What Does It Mean to be "Whole"?

Image Credit: James C. Christensen, Ten Lepers          

What does it mean to be made whole? Christ says it often in the New Testament, under a variety of circumstances, often dealing with miraculous healings - but what does it mean?

I was once told that a healthy marriage is not made between two perfect people, but that it is made between two whole people. Hearing this sent me on a study of Christ's teachings to discover the meaning of what it is to be made whole, and out of all of the stories there were two that stood out to me the most. This is the first of those stories, and this is what I found.

This is, in part, what it means to be "made whole".

Luke 17:11-19 - A Lesson From the One Leper

Ten men afflicted with leprosy come to Jesus and beg for mercy. Leprosy, a life-long disease, was considered to be incurable except by God only. First of all, the fact that they come to Jesus for cleansing shows great faith on their part.

Not one to withhold mercy when asked for it, Jesus responds, "Go shew yourselves to the priest."

As they turned and went their way, each one was "cleansed". At this moment, nine of them run home to celebrate, while one is filled with love and gratitude for the Savior and returns to Him, giving thanks.

"Arise," He says. "Go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole."

Ten lepers were cleansed that day, but only one was made whole. Why?

To Be Made Whole

Often, being made whole is associated with being healed of some infirmity because it's almost always used in a context when miraculous healing had just taken place. But if they meant the same thing, then Christ would not have made the distinction in this case.

The man's faith had made him whole; not merely the faith required to bring him to Christ or else they all would have been made whole. No, it was his deepened faith which made him whole; the faith that turned him around and sent him back to the Savior. 

It was the faith which filled him with a love of Him who had bestowed the blessing, and caused him to overflow with gratitude.

It was a faith which filled him with a desire to know the One who had saved him, and come closer to Him.

As the word "repent" in some derivatives means "to turn," and the one to whom we must turn is the Savior, this story becomes immediately analogous of repentance.

Repentance is not merely to ask forgiveness and be saved, for in the end, all of us will be saved just as all ten lepers were cleansed. But the one leper literally turned around and went back to the Lord.

Repentance is found in our love and gratitude toward the Savior for his matchless gift. It is found when we turn to Him. When we come to Him and fall down at His feet, glorifying Him for all that He's given us.

There are some who may view Christ's atonement on our behalf as an incredible gift, accept Christ as their savior, and then go on about their lives, glorifying God that they had been cleansed of all their sin.

And they would be right, because Christ's atonement does do that for them. It saves them. But that does miss the point a little, doesn't it?

The one leper was the only man who allowed the miracle to change him. He was the only one who wanted to love, know, and worship the Master who had cleansed him.

How often do we forget? Am I like the nine, who receives of Christ's grace but then goes on about my day without sparing a second thought to Him? He healed me of my leprosy, He saved me from suffering, isolation, and misery. I know that, it's a fact.

But do I allow that fact to change me? Do I continue to turn back? Do I fall down at his feet and worship Him? Do I serve Him?

If not, then my faith hath not made me whole.

That is what it means to become whole. A whole soul is a repentant soul. A whole soul remembers, loves, thanks, and serves.

May we all allow our faith to make us whole, for in the end, being cleansed will not be enough. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

God be with you till we meet again!

Sincerely,
       Taylor, a dead missionary

I Am a Good Man, and So Are You (Except For Sisters, Who Are, In Fact, Good Women)

If missionaries were superheroes, return-missionaries would be gods.

I say that only facetiously, because as I've mentioned before, missionaries are certainly not superheroes, and therefore, RMs are certainly not gods.

I guess I'm just ruminating on the backend of a lot of stress, pent up inside for the last three years. I used to think that, as a missionary, I placed the highest of expectations I'd ever place upon myself; but when I got home, I realized I was wrong.

I had served a full time mission, and now it was time to endure to the end with the same power, confidence, and faith that I had as a servant of the Lord. I constantly had Jeffrey R. Holland's words in my head:

"When you return home from your mission, you better look like a missionary, you better act like a missionary, you better think like a missionary!"

And who knows, maybe it's just me? Maybe I'm the one who places these high expectations on myself.

