What Is Repentance?

Holman Hunt's "Christ Knocking on the Door"
(of your heart)

from "The Infinite Atonement" by Tad R Callister

           President David O McKay declared: “Every principle and ordinance of the gospel of Jesus Christ is significant and important…, but there is none more essential to the salvation of the human family than the divine and eternally operative principle, repentance. Without it, no one can be saved. Without it, no one can progress.” Why? Because it is the key that unlocks the cleansing power of the Atonement. That is exactly what Helaman taught, “He [Christ]  hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance” (Helaman 5:11; emphasis added).

            Repentance is not a negative principle, but rather a positive, most glorious one. It did not come from an angry, overbearing parent, but from the most loving Father of all. It is not for the wicked alone, but for every good and great person who wants to be better. It is for every individual who has not yet reached perfection. It is the only road to peace of mind, forgiveness of sin, and ultimately godhood itself.

WHAT IS REPENTANCE? What, then, is true repentance and how does it relate to the Atonement? It is not just a 5-step or 7-step process through which we mechanically advance. It is not merely the cessation of wrongdoing, the passage of time, or the expression of sorrow. None of these alone is true repentance. Almas the Younger described true repentance when he spoke to the people of Zarahemla. He recountd the life of his father, Alma the Elder, who had been one of the wicked priests of Noah. One day the prophet Abinadi entered the scene. Something about Abinadi’s message penetrated the heart and soul of Alma’s father. Alma the Younger observed, “According to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart.” Alma then added, “[My father] preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts.” Then his sermon reached its climax: “And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, …Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?” (Alma 5:12-14).

            That is true repentance. It is a melting, softening, refining process that brings about a mighty change of heart. It is manifest by those who come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits. Such a change means “we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2). Lamoni and his servants experienced such a change. As they awoke from their spiritual slumber “they did all declare unto the people the self-same thing—that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil” (Alma 19:33).

            What about those who do not experience this change but nonetheless obtain a temple recommend? What of those with dire sins who escape reprimand or disciplinary action where another in similar circumstances has borne his cross? President Harold B Lee spoke directly to this point: “There are no successful sinners.”

            Years ago a father shared with me some concerns he had about his teenage daughter. She had shared with him her plans. She wanted to “live it up” for a while, sowing her oats, and then 3 months before it was time to get married she would “clean up her act” and obtain a temple recommend. He was severely disappointed, and rightly so. One might appropriately ask, “Is that a broken heart and contrite spirit—a resolve to make amends with God at any cost?” Did she really believe that a bishop or stake president would sign a recommend for someone with an attitude such as that? Even if they did, it would fail to be a blessing in her life. Her attitude reflected the mentality of the Pharisees and Sadducees who looked upon the Jewish law as a long list of mechanical rules—so many steps to walk—so much time to pass. It had become a matter of form over substance. Ezekiel gave the key to the truth: “Cast away from you all your transgressions, …make you a new heart and a new spirit” (Ezekiel 18:31). Sanctification finally came to the Nephites “because of their yielding their hearts unto God” (Helaman 3:35). Repeatedly throughout the scriptures repentance is associated with the heart. It is a new heart, a broken heart, a changed heart, a contrite heart.

            Elder Spencer W Kimball told of Holman Hunt, the artist. Who one day showed a friend his painting of Christ knocking at the door. Suddenly the friend exclaimed, “There is one thing wrong about your picture.”

            “What is it?” inquired the artist.

            “The door on which Jesus knocks has no handle,” replied his friend.

            “Ah,” responded Mr Hunt, “that is not a mistake. You see, this is the door to the human heart. It can be opened only from the inside.” Elder Kimball then continued: “And thus it is. Jesus may stand and knock, but each of us decides whether to open.” Priesthood leaders may warn, counsel, discipline, and lovingly encourage, but all this will be in vain unless there is sometime, somewhere, an inward change of heart.

And the Light Shineth in the Darkness, and the Darkness Comprehended It Not!

