The Word of Wisdom: Love for Those who don't follow It

The Word of Wisdom is one of the defining features of the Church. I find it funny how many people nearly hate us because of it. They assume that because it's a standard required for baptism into the Church, we think that every who uses Alcohol, Tobacco, Coffee, or Tea is one of the vilest of sinners...

"Sure, I'll have a drink... grape juice please!"

That's not true. We don't determine the worth of souls based on what they drink or smoke. I have many family members who smoke and drink and my love for them is unaffected by my personal beliefs.

We invite people who join the Church to live the Word of Wisdom because it enhances how they feel the Holy Ghost and can free them from physically and spiritually dangerous side effects. The appropriate approach should be to invite anyone who feels uncomfortable using these substances to try living life without them. The promise we offer is not just that people can live without these things, but that they can experience a stronger connection with God in the process.

Every once in awhile, someone gets excited about the Word of Wisdom and blunders over the boundaries of friendly conversation. Please, don't mind the mess, all of us are a divine work a progress and have a LOT of work to go (including me). Hopefully, as the Church continues to grow and flourish around the world, more and more people will be able to better understand the Word of Wisdom. This is my fervent prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Scripture Study: Consistency over Quantity

Jesus Christ once taught that He was the bread of life and that whosoever ate Him (or consumed His teachings) would have eternal life. As I studied this biblical analogy, I realized that it demonstrates an interesting aspect of Scripture Study. In God's eyes, consistency is far more important than quantity.

A single loaf of bread can feed and satisfy us for a short period of time, but it cannot sustain us for the rest of our lives. In a similar fashion, a quick peek in the scriptures cannot sustain us through all of the challenges of life. In order for us to survive this hectic world, we need the daily nourishment that comes from feasting on the scriptures everyday.

Something I've learned is that God never enforced a quota as to how long or how much of the scriptures we read at the time. People who try to revive a starving soul by binge reading will choke on the attempt. Instead of rushing to read as much and learn as much as we can, God wants us to read everyday and gradually increase our knowledge through study and prayer. We should remember that the God who calls for patience in all of His children is patient Himself.

Just like how addictive habits can damage and destroy our lives, positive habits such as prayer and scripture study can give us strength during times of hardship, temptation, and weakness. I know that the study habits I've made in my life have supported me and allowed me to bring peace to my family. I pray that all men will find joy in the simple verses of the Holy Scriptures.

Modern Commandments: The Scriptures

"Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled." Doctrine and Covenants 1:37

"He is not here: for he is risen..."

In this world, there are many things which we can see and discover for ourselves. For those things that aren't so easily accessible, we can find the answers to our questions in books. Through records compiled by scientists and historians, we can learn more about the world and times that we love and live in. However, not all books are equal. Some of them can be filled with misconceptions or total falsehoods.

When it comes to things of God and eternity, we only have one real source for truth; the scriptures. Through the scriptures, we can learn about God and his servants, the Prophets. We can learn how to overcome challenges, escape temptation, and discover eternal happiness with God and his son, Jesus Christ.

Why are the Scriptures important?

Everything that we can learn about God's plan for us is contained in the Scriptures. The Scriptures are ancient records written by prophets, or men called by God to represent Him. The Book of Mormon explains that prophets "...talk of Christ... rejoice in Christ... preach of Christ... prophesy of Christ, and... write according to [their] prophecies." The primary purpose of the scriptures is to testify that Jesus Christ is the savior of the world. The Holy Bible contains the record of Jesus Christ's ministry and atonement, The Book of Mormon stands alongside the Holy Bible to reveal God's Plan of Salvation, and The Doctrine and Covenants helps us understand what God expects from us today.

In addition to bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, the scriptures also reveal the commandments to us, which are the key to finding peace and avoiding heartache. The scriptures help us "consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God," by showing us the examples of men and women who held onto them with steadfast faith. They help us take the commandments and learn, live, and love them.

The scriptures are also an immense source of spiritual strength. Regular scripture study solves problems, uplifts our thoughts, and gives us a connection to heaven than can only be severed by our own negligence.

