No Coincidences

Tag: Savior

  • Prodigal Son

    Prodigal Son

    The story of the Prodigal Son is well known.  For those who have not read it before or haven’t read it recently it can be found in Luke 15:11-32.

    The story of the Prodigal Son has always hit close to home for me.  Obviously, it’s easy for me to relate to the younger son.  You should read Luke chapter 15 above but a quick summary: there were two sons.  They will be referred to as the elder/older son and the younger son as I write.  The two sons were given their inheritances.  The younger son left his home and went to a faraway city.  There he squandered his inheritance on “riotous living.”  When he hit the lowest of lows, the younger son returned home to beg his father to allow him to be a servant.  The father, instead of showing anger, welcomed his son home, killed the fatted calf, put a robe on his son, gave him a ring, put shoes on his feet, and threw a huge party in celebration of his return.

    The older son, upon hearing of his brother’s return and the subsequent party, was angry.

    This story is often told in such a way that the primary lesson is about the Prodigal Son and his father’s reaction to his return. The story is called “the prodigal son” after all.  That lesson being that no matter how we stray, how far gone are, and how many mistakes we make our Heavenly Father (the father in the story) will always welcome us back.  In fact, Heavenly Father rejoices at our repentance:

    “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.”

    Luke 15:7

    All Prodigal Sons like myself rejoice at this story.

    I once heard a different perspective on this story, and I’d like to share it.  There is a great lesson to be learned in the story of the Prodigal Son by looking at a secondary character: the older brother.

    A great question to ask yourself before reading any of Christ’s parables is “who was He speaking to?”  Another good question is “What was He trying to teach?”  If you look at the parable from the perspective of the Prodigal Son, you can say Christ was teaching those who have sinned that they can always repent and return to the light of their Heavenly Father’s love.

    Who was Christ speaking to when he gave this parable? He was speaking to those looking for the message of God.   He was speaking to the listeners.  These were the ones looking for the message of God.  When giving this parable Christ was speaking to the saints.

    Consider what can be learned from the older brother.  The older brother never left.  The older brother never sinned.  The older brother respected and worked for his father.  Many say, and I always thought, he was justified in his reaction.  His exact words in verses 29 and 30:

    “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid (fatted calf), that I might make merry with my friends:

    But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.”

    This appears to be a natural reaction.  He had always been there.  He had always done right.  Only for his corrupt brother to return and receive honor.

    Why did the older son stay and work hard for his father?  Why did he keep his commandments?  Was he simply looking forward to the inheritance he was to receive?

    A Crucial Lesson from the Brother of the Prodigal Son « Meridian Magazine

    Why do you serve God and keep his commandments?  Are you looking forward to your mansion?  Do you serve God so you can inherit His glory?  Are you serving Him for YOUR benefit?

    We should serve God because we love God.  We should serve God because we love those around us.  Our service to God shouldn’t be for the blessings and honors He can give us.  Our hearts should serve for love and not for our inheritances.

    Jesus didn’t tell this story only to get sinners to repent.  He also told this story to get the saints to repent.  The Prodigal Son went out to experience life and disregarded his father’s possessions.  The older son on the other hand stuck around, but he was working to please his father.  He looked at himself as moral and worthy.  He was after his father’s possessions.  That’s what he concerned himself with.  The elder son was keeping score.  He was trying to earn his father’s love and inheritance.

    Sometimes we are like the Prodigal Son: sinning and needing to return home.  Sometimes we are like the older brother: serving for the glory of the world. 

    Often we are like the older son in our envy and jealousy.  When someone returns to the fold do we judge them for their past?  Or, like the father in the parable and our Heavenly Father, do we rejoice at someone’s return?

    Elder Holland in his talk, The Other Prodigal, said:

    “I testify that no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another.  I testify that He loves each of us-insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all.  He doesn’t measure our talents or our looks; He doesn’t measure our profession or our possessions.  He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other.  I know that if we will be faithful, there is a perfectly tailored robe of righteousness ready and waiting for everyone, “robes…made…white in the blood of the Lamb.”  May we encourage each other in our effort to win that prize is my earnest prayer.”

