I Think Therefore I Waffle

The Waffle-King with his scepter in his somewhat deranged kitchen on the Sunday after Christmas. (Click to expand).

A pseudo-Latin phrase often NOT attributed to Descartes is Cogito Eggo Sum, which can be loosely translated as: I think therefore I waffle.

Love of waffles is one of my great pastimes. I use a restaurant-style "Waring Pro," which is a waffle iron that I would recommend to anyone.

In my family, waffles are made sometimes on Sunday morning just prior to Church. Those LDS consolidated meetings just fly by when my digestive system is operating on (properly made) waffles.

As for recipes, well, I vary and I improvise.

I throw into a bowl a bunch of batter mix (about 2 cups of blueberry mix). I pour in some olive oil (about 2 tablespoons). Sometimes I throw in a crushed banana and/or four ounces of boysenberry yogurt. A teaspoon of vanilla is extra special. I break a couple of eggs into the mix. (Sometimes I add a tablespoon of Brewer's yeast for a delicious nutty flavor). Then, I pour enough milk (a cup+) into the bowl to allow me to stir the mix with ease. I can make about 8 large waffles.

Now, you may notice some fish oil off to the right on my counter (just above the waffle on my plate). I DO NOT put fish oil in my waffles. The fish oil (Omega-3) is for my semi-effective heart, which I hope does not fail like my Maytag washing machine just did.

I cook the waffles until they are golden brown, but not so brown and toasty that they become like cookies.

Once in awhile some teenager at the breakfast table might request a waffle that is only lightly browned. I have found it best to ignore such teenagers.

My boys have found an effective revenge that sometimes has had me reeling. As I cook my delicious waffles, they put frozen EGGOs in the toaster. Humphhh!! Such distractions have caused me to burn more than one waffle while lecturing to my rebellious children on the virtues of properly prepared waffles, including a delineation of my inexact recipe given above. My children's heritage will be the gospel and a waffle recipe – not much more, but that is plenty.

What really irritates me is when my wife insists that I remove my Waring Pro from the counter. Naturally, I think it deserves a special and prominent place in the kitchen. But, no, my wife removes the beautiful appliance and stores it downstairs in the laundry room with our broken washing machine. Weep.

Waffles remind me of an orderly universe. There are good recipes and bad recipes. There are good waffle machines and bad waffle machines. (I have owned both). There are good cooks and there are especially bad ones.

We are on this earth to experience contrasts. The Book of Mormon says, "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things" (2 Nephi 2:11). I am sure that we must experience the acrid so that we can appreciate the sapid. But, I am now at the age where I think I can dispense with the opposition – waffles of the frozen variety. Why go to the Terrestial kingdom when the Celestial is full of blueberries and vanilla baked in golden brown? On that debate I do NOT need to waffle.

*****

Now, if the above essay was too silly for you, please feel free to examine my entirely serious essay on the previous post: "Comparing the Trinity with the Godhead."

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Comparing the Trinity with the Godhead

The Trinity triangle as it is sometimes used in mainstream Christian texts. (Figure was drawn by S.Faux for the public domain and may be used freely without citation).

Preface: Sometimes Mormon speakers or instructors proclaim, "The gospel is simple." Of course, it is at some level, if one is referring to first principles. However, to me, religion is the most complex topic of them all. In all my long years, I have found no field to be more complex than that of religion, and I have found no subject within religion to be more complex than that of the Trinity. The topic of the Trinity (as found in standard Catholicism and Protestantism) versus the LDS Godhead is the focus of this essay. Both concepts are difficult, but I will try to present each doctrine clearly enough for readers to make a contrast.

*****

I will begin my discussion with the standard version of the Trinity found in mainstream Christianity – that is, Catholicism and Protestantism. Let me state with care that I mean NO disrespect to this sacred doctrine that is found within most Christian churches.

The figure shown above is an adaptation of one printed in the ESV Study Bible (p. 1213). Variations of this Trinity triangle are often used to represent the Protestant version of the Trinity (see also: May 3rd, 2007 Trinity and the Triangle). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1213) nicely summarizes the properties of the Trinity, which are paraphrased below:

1. There is only one God.

2. God exists in three personages: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

3. These personages have the same divine nature and attributes.

4. Each personage, although completely God, are not identical.

The ESV Study Bible (p. 1214) argues that God's three-way existence shows the characteristics of unity and distinction. But, it then states these qualifications: God is "unity without uniformity, and diversity without division." Later, the ESV Study Bible (p. 1215) states: "The doctrine of the Trinity is well beyond human ability to ever fully comprehend." Whether good or bad, I fully agree because I do NOT fully understand it.

Do theologians really expect the average person to understand the phrase "unity without "uniformity?" What is meant by "diversity without division?" These are NOT phrases found in Biblical scripture, and they are self-contradictory. One danger to any religion (including the LDS) is the facility of tossing words around without valuing whether those words can be comprehended. Religion is the only field (as important as it is) that seems to have a license for contradiction, reification, word salad, and illogic. Sorry, but the scientist in me would argue the need for greater precision in terminology.

For simplicity, let's associate the members of the Godhead with mathematical symbols, making the Father an "A," the Son a "B," the Holy Spirit a "C," and GOD a "D." The "Trinity triangle" diagram says: A≠B and A≠C and B≠C, and yet A, B, and C all equal D.

The "Trinity triangle" diagram violates the mathematical law of transitivity. In the world of math, when A=D and B=D then A=B. Euclid in his book Elements proposed the following as a self-evident truth: "Things which are equal to the same thing are also equal to one another." Evidently, the world of Trinity is NOT Euclidian.

Maybe the triangle diagram is better interpreted as: A + B + C equals D. But, that equation could not be true either. Such an equation would violate principle #3 (above), by making A, B, and C less than D. That is, the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost cannot be sub-parts of GOD.

My point is not to thoroughly evaluate the standard Christian concept of Trinity. Rather, I merely wanted to identify concretely some difficulties with the doctrine. Defenders of the Trinity doctrine are VERY welcome to provide clarifying comments at the bottom of this blog.

*****

The verse most often cited in support of monotheism is the following from the Shema prayer:

Deuteronomy 6:4-5
4 ¶ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

While it is quite possible to find evangelical Christians who will question whether Mormons are monotheists (see "Ongofu" for an excellent LDS retort), we should realize that Jews do not consider Christians to be strict monotheists either (see, e.g., Bruce James).

Sometimes Mormons are accused of believing in Tritheism, which is the view that there are three separate Beings acting as three separate Gods. Such a view would NOT represent what the Latter-day Saints believe. While we do believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate beings, we ALSO believe that they are perfectly unified in purpose and function as a single Godhead.

Latter-day Saints would not be entirely opposed to the Trinity triangle diagram, but probably they would interpret it a little differently. For example, the outside triangle could represent God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost as being separate individuals, and yet, inside the triangle could represent their absolute unity in purpose.