How should I begin reading the Scriptures?

The Scriptures are not written like other books; this was something I realized fairly quickly when I was young. The grammar is unusual, the descriptions are sometimes abstract, and the names still continue to baffle me. I've learned however, that the best way to learn how to read them effectively is to simply begin reading them! To me, the best place to begin studying the Scriptures is with The Book of Mormon. It is the most consistently translated out of all of the Scriptures, it focuses on the basic principles of the gospel like Faith and Baptism, and it bears testimony of the truths in The Holy Bible. A testimony of The Book of Mormon gives us knowledge of all other scriptures.

"Answers to the questions of the soul."

Ideas for Application.

Study and practice the pronouns used in the Scriptures.
The scriptures are difficult to understand because they were also written long ago in different languages. A lot of the grammar that sounds strange in English, makes perfect sense in Hebrew, Arabic, or Greek. Using this unusual grammar is also a way to show God greater respect, because it is so detached from the casualty and slang of today.

Here are a few of the basic phrases in the Scriptures:

Thee, Thou, & Ye = You
Thy & Thine = Your
Art = Are
And it came to pass = And then...

Search, ponder, and pray.
The most effective way to study the scriptures involves a simple, three step pattern. We search the scriptures for answers to questions or challenges, we quietly ponder what the passages we find mean to us, and then we pray for extra wisdom from God. It really is simple, but effective.

Commandments in the Media: Volume 7

"This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there." Aslan

"These carvings are almost as mystical as the real thing."

This may be my most obvious choice for Commandments in the Media yet. "The Chronicles of Narnia" has been one of my favorite book series for a long time and it naturally came to my mind after the gloomy darkness of Frankenstein.

One of the biggest reasons this was such an obvious choice is that The Chronicles of Narnia is all about Jesus Christ. All of us are aware (I would hope) that Aslan, the lion guardian of Narnia, is an analog for Jesus Christ. He says things that Jesus Christ would say; he does things that Jesus Christ would do; he even emphasizes that we need to get to know him more in our own world than in Narnia. The Chronicles of Narnia is a fantasy book, but it is also a powerful sermon on Christ.

This post marks a change in the format of Commandments in the Media. In the past, I've written simple paragraphs about the various commandments within the story. However, I've recently realized that this is a difficult format to write or follow. In order to make this series more enjoyable, I will write a basic summary that will go over the main plot elements. Whenever the commandments are involved, I'll give those plot elements extra emphasis and then write a new section about how to connect the commandments in the media to the commandments in real life.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The story begins in London, where four children, Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund, take shelter from the air-raids of World War 2. They are sent to live with their uncle, who is an eccentric scientist. The four decide that they should enjoy their uncle's mansion while they can, so they play hide and seek. Peter, Susan, and Edmund hide in fairly mundane places, but Lucy ends up climbing into a wardrobe which turns out to be a direct portal to the winter wonderland of Narnia. As far as I'm aware, hiding in another world is cheating. When she emerges from her hiding spot, she tries to share her discovery, but nobody believes her. Later that day, Lucy returns to the wardrobe, but this time Edmund follows her and winds up lost in Narnia. While Lucy is enjoying the company of Tumnus, the obnoxious faun, Edmund meets The White Witch, the self proclaimed queen of Narnia. The White Witch is so evil, that she paused the seasons so that winter would last forever, and no Christmas!

This incident demonstrates the importance of choosing good friends. Edmund buddies up with The White Witch and she asks him to bring his siblings to her frozen castle (of death). He agrees, but only after eating far more Turkish Delight than is acceptable. When The White Witch leaves, Lucy runs into Edmund and tells him about a horrible, no good, very bad witch meandering about in Narnia. Edmund realized he had made two mistakes, he had mocked his sister for believing in Narnia and he had made friends with an evil witch. He had a choice to make, acknowledge that he was wrong both times, or blow it off.

Edmund decides to blow it off. He lies about discovering Narnia in the first place. Because of his selfishness, Peter and Susan begin to think of their little sister as dishonest and foolish. Meanwhile, this dishonesty gave Edmund time to rationalize about the witch. "She can't be that bad." He may have thought. "She gave me food after all. And what do fauns know anyway?" Edmund's false witness is accepted by his older siblings until they all find their way into Narnia, where Edmund looks like a complete jerk.

