Culture Shock and the Temple

Question: The endowment seems strange to me! What’s wrong with me?

Culture Shock

            The temple ordinances, especially the endowment, can result in a form of ‘culture shock’.  Wikipedia defines this as “the difficulty people have adjusting to a new culture that differs markedly from their own.”

            Why would we experience culture shock in the Lord’s house?  Isn’t it supposed to be a haven of peace—apart from the world?  Yes!  But I think we live in the world so much, and are attuned to telestial attitudes and beliefs that learning in the Lord’s house—a celestial environment—can overwhelm and confuse us at times.

            Our Sunday meetings have taught us one way of learning the gospel—through the spoken word, music and discussion among members.  This model follows us into the home also with family home evenings, etc. 

The temple learning experience is markedly different.  In his abundance and grace towards us the  Lord has given us the ‘endowment’—a series of instructions, rituals, ordinances and covenants designed to empower us with ‘the power of godliness’, his strength to help us return to him and become like he is.  And he has clothed his teachings in symbolism (both visual and tangible). 

We are used to ‘plain and simple’...and suddenly we find ourselves handed what appears to be symbols and actions without a manual to interpret them. 

This can result in frustration.

“Excitement may eventually give way to unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger,” Wikipedia explains, “as one continues to experience unfavorable events that may be perceived as strange and offensive to one's cultural attitude”

            Hopefully no one has it that bad!

 “Adjusting to a new culture can be difficult and frustrating,” Julia Ferguson agrees, “but it can also be a wonderful, thought provoking time of your life during which you will grow as a person.

“Remember, you are a guest in another country. Avoid at all costs disparaging the host country's culture. Once you have gained an understanding of the country and its customs, learned a few phrases, become familiar with the neighborhood, and made a few friends you are on your way to overcoming culture shock..."

Next we will explore these helps to getting over culture shock. 

Further Reading

Culture Shock 

God's Not Speaking to Me--Now What?

Question 2: What do you do when you feel that you never receive personal revelation that God doesn't and won't speak to you?

What do you do?  Study the eternal laws of God that pertain to receiving and recognizing revelation.  Then live them.

I am.  He's still not speaking to me.

Reviewing some of those laws might help you recognize the revelation you are receiving.

“While there seems to be no exact formula by which each of us receives a testimony,” Elder Robert D. Hales reminds us, “there does seem to be a discernable pattern. Though prayer is important in gaining a testimony, we cannot merely ask in prayer for a testimony and expect it to be given immediately to us.

“Generally, testimony emerges over time and through life’s experiences.“

To accelerate testimony and the ultimate goal of “peace in me” (same as the fruits of the Spirit?) try following the Lord’s advice to Martin Harris.

            “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.”

            This is also the formula for gaining abundant life...(Elder Wirthlin and Pres. Monson’s steps that correlate to the Lord's commandments are in brackets)

Learn of Me (Drink Deeply of Living Water (Wirthlin), Fill your Mind with Truth (Monson) )

            How do we learn of the Lord’s life, atonement, covenants and dealings with mankind? We read and study in the scriptures.  This is what Abraham “friend of God” did, what Nephi killed Laban to obtain, what the Prophet Joseph suffered persecution to bring forth, and what we superficially glance through when we feel in the mood. 

            Perhaps a more in-depth study is needed.

Listen to my Words (Fill your heart with love (Wirthlin, Monson) )

Lindsay R. Curtis, a mission president in 1980, gave us this reminder about the way the Lord speaks to us:

“We must remember that the burning in the bosom is not the method of answering prayers that the Lord mentions the most. In revelations to Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and Hyrum Smith, the Lord talks about answering prayers by enlightening the mind, speaking peace to the mind, telling the person “in your mind and in your heart,” filling the soul with joy. He will speak to us in ways that will be most effective for our own conditions. We must learn to recognize how we feel when the Spirit is with us and when he is communicating to us.”

 “As you reach out to your Heavenly Father, as you pray to Him in the name of Christ, He will answer you. He speaks to us everywhere.

Listen for his voice in...