The unity of the Godhead is such that Jesus is often referred to as God and even as the Father (e.g., Mosiah 3:8; Alma 42:15; 3 Nephi 11:14). As members of the Godhead are one, so should members of the Church be unified – "the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one" (see: 3 Nephi 11: 27-29).

Admittedly, such teachings taken alone might be confusing. However, LDS doctrine overall has been clear about the Godhead. Latter-day Saints do believe in a three-part Godhead with separate identities. God the Eternal Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are distinct individuals.

One foundation for the "separate" doctrine comes from Joseph Smith’s first vision in 1820:

Joseph Smith History 1: 17-19
17 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 me by name and said, pointing to the other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

In 1844, a few weeks before his untimely death, Joseph Smith preached:

Joseph Smith (Nauvoo, June 16, 1844), History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 474
It has been preached by the Elders for fifteen years. …I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage….

At the same time, it is clear that God the Father is at the top of the "triangle," so to speak. Consider the following teachings from Joseph Smith:

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Four 1839-42, p. 190
Everlasting covenant was made between three personages before the organization of this earth, and relates to their dispensation of things to men on the earth; these personages, according to Abraham's record, are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the witness or Testator.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843-44, p. 312
Any person that had seen the heavens opened knows that there are three personages in the heavens who hold the keys of power, and one presides over all.

Thus, "God the first" and the "one [who] presides over all" is God the Father. Such a teaching is consistent with Justin Martyr (~100-165) who taught:

Justin Martyr, The First Apology, Chapter XIII.—Christians serve God rationally.
Our teacher of these things is Jesus Christ, who also was born for this purpose, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judæa, in the times of Tiberius Cæsar; and that we reasonably worship Him, having learned that He is the Son of the true God Himself, and holding Him in the second place, and the prophetic Spirit in the third… .

Modern Protestant theologian, Margaret Barker, has consistently argued the following:

Margaret Barker, The Great Angel: A Study of Israel's Second God, p. 46.
The original readers of the Old Testament … knew that Yahweh was but one of the sons of Elyon; … they knew that Yahweh and Elohim were not identical… . They knew that Yahweh was manifested in human form as high priest, king, and judge.

While I believe it is fair to associate early Christianity and the later LDS religion with monotheism, they are certainly a "qualified" monotheism based in the perfect and absolute unity of the Godhead.

These issues are complex, but we should remember this teaching:

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843-44, p. 345
It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another … .

One of our purposes on this earth is to learn the character of God, to understand His being, and to come to terms with His identity. It is a challenge, and I suppose it is NOT accomplished all at once.

I am sure the basic problems of Trinity and Godhead have not been solved in this essay, but I hope some issues have been raised that will cause readers to ponder the nature of God.

*****

Thanks to all you readers who have been regularly visiting this blog over the past year. Thanks for putting up with my personal view of religious matters, and especially I thank those who have made comments. I have enjoyed all respectful comments that have either praised and/or challenged my views.

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Restoration of the Tribes of Israel

Latter-day Saints believe in a literal gathering of Israel and a restoration of the ten tribes (to be joined with the House of Judah) See Article of Faith #10. Mormon doctrine cannot be understood without comprehending this event. In fact, I might suggest that it is easy to misunderstand the term “restoration.” The LDS Bible Dictionary (at the end of the 1979 LDS Bible) under “Restitution; Restoration” describes how these terms refer to renewing the gospel after the great apostasy, but then it also adds, “It means a gathering together of the house of Israel from its scattered condition” (p. 761). It is this latter issue that is the focus of this short essay.

One can hear inside and outside of the Church a lot of opinions about the location of these tribes. The authoritative quotation above concerns the famous "lost tribes," and please note the term "scattered." The “lost tribes” are scattered, not hidden. My approach to interpretation is one of parsimony, not drama. I fail to understand how there can be a “restoration” if the “scattered tribes” are conceptualized as living in outer space or hidden in continents buried underneath the sea.

The “gathering” of Israel is NOT just the return of the Jews to Israel, and it is NOT just the return of representatives of the lost 10 tribes to Israel. It also refers to a healing and rejoining of two nations that had been formerly one nation. That is, “the gathering” in this context is NOT just migration but also reconciliation – it is a reconciliation of the 12 tribes in order to become one nation again – it is a reconciliation of the House of Israel to the gospel.

To understand this mess, let’s begin with a chronology of kingdoms (the provided dates are approximate and come from the LDS Bible Dictionary, p. 636-638):

1095 B.C. –

Saul, the son of Kish, becomes Israel’s first king.

1055 B.C. –

After Saul’s death, David, the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, became king of Judah in the south (with a capital at Hebron, the burial place of Abraham). In 1047 B.C. he became king of all Israel with the capital at Jerusalem.

1015 B.C. –

At the death of David, Solomon, a son of David and Bathsheba was made king of all Israel.

975 B.C. –

After the death of Solomon, the 10 tribes in the northern kingdom revolted and formed their own nation. Jeroboam, son of Hebat and of the tribe of Ephraim, became king of the northern kingdom, also known as Ephraim and Israel. It consisted of the 10 tribes. Rehoboam, son of Solomon, was made king of the southern kingdom, called Judah, consisting mainly of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

721 B.C. –

Assyria (now Iraq) conquered the northern kingdom of the 10 tribes. Thousands of people were exiled, and the territory was flooded with foreigners. The resulting peoples, called Samaritans, were a mix of Hebrew and foreign cultures.

The details above are summarized (perhaps more clearly) in a previous essay entitled "The Covenant of Abraham: …and the Twelve Tribes of Israel." The following entry from the LDS Bible Dictionary gives an excellent summary of the history of the “divided kingdoms.”

LDS BIBLE DICTIONARY. “ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF,” p. 708.
The division of the house of Israel into two kingdoms at approximately 925 B.C. had been prophesied by Ahijah (1 Kgs. 11: 31-35). The immediate cause was a revolt of the people against the heavy taxes levied by Solomon and his son Rehoboam. Ten tribes formed the northern kingdom, with headquarters at Shechem in Samaria. They were known as Israel, or the northern kingdom, or Ephraim, since Ephraim was the dominant group among them. Their first king was Jeroboam, an Ephraimite; he was followed later by such kings as Omri and Ahab (who ruled with his Phoenician wife Jezebel). The southern kingdom, consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, was headquartered at Jerusalem.

The northern kingdom soon went into apostasy and adopted many practices of Baalism, notwithstanding the ministries of such great prophets as Elijah and Amos. After a history of over 200 years and a series of 19 kings, the kingdom was captured by the Assyrians and the people carried away captive into Assyria. They have therefore become known as the “lost ten tribes.”

Since their captivity they have never yet returned to their homeland, but extensive promises and prophecies speak of the time when they of the “north countries” shall return when they are ready to obey the gospel. The gathering of the lost tribes is to be a more spectacular event than the children of Israel coming out of Egypt in Moses’ day.