The four children decide that a mystical world is much more exciting to explore than an old mansion, so they journey into the depths of the forest. They run into a pair of beavers, who invite them out for tea and crumpets (it's not like C.S. Lewis knew about the Word of Wisdom). After their meal, the beavers discuss the 'prophesy of the day' which explains that the witch's power will fail when two men and women sit on the thrones of the castle Cair Paravel. Human beings are in short supply in Narnia, so the children will have to do. All of their talk about prophesy, responsibility, and Aslan gets on Edmund's nerves, so he wanders off to tell the witch where his siblings are. The Witch promptly throws Edmund into her ice dungeon for coming alone. He realizes, too late, that the Witch is better at lying than he is.

While Edmund's rotting in jail (or freezing), Peter, Susan, and Lucy travel to the Stone Table, where they finally meet the mighty lion, Aslan. Aslan is busy gathering the armies of Narnia to defeat The White Witch, but he takes the time to explain that Edmund is necessary to fulfill the prophecy. He directs his army to rescue Edmund, but there's a catch. The White Witch insists that according to the deep magic of Narnia, she has the right to kill Edmund as a traitor. In order to save Edmund (who really hasn't deserved saving this entire book), Aslan agrees to give his own life in exchange. The White Witch accepts his offer and Aslan travels to the Stone Table alone, where he dies for Edmund's sins.

This leads to that awkward moment where the villain thinks she wins and the two girls are crying over Aslan's body. The White Witch's celebration is cut short however, because Aslan is resurrected! He explains that because he was offered up in the place of Edmund, the Stone Table broke and death had to release him!

Kind of like Jesus Christ. Hmmm...

After his resurrection, Aslan gathers his armies, slays The White Witch, and restores peace to Narnia. The four children are placed on their thrones and they begin to rule Narnia with wisdom beyond their years... Several decades later, the four rulers decide to go hunting in the woods and they accidentally stumble out of the wardrobe.

And thus, they find themselves back in the real world.

The Commandments in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Compared to the rest of the series, the first book in The Chronicles of Narnia is pretty simple. The heroes and villains are clear and nobody really steps outside of their role... Except for Edmund. Edmund's consistently poor decisions cause heartache and trial to his family and ultimately require Aslan to sacrifice his life to save him. Fortunately, Edmund really matures in later books. He contributes valiantly in Prince Caspian and he later redeems himself by putting up with someone as annoying as he was in The Voyage of the Dawn Threader. In this book, we learn from Edmund's mistakes; in later installments, he will contribute his fair share of heroic attributes to the posts.

Today, however, is all about how he messed everything up.

Find better friends than the White Witch.
Edmund's initial relationship with The White Witch is shallow at the best; she feeds him some food and invites him over to her ice castle. Even after Lucy warns him about her treachery, he continues to trust her with his life, his siblings, and his loyalty. We can't take that same risk with our own friends. He have to find friends who will support us and not just encourage us, but encourage us to do good.

Avoid half baked Confessions.
Edmund hurts his sister's feelings pretty bad by lying. However, I would like to point out that the more dangerous lie Edmund tells is the half confession he makes early on. When confronted about Narnia, Edmund confesses that he had followed Lucy into Narnia, but he purposely withholds an essential detail; he had encountered The White Witch in the woods. If he had confessed this, he wouldn't have been imprisoned and all of the sorrows of Aslan's death would have been avoided. One of the essential steps to repentance is that our secret sins need to be confessed. Confessing our sins can seem humiliating at first, but the very act of confession frees us from guilt. In those cases where we need to confess our wrongs to God or someone we've harmed, a half confession is not enough. If we try to hide aspects of our sins, we will hold on to the burden.

As we consider these commandments in our own lives, may we remember the words of the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians, chapter 13: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." May we also put away the mistakes and follies of youth and become men through Jesus Christ. I say these things in His sacred name, Amen.