RMs are not perfect. We are human. We are flawed. Some of us fall for the wrong girls or guys. Some of us find addiction before we find a spouse - or even after. Some of us find that alcohol helps us forget our problems. And some of us simply pray less and read little.

To some degree or another, returned missionaries are not the glorified beings people think they are, including some single girls and guys out there, who think that they should be before they marry one.

I was once told by a girl that she wanted her husband to emanate the gospel everywhere he went, which I was failing to do.

I don't blame her after all - I want my wife to be centered in the gospel too. But I wonder if she, or anyone else, thinks their spouse has to be perfect? Because that's how I interpreted it.

But since that time of self-doubt and self-hate, I've realized something. In spite of everything I've done, I am a good man.

I have to be a good man. Why else would I still be here?

Just because I don't radiate anti-frowns and anti-sins everywhere I go, it doesn't mean I'm unworthy of being loved.

I make mistakes. I sin. I fall short everyday, to degrees I'm ashamed to admit. And so does every one else! But I've come to believe that I'm a good guy! Why, because I'm a perfect returned missionary? No. Because I'm trying.

I try every freaking day of my life.

I've come to believe that we are not defined by our mistakes. It's not who we are. The Lord doesn't care what you've done today or how many times you've done it - what He cares about is whether you get back on your knees tonight and talk to Him about it.

It doesn't matter what comprise our long list of sins - what matters is that we sincerely confess and forsake them. Yeah, I'll probably slip again somewhere down the line, but that doesn't mean I can't be sincere today.

"With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed" (Elder Holland, Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders Among You, April 2016 General Conference).

We are not defined by the number of times we choose to sin, but by the number of times we choose to repent!

God wants us to come closer to Him, and if it takes a bad day of one mistake after another to bring you to your knees and talk to Him, then so be it! Sin is never condoned, but if it brings you to your knees, then that's what the Lord meant when He said,

"All things shall work together for the good of them that walk uprightly before God," even, I might add, their sins.

And so be easy on yourself. Be easy on others! We're all fighting the good fight on some level or another. Even the sinners. I know because I am one!

But the Lord himself sat at dinner with publicans and sinners, and so if that label gets me a spot next to the Savior the next time I break bread, then I'm not ashamed to wear the scarlet letter. It's better than thinking I have to be perfect! That's what the Pharisees thought, and they didn't get to dine with Jesus.

This isn't me justifying my sins or anyone else's. This isn't me venting out my bitterness either. This is me, I hope, letting you (and to some extent, myself) know that there's still hope. It isn't possible for us to descend deeper than the light of the Atonement can shine.

There is always hope! No matter who you are or what you've done; no matter who looks down on you or thinks less of you; I don't care if you have addictions or just bad habits, the Atonement has bought you at the highest of prices!

Yes, some of us will fall. But if we land on our knees, then we have no reason to fear. Don't give up. Don't jump ship. Stick to the boat. Things are going to be alright when you put your trust in a God who loves you.

"It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll;
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul."

Of this I wish to bear my testimony, in the name of that God who loves us, who is Jesus Christ, amen.

God be with you till we meet again!

Sincerely,
Taylor, a dead missionary

Christmas Study, Day 5: Blessed is She That Believed

Luke 1:1-25 

When speaking of the birth of Christ, we often forget to also speak of the birth of John, whose birth was not only miraculous, but also prophesied of many hundred years prior. 

The first of the Christmas visitations happens to Zacharias in the temple; the angel, Gabriel, appears and declares to him the fact of John’s oncoming birth to him and his wife, to which Zacharias responds incredulously because of his and Elisabeth’s advanced age. 

“How shall I know?” he asks. As a result, he is struck dumb by the angel, only to be relieved at the time of John receiving his name (a period of nine months, mind you). 

Six months later, the same angel appears to Mary to tell her that because she had found favor with God, she would conceive a son, who should be the Son of God. She is also incredulous, but with different results. 

“How should this be possible?” she asks, which Gabriel graciously explains. Upon learning all that was needed, Mary humbly accepts her new calling and all pertaining consequences, which she could scarcely comprehend at that time. 

