Learn from each other

10 Men of God can never be like men of the world. The world has enough men who are tough; we need men who are tender. There are enough men who are coarse; we need men who are kind. There are enough men who are rude; we need men who are refined. We have enough men of fame and fortune; we need more men of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. (The Joy of Womanhood: substituted the word men)

But one of the startling things about Christ is that He praises "the wicked" (woman at the well, the weeping sinner, the Pharisees). He sees their goodness. Christ might agree with this first passage while simultaneously endorsing the converse: not to criticize, but to complete.

Men of God must learn to be like men of the world. The Church has enough of men who sit; we need men who stand. There are enough men who are secluded; we need men who are connected. There are enough men who are quiet; we need men who are open. We have enough men of distinction; we need more men of unity. We have enough piety; we need more compassion. We have enough criticism; we need more proposition. (The Joy of Womanhood: deeply re-adapted)

Good enough

I asked the question: when are imperfect people good enough? I was confronted by the legion-of-devils-possessed-man. When was he “good enough”? Thankfully, I was stunned by this wisdom from someone I was supposed to be leading: “He was always good enough: he wanted to be better, he was willing to be open about his problem, he asked for help, and he showed gratitude for the help that was given, even though it was not what he had expected.”

They were forgiven

¹³: Moroni 6:8 But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven.

God doesn’t need me to say that I’m worthless in order to receive forgiveness. He can hardly be excited about my telling Him that I am horrible: after all, He made me. He gave me my weaknesses, so it’s no surprise to him that I mess up. But that doesn’t mean that everything I do is right. I remember leading a class once on values: one of the people in the class said she didn’t know what a value was, and I felt inspired to define it as something other than what you are that you think is right. Repentance is about me admitting that I’m not perfect, despite my tendency to assume that I am. Repentance is about trying, not about being perfect.

Mistake? Oh, you must be human!

¹¹: 1 Corinthians 6:9–11

9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

This passage moves from categorical deviations to unity: a multiplicity of dirty become a single clean, a multitude of defiled become a single sacred, and a myriad of discriminations become a single justice. No longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens, understanding weaknesses as unifiers, not differentiators.

Whose faith?

1: Luke 5:17

And it came to pass on a certain day, When I have good days, frequently the question arises in my mind: why can’t every day be like today? But that is not the way that the Lord lived His life: He drew strength and/or poured virtue into the day as it came, moving in the direction that He wanted to go, recognizing the impermanence of His audience, but wanting to provide them with the best

as he was teaching, opportunity available to be taught.

that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, And although I usually think of this as a story about the faith of the man who is physically healed and his friends in lowering him through the roof,

which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judæa, and Jerusalem: Luke here points to the scribes and Pharisees as having faith sufficient to be healed. Christ was not so abrasive in his rebukes that his enemies would not hear, so that when they showed faith, He could proffer the awaited healing.

and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

Submission vs. Rebellion

4: Doctrine and Covenants 82:10

I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; This is one of the fundamental statements of my religion: that God is not an authoritarian king who does whatever He wants and I bow down, the subservient, and worship Him in the midst of betrayal. This would seem odd and perhaps blasphemous to many, as if I were equal to God, when through the operation of this external force called law, my actions control His actions. He is still greater than me because He makes the laws, but He offers me an environment where we are more equals than superior and inferior. This is the celestial pattern: this is the process by which I become more like Him, by which I step up and He steps down (willingly, according to His own word) and He is my God and I am His: we belong to one another. The road to this more perfect union, this more even ground where the teacher is not better than the learner, is obedience to the Law as the Lord has said it. Submission. No matter how difficult to understand: who am I to defy God? And the road to ongoing 

but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise. discrepancy between us and our Father (discrepancy and distance that God would prefer to close) is disobedience.

Stand

2: Mosiah 18:9

Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; I love the imagery

yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, standing, a symbol

and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, of motion

and in all places that ye may be in, and readiness to move/act, and

even until death, togetherness, either in mourning or comfort or death

that ye may be redeemed of God, or being forgiven or witnessing or

and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, receiving our

that ye may have eternal life— reward. Lift where you stand.

