No Coincidences

Tag: Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

  • Ivy Goes Ministering

    Ivy Goes Ministering

    For those who don’t know, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an initiative we call “ministering.” The name has changed over the years, but it’s always been essentially the same thing. The concept is simple. Minister to one another, teach one another, visit with one other, check in on one another. Christ’s church should be a family and the ministering program is the way that the Church tries to keep its members connected, like a family should be connected.

    Ivy recently went with me on a ministering visit. This wasn’t Ivy’s first rodeo. She’s done her fair share of ministering in her years on this earth. What was interesting about this ministering visit was what happened after.

    One Saturday Ivy and I joined the missionaries meeting with a new friend of the church. He was on his way towards baptism. This was my first time meeting him. This person went on to get baptized and has since become a very good friend. So this was a significant visit with the missionaries.

    Afterward, Ivy and I dropped by a family’s home to say hi. I had never met this family. They didn’t know who I was. This was a true “cold” drop-in. They had two young boys under the age of ten and a brand-new baby girl.

    I knocked at the door and heard the normal shuffle going on behind it. The door was opened by two shirtless boys.

    “Hi, my name is Brayden, is your mom or dad home?”

    The younger one ran off yelling, “Dad!”

    The father came to the door, and I introduced myself. I then introduced Ivy to the two boys. We small-talked for a couple minutes, invited them to church, and that was it.

    On the way back to the car Ivy was, as is normal, full of questions.

    Why did we visit them?

    • Because they’re in our church and we want to check on them.

    That home was their church?

    • No, that was their home. But they go to our church, and we just invited them.

    When will they come to our church?

    • Hopefully tomorrow.

    On and on. Anyone who has been around a toddler knows what I’m talking about.

    The next day we went to church and Ivy was very disappointed when her new friends weren’t there.

    After church, we were preparing for our Sunday afternoon nap. As consistent as Ivy’s numerous questions is her desire to avoid a nap. She was giving us her normal fight before lying down.

    I finally said, “Ivy, you’ve been so good today, if you go take a good nap, when you wake up, we can do whatever you want.”

    I immediately worried about this open-ended promise I had given. What would she request? Surely her most common requests: a trip to Six Flags or Las Vegas.

    Ivy shocked me with her reply. After her nap, the thing she wanted to do more than anything – go see her new friends.

    I’ve thought a lot about this.

    What was it about that visit that made Ivy’s day?

    You know what I think. I think her little, pure spirit realized she just got to do something special. And she wanted to do it again.

    She wanted more than anything in the world, whether she fully realized it or not – more than a trip to Las Vegas to see family or a fun-filled trip to Six Flags – more than either of those things, she wanted to go ministering. Ivy’s spirit knew the importance of ministering.

    Sometimes I wish we adults could remember the purity of that desire – to minister to one another, teach one another, visit with one another, check in on one another, love one another.

    I saw in Ivy what we all seem to forget. Supporting those around us – ministering – is more important than anything. Even a trip to Six Flags.

  • Why Do I Care?

    Why Do I Care?

    I’ve been thinking recently. Why I care about this?

    This being – the Gospel, the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jesus Christ in general.

    Let’s start with Jesus Christ in general. I feel like I write about this constantly and it’s the constant conclusion to one of my posts, so I’ll be brief here. I care about Jesus Christ in general because He has given me everything. The least I can do in return is share Him, follow Him, try my best to be like Him.

    Let’s go broader. Why do I care about the Gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ? That, I think goes in line with why I care about Jesus Christ Himself. If I care about Him, then I would care about His church, and I’d want to share His gospel. That lines up.

    You’ll notice I distinguished the Church of Jesus Christ with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is what I want to focus on and think about here.

    Why do I care to share that I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Why do I invite people to church? Why do I invite people to activities? Why do I share Book of Mormons? Why do I invite people to meet with the missionaries? Why do I share being a latter-day saint? Why do I talk about it? Why does it matter? Why do I care? Why do I keep doing it with such little success?

    It’s something I think about relatively often. The why?

    How do I stay motivated to write spiritually themed blog posts every week not very many read and fewer still are interested in?

    Why do I keep having gospel discussions with people and trying to convince them that this is the restored Church of Jesus Christ – when everyone I talk to disagrees, or worse, doesn’t care?

    Why do I keep inviting people to church and activities when they never come?

    Why do I keep sharing scriptures and conference talks that no one reads or listens to?