    Let us not compare our blessings to the blessings of others, what we have to the possessions of others.  Let us support and help each other to all return to our Heavenly Father.  Jealousy is of Satan.  We should never look down on somebody who made mistakes and is trying to return to God, because then we are the sinner.  We can learn from every character in Christ’s great parable.  Be like the Prodigal Son and repent, humble ourselves, and return home.  Be like the elder son and don’t envy but welcome our wayward brothers and sisters back home with joy and love.  And be like the father, loving all those around us, embracing the sinner and the saint alike.  I believe this is God’s hope for us and what Christ was teaching us through this story.

    __________________________

    Here is a link to Jeffery R. Holland’s talk, The Other Prodigal:

    https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2002/04/the-other-prodigal?lang=eng

  • Letter to a Sinner

    Letter to a Sinner

    I write this with as much humility as possible.  Fully knowing and understanding my weaknesses have given me perspective.  It is my faults and errors that make me feel like I can write this letter. 

    I remember when I came back to church I was asked to not take the sacrament for three weeks.  It was one of the more difficult things I had to do, although it doesn’t sound like much.  I think it was the moment I realized I had changed.  Something that in the past might not have affected me too much, really hurt.  It was difficult coming back and immediately feeling like maybe I’m not enough.  Maybe I could have gone the route of resentment.  Instead I realized how much I didn’t want to have to go through that again.

    I don’t in any way imply I’m better than someone who can’t take the sacrament and does feel resentment.  We all have our own paths.  Mine was of being completely away, coming back, and realizing I deserved my three weeks.  Some are never officially away so that state of probation seems unfair or not right.  I understand that.

    This is my letter to the sinner.  A reminder, that includes all of us.  This is the sinner who has made mistakes.  This particular sinner might come from a perfect family and part of their struggle is feeling like they don’t fit in in the one place they should feel welcome.  This sinner might feel judged by the very people that should love them the most.  It doesn’t matter if those family, friends, and caring loved ones are right or wrong.  It matters how the sinner interprets things.  We all live our own experiences and encounter the world in different ways.  We must, to the best our abilities, see the world in perfect light and perfect truth.

    Here is my letter to a hypothetical sinner:

    You will never be like the “perfect” people you see around you.  You won’t.  Your path has been set.  Your path has been set partly by different “luck,” different experiences.  Partly by your choices.  My life was set by very bad choices.  But now that I’ve come out of the other side, my joy is greater than I could have ever imagined.  You won’t be “perfect”, but you’ll be who Heavenly Father sees you can be.  You won’t be “better” than those who never made the mistakes you made, but you might be stronger.  Your path will lead you somewhere wholly different.  And if you decide you want to come through to the other side: to truly know your Savior, to know forgiveness, to know what being welcomed home feels like even if you don’t think you’ll ever deserve it – if you come to that other side with that relationship with your Savior, your testimony will be welded in steel, as hard as diamond.  You’ll have gone through the refiner’s fire and come out united with He who gives all strength.  This is no excuse to continue to sin.  You know the light.  You’ve seen and felt the light.  I knew the light and I turned from it.  I hope to help anyone not make the same mistake.

    You will make mistakes.  You will sin.  But no matter what, you have to remember Jesus Christ.  Because while the world will judge you and you’ll have to struggle with that, He will judge you with a perfect love and comprehension.  Remember that those around you are trying to judge you with love.  They’re trying to love you righteously.  Jesus Christ doesn’t try.  He is perfect love.  Don’t forget it.  Don’t forget that those around you whose points of view you can’t understand, they’re trying to be like Jesus Christ.  They may be falling short.  But that’s not for you to judge.  Just as they can’t judge you, you can’t judge their intentions or efforts.  Just love and do your best. 

    I’m sorry you have to go through trials.  But do not lose sight of Jesus Christ.  Do not.  He is the only person true peace can come from.  Whatever you do, whatever mistakes you make, do not forget HIM.  He won’t forget you.  I promise.

    At this point I must apologize.  Throughout this letter I’ve referred to you as “the sinner.”  I know that phrase hurt the whole way through.  I know it because I’ve felt it.  I did it throughout the whole letter to get to this point.  I want to remind you, “sinner” is not who you are.  It will never be who you are.  We all sin but that’s not what God and Jesus Christ see in us.  No matter how many mistakes we make.  No matter how many slip ups or downright wrong things you do, you are not a sinner.  You are a child of Heavenly Father.  You are growing.  You are learning.  I reiterate something I said earlier, this does not excuse your sin.  Sin is wrong, you know that.  Christ will see your sin.  What means much more to Him is your repentance.  He doesn’t see who you were but who you will be. 