It is worth our consideration that both Zacharias and Mary asked, “How?” But Zacharias was struck dumb, while Mary received angelic instruction. Why?

It is because Zacharias’ question was based in doubt: “How shall I know?” He wanted a sign. Mary, on the other hand, asked in faith: “How shall this be?” She accepts that it will be according to the angel’s words, but seeks further light and knowledge. 

In other words, Zacharias questioned, while Mary asked a question. 

When receiving revelation in our own lives, we must all consider the example of Mary. We must be willing to forsake what we think we already know in favor of learning from God. 

Zacharias had already determined a fact in his mind: my wife is barren. He couldn’t let go of that. He asked for more reassurance and paid for it. 

Sometimes the Lord asks us to do impossible things. The math doesn’t add up. They’ll never listen to me. We can’t make it work. I need this job. I’ll never get into that school. Nine o’clock is too early. I can’t live without this ONE sin. 

We need to let go of all of our pre-determined outcomes! We don’t know the end from the beginning. Our wives are not barren, we are not too old! With God, nothing shall be impossible. 

Mary embraced this in faith and was further enlightened. May we all receive the Lord’s instructions in faith this Christmas season. :) 

Merry Christmas!
Sincerely,
Taylor, a dead missionary

Christmas Study, Day 4: Great Lights in Heaven

Helaman 14-16 

Prophets always testified of the coming of the Savior in the flesh, but as far as any record shows, Samuel the Lamanite is the only one to put a cap on the timeline. In five years time, the Christ would be born in “the land of Jerusalem”. As the Nephites and Lamanites  would be unable to witness His actual birth, signs were to be given. 

To signify of His entry into the world, “great lights” were prophesied so to do; exactly what those “great lights” were is left unexplained, but whatever the case, these lights were to be so great as to light the whole face of the earth all through the night, prior to the morning of His birth. 

A day, a night, and a day without darkness - a period of 36 straight hours full of light. 

But the children of Lehi never spoke of His birth without also speaking of His death. The birth of the Christ is only as bright as the star and “lights in heaven” when set against the dark backdrop of Samuel’s contrasting prophecy of His departure into the realm of spirits. 

When Christ should be crucified, there should be darkness - exactly double, in fact, what light was prophesied to attend His birth. Three full days without light. As the sun withholds its light from the earth, the earth would throw itself into turmoil, causing no small amount of destruction and death.

It is curious to note that the very thing Christ would come to do - the reason that the angel’s tidings were so good - would be cause for such great darkness and destruction. Although His death was the symbol of our deliverance, the sign for it was racked with horror!

It is my personal belief that the reason is because a law was broken, for God Himself had died! As Christ was infinitely loved by all that was His, it was His brutal passing that shook all of creation to awake; that every particle of matter not only has a sense of obedience to its creator, but also a sense of compassion toward Him, which was touched at this moment. 

Nature would suffer for despair at the death of its own creator, and Justice itself would acknowledge that if we really meant that much to Him, it would satisfy the law and give way to Mercy - but not before the universe had finished mourning His passing. 

In contrast, His birth was to be cause for celebration. It’s no secret use of symbolism that, as the Light of the World arrives, the whole world was filled with light. Faith, knowledge, love, spirit - all these are synonymous with light in the scriptures. 

When Christ came to His lowly manger, the heavens made it absolutely clear that He, in whom we must have faith, from whom we must draw our knowledge, from whom we receive the Spirit, and He who is the embodiment of pure love was, at long last, here to deliver His people from death, hell, and sorrow. 

As the mountains shout for joy and the heavens dance the night away, may we all celebrate His birth with as much enthusiasm as the rest of the natural world, for He is our Creator, Savior, and Redeemer. :) 

Merry Christmas!
Sincerely, 
Taylor, a dead missionary

Christmas Study, Day 3: How Beautiful Upon the Mountains

Mosiah 13-15 

It seems as though a great many people in the early days (as well as today) were suddenly enraged at the idea of Christ condescending to our level. The Jews hated it, the Zoramites hated it, and the priests of king Noah hated it. 

