Your Children Are Who You Think They Are

As a parent we sometimes mourn for our children who deviate from the gospel path. We agonize over their obvious weaknesses and frailties, and we lament when their behavior takes on the appearance of ugly and unspeakable sins. We hold up the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet (don't get me started), and we wonder who this alien child is living under our roof. We long for their innocence and purity to be restored.

Sometimes, even when we are adults, married with children of our own, our even-older parents deviate and stray from their covenants. We agonize over their choices, we wish we could live their lives for them, and we wonder how they could have taught us the principles of the gospel so clearly then seemingly forsaken everything they once stood for.

Over the years I have participated in many disciplinary councils. I have never seen anyone subject themselves to that process who was thrilled to be there. Invariably, there are expressions of guilt and remorse, humility and sincere desires to begin afresh. Often people will express that they almost couldn't believe it was them who committed the sins, like they were actually having an "out of body" experience of some kind. When they came to their senses, of course, they knew they had to seek repentance, first from those they had wronged, then priesthood leaders in some serious cases, then the Lord, and finally themselves.

In all of these unhappy circumstances (and I have witnessed many), there has always been hope. I have come to the conclusion that Heavenly Father, knowing much more about the details of the sins of His children than we, does not wander around his celestial courts above wringing His hands and agonizing over the details. Instead, He knows His children, and He knows who they may become. He continues to feel after them with love unfeigned, and He exercises divine patience and long-suffering. Why can He do this? Because He has already made provision in the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son for all the sins of the world.

In the scriptures we have a useful definition for "the world." It is defined nicely in this verse from the JST: "What is the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world, or the destruction of the wicked, which is the end of the world?" (Joseph Smith-Matthew 4).

I love another verse that underscores this meaning: "He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world, for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation." (2 Nephi 26:24). Said in the positive: He commands everyone everywhere that they shall partake of his salvation.

Joseph Smith

"The world" is the human family. "The earth" is the terra firma upon which we stand. Said Joseph Smith: "The world and earth are not synonymous terms. This world is the human family. This earth was actually organized, or formed, or created out of other planets which were broken up and remodeled and made into the one on which we now live." (Discourses of Joseph Smith, 207).

The world will judge Christ to be a thing of naught. (1 Nephi 19:9). Who is the world? People.

The Lord will punish the world for evil. (Isaiah 13:11). Who does evil? People.

The Lord will show the world  he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (2 Nephi 27:23). Who will He show? People.

Christ is the light and life of the world. (Mosiah 16:9; Alma 38:9; 3 Nephi 9:18; 11:11; Ether 4:12; D&C 10:70; 11:38; 12:9; 34:2; 39:2). And where does His light and His life reside? Within people.

Spiritual gifts shall not be done away as long as the world stands. (Moroni 10:19). In whom do the spiritual gifts reside? People.

The world lies in sin. (D&C 49:20; 84:49). Who sins? People.

Those who are cut off by the church are overcome by the world. (D&C 50:8). But the corollary is the Lord has overcome the world. (D&C 50:41). Often sins are first introduced to us by friends who are living after the manner of the world, and we witness our children partaking of the very same sins as their friends.

We are commanded to forsake the world (D&C 53:2), and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world (D&C 59:9). When our children are confronted with choices to separate themselves from those who are drenched in the world's ways and praise, and they seem incapable of absenting themselves from the carnal desires that will swamp them, remember they are exactly who you think they are.

Their spirits were first children of heavenly parents, and they are on loan to you for a season of their eternal existence.

When venerated patriarchs have laid their hands upon the heads of your children and pronounced blessings greater than the imagination can contain or understand, remember they are exactly who Heavenly Father told you they were. Don't focus too long on what might have been -- those blessings are eternal in nature and will surely have their day of fulfillment on His timetable. The Lord never forsakes His promises to us.

Our lives here on earth are like a long marathon race. There will be peaks and valleys, there will be fast portions when you can sail along without interruption, then there will be steep portions where you'll feel like you cannot put one foot in front of another. When children slacken and fall out of the race of eternal life for a season, remember their stamina, exercise faith in the things you have taught them, believe that someday they will once again desire to taste the good fruit that is delicious beyond all that is precious. Do not doubt what you know about them, even when they stumble and fall down, scrape their knees, and blame you for their troubles.

They are exactly who you think they are.

