40 is hip. 40 is cool. 40 is the prime of life. 40 is enough experience to be knowledgeable about things, to have some wisdom, to be able to make big decisions. 40 is to have a wonderful wife and great kids. 40 is doing entertaining, challenging, cool recreation with children and youth (camping, theme parks, the beach). 40 is to be tech-savvy. 40 is to be fit. 40 is doing fun home improvement projects. 40 is claiming 80s music as your music. 40 is to be smart. 40 is to have a cool job. 40 is being able to interact in fun, but authoritative, ways with teenagers. 40 is having friendships with a rich history. 40 is to have well-reasoned opinions informed by the perspective of experience. 40 is to have mature faith. 40 is... well... 40 is so much better than 25 was.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Why I'm Looking Forward to My Birthday
40 is hip. 40 is cool. 40 is the prime of life. 40 is enough experience to be knowledgeable about things, to have some wisdom, to be able to make big decisions. 40 is to have a wonderful wife and great kids. 40 is doing entertaining, challenging, cool recreation with children and youth (camping, theme parks, the beach). 40 is to be tech-savvy. 40 is to be fit. 40 is doing fun home improvement projects. 40 is claiming 80s music as your music. 40 is to be smart. 40 is to have a cool job. 40 is being able to interact in fun, but authoritative, ways with teenagers. 40 is having friendships with a rich history. 40 is to have well-reasoned opinions informed by the perspective of experience. 40 is to have mature faith. 40 is... well... 40 is so much better than 25 was.
Monday, February 08, 2010
The Poetry of Redemption
We had a sweet experience tonight at family home evening. It was my turn for the lesson, and I decided to share what I had read in my gospel study this morning. So I taught about God's plan of redemption—about how the fall of Adam brought sin and death into the world; about how sin and death are obstacles to our returning to God's presence; about how Jesus Christ voluntarily gave his life and was resurrected so we could overcome death; about how He then suffered for our sins and offered us a way to conquer sin through repentance, faith, and baptism; about how, without the Savior, none of us would have any hope of salvation.I concluded the lesson by sharing my feelings about the Savior's Atonement, and as I finished Lizzy gave me a big hug and then crossed the room to hug Christine and Caroline. It was such a sweet and spontaneous expression of love--at a time that did not rationally offer any prompting for it. We don't usually give hugs at the end of family home evening, and we hadn't been expressing love for each other.
But as I expressed my gratitude and love for Jesus Christ, my faith in his redemptive power, and my hope of salvation (both for me individually and for us as a family), the Spirit of the Lord touched Lizzy, filling her with its fruits--premier among them being love (see Galatians 5:22). After our closing prayer I asked Lizzy why she had given us hugs, and she said she had felt the Holy Ghost. I'm so grateful she recognizes that feeling already.
As our closing song, we sang a hymn that, to me, is among the most poetic descriptions of God's wonderful plan of redemption. Here are the words we sang (verses 1, 2, and 6 of "How Great the Wisdom and the Love," by Eliza R. Snow):
1. How great the wisdom and the love
That filled the courts on high
And sent the Savior from above
To suffer, bleed, and die!
2. His precious blood he freely spilt;
His life he freely gave,
A sinless sacrifice for guilt,
A dying world to save.
6. How great, how glorious, how complete
Redemption’s grand design,
Where justice, love, and mercy meet
In harmony divine!
During the lesson I referred repeatedly to a chapter of scripture that is reminiscent of this hymn—beautiful in its language and powerful in its meaning (I have bolded the particular phrases that make me think of this hymn; there's an interesting repetition of language here I hadn't noticed before):
6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.
8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.
9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself. . . .
10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit. . . .
13 O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls. . . .
15 And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the judgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God. . . .
17 O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be fulfilled.
18 But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.
19 O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
20 O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.
21 And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.
22 And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.
23 And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. [2 Ne. 9: 6-23]
I love those verses; they so well encapsulate my feelings regarding the plan of redemption. With Jacob (the prophet who wrote these words), I wish to declare, "O how great the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel!" With Eliza R. Snow, I wish to sing in praise and gratitude, "How great, how glorious, how complete redemption's grand design." With my family, I am grateful to be able to rejoice in the joy of redemption.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
God Is a Great Shipbuilder
God is a great shipbuilder. At least three times he has directed major shipbuilding efforts. One of God’s ships carried Noah’s family through the flood and across the watery world until land was found again. A whole fleet of God’s ships protected Jared, his brother, and their family and friends as they crossed the ocean, driven before the wind for nearly a year. And another God-made ship, guided by a God-made compass, took Lehi’s family to the Promised Land.
In all of these cases, it doesn’t appear that God’s shipbuilding partners had significant maritime experience. They hadn’t been tutored by the great shipbuilders of the day. They hadn’t spent months at sea learning to manage rigging or repair leaks. They hadn’t studied physics or engineering. What they did know was how to trust God.
