Renewing Temple Recommends

Every two years these days we are invited to renew our temple recommends with an interview with a member of the bishopric and a member of the stake presidency. Last night I completed the process with President Wes Harris at the stake center. I was reminded once again after all these many years since my first one, that there has never been a time when I had an expired recommend. We renew our recommends, yes, but the underlying spiritual symbol is significant too.

Our temple recommend is an affirmation between three parties whose signatures are affixed to the document: Each is an independent witness to the worthiness of the individual who holds the recommend. We affirm to priesthood leaders who hold the presiding keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood that we are in agreement with all the requirements embodied in the recommend questions we have been asked. The precision is apparent, as both Bishop Edmunds and President Harris read the words from their cell phones. I was asked to bear my witness to the answers to the questions, and with each question there was a pause for me to respond. In each interview THREE witnesses gave testimony to my worthiness.

This is to be expected, as explained in scripture:

2 Corinthians 13:

1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

2 I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:

3 Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.

4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

6 But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

7 Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.

8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.

9 For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.

10 Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.

11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

12 Greet one another with an holy kiss.

13 All the saints salute you.

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

We are all familiar with this passage in the Doctrine and Covenants 6, granting unto Oliver Cowdery the gift of translation for the purpose of fulfilling the requirement for witnesses:

25 And, behold, I grant unto you a gift, if you desire of me, to translate, even as my servant Joseph.

26 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that there are records which contain much of my gospel, which have been kept back because of the wickedness of the people;

27 And now I command you, that if you have good desires—a desire to lay up treasures for yourself in heaven—then shall you assist in bringing to light, with your gift, those parts of my scriptures which have been hidden because of iniquity.

28 And now, behold, I give unto you, and also unto my servant Joseph, the keys of this gift, which shall bring to light this ministry; and in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

In the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 27:12-14, we read about the prophecy of the coming forth of the record in the latter days, accompanied by three witnesses:

12 Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein.

13 And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead.

14 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the words of the book; and in the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth him good will he establish his word; and wo be unto him that rejecteth the word of God!

I would like to underscore what we all know. Having a current temple recommend isn’t “proof” that we are perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, it is evidence to ourselves most of all that we are “trying” to become something we will never be in this life - PERFECT. I’ve been working at it for a very long time in this life, and I can attest - it is my witness - that the effort to TRY day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year is what makes us true saints of the Most High God. 

To varying degrees we are all “reprobates.” Don’t become discouraged if your recommend lapses, for this or that reason. Reach higher to submit yourself to your priesthood leaders, humble yourself, and repent with the intent to do better in the future. In repentance the past is cancelled and buried deep, never to be repeated or rehearsed again. Repenting is RENEWING, and I suppose it’s the reason we do what we do every two years. I came back home last night renewed, along with my temple recommend.

Many years ago I served as a bishop. I interviewed several members of my ward who had committed serious sins, and some who were guilt-ridden over what seemed like trivial miscues. In each case, I promised a renewal, because of their contrition. In some cases years passed, and then I saw them again in some random encounter with joyful countenances. I remembered they had been in my office as a bishop, but I could never recall the reasons why. I had simply forgotten their sins, and I was not suffering from Alzheimer’s disease either. I had simply become, as His chosen servant in that moment, like Him:

Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.

By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them. (Doctrine and Covenants 58:42-43).

Now, this word of encouragement. The Lord may remember our sins no more, and our priesthood leaders may likewise not remember them either, but sadly, it has been my observation that too many of us are prone to dredge up our weaknesses and the weaknesses of those we love most. We must MASTER this gift of forgetting too, especially to forget the things with which we are most familiar and continue to persist in holding on to.

Sunrise in Pine Valley

Why? Because what is past is past, and cannot be revisited with any degree of helpfulness in the present circumstances in which we find ourselves. What is done is done. The past is cancelled, dead and buried deep. Whether for good or for evil, our past deeds cannot be amended in any way. Each new day is a fresh sunrise to be lived in a forward-leaning posture determined to improve the shining moments before us.

Moonlight in Pine Valley

I was reflecting the other night with the moon shining brightly overhead, that even when we can’t see the sun at night, its reflected glory is evident in the moon, the planets and the stars overhead. Our living and loving Heavenly Father sent His Only Begotten Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to lift our burdens of sin through His atoning sacrifice. It was a freewill offering to each of us given out of love. We can know by the eternal witness of the Holy Ghost these things are true, and I so testify to each of you, my beloved Goates Kids, that these truths are self-evident.

I have renewed that witness again just last night.

What Are Your Ideas About Studying the Old Testament?

I reflected upon this question overnight after someone at Church asked me to give them some tips as they looked at the course of study in “Come, Follow Me” Curriculum for next year. My grand-daughter Katelyn, I noted, also asked this question recently.