    “God cares a lot more about who we are and who we are becoming than about who we once were. He cares that we keep trying.”

    Elder Dale G. Renlund in April 2015 Conference talk “Latter-day Saints Keep on Trying”
  • Recovery Update

    Recovery Update

    Quick update on my recovery.  Nothing short of a miracle. The cover picture you’ve already seen is my head and arm today. It’s amazing. Read to the end to see the healing my head has gone through. Be warned, it is NOT pretty.

    There has been real fear that I would have a permanent divot in my head.  Like a mini crater.  It was a likelihood that I would have a permanent bald spot.  There were concerns about it healing and sealing up properly.  There were many concerns. 

    I never concerned myself with much of this.  It was something Beth and others would discuss.  For one, I’m old, married, with a kid anyways.  I always thought a bald spot would bother me.  Once you get old, who really cares.  Secondly, I didn’t concern myself with it because I knew it would work itself out.

    Where I used to fear touching because there was a hole and I didn’t want to fully know what was going on back there, is now just a scab.  Where we thought I might have a permanent crater and baldness, you can’t even tell there is an injury.  My hair has grown long and now it blends in with the scab that has filled in my head.

    There was some concern about how my arm might heal.  I briefly had thoughts about whether the healing skin would tighten up and restrict movement.  It’s my shooting shoulder!  I set aside those concerns.  It would heal or it wouldn’t.  I wish I had the poetic ability to properly describe how it has transformed.  From extremely painful, you’ve seen the pictures, to basically looking like a scratch.  As of right now, it looks like I got a mild sunburn.

    The third thing aside from my head and arm that was a concern was the helicopter bill.  Our initial bill was for $46,198.50. You can imagine this would cause some amount of stress.  I can say that Beth was pretty stressed about it.  I say this with little pride, I like to think she was positively affected by my calm outlook.  This is more due to our different demeanors than anything.  It’s something I’ve written about before.  Where Beth is pragmatic and planning, I like to think God will take care of it.  See The Chance of Faith for more on that.  God is likely more on Beth’s side.  But I was not worried.  We would have to pay it, or we wouldn’t.  Either way, God was watching.

    Despite my lack of worry and naïve, innocent belief that all would work out, I was still not looking forward to paying $46,000.  For that reason, it was quite a relief when, after Beth’s work with forms and paperwork, our bill was dramatically decreased.  I won’t give the exact amount, leave some intrigue, but I will say the decrease was ridiculous.

    What’s the moral of the story?

    I’m lucky?

    Yes, I am.

    I mentioned when I was on the ATV my brother gave me a priesthood blessing.  I asked him 3 days after the accident what he said in the blessing.  He replied that I was blessed that I would heal, and Beth wouldn’t lose me anytime soon. Again, my healing has been nothing short of miraculous.  Anyone who has seen my head progress over the past 6 weeks is blown away.  It’s unbelievable. 

    Am I lucky?

    Yes, I am.

    When I was 25 years old, I was ordained an Elder and given the Melchizedek Priesthood.  I was so excited I invited every person I knew to be there.  I was receiving the power and authority of God, to act in the name of Jesus Christ.  I could heal, bless, baptize, and give the gift of the holy ghost.  It was the most important moment in my life at that point.

    Here is my testimony.  The priesthood is the power and authority of God gifted to His children here on earth.  When my brother laid his hands on my head and blessed me with health, it wasn’t the average prayer.  The power that coursed from his hands to my bleeding head, the authority I myself had given him just months prior, that power literally healed me.  That blessing was in affect and ordained by God.  My brother worked hard to be worthy to bless me in that moment.  That blessing came from heaven.

    The priesthood authority is not mythical.  It is not imaginary.  It is a real power to act in God’s name.  When I was blessed on that ATV, I was healed.  I know it as sure as I am still breathing and typing this. 

    It’s a miracle how I’ve healed.  I couldn’t heal like this without divine authority.  I couldn’t heal like this unless God intended it to be.  I was blessed by his power and authority.  Why was I at peace throughout this process?  Because 3 days in I asked my brother what he blessed me with that day.  When he said, “you’ll heal,” I knew it would be.  There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. 

    I can’t thank my Heavenly Father enough for what he has blessed me with.  Last week I was able to bless my daughter with the same priesthood authority.  I know the blessing I gave my daughter was ordained by God and will also be in full affect.  I can’t thank God enough for the priesthood He has blessed me with.  How it blesses my life and my family’s life every day.