Didn't consider this until I saw this photo, but a flame has no shadow!
John 1:5

Excuse for Skipping Church

Mocking Mormons

Mormonism Obsessed with Christ
by Stephen H Webb
February 2012

http://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/02/mormonism-obsessed-with-christ

            Mocking Mormonism is one of the last frontiers of verbal lawlessness to be untouched by the vigilante powers of political correctness. What other group is ridiculed equally by Christians and secularists—and not just any kind of Christian or secularist but the most fervent and hard core? Fervent Christians see in Mormonism a mirror distorting their own faith, reflecting an image strangely recognizable yet recognizably strange. Hard-core secularists think Mormonism is the best example of the strangeness and danger inherent in all religious belief. Deriding Mormonism pulls off the neat trick of making the devout and the godless feel as if they are on the same side.

            I too used to think of Mormonism as little more than an exotic and abnormal addition to Christianity. When I taught Mormon history to my students, I emphasized its remarkable spirit of endurance, its organizational savvy, and the sheer scope of its religious imagination. Yet I regret to say that I did not try to hide my condescension.

            I have come to repent of this view, and not just because I came to my senses about how wrong it is to be rude toward somebody else’s faith. I changed my mind because I came to realize just how deeply Christ-centered Mormonism is. Mormonism is more than Christianity, of course—most obviously by adding the Book of Mormon to the Bible—and that makes it much less than Christianity as well. Nevertheless, the fact that Mormonism adds to the traditional Christian story does not necessarily mean that it detracts from Christianity to the point of denying it altogether.

            After all, what gives Christianity its identity is its commitment to the divinity of Jesus Christ. And on that ground Mormons are more Christian than many mainstream Christians who do not take seriously the astounding claim that Jesus is the Son of God.

            Mormonism is obsessed with Christ, and everything that it teaches is meant to awaken, encourage, and expand faith in him. It adds to the plural but coherent portrait of Jesus that emerges from the four gospels in a way, I am convinced, that does not significantly damage or deface that portrait.

            I came to this conclusion when I read through the Book of Mormon for the first time. I already knew the basic outline: that it recounts the journey of a people God led from Jerusalem to the Americas six hundred years before the birth of Christ. In America, they split into two groups, the good guys (the Nephites) and the bad guys (the Lamanites), who battled each other until there were no good guys left—except for Moroni (Mormon’s son), who buried the chronicles of their wars and then, in 1823, told a farm boy from upstate New York where to find them.

            When I actually read this book, however, I was utterly surprised. I was not moved, mind you. The Book of Mormon has to be one of the most lackluster of all the great works of literature that have inspired enduring religious movements. Yet it is dull precisely because it is all about Jesus. There are many characters in this book, but they change as little as the plot. Nobody stands out but him. “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:26). And not just Jesus: A whole gospel in all of its theological details—right down to debates about baptism, the relationship of law to grace, and the problem of divine foreknowledge—is taught to the people of the New World centuries before Jesus was even born.

            Christians have long interpreted the Old Testament in terms of the New—reading Christ between the lines, so to speak—but Smith went one big step further. He replaced the figurative with the figure himself. The truth of Jesus is eternal, Smith thought, so it should not be surprising to learn that Christ was made known in times and places beyond our imagination.

            Long before his birth in Bethlehem, Jesus was eager to reveal the most specific details of his future life and ministry. Nephi, for example, who is said to have written the first two books of the Book of Mormon and to have been part of the migration from Jerusalem, already knew all about Jesus: “For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh in six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem; and according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (2 Nephi 25:19). Likewise, a Nephite king named Benjamin declared around 124 b.c., “And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people. And he shall be called Jesus Christ” (Mosiah 3:7-8).

            Every page of the book prepares the way for its stunning climax, which is a literal appearance of Jesus to the ancient peoples of America. For Joseph Smith, the ascension of Christ after the resurrection makes possible his descent into the Americas.

            Non-Mormons, of course, do not believe that Jesus visited the Americas, but why should they be troubled if Mormons tell stories about Jesus that seem far-fetched? Imagine the following scenario. Your family gathers at the funeral of your dearly beloved grandfather, a world traveler. Your relatives begin telling the familiar stories about his great adventures. Soon, however, you notice another group of mourners at the other end of the room. As you eavesdrop on them, you realize they are talking about your grandfather as if they knew him well, yet you have never heard some of the stories they are telling. These new stories are not insulting to his memory, though some ring more true than others. Indeed, this group seems to have as high an opinion of your grandfather as you do. What do you do?