•    Scripture study
•    General conference  
•   At the temple and in church
•    In the bounties and beauties of nature    
•   Gentle whisperings of the Spirit 
•   In your daily interactions with  others
•   In the words of a hymn 
•   In the laughter of a child

If you listen for the voice of the Father, He will lead you on a course that will allow you to experience the pure love of Christ.” (Love of God, Uchtdorf, Ensign, Oct 2009)

Walk in the meekness of my Spirit (Make your Life a Masterpiece (Wirthlin), Fill your life with service (Monson))

What is ‘meekness’?

“A meek man is defined as one who is not easily provoked or irritated and forbearing under injury or annoyance.,” Pres. Harold B. Lee stated. “Meekness is not synonymous with weakness. The meek man is the strong, the mighty, the man of complete self-mastery. He is the one who has the courage of his moral convictions, despite the pressure of the gang or the club. In controversy his judgment is the court of last-resort and his sobered counsel quells the rashness of the mob. He is humble-minded; he does not bluster.”

            What is the Lord’s spirit like?          

“And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee,” the Lord told Hyrum Smith early in this dispensation, “put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.”

Revelation Received

Then the Lord gives this promise “...I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;

“And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.”

Conclusion:

            To hear the voice of the Lord takes time. Learning more about him, listening to his words and keeping his commandments helps us recognize his voice...

Further Reading:

Hearing the Voice of the Lord by Gerald N. Lund (book)

Revelation by Dallin H Oaks

Testimony by Dallin H Oaks

Importance of Receiving a Personal Testimony by Robert D. Hales

Pure Testimony by M Russell Ballard

Recognizing Answers to Prayer by Richard G. Scott

Waiting on the Road to Damascus by Dieter F Uchtdorf

Abundant Life by Joseph B. Wirthlin

"Be thou an Example" by Thomas S. Monson

How Can I make my Prayers more Meaningful? By Todd D. Christoffersen

I Have a Question, Jan 1980 Ensign

The Spirit of Revelation by David A. Bednar

--a gazillion other articles, books etc. --

A Question of Clothing?--Not Really

Intro to this post here.
 
Question 1: What is the doctrine (eternal why) behind the non-casual dress standard?  Who decided what the non-casual dress standard is?  How Come?

"I'm sure our Samoan brethren hope we never have a rule against deacons wearing skirts," Bishop Robert L. Simpson told the assembled General Conference attendees in 1970. "Our objective [regarding Sunday dress]," he continued, "should be grooming appropriate to the area and in all cases cleanliness."

"Anything that symbolizes either rebellion," he continued, "or nonconformity to the local community standard will likely be a distraction to those partaking of the Lord's Supper. Conservative dress and manner have always been the keynote of priesthood service. If there is a probability that the members you serve are thinking more about your non-standard appearance than about the atoning sacrifice of the Savior, then you had better take a long, hard look at yourself before next Sunday."

          That counsel was reiterated in our day.

          “How we dress,” Elder Oaks says a few years ago, “is an important indicator of our attitude and preparation for any activity in which we will engage. If we are going swimming or hiking or playing on the beach, our clothing, including our footwear, will indicate this. The same should be true of how we dress when we are to participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. It is like going to the temple. Our manner of dress indicates the degree to which we understand and honor the ordinance in which we will participate.”

          Why white shirts when passing the sacrament?

          Elder Holland reminds us: ““For sacred ordinances in the Church we often use ceremonial clothing, and a white shirt could be seen as a gentle reminder of the white clothing you wore in the baptismal font and an anticipation of the white shirt you will soon wear into the temple and onto your missions” (“This Do in Remembrance of Me,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 68).

 Satan is a master Illusionist...he can't hide truth under a basket because truth, like the sun, permeates everything...but that doesn't matter if he can distract our attention...which he does

The sacrament is the ordinance in which we renew our covenant...and in turn the covenant renews us...what power!  But if we are too focused on the culture having such an uncomfortable dress standard then we will miss out on what Pres. Hinckley described as "an ordinance without peer."

And that would be very sad.

Answers 'Caught' not 'Taught'

Questions are ways the Lord gets us to think—to learn and internalize eternal truths.  A question mark is but an upside-down hook reminding us that eternal truths are not ‘taught’ they are ‘caught.’

Elder David A. Bednar reminds us: “Instructors... point the way and help [us] take the steps to find [our] own answers...[the] answer we discover or obtain through the exercise of faith, typically, is retained for a lifetime. The most important learnings of life are caught—not taught.