The prophet Ahijah predicted to Jeroboam (not from the lineage of David) that he, Jeroboam, would be king over 10 tribes:

World English Bible: 1 Kings 11: 30-31
30 Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it in twelve pieces.
31 He said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces; for thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel,'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to you.

(I wonder if Ahijah was surprised when Jeroboam built his kingdom upon alternate Gods and religions).

In addition, David was promised that his lineage always would be represented in the kingships of Israel: “I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever” (see: 1 Sam. 7: 12-13). Thus, we should not be too surprised by statements such as from Isaiah about a Davidic Messiah:

Isaiah 11: 1 - 10
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; …

4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. …

6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. …

9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Of course, the passage above appears to refer to the reign of Jesus, a rod or shoot from Jesse, during the Millennium.

*****

Having been given the historical background, the following prophecy from Ezekiel should make more sense. Please note: the prophecy is about the rejoining of the northern and southern kingdoms prompted by two volumes of scriptures, one from each nation.

Ezekiel 37:16 – 17, 21-22
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and [for] all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:

While non-LDS scholars recognize that these passages refer to the gathering of Israel, only LDS scholars understand that the “sticks,” which prompt the gathering, are the Bible (the stick of Judah) and the Book of Mormon (the stick of Ephraim). For an excellent article, see Keith Meservy's "Ezekiel's Sticks and the Gathering of Israel," published in 1987.

Words from the title page of the Book of Mormon suggest that the book is a fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy. It reads: this record “is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.”

Within the Book of Mormon, one finds a prophecy attributed to Joseph of Egypt that sounds much like the prophecy of Ezekiel, cited above:

2 Nephi 3:12-13
12 Wherefore, the fruit of thy [Joseph’s] loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.
13 And out of weakness he shall be made strong, in that day when my work shall commence among all my people, unto the restoring thee, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.

Let’s remember that Ephraim was the second son of Joseph. Therefore the two prophecies, Joseph’s and Ezekiel’s, are in very close alignment.

The Book of Mormon suggests that in the last days additional books (perhaps like the Dead Sea Scrolls) will come forth from both camps: Joseph and Judah:

1 Nephi 13:39
39 … I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren [of the lineage of Joseph], and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true.

As these works come forth, the Book of Mormon instructs us to see those events as a sign of the gathering of Israel about to come forth:

3 Nephi 21:1-2, 7
1 And verily I say unto you, I give unto you a sign, that ye may know the time when these things shall be about to take place -- that I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion;
2 And behold, this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign -- … when these things which I declare unto you, … by the power of the Holy Ghost …, shall be made known unto the Gentiles … concerning this people who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and concerning this my people who shall be scattered by them; …
7 And when these things come to pass that thy seed shall begin to know these things – it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he hath made unto the people who are of the house of Israel.

Let’s face facts. There is NO Book of Mormon archeology that fully attests to the validity of the book. And yet, the prophecies cited above are so specific and coherent that it is hard to imagine the Book of Mormon being anything other than what it claims to be. How could a young Joseph Smith (in his mid-twenties) invent a book that was so complex and fit so well with existing scripture??? The depth of understanding would seem to exceed his years.

There were plenty of other books prior to the Book of Mormon that claimed that American Indians were of Hebrew descent. The Book of Mormon did NOT invent that claim. Previous works making the same claim were: James Adair’s (1775) The history of the American Indians; Elias Boudinot’s (1816) A star in the west; Ethan Smith’s (1823 / 1825) View of the Hebrews; and Josiah Priest’s (1825 / 1826) The wonders of nature and providence. None of these works claimed to contain newly discovered ancient writings, but they did claim that Indians derived from Hebrews.

However, it was only the Book of Mormon that claimed to be the “Stick of Ephraim” and to be integral to the gathering of Israel. It was only the Book of Mormon that has any understanding of the separation of Ephraim from Judah. It was only the Book of Mormon that gave understanding to the essential prophecies of how the house of Israel would be restored.

Thus, as one studies the Book of Mormon one must be aware of how it fits into the big picture of Bible prophecy. The “Lost Tribes” will not magically reappear. They have to be “gathered.” Missionaries are primary tools to that process. The Book of Mormon has been and will continue to be a great stimulus and sign of that gathering.

*****

The World English Bible grants unlimited permission to publish, copy, and distribute its texts.

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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My Evil Fantasy on Christmas Morning

The past is prologue for the present. We never really escape history.

When I was a kid (early teens) the excitement for Christmas day kept me up the night before. I could hardly sleep a wink. To pass the time I would read out of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. It practically became a tradition year after year to try to read the whole book in one night.

I would like to report that I have become older and wiser, yet here I am blogging at all odd hours of the morning. Well, OK, I have definitely gotten older. The "wiser" part is up for debate (especially after you read the following).

Part of the fun of being a teen on Christmas morning (in the wee hours) was to sneak into the living room and scout out all the presents. I think I may have even unwrapped and then re-wrapped a present or two during those sneak attacks. I am sure my mind was NOT on Jesus. My mind was on my future wealth of presents and goods.

One would think that I should allow my children the same privilege that I had of making materialism and wealth the centerpiece of Christmas. Yet, as a somewhat deranged parent I admit to having an "evil" (most crazy) ambition. My nutty ambition is to sneak into the living room on early Christmas morning and (temporarily) steal all the presents under the Christmas tree. My kids would wake up to nothing, but then I could FORCE them to think about Jesus. After proper religious devotion, I would restore the presents, and the trauma of NOTHINGNESS would vanish (maybe).

STOP the fantasy. I would NEVER really do such a thing. The better part of me (thank goodness there is a better part of me) realizes that such coercion would be an abuse of power. Removing the presents would take me too close to Satan's desire "to destroy the agency of man" (Moses 4:3).

Consequently, on Christmas morning the Faux household, like millions of others, engages in the euphoria of unwrapping presents under the tree. For a moment, the presents are the centerpiece. My drowsy children enjoy the excitement of the day, even if having gone sleepless the night before. Even so, at some point during Christmas day, I attempt to gently shift the focus of my family onto the baby Jesus.

Actually, I replace my evil fantasy with an improved one that is closer to the truth. The better half of my brain imagines Jesus saying, "Bring the children unto me," as he hands each a wonderful present. In fact, he has.

Merry Christmas!

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Sixtieth Anniversary Family Home Evening

We just finished an amazing Family Home Evening, which celebrated my parent's 60 years of marriage.

My parents were married December 22, 1948. Back then, my Dad had just finished his enlistment in the Army, involving a tour into the heart of Germany toward the end of WW-II. He had returned to the University of Utah, where he ran into my mother. In Salt Lake she worked at Hart Brothers Music store selling records of Nat King Cole. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith.

What does it take to last 60 years? The answer is teamwork and loyalty. The answer involves patience and willingness to endure the flaws of the other. Slowly, they built each other up, despite the occasional downs.