    I know that the authority to act in God’s name must come by the proper channels.  I know that Joseph Smith was visited by Peter, James, and John and given the keys to this priesthood power.  I know the Church of Jesus Christ was restored and we are blessed by His delegating those keys to us, to simple, flawed man.  He has trusted us with power.  I am grateful to Joseph Smith for restoring the priesthood power and authority.  I’m grateful for every blessing I’ve received and given in my life. 

    I know that God has authorized this. I look forward to the day when I can kneel before him in humble amazement and ask how He could love us so much, that He would give us all He has.

    This my testimony in the sacred name of Jesus Christ.

    ________________________________________

    I will provide some picture evidence of the miraculous nature of my recover.

    *****WARNING*****

    Please don’t keep scrolling if you get queasy easily. These are pictures I refused to look at until today. You can call me a wimp, but I had to step outside for some fresh air after seeing them. You’ve been warned.

    2/1/21:

    2/3/21

    2/8/21:

    2/16/21:

    2/18/21:

    2/24/21:

    3/3/21:

  • God, Sin, and Joy

    God, Sin, and Joy

    *Edit -Two days before posting this I read this in Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins:

    “Let’s consider the habit of smoking cigarettes… They contribute to everything from cancer to heart disease… People have every reason in the world not to smoke. Yet the tobacco industry continues to profit, and millions of people continue to smoke cigarettes, with more starting all the time. Why is that?

    People may learn to enjoy the experience of smoking, but is that what got them started?.. What happened when they first smoked? They hated it. They coughed and gagged and felt nauseated. Their body said, ‘This stuff is terrible. Get it away from me.’ In most cases if your own physcal evidence tells you something is bad, you would expect to listen. So why don’t people do that with smoking? Why do they continue to smoke until the body gives in and finally becomes addicted?

    They do it because they’ve been reframed as to what smoking means, and then that new representation and state have been anchored into place. Someone with a great deal of knowledge about persuasion has spent millions and millions of dollars to convince the public that smoking is something desirable. Through skillful advertising, clever images and sounds were used to put us in positive-feeling states; then those desired states (paradigm shift) were associated with or linked to a product called cigarettes. Through massive repetition, the idea of smoking has been linked with various desirable states. There’s no inherent value or social content to a piece of paper wrapped around tiny tobacco leaves. But we’ve been persuaded that smoking is sexy, or suave, or adult, or macho…

    How crazy is this? What in the world does putting carcinogens into your lungs have to do with any desirable state? But advertisers do on a mass scale exactly what we’ve talked about in this book. They put out images that put you in a receptive, elevated state-and at the peak of the experience, they anchor you with their message. Then they repeat it on television, in magazines, or on the radio so that the anchor gets constantly reinforced and triggered.”

    My own emphasis (underlines) and commentary (in parentheses) were added. Eerie. This book is copyright 1986. Do you think advertisers have let up? Do we think Lucifer is deciding to go easier on us? Anyone reading the above might say, “well cigarettes aren’t cool anymore, and they’re definitely not advertised the same.” Go to any bar and look at the mass of people outside. Then if you really think things have changed, pay closer attention to the next liquor/beer commercial you see. Shouldn’t take long. We’re bombarded by them all day, every day. I’ll now get to my original post. That was a long side-tangent.

    ___________________________________________________

    Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once gave an address at BYU where he talked about a discussion he had. The discussion was about the influence of evil and the consequences of bad choices.  Elder Cook was given an interesting hypothetical: how would Lucifer present his plan to an advertising agency?

    “The adversary described his dilemma: he and his followers had rebelled and rejected the Father’s plan and had come to understand that they could not prevail against God. Lucifer understood that while the Father’s plan was about joy and happiness, his own plan resulted in grief and misery. The problem, Lucifer explained to the ad executive, was how to attract followers.”

    Lucifer would determine that the only way he could win would be to achieve a “paradigm shift.”  He would need to convince us that what he wanted us to do would result in happiness, joy, and freedom while following God would result in misery, lack of freedom, and bondage. 

    “This hypothetical meeting serves a useful purpose. The truth is, not only do the enemies of the Father’s plan attempt to undermine the doctrine and principles of the plan, but they also attempt to mischaracterize the blessings that flow from the plan. Their basic effort is to make that which is good, righteous, and joyful seem miserable.”

