transformation, which leads to justification and sanctification, and in turn empowers us to help and save others.   It is why the sons of Mosiah strove to convert the Lamanites, because they knew it would decrease the animosity and warfare among the Nephites and Lamanites, which it did.  It is also why the preaching of the word among the Lamanites by Nephi and Lehi led to the Lamanites' conversion and subsequent yielding of the Nephite’s lands.  

This mechanism is the reception of the Holy Ghost.  To receive it requires complete consecration.  Amaleki’s exhortation in the book of Omni describes the type of sacrifice required,  which is to “come unto Christ… and offer [our] whole souls unto him as an offering…”  Under the sacrifices of the Mosaic law, purification offerings, which consisted of sin and guilt offerings, were required to be completely consumed by the fire; none of the animal was to remain.  So it is with us.  In order for God to give us the Holy Ghost, we must completely give ourselves to him.  His will becomes our will, causing our pride to be broken. 

We tend to believe that after we were baptized of water and had hands laid upon our heads that we’ve received the gift of the Holy Ghost.  But according to Elder Bednar, this is not necessarily the case.  In explaining the process of receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost he remarks that the words 

‘Receive the Holy Ghost’...are not a passive pronouncement... The Holy Ghost does not become operative in our lives merely because hands are placed upon our heads and those four important words are spoken.  As we receive this ordinance, each of us accepts a sacred and ongoing responsibility to desire, to seek, to work, and so live that we indeed “receive the Holy Ghost” and its attendant spiritual gifts.

Noteworthy in Bednar’s statement is that the reception of the Holy Ghost is attended by spiritual gifts.  As recorded in D&C 84, those who receive the Holy Ghost are able to: 

Do many wonderful works

Cast out devils 

Heal the sick 

Open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the death 

Additionally, in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul provides a non-exhaustive list of gifts available to believers.  These gifts include: the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, and interpretations thereof.  Elder Callister explained that these spiritual gifts “which come from the Holy Ghost are attributes of godliness..[and] each time we acquire a gift of the Spirit, we become more like God.”  

In sum, the Holy Ghost not only purifies us, but through the gifts it imparts to us, enables us to manifest the presence of God in our fallen and lost world.  When exercised by us, the gifts are a testament to the world of the glory and majesty of God.  And by doing so, we become a light unto it.  When Christ enjoined his disciples (which include us) to be a light unto the world, he meant it. 

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it [to] you. (John 15: 16) 

The implication, then, is that in order to be efficacious in saving the souls of men, we ought to possess these gifts, each according to what the Spirit imparts.  Observing that the church was drifting into sin, and thus ineffectual in its mission, Christ instructed them  “to purify their hearts before him” and then they shall preach the gospel “unto every creature who has not received it…”  (D&C 112)  To ensure that we are indeed purified, we ought to take the attitude of the Psalmist and plead for the Lord to “try and examine our hearts”.  We ought to ask him whether we have received the Holy Ghost or have lost it by falling into unrepentant sin, and then act according to the answer the Lord gives us, devoting our attention to acquiring or re-acquiring it. 

Today the hearts of men are growing cold because they are ripe in iniquity, seeking to take refuge in lies, being puffed up in their pride and lifted up in their vain imaginations.  This will eventually cascade, leading to greater problems and suffering in society.  It will lead to the events prophesied in the scripture.  It is during that period where the “hearts of many will fail” and they will “want to curse God and die.”  It is during this period of darkness, which is approaching, that men will need light -- especially as the darkness intensifies.  Through the power of the Holy Ghost, we can and are to be that light.  Paul instructed the Philippians to “work out” their “salvation with fear and trembling” so that they may be “blameless and harmless...without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation”, serving as “lights unto the world.” Again, notice the pattern.  The Philippians were to first purify themselves before they could be lights unto the world. 

How we are to be a light unto the world will largely be determined by our circumstances.  But here are some potential scenarios: One could use the gift of healing to heal someone who is severely afflicted with a disease, but there are no hospitals around to treat it.  Or through possessing the gift of mercy, one could forgive someone who ransacked her house looking for food due to massive food shortages.  Or through the gift of wisdom one could provide instruction to another for how to survive the winter without electricity or power.  Or one who has the gift of charity, caring more about the welfare of his neighbor over himself, gives his remaining food to someone else so that the person might not perish from hunger.  

It is during these aforementioned instances that the afflicted or wayward individual sees a spark of the divine, an ember of light piercing through the darkness, which gives him, amidst the godless and violent world, a reason to believe in something better -- a reason to change his life; a reason to repent and come unto God.  After all, it was David’s extended mercy to Saul, after Saul tried to kill him 14 times, that finally convinced Saul to see the errors of his ways.  Perhaps this is why the Lord said that David was a man after his own heart. 

Let us, therefore, take the time the Lord has given, while it is still day, to prepare ourselves to be an instrument in the hand of the Lord to be a light amidst the darkness. 

We get to this level by focusing on purifying ourselves, the marker of this being the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Afterwards we follow the exhortation of Paul and zealously seek after the gifts of the spirit so that we are empowered by God and we properly represent him.  Then we go out and serve in whatever way we are directed by the Lord.  When Christ called the Israelites out of bondage, he desired that they would be a kingdom of priests -- and light to the pagan nations.  They failed.  Let’s not make the same mistake. 

In closing, I’d like turn to CS Lewis, who perhaps summed up what is at stake: 

It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, ….There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.  (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, 39)