    Why is being a “Mormon” important?

    Hmm.

    Sounds depressing right? Sometimes it’s hard. Being a member missionary is hard. It’s discouraging. It seems like an endlessly fruitless effort.

    And yet I’m not being persecuted or crucified so I have really nothing to complain about compared to saints from earlier times.

    So, I’ve distinguished “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” from “The Church of Jesus Christ” but that’s really the answer to the question of why. I do all these things, no matter how hard or discouraging, because I believe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Church of Jesus Christ. I believe they are one and the same. I believe this is Christ’s restored church. I believe it is the way back to Him. I believe I was called and sent here to share it. That’s why I do it. That’s why I care.

    I have a friend who converted to this church who once said something I found fascinating. He said, basically, “Whether it’s true or not, I don’t care. This church brings me happiness. It’s made my life better. It’s made me a better person. It’s made me feel closer to God. Is it true? Is it the One True Church? I don’t know. Really, I don’t care.”

    He doesn’t care because for him it’s about his well-being. This church has helped his life and brought him joy. What does he care about the rest of it? While I think in a completely different way, I can appreciate this line of logic, this way of thinking. This person is an extreme pragmatist. So when he said this statement, it told me a lot about him.

    Does what this individual said make him any less of a latter-day saint and disciple of Christ than me? I’ll say, I think it could, but it doesn’t. This person is still one of the most faithful, serving, selfless, Christ-like individuals I know. Ultimately his why doesn’t matter as much as who he is becoming, which is more like Jesus Christ.

    I consider that person’s why somewhat temporal. ‘This church has been good to me and brought me joy, I’m for it.’

    My why is different.

    My question is, what if the church doesn’t bring you joy? What if it makes your life worse? This friend of mine might leave if that were the case. Right now he has no reason to leave.

    Maybe this is why so many leave. They don’t see how the church is benefitting them.

    This friend and I have a mutual friend. The mutual friend is very interested in religion and so we’ve had religious conversations together. After a few discussions, my friend said the mutual friend would never join the church. He said the mutual friend had too much to lose. His family would disown him, his wife would hate him, his whole life would change. It would be too hard. Should that person join the church?

    My friend would say no.

    Again, my why is different.

    I look at that and say, “Is it true?”

    Response from hypothetical person, “Well…”

    “No well, is it true?”

    If it’s true, if God sent a prophet, and that prophet established a church, and it’s Christ’s church – if it’s true – what else matters?

    Is it true?

    I believe it is.

    That’s why it matters. That’s why I care. That’s why it’s so important to me.

    I’ll write more on the temporal vs spiritual benefits of the church another time. But for now, I wanted to share that.

    Is it true?

    Yes.

    Then it matters. It matters more than anything else on this entire earth.

  • This is Repentance

    This is Repentance

    Sometimes I struggle with the idea that my sins have been made completely white through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that I’m completely forgiven for everything I’ve done.

    I know this disrespects the Atonement of Jesus Christ and that’s part of my biggest struggle. The last thing I ever want to do is belittle what Christ did for me.

    The thing is, sometimes I still dwell on my past sins. Sometimes I still think about them. Sometimes I still feel remorse and guilt. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve paid the full penitence to those I hurt. Have my sins been washed away? Are they completely gone if I still remember them?

    I rationalize this, and I believe it’s true, that I remember them for my benefit. I have to remember them or I might return to them. It’s the remembrance of guilt that keeps me from wanting to go back to being that person.

    I understand this intellectually.

    Still, sometimes it’s hard for me to understand how Christ can have forgotten my sins, washed them away as if they never happened, when I can’t forget them myself.

    The young men I work with and I recently studied Isaiah chapter 1.

    Isaiah 1:18 reads:

    “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

    After reading that I emphatically emphasized something to those young boys. What I emphasized was this:

    “When you truly repent, and show remorse, and try your absolute hardest to not do it again, Christ forgives and forgets your sins. Period. White as snow. It’s as if they never happened. Don’t be deceived. Satan will have you believe you can never be forgiven for a mistake. This is the great lie. You can be forgiven. If you repent, Christ will forgive. Not only that, He won’t even remember it. It’s like it never happened. I can’t stress this enough.”

    That’s what I said to my young men, and I believe it’s true.

    But… do I believe it’s true?

    Given what I just wrote?