Let me be so bold as to state that the Old Testament has seldom been the preferred book of scripture, for most Latter-day Saints. Only as it comes up in the four-year rotation do we dare to dip our toes in the seemingly murky waters, compared to the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. Even the New Testament is more understandable and enjoyable — we tell ourselves.

I was blessed many years ago in the “old” Church to teach Gospel Doctrine for four consecutive years every Sunday. I know who was the most blessed of all, and it was me. The Old Testament is an acquired taste for sure. You can’t begin to love someone without that first kiss, and the scriptures are no different.

Grandfather Lee and Me on His Birthday

My first introduction to the Old Testament came back in the days when I was studying the scriptures topically, and my study of Zion led me directly into the ancient scriptures first to see if I could understand what the Lord had in mind in the establishment of Zion. My quest for knowledge became insatiable. I remember so well my Grandfather Harold B. Lee’s observation, when asked by one of his Brethren how he had become such a revered scriptorian. “There are no royal roads to learning,” he responded.

By that statement, he meant everyone had to search out the truth in the scriptures for themselves. His knowledge could not be automatically transmitted by birthright to any of his posterity, and I got that message very early in my life. It motivated me to begin my own quest that began with a contest (which I won in my junior year) in Seminary to read the Book of Mormon. In the mission field there was little emphasis in my labors to read and study the Old Testament. We were focused almost exclusively on the Book of Mormon. There again, I found myself winning the contests among the elders and sisters, all of which proved less than satisfactory, I can now admit.

I was well into our married lives before the Old Testament “hit my radar,” and I must affirm my topical study of Zion is what triggered me because of its foundational emphasis in the history of the world in setting the stage for the latter-day Zion and all the prophecies associated with it.

So my counsel, for what it’s worth, is to select a topic or topics that interest you most from Biblical history, and delve into the pages that way. Along your path, don’t be surprised if you chase down some rabbit holes you hadn’t expected to find. I know I did, and it all worked to my blessing and benefit.

Eventually, in my manual search for Zion (there were no computer search engines back in the day) I would move through the Old Testament page by page until I had highlighted every occurrence of the word “Zion” and then “ZION” and then “Sion” until I had satisfied my curiosity. I was just naïve to think such an exhaustive search would somehow qualify me as an expert in the subject of Zion. I certainly had no academic credentials to suggest that was true, just an overactive curiosity to drive me forward in the wee hours of the night and early morning.

My Finding in the New Testament

One quick example I have cited before. When I discovered the actual dimensions and the location of the city of the latter-day Zion in the scriptures, it was late one night and I was exhilarated beyond imagination. I cross-referenced the Old and New Testament with the Doctrine and Covenants and the Book of Mormon, and I was rewarded a hundredfold in my estimation. I showed my Dad, who excitedly took my findings to Elder Bruce R. McConkie who casually stated he had seen it “many years ago.”

My experiences in scripture study have confirmed the “no royal roads” observation of Grandfather Lee. Don’t EVER compare yourself against someone else. We are all in a different place, and now we have a whole Church synced and dialed in on the same study format each year. It took years of concentrated reorganization and recalibration at Church headquarters that started way back in the day of “Church Correlation” spearheaded by Grandfather Lee under President David O. McKay’s leadership to bring us to this point under the “Come, Follow Me” Curriculum. Gospel scholarship is a vast ocean upon which we each launch our little dinghy and hope to stay afloat for as long as we are able. Don’t be discouraged, and press forward through the Old Testament this year with the enthusiasm of new discoveries you haven’t even considered before. You will be rewarded beyond your wildest imaginings.

My Christmas Angels

I testify to all my posterity, growing in number now each year, that when we put forth our best efforts, the Lord blesses us by multiplying and magnifying our talents. It is a lifetime quest, and I’m still on the journey with you. He blesses us exponentially.

Someday . . .

On another topic, I had a phone call from my son Mike this morning. He’s escaped from the confines of his home chasing deer who are running a few miles from his home for more pictures. He had a total hip replacement recently, and we discussed being careful and wise in his post-surgery exertions. Then he reminded me that tomorrow is our infant daughter Adrienne’s death date anniversary, December 9th, 1992. Thirty-three years ago!! Seems impossible to me now. Somebody check that math! We had her in mortality for a short 49 days, seven weeks of seven days, and then she was escorted home to her spirit-world home.

Now, I think of all those who are with her there, and that leads me to think about my own mortality. I’ve outlived most of my progenitors now, and I am routinely drawn to my thoughts about all of them these days. How much more time will I need to prepare myself for their company? 

I don’t know the answer to that question, but what I do know for sure, Katelyn, is that the Old Testament characters we will be reading about this coming year lived VERY LONG LIVES on this earth. We can learn from their experiences, I am certain.