            Do you invite them over to meet your family? That is a tough call. Many of your relatives will dispute the credibility of these stories, and some might make a scene. Others who think the stories are true will feel left out—why didn’t Grandfather tell us? The funny thing is, though, that this other group knows all of the stories your family likes to tell about the deceased, and the stories they add to the mix sound more like mythic embellishments of his character than outright lies. Clearly, the two groups have a lot to talk about!

            However you decide to handle the situation, there is no need for you to change your love for your grandfather. There is also no need for you to react to this other group’s love for your grandfather as if they are intentionally threatening or dishonest. Whether or not you decide to expand your family to include this group, you can still welcome them as promoters of your grandfather’s memory. And the more you love your grandfather, the more you will be drawn to discover for yourself whether these new stories make any sense.

            Of course, Jesus Christ is not your grandfather, and the stories we tell about him are grounded in Scripture, not family lore. Still, the Book of Mormon raises a question for Christians. Can you believe too much about Jesus? Can you go too far in conceiving his glory? Let me answer that question by posing another. Isn’t the whole point of affirming his divinity the idea that one can never say enough about him? And if Smith’s stories are not true, aren’t they more like exaggerations or embellishments than outright slander and deceit?

            I am not denying that the Mormon Jesus is different from the Jesus of traditional Christianity. Mormons connect the atonement more with the Garden of Gethsemane than with the cross, since they think that is where his greatest agony took place (Luke 22:44). The Book of Mormon places the birth of Jesus in Jerusalem, much to the delight of biblical fundamentalists who use such discrepancies to score debating points.

            The most significant difference is that Mormons believe that Jesus Christ was never purely immaterial. Smith developed his materialistic interpretation of the spiritual realm mainly after the Book of Mormon, but it is anticipated in that book’s most extraordinary scene. In an appearance to the unnamed brother of Jared, Jesus is so sensitive to the overwhelming impression of his corporeal form that he reveals only his little finger. Jared’s brother says, “I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood” (Ether 3:8). Later Jesus shows Jared’s brother his whole body, which, it turns out, is a pre-mortal spirit body, comprised of a finer material substance than anything known on earth.

            Christianity has always affirmed the goodness of matter and the integrity of the human body, but Mormonism offers that Christian dogma gone mad. For Smith, Christ’s pre-existent form was as physically real as we are today. Christianity teaches that the incarnation happened in a particular place and time, but for Smith, taking Hebrews 13:8 (“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”) very literally, the Son has always been Jesus. The body of Jesus Christ is the eternal image of all bodies, spiritual and physical alike. The incarnation is a specification (or material intensification) of his body, not the first and only time that God and matter unite.

            The eternal embodiment of the divine is metaphysically audacious, and it explains why Mormonism is so inventive. Mormon metaphysics is Christian metaphysics minus Origen and Augustine—in other words, Christianity divorced from Plato. Mormons are so materialistic that they insist that the same unchanging laws govern both the natural and the supernatural. They also deny the virgin birth, since their materialism leads them to speculate that Jesus is literally begotten by the immortal Father rather than conceived by the Holy Spirit.

            By treating the spiritual as a dimension of the material, Smith overcomes every trace of dualism between this world and the next. Matter is perfectible because it is one of the perfections of the divine. Even heaven is merely another kind of galaxy, far away but not radically different from planet earth. For Mormons, our natural loyalties and loves have an eternal significance, which is why marriages will be preserved in heaven. Our bodies are literally temples of the divine, which is why Mormons wear sacred garments underneath regular clothing.

            This should not be taken lightly. The Mormon metaphysic calls for the revision of nearly every Christian belief. Still, not all heresies are equally perilous. If Gnosticism is the paradigmatic modern temptation—spiritualizing Jesus by turning him into a subjective experience—Mormonism runs in the exact opposite direction. If you had to choose between a Jesus whose body is eternal and a Jesus whose divinity is trivial (as in many modern theological portraits), I hope it would be an easy choice.