    It’s an amazing thing to consider how humans gravitate towards what destroys them.  As the lyrics from OneRepublic’s song Counting Stars says, “Everything that kills me makes me feel alive.”

    Consider the most obvious examples.  Everyday millions of people drink literal poison.  Here’s the amazing thing, you just read that and depending on who you are you thought of a different beverage from someone else.  There are multiple poisonous drinks consumed every day.  Am I referring to soda or alcohol?  Both?  How about cigarettes?  I’m blown away every time I see someone smoking one.  Like, “you know that is actually decaying your body from the inside out right?”  Don’t care.

    There are certain things that we have been asked to avoid in this modern day.  We don’t always know why we avoid certain things.  What I do know is that faithfully trying to follow God leads to blessings, both spiritual and temporal.  

    This leads to an important question.

    Why do you think God doesn’t want you to sin?

    Is it because He wants to control and tell you what to do?

    Why wouldn’t He just force you not to sin then?  He’s God.

    Why does God hate and abhor sin?

    God hates and detests sin because He know what the results of sin are: unhappiness, pain, suffering.

    God doesn’t hate sin; He hates the unhappiness it leads to.

    God is love.  God is peace.  God is joy.

    I think about this often.  I used to wallow in my sin and wonder why I was so miserable.  Now that I’ve drawn closer to God, I’m so much happier.  I see others stuck in the same pattern I was in and I desperately wish they would see there is another way.  You don’t need to drink alcohol until you forget, to find happiness.  You don’t need the lifestyle you think is bringing you joy, but you know is not.

    Does God want you to be happy?  An emphatic YES.

    Does God want you to have freedom?  An even more emphatic YES.

    God would rather you have freedom even more than happiness.  Otherwise, He would force you to make the choices that bring you joy.  He refuses to do that.  Your freedom means more to God even more than your happiness.  To find true happiness you must choose it.  To find true love you must gravitate towards it.  We see this in what He’s given us, our agency. We always have the option to choose.

    God’s plan, the Plan of happiness is meant to do just that.  Bring happiness.

    That doesn’t mean we all find joy the exact same way.  That doesn’t mean we’re all on the same path.  But I do believe the path of greatest joy leads to the being who gave us this whole experience.  If life is hard, come to God and he will lighten your burdens.  If life is joyful, we owe it to Him.  Joy, growth, and freedom go hand in hand.  We are meant to find these things during our mortal journey. 

    I use alcohol as an example because I believe it’s the easiest to use as an example, and because it’s what I have personal experience with.  I’ve tried that life.  I know alcohol doesn’t bring happiness.  In fact, the terrible impact of alcohol on young brains and adult lives is now medically established. 

    A study from Harvard in the 1940s on success and happiness found:

    “This study contains three significant insights.  First, adult happiness has a high correlation with childhood family happiness, especially love and affection from parents.  Second is the importance of a healthy, stable marriage to lifelong happiness. Third is the negative effect of alcohol on marital and lifetime success and happiness.  Alcohol abuse touches one-third of families in the United States and is involved in one-fourth of hospital admissions.  It plays a major role in death, bad health, and diminished accomplishment.”

    The above quote was from the 1940s!! Has alcohol consumption gone down?

    Notice the three things this study found that lead to happiness:

    1. Love and affection from parents
    2. Stable marriage
    3. Alcohol avoidance

    It’s no wonder the family has been attacked so aggressively the past 80 years. The paradigm shift has officially happened. Society says it’s about me, not my kids, kids take away MY freedom. Divorce. Drink and be merry. This isn’t happiness.

    When the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored on the earth, soon after, the advice was given to abstain from strong drinks (Doctrine and Covenants section 89).  The Word of Wisdom has blessed my life.  It was established a century before studies started to prove its temporal benefit.

    The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings happiness.  I know this personally, from my experience following it.  It only occurred to me recently that many of my friends and people I care a lot about really don’t think this happiness is an option for them.  I know many of my friends and people around me are happy.  That’s not what I’m saying.  What I’m saying is there is always more joy to be gained.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t an exclusive club.  I wasn’t chosen to be a part of it because I’m lucky.  I’m a part of it because it makes me happy, and that option is available to everyone. 

    I know a lot of people think “organized religion” or “God” or maybe even “a family” isn’t meant for them.  I just want to remind anyone taking the time to read, happiness is for everyone.  Happiness is something we all can find.