    I had a thought today for the first time ever. I often think about the time of judgement. That time when we stand before Christ and have our life reviews. I’ve never feared that moment. The thought that occurred to me today is: why don’t I fear that moment? I have so much to be embarrassed by, so much to be ashamed of in my past behavior. Why haven’t I worried about it before? It occurred to me that one day my wife, Beth, will see how I once was. I’ve tried to tell her, but I don’t think she gets it. Then it occurred to me that my family will see it too. I will be so ashamed! Why haven’t I feared this before?

    Then it hit me.

    Maybe that’s repentance.

    Repentance is knowing – yes, I did those things. Yes, I made many mistakes. But though my skins be scarlet (they are and were) they shall be as white as snow. As I type this, I hold back tears. That’s what Christ has done for me. That’s what repentance is.

    Luke 15:7:

    “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

    D&C 18:13:

    “And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!”

    I am that soul. I don’t know how the life review will go. If my sins are forgiven and forgotten, are those parts reviewed? I don’t know. But what I realized was, and why I’ve never feared that moment, is even if all my abhorrent behavior is shown, it will be ok. It will be ok because I changed.

    That thought of Beth seeing how I used to be? It occurred to me that maybe she’ll love me even more after seeing all of it because she’ll see how much I changed. She’ll be able to see the full picture of how far I came to be a semi-decent husband and father.

    I think that’s what repentance is. Knowing that even if all your sins are laid out, you’re still forgiven.

    That’s repentance.

  • Chosen by God

    Chosen by God

    I had a thought that never occurred to me before while reading Doctrine and Covenants 138, as obvious as this thought is.

    I believe it’s correct that some of the ancient prophets, Adam down to Joseph Smith and beyond, have resurrected bodies and are in heaven teaching. For some reason I’d only ever thought about them teaching those who had already been on earth and died. For the first time it occurred to me that they might also be teaching those who haven’t come to earth yet.

    This seems to be affirmed by the words of modern prophets, from Doctrine and Covenants Student Manuals:

    “President Joseph F. Smith was shown that many choice servants of this dispensation were also among those noble spirits. The Lord held them in the spirit world where they were taught and prepared to come forth and lay the foundations of His latter-day work. The Prophet Joseph Smith once said that “every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was” (Teachings, p 365).

    “President (Joseph F.) Smith also observed that, in addition to these leaders, there were “many others” who “received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men” (D&C 138:56). This refers to the doctrine of foreordination, which teaches that “in the premortal spirit world, God appointed certain spirits to fulfill specific missions during their mortal lives. … Foreordination does not guarantee that individuals will receive certain callings or responsibilities. Such opportunities come in this life as a result of the righteous exercise of agency, just as foreordination came as a result of righteousness in the premortal existence.”

    “President Russell M. Nelson taught: “Your spirit is an eternal entity. … Your Heavenly Father has known you for a very long time. You, as His son or daughter, were chosen by Him to come to earth at this precise time, to be a leader in His great work on earth. You were chosen not for your bodily characteristics but for your spiritual attributes, such as bravery, courage, integrity of heart, a thirst for truth, a hunger for wisdom, and a desire to serve others. You developed some of these attributes premortally. Others you can develop on earth as you persistently seek them.”

    These are things I’ve known, and thought about, but an encouraging and empowering reminder when the world fights back so aggressively against spiritual things.

    We were chosen before we came. We were potentially tutored by the very greatest prophets and teachers the world has ever seen. The tutoring from great prophets pales in comparison to the reminder that we were chosen by God, the eternal Father. God of Heaven and Earth. Creator of all things. When we remember He chose us for a purpose, and we’re on the Earth now for that purpose, the oppositions of the world should seem silly.

    If I was lucky enough to receive training from a great prophet and was chosen by God before coming here, anything is possible.

  • Meaning in Religious Art

    Meaning in Religious Art

    This was an essay I wrote for a meaning of life through art class I took, thus the official format. I feel it was worth sharing.

    Meaning in Religious Art

                It was with difficulty I prepared to hypothesize about the meaning of life when I believe I know the meaning of life. It occurred to me that if I truly believe I know the meaning of life, and I do believe that, that it would be dishonest to write this essay in any other way than to state what I know in my heart to be true. It’s for that reason that I’ve decided to pick three pieces of artwork; a hymn, a mural, and a piece of literature to give a brief explanation on how those pieces portray what I know to be true about the meaning of life. Given my powerful belief of these principles, and the desire I have to share them in my life, it’s with excitement that I write this essay and explore the meaning of life through art.

