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!

Happy Easter!





The Man in White

Based on 3 Nephi 11

Mother, who is this Man in white?

He seems to have the sun inside him

And radiates its warmth and light...

He is the Son of God, my child,

It is his majesty you feel, his pure love for us.

Mother, do you hear him call us?

He asks us to come to him—

Hurry, hurry-- let us get closer to the dais...

His call is not to hurry, child, but to come

He will wait for us, never fear.

Mother, look, his hands are scarred!

Who dared wound God’s Almighty Son?

Why is he thus marred?

The scars are emblems of his gift for us,

He offers us power to become as he is...

Mother, did you feel his love

As we felt the imprint of the wounds?

Truly he is the Son of God above!

Yes, my child, he is our King—

Let us sit at his feet, as he bids, and listen to his words.

--Jessica Coupé

Capture General Conference--Template Idea

I love forms and plans and they change frequently.  Here’s one I’m experimenting with to apply the ‘eating forward’ concept to General Conference...

A paper form hopefully will provide the 'cup to hold the living water...rather than attempting to hold all the key concepts in our minds. 

Create a seven-cell table with the following headings: author, title, key concept, plan to implement, back-up plan, weekly report, weekly evaluation.

What do we do with this table?  Here's a case study using last conference:

Author:

Members of the First Presidency speak many times during conference...so for them a qualifier can be put in brackets such as...opening, closing, priesthood, relief society or young women’s...

Monson, Thomas S. (Opening)

Title: As We Meet Together Again

Key Concept (The Holy Ghost Impressed to You):

“If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every sermon, song, and prayer in this conference, you will find it.” (Henry B. Eyring, Oct 2010 General Conference).

 ‘Continue faithful in attending the temples’

Plan to implement:

Make time to attend Ward Temple Trips

Back-up Plan:

Many options means a larger chance of ‘success’

Read up on covenants ordinances; cultivate a temple-atmosphere in home; cultivate the Holy Ghost; send ancestors to general temple file...

Weekly (or Monthly) Report:

When performance is measured, performance improves.  When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.” Thomas S. Monson (Preach my Gospel, page 150)

Week 1: Planned to submit Henry Brewer/Catherine Munk family to general temple file. Already in nfs and done.

Week 2: Re-read Elder Christofferson’s “The Power of Covenants”

Week 3: Planned to find home for things in Kitchen Junk Drawer.  More things ended up being added to kitchen junk drawer.

Week 4: Attended Ward Temple Trip

Weekly or Monthly Evaluation:

These questions came from “The Ultimate Diet Log” by Suszanne Schlosberg and Cynthia Sass:

•    What went well, and why?
•    What didn’t go well?  What got in my way? 
•    What is the most important insight I gained about myself this week?
•    What do I plan to do differently next week?

Where to Find the Time?

In theory it is great to be this detailed about applying gospel principles—but where do we find the time to do this recording and reporting and evaluating? 

The same place we find the time to do the cleaning, grocery shopping, budgeting, etc...it is a necessity we make time for...

The 'Eating Forward' Concept and General Conference

“Eating Forward will change your life!!!” Sandi Richard’s website proclaims. 

What is ‘Eating Forward’?

“Eating Forward,” Sandi explains, “means knowing what you are going to have for dinner - at the beginning of the day.”

This is such a (apparently) revolutionary concept she has written a whole set of books devoted to the subject.

The benefits of implementing her “simple step by step proven system” are enticing and include...

·       Dramatically reduce your stress...

·       Improve health and pocketbook...

·       Improve your entire family’s dinner experience...

Are there spiritual parallels?  Why, yes...we have “feast upon the words of Christ...” and the Lord’s statement that he is the “bread of life,” and “living water...” his blessing that those who “hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled with the Holy Ghost...”

But what does this have to do with General Conference?

Conference has been compared to a spiritual feast.  But guess what?  The teachings we receive at Conference time are not a one-meal deal.  Rather they are like the magic food pouch of Lloyd Alexander’s Gurgi.  Providing an unceasing amount of food when necessity requires.  Unlike Gurgi’s pouch which produced food without effort we have to work the Conference talks to get the nourishment...kinda like milking a goat...

‘Eating Forward’ in a General Conference context means knowing how we  are going to apply a gospel principle at the beginning of the day, before we meet the crisis...

Is it possible?  Will doing so reduce our stress and increase our health, wealth and that of our families?

In the Lord’s words, “If any man will do [the Father’s] will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”

And as Alma interpreted it: experiment!

Next up: A plan to help us apply the 'Eating Forward' concept to Conference

God Sends Ten Thousand Truths: Reflections on Capturing Them

Reflections in preparation for General Conference this Saturday and Sunday...

“There are joys which long to be ours,” Henry Ward Beecher told his congregation over one hundred years ago.  “God sends ten thousand truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing a while upon the roof and then fly away.”

Satan, as the Father of lies, loves to close our minds to those truths. 

He offers telestial treasures which--like junk food--are a fast, easy, appealing and addictive alternative to actually making and partaking of a nutritious meal.  But in choosing the telestial alternatives we lose the eternal truths that are sent to give us joy.

Sometimes the meaning of phrases heard in a gospel context may become (seemingly) hackneyed and meaningless.  One such time-worn phrase is “word of God.”  We listen to General Conference to hear and (hopefully) apply the “word of God.”

What does that phrase mean?

Word of God = Heavenly Father says

(‘Heavenly Father’ has the potential to be another hackneyed phrase, unfortunately.  Suffice to say ‘heavenly’ does not refer to a care-bear land of clouds and caring located loftily above us, but to the attributes of God.  Like the ‘ghost’ part of the Holy Spirit’s title, it is part misnomer, part gospel short-hand, a left-over of KJV translation. Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines ‘heavenly’ as supremely excellent or celestial, again referring to divine attributes..)

Wrench myself back from that interesting tangent...

·       Why should we listen to Heavenly Father and follow his counsel as given in General Conference?

·       What tools has he provided that (like vitamins) gives us added energy, power and strength to live his word?  

·       How does Satan (the Adversary) keep us from learning and following Heavenly Father’s loving counsel?

I turn to last Conference to find out.  Here’s a summary of key concepts:

Satan keeps us from listening to Heavenly Father by magnifying:

·       Noise

·       Distractions

·       Emphasises differences between people

·       Information over-load

·       Addictions (limiting of choices)

·       Pride

(Hey--and since he is the Father of lies does that mean instead of harps his angels play lyres?)

Word of God (What Heavenly Father tells us) is...

·       Beautiful

·       Simple

·       Elegant

The Word potentially gives our lives

·       Meaning

·       Purpose

·       Hope

Why ‘potentially’? 

Just like a loaf of new-baked bread has the ‘potential’ to be delicious and nourishing, it won’t be unless we reach out and eat a piece.  Same with gospel truths.  They might smell of heaven, warm and sweet and beautiful...but unless we consciously partake we will miss out on their benefits.

To Store and re-store the Word requires...

·       Obedience

·       Conscious choice and effort

·       Purity

·       Trust

·       Work

·       Caring for our physical needs

·       Integrity

·       Sharing the Word with others

·       Quiet Time with God in sacred spaces, learning of Him through scriptures and listening to him through prayer

·       Investing time in strengthening vital relationships with God, Family, Fellow Men and Ourselves.

·       Inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives and acting on His promptings...

Virtues that empower us to live God’s Word:

·       Faith

·       Repentance

·       Gratitude

·       Humility

·       Charity

·       Knowledge of our history

·       Service (Home/Visiting Teaching, Teaching/Participating in lessons)

Next up: Applying the 'Eating Forward' Concept to General Conference