The idea that God would be born a baby to a mortal woman, perhaps, brought heaven and eternity a bit too close? It's much more comfortable to deal with an invisible unknowable God who just stays "out there," and meddles not in the affairs of men. 

They want a "smooth" God, who asks nothing of us, and for all his doctrine and prophets to testify of bees and flowers and chirping birds nothing but good tidings, gladness, and peace 

The priests of Noah questioned Abinadi, saying, "Hey! Why don't you declare happy things to us like Isaiah clearly said you should do? How dare you tell us we're wicked!" 

"Look, you jibronies," returns Abinadi. "You're totally wrong. Isaiah didn't mean that!" 

He goes on to explain that God himself would step down and make personal intercession for His children. He will come to be mocked, cast out, spit upon, beaten, scourged, humiliated, tortured, and crucified; by this dying and suffering more than anyone could, Christ would break the bands of death and stand between us and justice. 

Salvation comes not by the law, but through the atonement of Christ who should come in the flesh, for which the law of Moses served only as a type. 

As Noah and his priests became angry, as the wicked often do, they send him back to prison. When they finally sentence him to death, his capital offense, they declare, is to have taught that God should be born in the flesh. 

Curious, isn't it, that these very men who asked for the good tidings of gladness - the publication of peace of which Isaiah spoke - are enraged to murder upon hearing those glad tidings? May we all publish the peace of the Christ child this Christmas, and may we all rejoice for the good tidings of great joy. 

Merry Christmas! 

Sincerely, 

Taylor, a dead missionary

Christmas Study, Day 2: The Condescension of God

1 Nephi 8, 11

Hmm, what to say? The allegory is clear: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. 

When you think about it, Christ was the first Christmas gift. God’s love is so great that He condescended below all things, to be born of Mary, to go forth only to be cast out and reviled; ultimately, in perhaps the cruelest irony of history, Christ, who is the Judge of the world, was sent to be judged of the world - to be someone of naught, and to be crucified for the very sins of the very people who killed him, while they were in the very act of committing them. 

But Nephi was not yet shown any of this when he identified the meaning of the tree of life. No, it was when he beheld Mary and the Christ child that he declared, “It is the love of God!” 

Perhaps Mary was cradling her Child in her arms. She may have kissed or nuzzled him; maybe she held Him aloft and laughed as the babe screamed with joy at newfound heights; or maybe she sang to Him as he slept soundly. 

As he looked upon the mother, he might’ve sensed the sorrow that would pierce her soul like a sword, as her own Son was called to bear the weight of the world.

Whatever the case, it was the image of the virgin mother bearing the Son of God which caused Nephi’s perceptive pronouncement: “It is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men;…it is the most desirable of all things.” 

The child which she bore, and the Atoning sacrifice which He represented, was the fruit of the love of God. Nephi felt this as it “shed itself” into his own heart, or he would not have made such a declaration. 

Like the shepherds and the wisemen, Nephi knew that it was no ordinary child she bore, but the very God of heaven and earth, condescending unto the children of men, a lesson and image that would follow Nephi for the rest of his life. 

As Christ is the first and “most desirable” of all Christmas gifts, may we all turn to Him and receive the gift He gave to us all those years ago, that the love of God may shed itself abroad into our own hearts this Christmas season. :) 

Merry Christmas! 

Sincerely, 

Taylor, a dead missionary

Christmas Study, Day 1: Unto Us a Child Is Born

Isaiah 7, 9 

Hundreds of years before His birth, prophets were teaching about the circumstances of Christ’s entry into the world. 

“The Lord himself shall give you a sign,” Isaiah said. “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isa 7:14). 

And he further gloried of the deliverance of Israel, saying, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6). 

Filled with promises of power and deliverance, the prophecies were misunderstood by a vast majority of those who heard them; the Jews expected the uprising of a mighty king, who would blast the chains of bondage to pieces and propel the Jewish nation to freedom. 

When Christ would come, He would deliver Israel, but not from the oppression of the sword; instead, He would deliver them from the chains of death, hell, and of the devil. 