Stephen H. Webb is professor of religion and philosophy at Wabash College.

Sincere Prayer

Joyful News: His Mercy for My Weaknesses

Wise Words from a Prophet of God

Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?

Focus on Roots or Fruits

http://www.igobyari.com/2015/07/why-i-stay-mormon-when-many-friends.html 

Temple Square: Words to Live By

9 Confusing Words

9 Easily Confused Mormon Terms and What They Actually Mean

http://www.ldsliving.com/9-Easily-Confused-Mormon-Terms-and-What-They-Actual-Mean/s/79539?utm_source=ldsliving&utm_medium=email

            Whether you’ve grown up as a member of the Church or were more recently introduced to it, there are plenty of words and phrases unique to Mormon culture that you hear used all the time. But have you ever heard or seen one of these used incorrectly? Add to our list in the comments below!

Councilor and Counselor

            Did the high councilor speak in sacrament meeting today or did you meet with the second counselor in the Bishopric? While this one can be confusing whether you’re a member of the Church or not, remembering which form of this word to use can get especially tricky for Latter-day Saints, who use both words on a regular basis.   

What’s the difference?

            A councilor is a member of a group that administrates. In the Church, high councilors are members of the stake council and help coordinate and direct the activities of wards within their stake.

            A counselor is someone who gives advice. There are counselors in the Bishopric, Relief Society, and many other organizations in the Church. Their job is to help give advice, input, and support to the leaders of those organizations.

Patriarchal

            With all those consonants jammed together, no wonder this one gets tricky to spell, let alone say! As much as we like showing respect for our country, it's not a patriotical blessing. If you struggle with saying this word as much as I do, try breaking it into four smaller words, MadGab-style: Pay-tree-are-call.

How do we use it?

            This word is most commonly used in the Church as part of the phrase “patriarchal blessing.” Since a patriarch is a father or founder, a patriarchal blessing from our ultimate Father and Founder—Heavenly Father.

Terrestrial, not Terrestial

            Considering that this one is usually surrounded by Celestial and Telestial, it’s easy to forget that the Terrestrial kingdom has an extra “r” thrown in.

How do we use it?

            The terrestrial kingdom’s glory is compared to the light of the moon. D&C 76 tells us that those who will inherit this degree of glory will be honorable, but will not have been “valiant in the testimony of Jesus.”

Proselyting or Proselytizing?

            Though the Church has used both of these words throughout the years, proselytizing has become the more common and accurate word to use.

How do we use it?

            Most Latter-day Saints will be familiar with this word in connection to missionary work. Serving a proselytizing mission or proselytizing while on a mission simply means to go out and find people to teach about the gospel.

Melchizedek

            This one’s difficult to pronounce, but is frequently used in connection to the higher priesthood.

How do we use it?

            The Aaronic Priesthood is considered the first step in the priesthood and has certain responsibilities. The Melchizedek is the next and has additional responsibilities. The Melchizedek Priesthood authority is actually the “Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son.” However, to avoid too frequent repetition of the Lord's name, it began being called after Melchizedek, because he was such a great high priest.

Stake or Steak?

            The stakes could be high when you invite a friend not from church to your stake barbecue and there isn’t any steak!

How do we use it?

            This is a common term in the Church and refers to a group of wards—usually around 3-5 thousand members. The term originally came from D&C, which describes large gatherings of saints as “stakes of Zion.” These “stakes” are meant to stay firmly planted in the ground and help support the “tent” of Zion.

MTC, not Empty Sea

            Where is the Empty Sea anyway? Is it near the Dead Sea? Or the Red Sea? While this one might be a more common mix-up for neighbors and friends outside the Church, even children or youth in the Church might be confused about why the missionaries had to report to the Empty Sea!

How do we use it?

            This is a funny mistake that sometimes happens when we talk about missionaries going to the MTC—short for “Missionary Training Center”—to learn how to be a missionary before entering the field.

Deseret, dessert, or desert?