My parents now live in southern California, and my family lives in the Midwest. It simply was impractical (especially in these recessionary times) to fly everyone out to California for the big celebration. So, as a compromise, Monday evening we put the cell phone on "speaker" and we has a cross-nation Family Home Evening.

My mother gave the opening prayer from California. From the Midwest, I gave a brief lesson consisting of readings from Matthew 2 and Luke 2. Then, we all broke out into song. From California my father played an eighty-year old piano (owned by his father), while we sang in the Midwest. It was hard to hear his piano over my cell-phone. Our enthusiastic singing of traditional Christmas songs overwhelmed the tinted piano sounds. Half the time we were out of sync, but that struggle just made the music more fun.

In our home we had all three sons plus a beautiful daughter-in-law. It was quite the joyous occasion to converse and sing over the phone.

*****

Son #1 and his wife have been married for half a year. Son #2 (a returned missionary) is looking for a wife. As for me, my wife and I have been married for 28 years. We are not quite halfway there.

When I lived with my parents as a kid I used to think that it would be easy to be "better" than them. I used to think I would be richer, live in a MUCH better house, and be a BETTER keeper of all the commandments. (In other words, I thought God would love me more than my parents).

As an adult, I have come to realize that my parents set a standard that I still need to meet. Being BETTER than my parents was not as easy as it looked when I was a disgruntled teenager.

Then, there are my boys. In many ways I look up to them. What outstanding individuals they have become!! I wish I could take credit for their successes, but they have succeeded despite me.

If I have my flaws and failings (and I surely do), then the good news is that I am surrounded by a family of great individuals. Together with Jesus, we are an eternal family. Without them, I am nothing.

Such thoughts remind me of these verses:

Doctrine & Covenants 130:1-2
1 WHEN the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves.
2 And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.

Latter-day Saints strongly believe that marriages and families can be sanctified for eternity. Other notions (involving a parting after death) merely diminish the power of God to make heaven truly a heaven.

Sixty years is much to celebrate. Think how that will be amplified by eternity.

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Starry Messages Reveal God

Teleology is the view that one can find evidences of design and forethought in the study of physical and biological realms. It is an approach that is particularly prone to fallacy in the support of delusion. Beware that some of my arguments in this essay may commit the intellectual sin of teleology. Yet, I do not believe in coincidences. Some aspects of nature speak to me of God. At some level I believe in the following verse:

Moses 6:63
63 And behold, … all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.

Before I scare readers completely away, let me say that I am a scientific reductionist. Data should be explained using the most simple processes possible. I am also a naturalist. I find no value in explaining natural phenomena by resorting to miracles that violate laws of nature.

I heard a non-scientist the other day argue that the precise equality of the rotational and orbital periods of the moon (both being 27.32 days) is not a coincidence and should be seen as a sign of God. Well, just a tiny bit of homework destroys that argument. The claim is nothing more than that the moon rotates around the earth with one facing side. The earth's overwhelming gravitational force is what causes the moon to have a non-rotating face relative to the earth.

By contrast, I am rather impressed with the "coincidence" that the angular size of both the moon and the sun in our sky is one-half degree of visual arc. In other words, a solar eclipse is possible because the moon almost precisely can cover up the sun. Now, what are the chances that we would have a sun and the moon with the exact same visual size in the sky? I would love to see a statistician compute the odds. I believe the chance would be almost infinitely low.

There is another astronomical fact that tempts me into teleology. There is nothing about the "Big Bang" that predicts how much matter in the universe will be produced. Yet, the amount of matter in the universe is critical to the formation of life. If too much matter were produced, then the universe would collapse into a big implosion. If there were too little matter produced, then the universe would expand without galaxies. The universe needed to be clumpy enough to form galaxies, but NOT too clumpy or the universe would be little more than a collection of black holes. (See: December, 2008 issue of Discover Magazine).

*****

If I could be transported in time, then I hope I would have the faith to follow the wise men who understood the significance of the star of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-12). Naturalism is a wonderful tool, but I would not want it to hinder the starry messages of the sky that reveal God.

*****

Scientific phenomena emerge out of both randomness and non-randomness. For example, living organisms operate in a very non-random manner, but evolution is sometimes described as a "blind watchmaker," in which "order" is born out of random process. This is possible because even "randomness" follows laws of mathematics.

In the illustration below I have drawn a box with black pegs. Red balls are dropped from the top. As a ball hits any particular black peg it bounces either to the right or the left (in a binomial fashion). How the balls bounce is strictly random. Most will end up in the center of the box, but a few red balls will bounce left most of the time or right most of the time. If so, they might end up in far corners of the box. When enough balls have fallen, they form a bell-like curve, with most balls in the center, because most balls when they hit a peg bounce right or left half of the time. The bell curve represents a fundamental theorem in all of science.

Red balls being dropped into a box with black pegs.


Pile of red balls after having been dropped into the black peg box.


The balls in the middle figure above form a close approximation to a bell curve.

The point is that out of randomness can come order. Does God make use of randomness? I think so. Do his creations have to be the result of a magic wand? NO!

Science says that life originated by random acts. Fine. Such a statement is entirely compatible with the notion of God. Roll dice and they might come up sevens, a four and a three. Was the outcome random or was it an act of God? Science would always have to say random, but religion can always say “randomness” is just one of the languages of God.

The concept of God is only bad if it causes one to stop asking scientific questions. If we just assumed God caused polio, then we might not discover the poliovirus or the vaccine that prevents its infection.

There are practical consequences to looking for naturalistic causes. By so doing, we discover new drugs, vaccines, or new heart surgical procedures that save the lives of children.

Even our brains and behavior are machine-like. We came to earth to gain physical bodies – machines. These machines are temporary shells, but they operate on physical principles, and science is the field that studies those physical principles.

One can say God makes the planets orbit around the sun, but it is scientifically proper to say that gravity is the cause of planetary orbits. In other words, there is no contradiction between God and gravity. Issac Newton knew that very point.

God expects us to do our homework. We should never say we know the mind of God, unless we have done our homework. Sometimes science is the necessary homework.

At some level one never escapes God. The finger of God is everywhere. The finger of God is a religious concept not a scientific one. But to us, as Mormons, we attempt to see clearly both the hand of science and the subtle finger of God – even in the starry skies above.

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Born in the Land of Zion Where He Reigns

It is not unusual to hear non-LDS Bible scholars argue that Jesus probably was not born in Bethlehem but instead somewhere in Galilee (see e.g.: Oshri, 2005 or Frontline: From Jesus to Christ, Part 1: "The Place and Times Jesus Grew Up" between 6:00 and 6:10 minutes). Such scholars might argue that the birth story of Jesus was altered in order to fit the following prophecy:

KJV: Micah 5:2
2But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

It is nice to have a supplemental prophecy about the birth found in the Book of Mormon that is more precise. It states:

Alma 7:10 [dated 84 BCE]
10 And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.