Chiasmus

6: Matthew 7:24–27

I’m learning to think of the gospel in terms of the two great commandments: love God and love one another, but this is a reversed order: first you hear these sayings, a decidedly social act, and

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, subsequently, make

and doeth them, a personal commitment to DO them: complete the task

I will liken him unto a wise man, and accomplish the call. And where are

which built his house upon a rock: these sayings of Christ? They are held in repose within others. You don’t learn the Gospel by listening to yourself: you listen to the Spirit which corrects and edifies your spirit and you listen to others. In this way, you act as Christ did, always pointing out the virtues in those around you, regardless of how distasteful parts of their identity are (prostitute, tax-collector, etc.). Following the example

And the rain descended, of Christ will mean that you are built on the

and the floods came, and the winds blew, Chief Cornerstone and partake

and beat upon that house; and it fell not: of His resilience: His ability to

for it was founded upon a rock. overcome despite submission, to win

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, without gloating, and

and doeth them not, to conquer without despising the enemy.

shall be likened unto a foolish man,

which built his house upon the sand:

And the rain descended,

and the floods came,

and the winds blew,

and beat upon that house;

and it fell:

and great was the fall of it.

Cloud

5: 2 Nephi 32:3

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; The words of Christ are

wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. backed up in the Cloud,

Wherefore, I said unto you, and if I will dedicate sufficient

feast upon the words of Christ; bandwidth, I can have the words of

for behold, Christ—what He wants me to do in every situation—

the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. available for download.

Counsel with

4: Alma 37:37

Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, Curious the phrase “counsel with”, not take counsel from, it sounds like a balanced relationship, a conversation among equals, and although we have been offered the status of co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17), I don’t usually think of myself in that exalted position. And yet, I think that is exactly what God wants to prepare me for by counseling with me. It will be unequal, like any child-parent counseling, but

and he will direct thee for good; His wisdom is manifest not only in the counsel that He gives but in the

yea, when thou liest down at night way that He approaches the opportunity to counsel: always

lie down unto the Lord, immediately available, wanting to be involved in every detail, willing to struggle

that he may watch over you in your sleep; with me through the details and rejoice with me in the

and when thou risest in the morning minutia: the tender mercies displayed like Forget-Me-Nots.

let thy heart be full of thanks unto God;

and if ye do these things,

ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Fitly Framed Together

3: Ephesians 2:21

In whom Everyone, especially those that don’t seem to fit in at church (v17),

all the building is to come and be united by His Atonement and the new ordinances,

fitly framed together in allegiance to the Priesthood line of leadership (v20),

in the Lord as well as personal direction

groweth unto an holy temple a place of rest, community, and continued growth.

Foundation

2: Helaman 5:12 One of the postures you can take as you teach the gospel is this parental posture, hopefully the gentle parent, the one who peacefully reminds, not the harsh, scolding parent.

And now, my sons, remember, But that creates a little bit of weirdness if you take this posture when you’re approaching your friends, where it’s presumptive for you to choose such an unequal posture. What does this verse sound like when it’s drawn from a less unequal posture?

remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, As I learn about Jesus Christ, especially His

who is Christ, the Son of God, perfection as the Son of the Living God, and Him being the example for

that ye must build your foundation; every good action I could perform, I feel something that makes

that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, temptations not seem enticing and makes troubles

yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, not seem devastating. And the connection with people in His church—

yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, that’s an organization designed to help

it shall have no power over you everyone draw on this strength and feel loved, included, and

to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, welcomed—it’s a great support to me trying to

because of the rock upon which ye are built, grow my heart. There are also times where it makes me feel

which is a sure foundation, solid and confident in who I am and what I’m doing, like God is with me,

a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. so who can be against me? And it’s not like I’m challenging others or threatening to fight them: hopefully it’s the power to love the world well.

Exclusive or Inclusive?

8: Moroni 7:16 Ha! It’s here! I’ve been trying to help the deacons understand the need that we all have to love our brethren: our friendships can’t always be “up”, or else we do like I did, and eventually exclude all of our acquaintances from further interaction because of their sins. Not only  

For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that, but we’re trying to follow our Savior, who had a reputation for hanging out with prostitutes and tax-collectors, who advised the need for us to

that he may know good from evil; willingly be found in the company of convicts, and yet apparently

wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; was demonstrating the correct way to chose your friends. Or look at Ammon: he has just barely experienced a mighty change of heart, and it must have

for everything which inviteth to do good, looked to his father like he was fleeing the company of good people (the Nephites) to join his prior partners in sin, while planting himself in the larger context

and to persuade to believe in Christ, of “a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people” (Alma 17:14), but a people who would clearly remind him of His belief in Christ’s ability to lift them from their depravity into salvation and exaltation, a people storied for their diligence. So if you want every person that you meet to be sent forth by the gift and power of Christ, there’s one way to do it:  

is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; no matter what they are like, make sure that their

wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.” way of being invites you to do good and persuades you to believe in Christ. Inadvertently, you will also become someone who is sent forth by the gift and power of Christ yourself.