There would be no heroic display of glorious triumph - at least not yet - but instead, a silent and humble birth to a virgin mother, beneath the watchful eye of the stars, and a meek and quiet suffering - alone, in a garden - and subsequent death upon the cross of a thief. 

Is this the same man of whom Isaiah spoke, calling him Immanuel? Even wonderful, mighty, everlasting, and prince? 

The magnificence of the Christ is not found in His battle array, but in His mastery of the human condition and triumph over death and hell thereby. Truly, He is wonderful, mighty, and everlasting. 

This Christmas, may we all look to Him and his birth, and remember that deliverance is found only in and through His atonement, to the end that we may master our own human condition and follow in His silent, humble footsteps. 

Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

- Taylor, a dead missionary

How can living in the past destroy your faith in God?

Posting on my blog honestly isn’t so much about you as it is about me - and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Sometimes I just need to say something that’s been bothering me or share something I learned recently - and I usually don’t care if you find it interesting or not, because I just like to write!

So you can put that in your juice box and suck it!

All that being said, I really haven’t been on here in a long time. I think it’s high time I share some insight! Do you want to hear some insights? Psh, do you think I even care if you want to? I’mma tell you anyway. 

Leaving Jerusalem was probably a really hard experience for Lehi and his family. I don’t think we give Laman and Lemuel the credit they deserve - I mean, they did leave their home in one night! And lived on raw meat for eight years. And their wives sound like they were more buff than they were. 

As Jews, they believed in God. They lived the law of Moses. There are instances of Laman and Lemuel praying, repenting, offering thanks, pondering the scriptures, seeing angels, and yes - following the prophet! They risked their lives to get their genealogy and the equivalent of the Conference edition of the Ensign. So why did they turn out so drastically different from Nephi?

Because they never let go of Jerusalem. They left it, yes - but they did not let it go. 

They are a Book of Mormon equivalent of Lot’s wife, who was blasted into table salt for looking back at Sodom and Gomorrah. 

The problem was that, in never letting go of what they were leaving, they clearly didn’t believe that God’s plan for their future was better than what they already had going on. The problem was that they didn’t think that God’s warnings about Jerusalem were possible. “They knew not the dealings of that God who created them” (1 Nephi 2:12). 

In other words, they didn’t believe in God’s all-knowing, all-loving, or all-powerful nature. 

Joseph Smith taught that one of the fundamental principles of faith is knowing and believing in God’s character. If you do not believe that God has power to destroy Jerusalem and bring you to the promised land (and that you’ll be happy there), then eventually you will not believe in a God at all. 

I've been there.

All of us are commanded to leave Jerusalem at some point. The promised land is our destination - but whether or not we get there has nothing to do with whether or not we leave Jerusalem; it depends on whether we let go of it. 

No doubt at some point God has commanded you to quit doing something, quit going somewhere, quit seeing someone, or even quit being a certain way. And did you? More importantly, how did you go about doing it? 

Attitude is everything because it determines our level of faith. Faith cannot produce salvation unless it is faith in a true and living God; if your faith lives in a false God (or false attributes of God), then it cannot produce salvation. This applies to all of His attributes: love, mercy, patience, justness, meekness, omniscience, omnipotence, and so on. If we doubt God's perfect possession of these qualities, what kind of God do we believe in? A false one; eventually (and I can't emphasize this enough), none at all. 

When we keep commandments and follow spiritual promptings, we have to do more than just follow the Savior - we have to trust Him too! It’s like that cute saying you always hear: Believe in Christ…but Believe Christ too. 

If the Lord asks me to change, then I need to stop looking back on what I’m leaving behind, wondering if He was right about it! I need to look myself in the mirror, abolish my own beliefs about the situation, and recognize these things:

1. God is filled with a perfect love, and therefore, He only wants what is best for me. 
2. God is all-powerful, and therefore, He has the power to lead me along and fulfill His promises. 
3. God is all knowing, and therefore, He knows me better than I do. He knows the situation better than I do. He knows what will make me the most happy. He knows where I will be the most happy. He knows who will make me the most happy. 

It’s not enough to leave! I have to stop wishing, dreaming, and imagining. 