            These three words are more tricky to remember how to spell than to say. But they can still be confusing when pioneers who didn't desert the faith are eating dessert in their desert home of Deseret! 

How do we use it?

            Deseret is a term that is originally found in the Book of Mormon, meaning “honeybee.” The saints originally proposed “State of Deseret” for the name of their territory, and the University of Utah was originally the University of Deseret. Though this name is used much less frequently today, it is still recognizably a part of one of the largest LDS bookstores, Deseret Book.

Kirtland vs. Kirkland

            This mix-up is pretty uniquely Mormon, thanks to our history in Kirtland, Ohio.

How do we use it?

            Shortly after the Church was formed, the Saints gathered in a settlement in northern Ohio called Kirtland. Here they built a temple and remained until 1838, until persecution forced them to move on to Missouri. Just remember: Kirtland is the temple. Kirkland is the brand your mom buys at Costco.

If Book of Mormon Is True, It's All True!

Read this book at least 15 minutes every day with your family.

You will learn about Jesus Christ and His love for ALL!

It's true!

I have read it cover-to-cover several times and it has blessed me and fortified me each day for over 40 years.

Happy Pioneer Day!

10 Little-Known Facts about the Pioneer Trek West

http://www.ldsliving.com/10-Little-Known-Facts-About-the-Pioneer-Trek-West/s/79486?page=1#story-content

            Today, we as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrate our pioneer heritage. Stories will be told and heroes will be remembered--the bravery of the Saints at Winter Quarters, the sacrifice of the selfless young men on the banks of the Sweetwater, and the deep relief of Brother Brigham's famous declaration, "This is the right place. Drive on."

            But not every detail of the pioneers' trek west is widely known. So with some help from The Mormon Book of Lists, we're providing you with this collection of little-known facts about the early Saints in hopes that you'll take some time to remember, celebrate, and thank God for the courageous men and women who came before us.

1. During John Taylor's mission to England, generous Saints in the area contributed over $2,000 in gold to help the pioneers in their journey. Brother Taylor brought that money to the Saints when he joined them in Winter Quarters.

2. The pioneers would measure the miles of their journey by tying a rag to a wagon wheel and assigning somebody to count the revolutions. But on April 19, 1847, William Clayton suggested a form of odometer that the Saints would use for the duration of their travels.

3. Pioneer companies communicated with those following by writing on posts and placing them prominently in the trail. Other methods included placing letters in improvised boxes or writing on sun-bleached buffalo skulls.

4. At Fort Laramie the Saints learned that an old nemesis was only slightly ahead of them on the trail: Lilburn W. Boggs, the governor of Missouri who had issued the infamous Extermination Order. Some 150 miles later the Saints caught up with Boggs and his fellow Missourians. In exchange for much-needed flour, meal, and bacon, the Saints ferried the Missourians across the Platte River.

5. The first two Latter-day Saints to enter the Salt Lake Valley were Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow. Using one horse between them, they rode down into the valley on July 21, 1847.

. Orson Pratt made the initial survey of Salt Lake City. Beginning at the southeast corner of the Temple Block, he marked the city out into blocks of ten acres each.

7. The new colony suffered its first death on August 11, 1847, when 3-year-old Milton Therlkill drowned in City Creek. Four days later his parents were comforted with the birth of a daughter, the second child born in the valley. (The first was born August 9.)

8. To protect themselves from Indians, in August 1847 the pioneers began to build a stockade three blocks south and three west of the Temple Block. The fort’s east wall was built of logs, with the other three walls being built of adobe. The Saints built their first homes within the walls of the fort.

9. Brigham Young named the new city “the Great Salt Lake City, of the Great Basin of North America.” Heber C. Kimball named the river running to the west of the settlement “the Western Jordan.”

10. President Brigham Young and the Apostles stayed in the valley for only one month before beginning the return trek to Winter Quarters on August 26.