    Religion

    It’s important to note that a religious individual cannot begin to explore the topic of “the meaning of life” without their ideologies, beliefs, and understandings that come from their religious upbringing having a huge impact on their exploration. I fully acknowledge that many may disagree with my conclusions and interpretations of these pieces of art. That is what makes art beautiful. Art is completely subjective. My viewpoint on the world will color how I view this art. I look to explore how my viewpoint shapes my perspective on these pieces of art and helps me consider the meaning of life.

    Hymn

                I’d like to start by discussing my favorite hymn which is titled “A Child’s Prayer” (MormonTabChoir, 2014). A main focus throughout this essay will be the emotion elicited through this artwork. I believe that art that makes one ponder the meaning of life is likely evoking strong emotions. I cannot listen to this song without strong emotions welling inside me. I feel a change come over me as I listen to the lyrics, likely because it’s this song I focus on when I most question about the meaning of life.

                “A Child’s Prayer” asks a poignant question: “God, are you there?” That’s the portion I ask myself in difficult times. The song unfailingly leads to the important statement: “Pray, he is there, speak, he is listening” (A Child’s Prayer, 1992). This is an important reminder about life and its meaning. The most important line in this song, and the one that most defines the meaning of life on earth is, “You are his child” (A Child’s Prayer, 1992). The meaning of life is to grow and learn and come closer to our Heavenly Father. This hymn is a powerful piece of art that speaks to the soul and reminds one of things often forgotten, but that will forever be true.

    Mural

    The second piece of art I’d like to discuss is a mural aptly called, Purpose of Life (Skemp, 1964). Purpose of Life is a simple but compelling representation of the cycles of life and what life is about. Like the hymn, “A Child’s Prayer,” this mural evokes strong feelings within me, and I believe would for anyone who strongly considers its message. 

                The painting starts by showing a child entering the world. There are subtle hands shown coming from the sunlight, appearing to gently lead the child into this life. The depiction follows a young man growing. First, he is at his mother’s side, then reading, and then getting married. These three quick jumps create a feeling inside. As a result, a question develops: is life really that short? The painting continues, showing the boy, now a man, working. The man is shown with his wife and children. The man is shown with graying hair. The man is shown with his grandchild.

                The climax of the painting is the man lying on his deathbed. There is light above him, and the same hands that brought him to earth beckon him home. What could better illustrate the purpose and meaning of life than this painting? The purpose of life is to live, love, grow, learn, and then to come home. As my eyes scroll across the painting, powerful emotions arise. I consider growing up with my family. I consider the family I’ve started. I consider that like everyone before me, my life is heading to the same place, a return trip home. This mural does a fantastic job of illustrating the true meaning of this life.

    Book

    I couldn’t write a paper about the meaning of life without crediting a piece of literature that has given meaning to my life. The Book of Mormon is an entire book that focuses on the question, what is the meaning of life? The Book of Mormon is a piece of literature that literally details the purpose of life (Book of Mormon, 1830). Through my study of it, I have learned many important principles. One of these most important principles that give meaning to my life is that God loves and cares about all people, and that includes me. Others include that God is aware of us and is watching our progress, this life is important and there’s a reason I’m here, and that God keeps His promises. These are the principles that give my life meaning. 

    In a world of chaos and confusion, these basic principles give me hope. They provide light to my world. I simply couldn’t write about the meaning of life without discussing the book that has changed my life, brought me so much comfort, and put me on a path that gives my life meaning and purpose. The Book of Mormon is eloquent in its message and is a powerful work of art that I believe to be from Heaven. I can’t read it without feeling that God is there and being reminded why I’m here. 

    Conclusion

    I am grateful for these pieces of art and the feelings they create inside me. It’s these feelings that tell me there is more to this world than meets the eye and that I’m never alone. Great art provokes thought and emotion. Great art can make one stop and ponder. Great art can make one appreciate beauty and see the world in a different light. As Cooper (2003) says, “art, like philosophy, is the act of bringing truth into being” (p. 109). These three pieces of art, the hymn “A Child’s Prayer, the mural Purpose of Life, and the Book of Mormon, are each art pieces that provide this purpose for me, enlighten my life, and remind me the purpose of being here. I am grateful for art that makes us look beyond ourselves, consider purpose, and even see eternity.