Until we believe in the true character of our Father in Heaven, we will doubt His directions. The more we doubt His character, the further from the path we pull ourselves, until God is nothing more than the world’s oldest storybook figure. 

May we all leave Jerusalem with the utmost assurance in God and His character, that we may know the dealings of the God who created us, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Thanks for reading, whoever you are, and God be with you till we meet again!

Sincerely, 

Taylor, a dead missionary

Can Mormons drink coffee? Actually, yes.

Recently, while attending Snow College, I’ve had the privilege of associating with many young single adults in the church, many of whom are just out of high school, but ultimately are all in different phases of life. 

Many times in the last year, I’ve listened to them talk about living commandments. All of us are at that point where parents are no longer bringing us to church, giving us a curfew, making sure we’re not drinking, or monitoring our text messages. They’re not there to remind us to pay tithing, go to the temple, or date people with the same standards. 

We’re all adults out here, and we’re choosing to live the commandments on our own! So why, when I hear you talk about your standards, do I hear you say… 

You “can’t”? You can’t drink tea? You can’t drink coffee? You can’t go to the store because it’s Sunday? You can’t have sex until you're married? You can’t watch that R-rated movie? You can’t wear that dress? You can’t stay out past midnight on that date? You can’t, you can’t, you can’t??

What the heck can you do? It’s no wonder that the rest of the world thinks we’re brain-washed! 

Everyone, newsflash: You actually can because you were given agency when you came down here. If Satan had his way, then maybe you could use nonsense words like “can’t”.

But in this Gospel, we don’t teach people that we can’t do things. We teach them that we don’t do them. So...what is the difference?

You see, I can skip church on Sunday to sleep in and watch Netflix, but I don’t because I want to go to church. I can decline my calling in the ward, but I don’t because I like the feeling I get when I serve.

I can drink coffee at the coffee house across the street, but I don’t because I have faith that the Lord has asked me not to, and I know I’ll lose the Spirit if I do. (Plus I flat out think it smells gross.)

I can listen to explicit music about drugs and sex, but I don’t because I don’t feel uplifted by it. 

I can watch pornographic movies with my buddies, but I don’t because it’s demeaning to what I believe God intended our bodies to be, and mocks the two greatest commandments to love. 

Ultimately, I can do anything I want to do, but I don’t; I follow the teachings of Christ because I’ve learned that doing so allows me to have the Holy Ghost as my companion, and I wouldn’t sacrifice that for a cup of coffee or some movie. 

Prophets and church leaders don’t issue standards to regulate our behavior to make us “old fashioned”; they issue standards because they’re a revealed formula that brings us closer to Christ by having the Spirit. They also bring us happiness!

We shouldn’t live commandments because we can’t do the alternative…we should live commandments because we choose to of our own free will and choice; because they are what make us happy; because we should want to live them. 

So if you feel like commandments and the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet are lists of things you can’t do, I invite you to think again. If you feel like you only do things to avoid criticism and “judgment” from leaders and friends, I invite you to start truly seeking answers. 

Consider why you live the standards you do. Seek to find the joy in living them, because that’s what they’re really there for. 

“When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.” ― Ezra Taft Benson

“And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.” Mosiah 2:41

Thanks for reading!

God be with you till we meet again.

Sincerely, 

Taylor, a dead missionary

Not Everything Happens For a Reason, And This is Why

I really hope I don’t shake anyone’s faith with the title! But for some reason I’ve just been thinking a lot about this lately - I'm not even sure how much this matters, but it is what it is, I guess. Anyway, these are some of my thoughts!

*    *    *

The Plan of Salvation cannot function without the key element of agency. Agency is a gift given to God’s children to choose our own path - to obey his commandments or not to. God holds this gift with such sacrosanctity that He will never interfere with it! He will not make decisions for us - ever. 

In all matters except for the Creation, the Fall, the atonement of Christ, and the Second Coming, God’s will cannot be done unless we allow it to be. God loves us, and it is therefore His will to do good and bless us; but the scriptures tell us that our faith is what precedes miracles, not God’s love. Our obedience is what brings blessings, not God’s love. 