Religious Freedom is our First Freedom

Most Profound and Intimate Experiences of Worship

Love One Another

Seek Truth

          God’s children are encouraged to “seek learning, … by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118). Following this pattern helps individuals qualify for the help of the Holy Ghost in the learning process. Today, the Internet and other sources provide an abundance of information—some true, some false, and some misleading—about the Church’s doctrine, history, and position on social issues, making it especially important for us to rely on the Holy Ghost to help us discern truth from error. Learning to identify and use appropriate sources of information is part of this process.

He Loves Us

Hearken Unto the Voice of the Lord...the First Time!

Rembrandt's sketch of Old Testament story
of Balaam, his talking donkey & the destroying angel
Numbers 22-23, 31
 

Balaam and the Talking Donkey

https://www.lds.org/friend/1982/11/balaam-and-the-talking-donkey?lang=eng&query=prophet+ballam+and+the+donkey

Adapted from Scripture Stories (PBIC0358) (Num. 22–23, Num. 31)

          When the children of Israel neared the promised land, the Lord commanded them to conquer several kingdoms. As a result, the people living in the promised land greatly feared the Israelites, especially the Moabites. Balak, the Moabite king, knew that a man named Balaam was a prophet, and the king hoped that Balaam might use his power to curse the Israelites.

            Balak sent his elders and princes to Balaam with gifts and treasures to pay for the cursing of Israel. The gifts were enticing, and Balaam wanted them, but he knew that he must pray for Heavenly Father’s guidance.

            In answer to Balaam’s prayer the Lord said, “Thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.”

            The next morning Balaam refused to curse Israel and sent the Moabites away. But King Balak would not give up. He sent more princes to Balaam. This time he promised Balaam more than just riches: “Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:

            “For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me.”

            But Balaam refused again, saying, “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I [could] not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.”

            However, Balaam did invite the Moabites to stay with him that night. Excited by the promise of riches and power, Balaam secretly hoped the Lord would change His mind and permit him to go to Balak.

            After much pleading with the Lord, Balaam was told that if the Moabites asked him again to go to Moab, he was to go. But even then he was to do only as the Lord directed him. Balaam was so anxious to go that he arose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and set out with the princes of Moab.

            The Lord was angry with Balaam for his disobedience. He sent an angel with a sword to stand before Balaam in the road. The donkey saw the angel and stopped, but Balaam could not see him and did not understand why the donkey had stopped. Balaam hit the donkey and urged it on. The donkey went only a short distance and saw the angel standing in the road between two walls. Because there was no room to turn aside, the donkey turned into the wall and Balaam’s foot was crushed. Still unable to see the angel himself, Balaam angrily hit the donkey again. Farther down the road the angel again appeared before them at a narrow part of the path. The donkey could not turn in any direction, so it fell to the ground. Balaam was very angry indeed and hit the donkey with his staff.

            Then the Lord caused the donkey to speak: “What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?”

            Balaam angrily answered, “Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.”

            The donkey responded, “Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee?”

            “Nay,” Balaam replied.

            Then the Lord allowed Balaam to see the angel in the road. Balaam finally understood his donkey’s behavior. Ashamed, he bowed his head and fell to the ground. The angel rebuked him, explained that the donkey had saved his life, and counseled him to obey God’s words. Balaam admitted, “I have sinned.”

            The angel told him: “Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee … thou shalt speak.” Balaam went on to Moab, where Balak continued to coax and promise him great wealth and power if he would curse Israel, but Balaam refused. However, because Balaam wanted the approval of the Moabites, he told them other ways they could harm the Israelites. Some time later Balaam was killed by the Israelites.

Sabbath Reverence Leads to Personal Revelation

Sabbath Reverence Leads to Personal Revelation http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865631412/A-row-of-Sunday-shoes.html

            Reverencing the Sabbath can lead us to personal revelation and this reverencing should begin well before the Sabbath arrives.

            The Sabbath can truly become a delight if we are ready for what it offers. The Savior knew we needed to prepare our minds to fully participate in the sacred things of God. In 3 Nephi 17, Jesus, knowing the people lacked understanding, told them to go home, ponder what He had taught, pray for understanding and prepare their minds for the morrow when He would teach again. Studying and applying the Lord’s pattern of preparation as we ready ourselves for the Sabbath will greatly bless us.