Remember, be merciful, contemplate all the shortcomings you have, look back with some objective disdain on your own life when regrets and wishes for "do-overs" might have filled your heart once upon a time. Bask in the knowledge you are still standing in hope and faith for a better tomorrow, and remember, they are all looking for the same blessings you have realized, knowing you didn't do everything perfectly either.

They are exactly who you think they are. They are just like you.

"I Can't Block Out the Light"

Our bedroom is located in the southeast corner of our home on the second floor. In the winter the first rays of the sunrise come streaming through the large window facing the east. The southeast corner, Joseph Smith instructed, should always be the first stone laid when a new temple is built. The southeast exposure always garners the most sunlight, according to the Prophet.

That's why this view of the Salt Lake Temple has always been a favorite:

Salt Lake Temple
(copyright 2007 by Howard A. Knudsen)

Early in the summer when the sun is at its zenith in the eastern sky it's hard to ignore the sunlight. It will awaken even the heaviest sleeper. As the long days of summer begin to shorten, the sun visibly retreats to the south along the horizon signaling the onset of fall.

Even in the winter, however, when the sun is in the farthest southern aspect, the light is brilliant. It's fun to watch the changing seasons, and regardless of where the sun is positioned over the mountains to the east it is hard to block out the light. In the summer it shines in the northern windows, and in the winter it streams through the southern exposure and warms the whole house.

Light is like that -- it's just hard to suppress. It chases away the darkness of night. No matter how bleak the day before might have been, a new sunrise offers the promise of unfulfilled goals and dreams. No day is so dark and dreary that it can't be cured by a new day dawning on the horizon to the east. "Today while the sun shines," is a title of a familiar hymn (see Hymns, No. 229). "All we have is the present; that's why they call it a gift."

So it is with our lives.

All light is “the light of truth” that comprehends one grand whole. (D&C 84:45). Even though all light and truth are one, not every form of even physical light in the universe is visible to the mortal eye. Consider our present scientific model of light, often called the electromagnetic or light spectrum:

Long waves
Short waves
Micro waves
Infra-red waves
Red through Violet waves
Ultra-violet rays
X-rays
Gamma rays
Cosmic rays

Light travels in wave-like patterns, often referred to as “frequencies.” The term frequencies has reference to how frequently the waves trough and peak. The light spectrum begins with the light having long wave patterns. It peaks and troughs less frequently than shorter wave-length frequencies. Our mortal eyes can only detect the frequencies of light that range between red and violet. This is sometimes called the color spectrum. All the other frequencies of light are invisible to mortal eyes. These other frequencies or forms of light are just as real as the color spectrum. It is all light, we just can’t see it.

We use micro waves to cook with in our microwave ovens. We use short and long waves to communicate with in our short and long wave radio receivers and transmitters. We use infrared waves for photography and night vision equipment. Ultra-violet rays are what tanning machines and sunshine use to tan (sometimes burn) our skin, and X-rays are used by doctors and dentists to illuminate hidden bone structures. We have learned to use X-rays carefully, as we have come to realize they can produce cancer-making cells. Whether we see these forms of light with our eyes or not is really beside the point. All these frequencies of light are real and they affect us. There was a day when we used to say, “If I can’t see it, I won’t believe it.” We do not tend to say that as much these days, because we have come to realize we simply cannot see with the natural eye much of what is affecting our lives in this universe.

In this century science has come to recognize that all light is matter, whether it is visible to us or not. This is very compatible with what the Lord said through Joseph:

There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit [light] is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be seen by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter. (D&C 131:7-8).

Prophets Describe the Light

When a mortal’s body is changed (transfigured, translated or quickened) by a special endowment of light, that person is enabled to see light that we normally cannot see, or in other words, to see as seers, things spiritual. Such was the case as with Joseph, Moses and Enoch.

Joseph:

For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God.
Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind. Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected. (D&C 67:11-13).

Moses:

But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him. (Moses 1:11).

Enoch:

And it came to pass that I turned and went up on the mount; and as I stood upon the mount, I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory;
And I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face. . . (Moses 7:3-4).

In each dispensation prophets of God have been recipients of, and witnesses to, wonderful theophanies of this spiritual fire, glory or light. Consider these examples (emphasis mine throughout):

Moses:

And the presence of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (JST Exodus 3:2).