Of course, critics point out that Jesus was not born in Jerusalem, but please note that the reference is more properly interpreted as "the land of our forefathers, Jerusalem." Bethlehem was about 5 miles south of Jerusalem. Ancient peoples referred to the surrounding area as the country or land of Jerusalem. Examples of such usage can be found within the clay tablets known as El Amarna Letters from Egypt, which date to the Late Bronze Age in the 14th century BCE. In letter EA_287 one can find multiple references to the "country of U-ru-sa-lim" [meaning land of Jerusalem].

Actually, I am more impressed by references found in the Bible that strongly tie the Messiah to Jerusalem (also known as Zion) and its general vicinity. For example, the Apostle Paul cites the Septuagint Isaiah 59:20 in the following:

NCV: Romans 11:26-27
26 … It is written in the Scriptures: 


"The Savior will come from Jerusalem; 
he will take away all evil from the family of Jacob. 
 27 And I will make this agreement with those people when I take away their sins." — Isaiah 59:20–21; 27:9

Note the significance of this prophecy. The Savior will come from Jerusalem, yet the Savior was born in Bethlehem. (Note: some translations use "Zion" rather than "Jerusalem" in this passage, but the meaning is synonymous). The cited verse is reminiscent of the vision of Balaam about the coming of a ruler out of Israel who will crush the enemies. "A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel" (NIV: Numbers 24:17).

Over and over the Messiah is connected to Jerusalem (or Zion). Scripture indicates that a son shall establish the throne of David forever (2 Samuel 7:12-14). Other verses paint a picture of political power based in Jerusalem:

NIV: Isaiah 9:6-7
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

David's throne was Jerusalem, and the political lineage was spelled out in unambiguous terms. Take, for example, the following two verses:

ESV: Jeremiah 23:5
5 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'

The name transliterates as: Yĕhovah tsidqenuw (see: Strong's H3072).

Isaiah relates the Messiah King to the family of Jesse. Jesse, of course, was the father of king David, making the associations with Jerusalem unmistakable.

NCV: Isaiah 11:1-4
1 A new branch will grow from a stump of a tree;
so a new king will come from the family of Jesse.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon that king.
The Spirit will give him wisdom and understanding, guidance and power. …

Part of the connection to Jerusalem was through the temple (which David was forbidden to build):

ESV: Psalms 20: 1-2
1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!

Part of the connection to Jerusalem was His priesthood:

ESV: Psalms 110:1-2, 4
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! …
4The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.”

Part of the connection with Jerusalem was His protecting powers:

CEV: Isaiah 31:5-6, 9
5 I, the LORD All-Powerful, will protect Jerusalem like a mother bird circling
over her nest."
6 People of Israel, come back! You have completely turned from the LORD. …
9 …
This is what the LORD has said,
the LORD whose fiery furnace
is built on Mount Zion.

*****

This Christmas we celebrate the birth of a Messiah with strong connections to Jerusalem. We connect him to Mount Zion, to the temple, to an eternal and everlasting priesthood, and to words of great solace. It would be hard to find a more apt summary statement than the following:

ESV: Isaiah 52:7
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."

From the life of Jesus we come to know that our God reigns, and He reigns from Jerusalem.

*****

Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Scriptures quotations marked as CEV are taken from the Contemporary English Version Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Adoring the Baby Jesus

There is one Christmas decoration that our family keeps on display all year around. Can you guess what it might be?

No, it's not outdoor Christmas lights. In fact, I have never owned outside Christmas lights. I don't like putting them up. I don't like taking them down. I don't like paying the electric bill for December's excesses. And, besides I don't like drawing attention to the slightly decayed state of our house. But, I am getting sidetracked.

One of my favorite Christmas decorations is our artificial tree, which we have had for twenty-six years. It stands about 5 foot six, and it looks fairly nice when decorated. I bought the tree in the early 80s for about ten dollars, and it has probably saved me thousands. Oh, no, I don't keep this tree up all year. I am just bragging about it because it was one of the best bargains I have ever obtained.

A few of our tree ornaments come from my Grandmother Faux. Those ornaments are at least 60 years old. She got them from Taylor Brother's Department Store in Provo, Utah. I remember those ornaments on her little desktop Christmas tree going way back to the early 1950s. They are heirlooms, but, no, I don't leave them out all year. At the end of the holidays, I carefully packed then back up.

We've got a whole closet underneath our stairway full of nothing but Christmas decorations. Every year I dust off the boxes, and we sample from their contents. Every year ornaments go up and then about a month later they go down. Everything is boxed back up and stored until next year.

I am NOT talking about Son #2 either. He sort of looks like a Christmas decoration, as he is always smiling. He was almost born on New Year's Day, but he accommodated our need for a tax break and he was born on New Year's Eve. Yes, Son #2 is on "display" all year around, but NO, this is not the decoration I am talking about. Besides, he is NOT really a decoration; he is a human being – well, most of the time.

By the way, how would you like to be born on New Year's Eve? Every present is labeled "For Xmas and Birthday." Gift givers try to get a "1 for 2" deal. Son #2 just smiles and takes it in stride.

*****

It is our Nativity scene that we leave out all year. It is left out to remind the Faux family of the birth, life, and death of Jesus. The Nativity scene is on a display shelf tucked away in our dining room. Visitors would never know it was there unless we pointed it out.

In our house, there is water; there is air; and there is the baby Jesus. Those are the essentials.

I have posted pictures of our Nativity scene. I think one can readily discern that the display would just as readily work in a Catholic household or an Evangelical household. My point is that Mormons worship the same baby Jesus as everyone else!! And yes, we celebrate the same Christmas and the same Easter.

Now, I am unclear why anyone would question which baby Jesus the Mormons worship. But, apparently, the issue bothers some people. There is no confusion in my family. We worship the baby Jesus that was wrapped in swaddling clothes and who was lying in a manger in Bethlehem. We worship the same Jesus who was praised by the angels saying, "Glory to God in the highest." We worship the baby Jesus who was born by the mother Mary.

I am proud to call myself a Christian, and I am unconcerned that others (outside of my religion) might wish to take that label from me.

Our Italian made Nativity scene


The baby Jesus

My Nativity scene has been on display for at least ten years. I plan on at least another ten.

What's the lesson here? Well, the next time a Mormon runs for President, or the next time you have to drive through Utah, or the next time some LDS groups help clean up after a flood in your community, just remember: We Mormons love the baby Jesus.

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Putting a Mirror on a Military Christmas

The typical U.S. Army locker of a LDS Private or Specialist in Iraq or Afghanistan has limited space. But, as Christmas nears, hopefully the soldier's locker will hold some unopened presents, gifts from loved ones.

Solders' families back home receive explicit instructions. They are told what they can send and what they cannot. The presents cannot be too big. They are also told WHEN to send it. Published deadlines by the Post Office are just a bit optimistic. For a package to be guaranteed to reach the Middle East from the United States during the holidays can take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks. Consequently, military families are told by late October to consider their holiday presents and get them mailed by late November.