How, therefore, could everything happen for a reason if God does not control our agency?

When your son is hit by a drunk driver, did that happen for a reason?

When you’re absolutely lonely because you spent all your time with a boyfriend or girlfriend, and now you’ve broken up and have no friends, did that happen for a reason? 

When Islamic terrorists behead innocent people and post it to the internet, does that have a reason?

What about when you find out your husband is cheating on you, your child left the church and won’t speak to you anymore, or you’re fired from your job based on your poor performance in the work place, did any of those things happen “for a reason”? 

No. I’m sorry to say that they didn’t happen for a reason. 

Look, sometimes crap just happens, and it’s not God’s fault that somebody - maybe us - used agency poorly. Hear me out though, because there is a silver lining! 

*    *    *

God knows the end from the beginning, not because He has decided what will happen and what we will do, but because He simply knows us so well that He knows what we will do, and He has formulated a plan accordingly. That plan is Jesus Christ. 

The Christ is God’s way of mending the broken hearts of His children after agency has been used for ill. Even though not everything happens for a reason, His atonement allows us to respond to those things in such a way that we turn those things for our good. 

Families whose children are killed by drunk drivers have found power to forgive, and even care for and help the drunk drivers who killed their child. They turned a tragedy into an opportunity to demonstrate Christ-like love, changing their lives and the drunk driver’s life forever. 

Does that mean that God arranged for a drunk driver to kill their son so that the family and the drunk driver could grow closer together and to God? Absolutely not! But He knew it would happen, so He arranged for Jesus to perform the atoning sacrifice, which allowed the family to respond to life in such a way that turned their trial into a blessing. Jesus Christ was God’s will, not the killing. 

When you find yourself alone because someone you love has left you, do not blame God for it. It probably wasn’t His will to bring you heartache - in fact, it probably wasn’t His will that you date them in the first place! But now that you’ve come to this situation, it is His will that you rely on the power of Christ, learn from your experience, and grow closer to Him thereby. 

I fear that too often we get into the habit of saying, “Well everything happens for a reason! Therefore…” and then we go on to basically place accountability on God instead of ourselves. And yes, when we are doing our best to know and follow God’s will, then many things - not all, but many - will happen for a reason because our faith and obedience are inviting the power of God into our lives. 

But often, things happen to us simply because of our own poor choices or the poor choices of those around us; these are not God’s will, nor do they happen “for a reason”. But God has given us a scapegoat to our pain, if we are willing to use it! 

God never said anywhere in the scriptures: "Behold, I say unto you that all things whatsoever shall happen unto you shall be for a reason." It's not how He works, and it violates His own laws. (It sounds kind of silly anyway.)

So even though not everything happens for a reason, everything does have the potential to work out for our good if we will only respond to them by walking uprightly before God. 

Romans 8:28

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.”

Doctrine and Covenants 105:40

“And make proposals for peace unto those who have smitten you, according to the voice of the Spirit which is in you, and all things shall work together for your good.”

Doctrine and Covenants 100:15

“Therefore, let your hearts be comforted; for all things shall work together for good to them that walk uprightly, and to the sanctification of the church.”

Doctrine and Covenants 90:24

“Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another.”

Doctrine and Covenants 98:3

“Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord.”

Thanks for reading! 

Sincerely, 

Taylor, a dead missionary

How to get more out of Christ's sermon on the mount

The Sermon on the Mount has gone down through history as one of the greatest discourses of all time. But to be quite honest, I never really understood why. 

I know a lot of people would hate me for saying this, but I never really appreciated the Savior’s most famous discourse - I think it just seemed too…arbitrary. I used to regard the sermon as a bunch of random, unrelated pieces of good counsel to a nation of protocol-obsessed robots. 

But then all that changed one day in Institute. 

Side-note: stay in Institute, kids. 

This last semester, my class was Book of Mormon, part 2, and included in that curriculum is, of course, the Savior’s visit to the Nephites. When we got to chapter 12, where the sermon in question is contained, Brother Bingham mentioned something I found intensely fascinating! In his own studies, he had discovered that the Sermon on the Mount was a chiasmus. 