The spiritual understanding you and I have been blessed to receive...cannot be given to another person. The tuition of diligence and learning by faith must be paid to obtain and personally “own” such knowledge.”

In order for the answers to sink in you must “catch” them (another way of saying search, ponder and pray). 

One interesting thing about questions is—they’ve been asked before.  And answered before.  You might not like the answer...it might not be your answer...but it has been addressed. To find those answers takes a little homework.

Behind every rule and practise is a doctrine (eternal why found in scripture) and a principle (the application of the why). See Elder Bednar’s talk  “Teach them to Understand."

As Wendy Watson-Nelson reminds us: "Questions come with that little hook at the end.  Therefore, they never come alone.  They hook throughts and feelings and possible actions.  One question can pull all of that into your heart and mind.  That'a a pretty powerful hook!" (see Change your Questions, Change your Life) 
In the next few posts I will go fishing in the living waters for some eternal truths...

The jigsaw puzzle that is General Conference

What did you get out of Conference? 

 I was reminded that Conference falls under the umbrella “revelation from God”--therefore the rules President Uchtdorf talked about apply—

“[revelation]... often comes in the form of a puzzle—one piece at a time. Each individual piece may not be easily recognizable by itself; it may not be clear how it relates to the whole. Each piece helps us to see the big picture a little more clearly. Eventually, after enough pieces have been put together, we recognize the grand beauty of [the gospel].”

Joy, happiness and peace--this is the ultimate goal of a life spent building up the kingdom of God, Conference reminds us..  But like all goals how to do that can seem daunting.  So the Lord gives us this beautiful concert of Conference talks—each speaker sounding a bit of a different theme or variation on a theme.  Usually we examine the talks one by one—and miss the harmony of the whole! 

So I went to the Conference Ensign looking for puzzle pieces—then I tried to match them up and see what ‘big picture’ they revealed.  Some of the 'pieces' are so intergrated they are like the chicken and the egg--determining which came first is difficult! Perhaps because the Lord's ways is like making candles the candle gets dipped and redipped in the wax adding layers of the same thing and becomine stronger thereby--the Lord's principles of growth are such that we apply and reapply them... round and round adding grace for grace and strength to strength...

Here is what I found (themes of Conference organized in approx. order)...

1.     Desire-- “to wish for the possession or enjoyment of...” (1828 Dictionary)

Leads to

2.     Faith—“belief and trust in and loyalty to God”

See also “Shall He Find Faith on the Earth?” by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

Leads to

3.     Revelation of Truth—comes in jigsaw pieces

Leads to

4.     Testimony—“What will protect you from the sin and evil around you? I maintain that a strong testimony of our Savior and of His gospel will help see you through to safety.” (Pres. Thomas S. Monson)

Leads to

5.     Covenants (sacrament)—“Always have His Spirit”...” which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer.” (Moroni 8:26)

Leads to

6.     Hope—“Our hope in the Atonement empowers us with eternal perspective”—including  regarding future and trials

Leads to

7.     Prayer—Receive Divine Chastening & Guidance

Leads to

8.     Be Like Christ—cultivate His character traits

Leads to

9.     Receive blessings by keeping commandments--specifically: obedience, tithing, prayer, nourishing testimony, partaking of sacrament, honouring Sabbath and temple attendance...

Leads to

10. Love God by loving others

“We build...unity and share our unique colors through benevolence: individual acts of kindness.” (Mary N. Cook)

a.     Marriages

b.    Families

c.     Church and Community

d.     Missionary Work

e.     Temple Work

Leads to

11. Rejoice

Express...love and gratitude often. That will make life far richer and more pleasant and purposeful. (Elder Richard G. Scott)

[Do not allow] worldly anchors to keep us away from the abundant joy that comes from service... partake of the feast of happiness, peace, and joy that God grants so bountifully...” (Pres. Uchtdorf)

                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So what do I gain from this big picture?  A treasure map, an (ideal) pattern to get from where I am to where I want to be.  For me this Conference seen in this manner outlines the whole plan of salvation.  Every Conference does that, I guess--—with varying emphasis.

It is eye-opening to overlay the spiritual lives of scriptural figures over this criteria and see how wonderously they match!