Ezekiel:

And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
As the appearance of the [rain]bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. (Ezekiel 1:26-28).

Lehi:

And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much. (1 Nephi 1:6).

Peter, James and John:

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
. . . behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. (Matthew 17:1-5).

Joseph:

. . . I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling be by name and said, pointing to the other -- This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! (JSH 1:16-17).

We are taught some significant details about this light by looking closely at such sacred accounts. Consider some of the details of the resurrected Moroni’s first visit to Joseph’s bedroom the night of September 21, 1823, as recorded in JSH 1:30-32, 43. For a full explanation, click here.

Joseph’s description of the Father and the Son in his first vision was the same. “I saw two Personages; whose brightness and glory defy all description.” Celestial beings like the Father, Son and Moroni are beings of glory. Their resurrected tabernacles of flesh and bones are filled with light: "These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical.” (D&C 76:70).

As Moses, Paul and Joseph said: “Our God is a consuming fire.” (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29; TPJS, 367).

No matter how hard we may try sometimes to deny the light in our lives, we will all be constrained sooner or later to declare: "I can't block out the light."

So bask in it today, while the sun is shining.

New Counter - "Just a Few Trillion More"

Elections Cure Policy Misjudgments

Elections have a way of correcting the miscalculations of voters in this great country of the land of the free and the home of the brave. In 2008, exhausted with George W. Bush because everyone was focused on the man instead of the policies he pursued, the country changed horses and gave Barack Obama a mandate to "change" things. That was all we got over and over again from the candidate, that he would "change" everything with majorities in both houses of Congress. He proved to be a man of his word. "This is what change looks like," he proudly trumpeted after the passage of Obamacare.

With the president's approval rating dropping again, this latest polling result indicates the dissatisfaction with the way things are going in America. Apparently, these "changes" weren't what we had in mind. Not to worry. We have elections here. In 2010, a historic shift in direction in the U.S. House of Representatives happened.

We're still 14 months away from the next general election, and while the markets teeter on the brink, unemployment holds steady at above 9% nationwide, and wars and rumors of wars continue to swirl, conditions appear to be bad and getting worse. However, I'm trying to stay focused on a change in policies that will become self-evident by the time November 2012 rolls around.

There seem to be no easy answers for our dilemma as a nation. I will say this, however, and I believe it to be true: When we make our angst about the person instead of the policies, we are in error. The people who get the most emotional about our state of affairs in America are the ones who attach their emotions to the individuals instead of the policies. You can witness it every night on cable news networks, but it is as old as the Republic.

There are visceral reactions broadcast and published about Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and now Barack Obama, but always and forever these emotional outbursts directed at individuals do nothing to solve our problems and miss the mark. It is fashionable to blame the president for nearly everything, and by design most of it is out of his control because the writers of the U.S. Constitution were determined to assure the dissemination of political power. So stop bashing presidents and singling them out for your vitriol.

There's a better way. Look to support candidates across the board whose policy positions line up with yours. Give up the personality beauty pageants.

We have this unhinged belief in America, seemingly, that one man or one woman can make everything right again. Placing that much confidence in the executive is inaccurate. Speculation still abounds about Sarah Palin -- will she or won't she run? -- but one individual isn't going to turn this ship of state around in the narrow harbor, least of all her.

Commentaries are plentiful about any criticism of President Obama being interpreted as racist. I'd like to think we are past all that, but the allegations persist. The focus is wrong if that is how you line up. Rather, the policies he has pursued are more and more like a mirror image of those pursued by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the aftermath of the Great Depression. History, indeed, seems likely to repeat itself.

This past week further evidence continues to surface and observers suggest we are headed to a "double-dip recession." To expect Barack Obama to reverse course is ridiculous. He has hinted at being hard at work devising a plan to put Americans back to work. Well, who would imagine what that might look like? Here's a safe prediction -- a call for more government spending, more deficits and more debt and taxes. When it happens shortly after Labor Day, don't call me a prophet, just examine the man's policy track record. Predictably, he will blame Congress for being irresponsible.

The policy-based-upon-political-calculations mentality continues unabated. Presumably hunting up more votes as his popularity plummets, we learned last week President Obama is bowing to pressure from immigration groups and has announced a "case-by-case" review of deportation of undocumented residents. Rather than lead in the hard work of legislative immigration reform, this president continues to rule by handing down executive orders. Once again, the president proves to be all too predictable. Rather than enforce the existing laws, he does things his way. Policies, not the individual, remember.