    I know many of my friends think I’ve become a religious nut.  Good.  I have.  The reason is because I’m happier than I’ve ever been.  I used to invite people around me to bars, or parties, or to gamble. I’ve invited people to participate with me in things I thought brought me happiness.  So why wouldn’t I invite every person I come in contact with now that I’ve found real happiness?

    I wish I could shout it from the rooftops.  I wish I was bolder about it than I am.  I wish I could tell the entire world:  you deserve to be happy.  Find your happiness, however you need to.  But I will tell you this, Jesus Christ is the source of all love.  Therefore, He is the source of all truth and light.  For that reason, He is the source of all happiness.  I’ve learned that for myself and hope we all can, on our timeline.

    I know where I come from.  I know where I’m going.  I know why I’m here.  I know what happens when I leave here.  I know I’ll be with my family forever.  I know my daughter and my wife, who I’ve known for countless days, going all the way back to our premortal existence, I know I will be with them for eternity.  This is true joy.

    I know these things.  Knowing these things bring me comfort.  Knowing these things makes me happy.  The choices and changes I’ve made in my life have brought me happiness I never thought I deserved.  This happiness is for everyone.

  • Lectures on Faith – Lectures 3 and 4: The Character and Attributes of God.

    Lectures on Faith – Lectures 3 and 4: The Character and Attributes of God.

    These two lectures are combined because they are so closely linked.  They were also combined into one video in the series I’m watching that teaches about the Lectures on Faith.

    Lectures 3 and 4 are about the unchanging attributes of God and why understanding those attributes is necessary for our faith.

    The points made in the video were so good I’m going to just list the character traits and attributes of God given in these lectures and then give points from the video.  All the points from the video I believe inspire some thought-provoking ideas.

    Character of God:

    1. He was God before the world was created and continued to be God after.
    2. He is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abundant in goodness, He was from everlasting, and will be to everlasting.
    3. He is unchanging, there is no variableness with Him, His course is one eternal round.
    4. He is a God of truth and cannot lie.
    5. He is no respecter of persons.
    6. He is love.

    Attributes of God:

    1. Knowledge
    2. Faith or power
    3. Justice
    4. Judgement
    5. Mercy
    6. Truth

    It is obvious why these two lectures go hand in hand as there is a lot of overlap between the character and attributes of God.

    I’ll now go over some interesting thoughts from the video.

    1. Pretty obvious but worth saying, this is not a finite list of attributes.  It’s meant to help our minds to understand who God is so we can put complete faith in Him.
    2. Unfortunately, this has become less true in our day, but most of us don’t have a problem believing in God, it’s what He’s like where we have an issue – and so much disagreement.
    3. The first attribute listed is mercy.  One of the first attributes of God Nephi mentions in the Book of Mormon is mercy.  In Moroni’s last chapter, the concluding chapter of the book of Mormon, mercy is mentioned again.
      • 1 Nephi 1:14 And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!
      • Moroni 10:3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
      • It is important for us to understand the mercy of God.
    4. If we have the idea that God is easy to anger it makes it harder for us to have faith in Him.  In the parable of the talents, why did the servant bury his talent?  Because he was afraid.
    5. The fifth and sixth attributes can be combined.  God is a God of love because He is no respecter of persons.  He loves us all. 
    6. God doesn’t stop loving people when they sin.  The difference is God is not able to bless people when they sin.
    7. Where there is doubt faith cannot exist.  Questions are different from doubts.

    I’ll conclude with a statement directly from lecture 4:16 because I think it is extra relevant to us today.

    “And lastly, but not less important to the exercise of faith in God, is the idea of the existence of the attribute truth, in him. For, without the idea of the existence of this attribute the mind of man could have nothing upon which it could rest with certainty: all would be confusion and doubt; but with the idea of the existence of this attribute in the Deity, in the mind, all the teachings, instructions, promises and blessings become realities, and the mind is enabled to lay hold of them with certainty and confidence.”

    We see the fruits of this today.  If no one knows for sure what truth is we become so shaken and confused, thrown about by any wind, blown about on the sea like a boat without paddle.  That’s how we are today when we try to understand truth without putting our faith in the truth of God.  One expert disagrees with another expert.  No one knows how to fix anything.  It is all confusion.  We don’t know who to listen to or who to trust.  Trust God.  His attribute of truth allows us to put our complete confidence in Him and know He will never lead us astray.

    To read the lectures yourself you can find them HERE.

    For the videos about the lectures you can go HERE.