What is a chiasmus? It’s an ancient Jewish method of teaching and writing, almost poetic in structure. Its pattern goes something like this:

Topic A

           Topic B

                     Topic C

                     Topic C

           Topic B

Topic A

They speak on a variety of topics, and then re-address those same topics in reverse order, offering deeper insight or information. Some could be small like this one above, but were often deeply complex and extensive. 

Chiasmi occur multiple times in the Book of Mormon in a variety of lengths, ranging from one to two verses like the one found in Mosiah 3:18-19, to entire chapters like Alma 36 (one of the best chapters in the Book of Mormon, if you ask me). 

But I digress. 

The Sermon on the Mount is a chiasmus where the Beatitudes - “Blessed are the meek…,” etc. - are the first half, and then the rest of the sermon is counsel on how to be have the beatitudes!  

Let me explain.

So, you want to know what it means to be a peacemaker, but don’t know what the Savior meant by that? Well, you can just go to the section of the sermon that correlates to that particular beatitude, and voila!

Some of these, however, don't address how to have that beatitude, but instead explain the blessing. For example, 'blessed are those that mourn' does not address what it is to mourn, but rather how those that mourn will be comforted.  

1. Blessed are those who give heed unto the Twelve 

I    2. Blessed are the poor in spirit

I    I    3. Blessed are those that mourn

I    I    I    4. Blessed are the meek

I    I    I    I    5. Blessed are those that hunger and thirst after righteousness

I    I    I    I    I    6. Blessed are the merciful

I    I    I    I    I    I    7. Blessed are the pure in heart

I    I    I    I    I    I    I    8. Blessed are the peacemakers

I    I    I    I    I    I    I    I    9. Blessed are they who are persecuted for Christ’s sake

I    I    I    I    I    I    I    I    I    10. Blessed are ye if ye are reviled, and have evil spoken falsely of you 

I    I    I    I    I    I    I    I    I    I

I    I    I    I    I    I    I    I    I    10. 3 Nephi 12:12-16

I    I    I    I    I    I    I    I    9. 3 Nephi 12:17-20

I    I    I    I    I    I    I    8. 3 Nephi 12:21-26

I    I    I    I    I    I    7. 3 Nephi 12:27-37

I    I    I    I    I    6. 3 Nephi 12:38-48

I    I    I    I    5. 3 Nephi 13:1-24

I    I    I    4. 3 Nephi 13:25 - 14:6

I    I    3. 3 Nephi 14:7-11

I    2. 3 Nephi 14:12-14

1. 3 Nephi 14:15-27

You’ll notice that some of the references are much lengthier than others. Chiasmi do not have to give equal attention to any particular topic; I suppose that the Savior felt that only two verses were sufficient for some, while twenty-four verses were needed for others.

And keep in mind that none of this is perfect! You may study it yourself and decide that other verses match better than the ones I’ve found. That’s okay - this is only meant to get you thinking and digging. Since this was the Savior’s priority sermon, it must be important to drink deeply from and understand. I feel like this structure allows us to implement it easier.

For example; in my life lately, I’ve felt like I was lacking in Spiritual companionship. Reading in the sermon, I noticed that those who “hunger and thirst after righteousness” are promised the blessing of being “filled with the Holy Ghost.” 

Turning to 3 Nephi 13:1-24, I’ve reflected on the counsel therein, and found it to be true in my life; I’ve been able to unearth sins I didn’t realize I was committing, and have endeavored to change my attitude and motivation for certain activities, finding that the Holy Ghost has indeed, been a more constant companion as a result!

I invite you to read through the Sermon and ponder its teachings; as you do, you will find a blessing you are in need of, or a beatitude you are lacking in. Use this structure as a guide to help you change! I promise that it can, and that you will be better equipped to live the Savior’s teachings with direction. 

I testify that the scriptures are true, and that Christ lives. His gospel and teachings are the only pathway to peace and happiness in life! I share this testimony with you in His sacred name, the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Thanks for reading! I hope that this gave you some insight! God be with you til we meet again. 

Sincerely, 

Taylor, a dead missionary