And don't get me started on Obamacare. When the country was on its back economically in 2009, once the executive reins were in his hands with majorities in both houses of Congress, what did he do? He put the idea out that now was the time to pass national health care, presumably to "reform" Medicare, then punted the details to an all-too-eager Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to hammer out the details.

We ended up with an excessive policy overreach in the most expensive entitlement program ever conceived by man, with its most obvious technical flaw -- the individual mandate. The law of the land, opposed in court by 26 of the 50 states and now awaiting appeal to the Supreme Court will in all likelihood (one can hope) be struck down as unconstitutional and the lower court and appellate courts who have reviewed it and come to the same conclusion will be upheld. Instead of leadership, under this administration we have seen widespread uncertainty and little else since its inception.

These few examples (and we haven't discussed unfunded perma-wars in three countries), continue to drag on the economic recovery with little or no leadership from policy makers with the authority to give direction. The policy seems so simple. Rallying votes to make it happen is the problem. The government would be well-advised, it would seem, to stop spending money it doesn't have. There is no such thing as "government money." All money in the government coffers comes from people who own businesses who are taxed to raise government revenue. Restoring government to its proper limited role is the correct policy.

Because we have elections the regulated voters, suppressed by an overarching federal government and feeling their liberties curtailed through taxation (even threats of higher taxes), can push back. Every two years they can vote on every seat in the U.S. House and 1/3 of the Senate. Every four years they can fire the executive POTUS if they feel they got it wrong. That assures America will never stray too far. When someone says they are running to raise taxes to pay for new government programs, as voters we can simply say, "No, enough is enough, and we're going to do something different this time." We will use the ballot box to impose term limits, won't we?

Remember, when government repeatedly demands more and more money telling us they don't have enough, we can do the simple math. Our national debt is now in excess of 100% of our Gross Domestic Product, meaning we are borrowing more than we are producing as a nation. If $17 trillion in debt isn't enough money to operate the federal government and $.40 of every dollar it spends is borrowed to sustain itself, we are not stupid people. We will inevitably take steps through the ballot box to correct the trajectory, won't we?

Our liberty is restrained when we don't. That's why I fundamentally believe we can still stop the expansion of the federal government whenever we see our tax burden growing. The solution is always the same: We can vote for a new batch of elected representatives to run our government, and we'll likely not pick those who advocate this never-never land fable of class warfare. We are smart enough to reject the notion that taxing the rich will bail out the boat and we will give up suggestions of class envy, won't we?

There's more too. We can restrain overreaching government by dismantling excessive regulations. We have a venerated old document struck by our founders, the U.S. Constitution. It has served us well and virtually assured that abiding by its precepts has created the greatest country the world has ever seen. We will not abandon its principles now, and we will defend all the foreign and domestic attacks against it, won't we?

If we will elect people standing for correct principles and policies going forward, and anchor those beliefs in the Constitution, we will begin to turn things around.

We can and we will, won't we?

Resolve now to get in the game for the 2012 election. We all will, won't we?

P.S. I apologize for all the Obama re-election ads that appear on my page. Apparently, Google doesn't have the capacity to figure out I am opposed to every policy position he represents. DO NOT CLICK ON THOSE ADS!!!

Political Quote of the Day

This article could also pass for something I wish I had written. It drips with logic, truth and inescapable conclusions that are sound and worth repeating. Be sure to click on all the links for the background.

J.R. Dunn

Here's today's Political Quote of the Day from American Thinker's J.R. Dunn:

"Every liberal president fails. The more 'successful' he is, in the sense of actually putting his policies in place, the more clearly he reveals the emptiness of that bastard combination of socialism, Marxism, fascism, and Progressivism that goes under the name 'liberalism.'  Franklin Roosevelt triggered a second dip in the Great Depression in 1937, delivering America to the same wretchedness in which he found it upon taking office.  Lyndon Johnson threw the country into abject chaos for fifteen years with his 'Great Society,' essentially 'New Deal, the Sequel.'  Jimmy Carter... well, where do we start?"


In my more rational moments I become convinced that Barack Obama will be a one-term president and that America will reclaim the ground lost during his administration. I have no idea who the next occupant of the White House will be, but at this point I can accept nearly anyone as a possibility.