When Nephi began to build a ship, his brothers thought he was a fool. They had grown up with him. They knew he had never studied shipbuilding, and they weren’t very excited about trusting their lives to a boat built by their little brother.
But when God commanded Nephi to build a ship, his response was different. He didn’t say, “Who, me?” or “Ha, ha—good one.” or “Excuse me? I grew up in the desert, remember?” Rather, Nephi said, “Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship?” (1 Ne. 17:9).
Nephi’s answer wasn’t prompted by confidence in his own shipbuilding abilities. Rather, like his brothers, Nephi knew he was clueless about ships. But that knowledge was Nephi’s strength. Knowing he knew nothing, Nephi knew he would have to rely on God. And Nephi knew God would guide the ship’s construction because God had previously guided Nephi’s steps when he did not know “beforehand the things which [he] should do” (1 Ne. 4:6). With that faith and trust, Nephi could answer as he did.
And Nephi’s faith was rewarded. As he (and his brothers) built the ship, Nephi took careful direction from God all along the way. “We did work timbers of curious workmanship,” he says. “And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship. . . . And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things” (1 Ne. 18:1,3).
With that guidance from the Lord, Nephi was able to build a seaworthy vessel. It was like no other ship he or his brothers had seen before, for “it was not after the manner of men” (1 Ne. 18:2). No, it wasn’t a man-made ship; it was God-made, and it was “exceedingly fine” (1 Ne. 18:4).
We are not unlike Nephi. Like Nephi—and Noah and the brother of Jared—we have been commanded to do something we’ve never done before. But we are not commanded to build a ship, we are commanded to build a life, a God-like life. Like Nephi, we don’t know the first thing about what we’ve been asked to do. We haven’t experienced teenage years before we’re teenagers or parenthood before we’re parents or retirement before we retire. We constantly face new challenges in our lives. Sometimes it might be tempting to say to God, “What, me? You want me to do that? But I don’t have a clue!” But like Nephi, we need to respond with faith, telling God we will do it, with his guidance. And then we need to “go into the mount oft” and “pray oft unto the Lord” to learn how to build the timbers of our lives.
As we do this, we will notice that our lives take a different form than the lives of others, for our lives will not be built after the manner of men. Some might even say our lives are “curious.” But curious or not, they will be after the manner of God, and in the end, we will find that our lives have become “exceedingly fine,” for God is a great shipbuilder.
In all of these cases, it doesn’t appear that God’s shipbuilding partners had significant maritime experience. They hadn’t been tutored by the great shipbuilders of the day. They hadn’t spent months at sea learning to manage rigging or repair leaks. They hadn’t studied physics or engineering. What they did know was how to trust God.
When Nephi began to build a ship, his brothers thought he was a fool. They had grown up with him. They knew he had never studied shipbuilding, and they weren’t very excited about trusting their lives to a boat built by their little brother.
But when God commanded Nephi to build a ship, his response was different. He didn’t say, “Who, me?” or “Ha, ha—good one.” or “Excuse me? I grew up in the desert, remember?” Rather, Nephi said, “Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship?” (1 Ne. 17:9).
Nephi’s answer wasn’t prompted by confidence in his own shipbuilding abilities. Rather, like his brothers, Nephi knew he was clueless about ships. But that knowledge was Nephi’s strength. Knowing he knew nothing, Nephi knew he would have to rely on God. And Nephi knew God would guide the ship’s construction because God had previously guided Nephi’s steps when he did not know “beforehand the things which [he] should do” (1 Ne. 4:6). With that faith and trust, Nephi could answer as he did.
And Nephi’s faith was rewarded. As he (and his brothers) built the ship, Nephi took careful direction from God all along the way. “We did work timbers of curious workmanship,” he says. “And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship. . . . And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things” (1 Ne. 18:1,3).
With that guidance from the Lord, Nephi was able to build a seaworthy vessel. It was like no other ship he or his brothers had seen before, for “it was not after the manner of men” (1 Ne. 18:2). No, it wasn’t a man-made ship; it was God-made, and it was “exceedingly fine” (1 Ne. 18:4).
We are not unlike Nephi. Like Nephi—and Noah and the brother of Jared—we have been commanded to do something we’ve never done before. But we are not commanded to build a ship, we are commanded to build a life, a God-like life. Like Nephi, we don’t know the first thing about what we’ve been asked to do. We haven’t experienced teenage years before we’re teenagers or parenthood before we’re parents or retirement before we retire. We constantly face new challenges in our lives. Sometimes it might be tempting to say to God, “What, me? You want me to do that? But I don’t have a clue!” But like Nephi, we need to respond with faith, telling God we will do it, with his guidance. And then we need to “go into the mount oft” and “pray oft unto the Lord” to learn how to build the timbers of our lives.
As we do this, we will notice that our lives take a different form than the lives of others, for our lives will not be built after the manner of men. Some might even say our lives are “curious.” But curious or not, they will be after the manner of God, and in the end, we will find that our lives have become “exceedingly fine,” for God is a great shipbuilder.
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