About two weeks later most soldiers will get their packages. Hopefully they will wait until Christmas to open them. If they stay wrapped, then they must be put in a locker. The soldiers will have to delay their gratification, which can be a challenge.

*****

What do soldiers need? What presents should be bought?

As I pondered what to purchase, I kept thinking of the famous Omaha Beach D-day scene in the movie "Saving Private Ryan." (Yes, it is "R" rated and I thought it was important for me to see). In one part of the extended battle scene, the Tom Hanks character (a Captain) led his troops up to a barrier on the beach. Bullets were flying everywhere. Explosions were constant. The Captain needed to see around a corner without getting shot. He pulled out a small hand-held mirror. He grabbed a knife and then had someone spit out his gum. He used the gum like glue and attached the mirror to the tip of the blade. He could then hold out the mirror around the corner without exposing his face and body. The enemy targets could be seen and attacked.

One of the presents I purchased for my military son simply reflected my anxieties. I purchased a a crack-resistant mirror with a telescopic arm. I wanted my son to be able to see around corners without getting shot.

My son received this present while serving in the Middle East last Christmas. When he opened it, he wondered what it was for. Later, when I explained to him the mirror's military use (as learned from "Saving Private Ryan"), he laughed. Then he said something like: "I will use it for shaving in the field." … So much for my movie-based knowledge of war and warfare.

*****

My Bishop gave me some LDS military scriptures to send to my deployed son. The scriptures were small and could fit into the pocket. The Church designed them specifically for the military.

I told my son to carry those scriptures with him everywhere. Then, I told him to put the mirror in his other pocket (as if I knew he had another pocket).

I told him the scriptures would keep him close to God. Then, I told him the mirror would keep him close to me. Every time he looked in that mirror he would see a little bit of me and would know that I was looking over him and thinking about him.

There is not much a military parent can buy for his or her soldier. The locker space of the soldier is limited. As parents, we want to keep our soldiers safe, but the best that we can do is buy small symbols that represent our love. We buy gifts like little mirrors that easily fit into those pockets and lockers. Otherwise, we feel so very helpless.

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Sin Boldly or Not!

In a letter to Melanchthon, dated 1 August 1521, Martin Luther wrote: "Be a sinner and sin boldly." Such a statement takes one very close to the notion of grace as a license to sin because sin is inevitable. The full quotation is below:

Letters I, "Luther's Works," American Ed., Vol 48. p. 281- 282
"If you are a preacher of Grace, then preach a true, not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly. For he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here we have to sin. This life in not the dwelling place of righteousness but, as Peter says, we look for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. . . . Pray boldly-you too are a mighty sinner."

Luther's concept of grace is alive and well. A popular author on protestant religious themes, Cathleen Falsani, has recently published a book with the title: Sin Boldly: A Field Guide for Grace.

I am NOT accusing the "sin boldly" crowd of promoting evil, but I am claiming such a theological view is weak. To me, such a view of grace pales in comparison to the view that the infinite power of Christ allows one to overcome sin – not all at once but with a power that carries us surely upward.

The Book of Mormon teaches that "wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10). It also teaches that people are NOT condemned to misery but rather "men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25).

In LDS theology God can transform the carnal nature of man. Alma the younger, who experienced such a transformation by grace, had this to say:

Mosiah 27:24-26
24 I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit.
25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters.
26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. [cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17]

There is no need to sin boldly, because the REAL grace of Christ is an enabling power, beautifully described by Moroni, near the very end of the Book of Mormon:

Moroni 10:32-33
32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.

Please note that Latter-day Saints do NOT believe they can become perfect on their own. Such a view would be erroneous and impossible. Rather, we believe that people can be transformed (born again) by Christ, … that they may be perfected by Him.

True, all have sinned. True, perfection is a slow process. Yet, Latter-day Saints do not believe the purpose of life is to wallow in sin. One of the great purposes of life is to learn to overcome sin – NOT by ourselves, but through the atoning power of Christ, whose grace saves us.

*****

Other essays on this topic can be obtained by clicking on the label "Grace."

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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The Operational Power of Faith

Seeing Clearly in those Shaded Areas

"Star of Bethlehem" by S.Faux, All Rights Reserved

Faith is the first principle of the gospel (see: Articles of Faith #4; Hebrews 11:1), and as such one might think that it is the easiest principle. It is not. It is something that one employs and develops over a lifetime. It is NOT mastered all at once. It is NOT mastered in a few years. Even after decades of development, there is a long road ahead.

Jesus operated on faith until his last breath. President Wilford Woodruff taught:

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 2006. p. 155
Even the labors of Jesus, from the manger to the cross, through His whole life of pain, sorrow, affliction, suffering, persecution and derision, were all by faith. It was by the power of the Father, whose work He had come to perform, that He was sustained. He fully believed that He would be able to accomplish all that He had been sent to perform. It was on this principle that He fulfilled every requirement and obeyed every law, even that of baptism. …

All the Prophets had to do the same. Even we have to do the same.

It is by the principle of faith (and atonement) that the doors of the temple are now opened to us, male and female:

ESV: Hebrews 10:19-22
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Latter-day Saints understand the verses above as an explicit description of the holiest places.

The Book of Hebrews further reminds us:

ESV: Hebrews 11:17-19
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Latter-day Saints see the "test of Abraham" as literally and figuratively foreshadowing the sacrifice of Jesus as the Son of God. Please note that Abraham did NOT attempt to sacrifice himself. The symbolic sacrifice involved a father and a son.

*****

Some have the gift of faith. Even so, such gifts do not mean that faith is at a maximum or that it cannot shrink. Such gifted individuals have to do the same as everybody else: work each day continually to increase in faith. (I do not proclaim such a gift for myself, but I live with individuals who are gifted as such).

Faith is the first principle because it is the KEY principle. All else is derived from it. There is no other principle in the gospel that does not require at least a particle of faith, if not more.

Story: While teaching a High Priest's Group I asked, “How does faith affect Temple work?”

Someone asked me, “Can you give us an example?

I said, “Sure, think about the amount of faith it takes for someone to go to the Temple for the first time. Most uninitiated Latter-day Saints have little idea about what transpires in there.”

One of the Brothers replied, “It may take faith to go to the Temple for the first time, but it takes twice the faith to go the second time.” Everyone in the group chuckled.

We chuckled because we all realized that Latter-day Saint meetings on Sunday minimize ritual, putting the emphasis on the sacrament in order to remember the atonement of Christ. By contrast, LDS temple work (still very much emphasizing Christ) is full of ritual and symbolism. All Latter-day Saints new to the temple must learn to make the transition.

*****

Elder Lance B. Wickman in the quote below reminds us that faith involves having a “firm mind” and that “believing is seeing.”