 

A row of Sunday shoes

            My mother, a staunch Methodist, taught me a lesson about honoring Sundays, without saying a word. Each Saturday afternoon mother applied liquid polish to the shoes of my six younger brothers and placed them carefully in an open window to dry.

            The weekly sight of that long line of Sunday shoes drying on the windowsill spoke volumes to my young understanding. I could see that Sunday was a different day, a day apart from the scuffed shoes of the week, a day for offering our cleanest and best self to the Lord.   Mother wanted to honor God appropriately and polished shoes were a sign of her reverence for the Lord’s day. I learned on Saturday that the following day called for thoughtful preparation.

A love letter to Heavenly Father

            Our preparation for Sunday takes on holiness as we plan ahead, preparing our mental and spiritual focus; it shows the Father you love His day. Sister Linda S. Reeves, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, said to me, “When I take the time on Saturday to prepare for Sunday, it is almost like sending a love letter to my Heavenly Father telling Him that He is the most important person in my life. He has responded by sending me a feeling of love — letting me know that He appreciates my efforts as I take the time to prepare for the Sabbath day.”

            The prophet Ezekiel counsels, “And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God” (Ezekiel 20:20). How do we hallow the Lord’s Sabbaths?

A quiet chapel

            Prepared to worship when Sunday arrives, we can bring a new reverence to the environment of the chapel itself. Think how you would feel if you entered a chapel filled with ward members, sitting quietly and listening thoughtfully to the prelude music. In such a setting we can concentrate on the purpose of the meeting, feel the Spirit and receive inspiration. Our hearts are also prepared and our minds taught truth if we attentively sing the sacrament hymn, pondering such lyrics as:

“As now our minds review the past, we know we must repent;

The way to thee is righteousness — the way thy life was spent.
Forgiveness is a gift from thee we seek with pure intent.
With hands now pledged to do thy work, we take the sacrament.”

(“As Now We Take the Sacrament,” Hymns no. 169)

A witness of covenant

            As the sacrament is passed, we allow the Atonement of Jesus Christ to enter into our being, individually and personally. Here is the heart of the Sabbath. We reach out to partake of the emblems of the Atonement, witnessing publicly that we enter this covenant with Heavenly Father to keep the commandments, to always remember the Savior and to be willing to take His name upon us.

            With our symbolic action we are saying to God and man that we reach out to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, take it into our souls and desire His atoning blood to be applied in our lives. In this holy moment we acknowledge our constant need of the Redeemer, our desire for His forgiveness and blessing, and our commitment to live our covenants.

            Keeping the Sabbath continually throughout the day will reap great blessings from the Lord. The Sabbath is not just the three-hour block of meetings! We can think of each hour of Sunday as a sacred hour — employing the words “always remember him” carefully throughout this holy day. Thus we would fill our home with the spirit of the day. Are there simple changes in our Sunday habits that could keep out worldly distractions and add spiritual refreshment instead?

A deeper discipleship

            The effect of partaking of the sanctified bread and water gratefully and humbly is to make of us new creatures, spiritually reborn, as Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Week after week as we strive to live the sacramental covenant, we change. We deepen our discipleship as we prepare to keep the Sabbath holy and offer up our vows in righteousness (see Doctrine and Covenants 59:11); we then receive the guidance of the Holy Ghost, even personal revelation, in our daily life.

            When we commence each Sunday prepared and reverent, our depth of Sabbath understanding will be as spiritual food to all members of our family. Faith in the Lord will grow in our homes as we bring our Sabbath day reverence into our living places.

            Just as at church, reverence for the Divine in a home brings a spirit of truth and learning. Thoughtful preparation for and participation in the Lord’s day will surely make the Sabbath a delight at church and at home.

Great Are the Words of Isaiah, Saith the Lord

In light of yesterday's 5-4 US Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acknowledges
that following today's ruling by the Supreme Court,
same-sex marriages are now legal in the United States.
The Court's decision does not alter the Lord's doctrine
that marriage is a union between a man and a woman ordained by God.
While showing respect for those who think differently,
the Church will continue to teach and promote marriage
between a man and a woman as a central part of our doctrine and practice."