Elder Lance B. Wickman, “But If Not,” Ensign, Nov. 2002, 30
How … should we approach the throne of grace as we plead earnestly for a loved one and place hands upon her head to give a blessing by priesthood authority? How do we properly exercise our faith? … Too often we offer our prayer or perform our administration and then wait nervously to see whether our request will be granted, as though approval would provide needed evidence of His existence. That is not faith! Faith is, quite simply, a confidence in the Lord. In Mormon’s words, it is “a firm mind in every form of godliness” (Moro. 7:30; emphasis added). The three Hebrew magistrates expressed trust that the Lord would deliver them from the fiery furnace, “but if not,” they said to the king, “we [still] will not serve thy gods” (Dan. 3:18; emphasis added). Significantly, not three but four men were seen in the midst of the flames, and “the form of the fourth [was] like the Son of God” (Dan. 3:25).

So with us. It is common in our secular world to say that “seeing is believing.” Whatever value this little maxim may have in the mundane affairs of life, it is an alien presence when we turn to the Lord in the dark hour of our extremity. The way of the Lord is best defined by a different maxim: “Believing is seeing.” Faith in the Lord is the premise, not the conclusion. We know He lives; therefore, we trust Him to bless us according to His divine will and wisdom. This childlike confidence in the Lord is known in scripture simply as the “sacrifice” of “a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (D&C 59:8).

It is a subtle concept but the act of seeing clearly involves seeing by faith as well as by science. Both are needed to see clearly.

Faith involves a magnificent power but it is NOT a magical power, such as might be depicted on TV or in the movies. Read below:

Elder Richard G. Scott, The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing, Ensign (CR), May 2003

Some feel that any discussion of religion and the guidance one can receive through robust faith have no rational basis. However, faith is not illusion nor magic but a power rooted in eternal principles.

Elder Bennett discussed seeing clearly in the shaded areas. I like that metaphor:

Elder William H. Bennett, Help Needed in the Shaded Areas, Ensign (CR), June 1971

The Holy Ghost can help us see more clearly in the shaded areas. But in order for it to be the power that it can be and should be in our lives, things must be right within us. We must be truly humble, exercise strong faith associated with good works, pray regularly and sincerely, couple prayer with fasting, study the gospel diligently, live the gospel, keep active in the Church, and give of ourselves in unselfish service to others and to building the kingdom of God here upon the earth.

J. Reuben Clark argued that faith is not so much trust as it is a living force.

President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1954, Second Day—Morning Meeting

We are blessed in the faith that we have, the living, active faith which not alone inspires us to live as we should, but which gives us power and strength. Our people have defined faith as the moving cause of all action. Faith is not trust, faith is a living, and I think an intelligent, force, which God himself performs his work.

Faith as a force involves the principle of harmony, but it does NOT involve turning us all into clones:

President Gordon B. Hinckley, To the Bishops of the Church, Ensign (CR), November 1988

I remember when President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., … would … plead for unity among the priesthood. I think he was not asking that we give up our individual personalities and become as robots cast from a single mold. I am confident he was not asking that we cease to think, to meditate, to ponder as individuals. I think he was telling us that if we are to assist in moving forward the work of God, we must carry in our hearts a united conviction concerning the great basic foundation stones of our faith… .

Faith is a force for good but it does not always protect us from adversity.

Elder M. Russell Ballard, The Joy of Hope Fulfilled, Ensign (CR), November 1992

Righteousness has never precluded adversity. But faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—real faith, whole-souled and unshakable—is a power to be reckoned with in the universe. It can be a causative force through which miracles are wrought. Or it can be a source of inner strength through which we find peace, comfort, and the courage to cope.

Faith will bring knowledge but others may perceive foolishness. Seeing clearly means discerning by the spirit the things of the spirit.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Shall He Find Faith on the Earth?, Ensign (CR), November 2002

Those who walk in faith will feel their lives encompassed with the light and blessings of heaven. They will understand and know things that others cannot. Those who do not walk in faith esteem the things of the Spirit as foolishness, for the things of the Spirit can only be discerned by the Spirit. (See 1 Cor. 2:14).

We learn one step at a time, as indicated by President Hinckley:

President Gordon B. Hinckley, We Walk by Faith, Ensign (CR), May 2002

And so it is with our eternal journey. We take one step at a time. In doing so we reach toward the unknown, but faith lights the way. If we will cultivate that faith, we shall never walk in darkness.

It is a great comfort to me to know that our journey must be taken one step at a time. I am far from perfect. Yet, I have faith God will make me whole ---- someday.

*****

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Fowler's Stirring Creature in the House

Chapter 2 of the Fowler Saga

Fireplace (Photo by: Ryan Mahle; License: Attribution 2.0)

“Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…,” well, except at Fowler's household.

[Read Chapter 1 here.]

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The Christmas tree was about a week old and had been decorated early. The twinkling lights worked for a few days but now one of the top lights had died. The missing light needed to be replaced. Elizabeth somehow found a working bulb in the basement and got all the lights working again. The kids had programmed in a dazzling display of psychedelic blinking that was attractive for about 30 seconds but then got hypnotic and ultimately irritating.

Fowler was actively wrapping presents and storing them under the tree as Elizabeth did her brief repair work. Elizabeth was on her footstool trying to rearrange the lights as Fowler put his last present under the 8-foot tree.

"Hey, Liz, are we gunna get to rest tonight? I have about had it," complained Fowler.

Elizabeth shrugged, and then said, "I'll stop, if you will read to me a chapter of 'Twilight.'"

"I have a better idea than vampires," said Fowler. "Why don't we just sit, rest, sip hot chocolate, and have a pleasant adult conversation.

"Wow!" Elizabeth said with amazement. "You actually want to sit still and just talk? Believe me, I can't pass this kind of opportunity up."

"Are you suggesting we don't have conversations?" Fowler retorted defensively.

"Conversations? Sure, we have those, but probably NOT too many restful adult conversations," stated Elizabeth with conviction.

"OK, I am up for the challenge. You make the hot chocolate and I will start a fire," Fowler asserted.

"No, you make the drinks and I will start the fire."

"Great, meet you on the couch."

*****

About five minutes later Elizabeth had a pressed log in the fireplace well on its way to being engulfed in flames.

Elizabeth curled up her legs on the couch and leaned into Fowler, who happily put his arms around her.'

They had not said a word for about 10 seconds, when Dennis (age 15) whirled around the corner.

Noticing the serenity and peace, Dennis went into his required routine: "Two little lovers sitting in a tree – K – I – S – S – I – N – G."

Out of here," demanded Fowler. "Go upstairs."

"Sure," said Dennis, "but I am telling Tammy."

Within seconds, Tammy (13) was in the family room with her parents.

"Nice job on the tree, Mom and Dad," she proclaimed.

"You could have helped," retorted her Mom.

"No, I was talking about the kissing tree," smiled Tammy. "Besides, my cell phone has been ringing all day," Tammy rationalized. Then Tammy took a good look at her Mom. "How can you dare sit on that couch anymore?"

Elizabeth queried, "What are you talking about?"

Tammy pulled a look of disgust, and then said, "That is where the rat lived."

Fowler protested, "It was a tiny mouse, NOT a rat! And it did not live here."

Unpersuaded, Tammy announced, "It does not matter because the couch is contaminated anyway."

"What is she talking about? Elizabeth wondered while looking at Fowler.

"Well, look," Fowler protested, "I told you we caught a mouse. I did not tell you all the details, but the mouse DID NOT live in the couch."

*****

It was just about three weeks before Christmas, and Fowler had just picked up Dennis from his 9th grade school in the afternoon. This was unusual, since Dennis normally rode the bus. The two males arrived at home with the house empty, well almost. Fowler went into the family room with the TV, family computer, and fireplace. In the middle of the floor in front of the TV was a bag of Dorito chips that Dennis had left wide open.

Sure enough, practically in the bag was a “d_ _ _” (darn) mouse. It scurried under the couch as soon as it saw Fowler. So, he called for Dennis and said, "There is a mouse under the couch.” And then exaggerating in ways that only professors can he said, “If we humans are better than mouses [sic], then the only way that mouse is leaving this room is dead.” Those words had just left his mouth when he thought to himself sarcastically: "What a pleasant Christmas thought."

Fowler kept his eyes on the couch and instructed Dennis to barricade all the doors and the stairs. There was simply no way out. Then he gave Dennis a hockey stick and said your job is to be the goalie. (Dennis grabbed the stick with enthusiasm).

Fowler said to him, "When I move the couch the mouse will likely run toward the downstairs." So, Dennis stood by the stairs like a goalie with stick in position.

Fowler moved the couch a couple of inches and nothing happened. He moved the couch again and still nothing happened. He was getting worried that the mouse went down some hole and had escaped.

He moved the couch a third time and this time the mouse started running toward the stairs, just as Fowler predicted. (His years of studying animal territoriality paid off). He yelled, "Here it comes! Here it comes!"

Dennis started yelling, "YAAAAAAAA!" Then, Fowler (normally a peaceful man but caught up in the emotion) started yelling, "Kill it! Kill it!"

Dennis swung the stick squarely and the mouse ended up lifeless over by a computer, where incidentally Fowler has died many times (at least emotionally) wrestling with another kind of mouse. The mouse left the house dead, and Dennis and his father concluded, "Men are better than mice."

*****

Upon hearing the conclusion of the story, Elizabeth quipped, “Not too much better.”

Elizabeth reminded the men about a book called Flowers for Algernon which was about a mouse that became highly intelligent from a science lab experiment. Laying on some guilt, she remarked that maybe they should not be so proud about what they had done and how they did it.

"So much for snuggling," smirked Fowler to Elizabeth. "But I will tell you one thing, about division of labor by sex around here. It is OK if I make the hot chocolate and you make the fire. It is OK if I wrap presents while you change the light bulb. But, if this house has a centipede, or a nasty spider, or an irritating rodent, we all know who's the go-to man."

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Fowler and gave him a big kiss on the lips, and then she pronounced "Merry Christmas!"

The kids had now fully surrounded the couch, and sang the required chorus: "Two little lovers sitting in a tree – K – I – S – S – I – N – G."

*****

Nota bene: Posts are going to be sporadic, until after the holidays. Have a good one.

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Lessons from the Mormon Handcart Trail

Preface: Ten years ago I taught a university Honors Program course on the Mormon trail with a focus on the handcart pioneers. My undergraduate students (almost all non-LDS) tabulated a large number of findings into a written report (dated 6/3/98), which is now on file with the Iowa State Historical Society with the title "Proposal to Mark the Iowa Mormon Handcart Trail, Including Details on History, Significance and Location."

These conclusions assume some basic familiarity with the history of the handcart migrations. For those unfamiliar with that history, I suggest the labeled link "Mormon trail," associated with this blog site. (The link will bring up several essays, including this one).

Our group conclusions were as follows:

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To derive inspirational lessons from pioneer lives is a temptation that shall not be resisted in this study. … While the misfortunes of the handcart pioneers cannot be ignored, their journey was a quest for meaning that went far beyond travails and tribulations. The handcart experience does not so much answer the great moral questions of life as it raises them to the foreground for all to see in their naked unanswered glory.

1. To whom does one owe allegiance? All along the trail the pioneers lost comrades, either to death or to rejoin the "gentiles." It is surprising that not more handcarters gave up the journey to live in Iowa. As the handcart pioneers suffered, they must have asked themselves the "allegiance" question. To leave the handcart company was essentially to abandon Mormonism. The issue of allegiance was not always a matter of religious affiliation. Sometimes a handcart would breakdown or a pioneer would get sick and need to stop. In a large handcart train such emergencies were common, and progress required the company to stay on the move. In this case obligations were torn between the large group and the individual. Even today, we must ask, who is to help the less fortunate? Needy handcarters normally got help, but sometimes it took a rescue team from the night camp to provide it.

2. Should government "save" a people from themselves? Referring to the Mormons in 1857, Senator Stephen A. Douglas from Illinois argued, "it was the duty of ... other governments, to lay hold of and seize ... foolish people, and to govern them ...willing or unwilling" (Council Bluffs Nonpareil, June 27, 1857). In his "Bill for establishing religious freedom" (1777, 1779), Thomas Jefferson would have greatly opposed such a position when he said,

... the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time: That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.... (see The Library of America: Thomas Jefferson: Writings -- "The Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom").

The question of how much to govern is still a burning issue that is debated among Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians.

3. Where does prejudice originate? While the Mormon handcarters were advertising themselves with banners reading "The Chosen of the Lord," non-Mormons were worried about being poisoned by the Chosen, either literally or figuratively. Both groups can be faulted. If prejudice is fueled by fear, then there was plenty to go around. Mormons believed in a God who would bring judgment upon the "gentile." The gentiles saw the Mormons as feeble minded religious fanatics, bent upon kidnapping daughters and committing treason. Both groups were not that different. Even so, like identical magnetic poles they repelled one another.

4. To move or not to move? The real question for the Mormon pioneer was: Will life be better elsewhere? Migration on the overland trail was risky to be sure, but the Mormon pioneers were not dissuaded by the mortality statistics on the trail. To improve their station Mormons had to move their station. The handcarters were trying to escape from an economically depressed Europe into a new life with a new religion. By moving, Mormons took a risk that a change would be for the better. This was a risk that Mormons and non-Mormons had both shared, because both Iowans and Mormons, together, were a pioneer stock populating a new land. Their movements shaped a nation.

5. Go today or tomorrow? Timing is everything. Disaster stories resulting from procrastinated or poorly timed decisions are legion. The Willie and Martin handcart companies were too late in leaving Iowa City. By departing mid- to late July they found themselves caught in a terrible Wyoming winter unprepared. They were sure God would protect them, and they were hurried by a feeling that the world was near its end. Their drive to Zion fell short, and Zion had to come to them. Salt Lake City sent its rescue teams, saving many lives. Perhaps the most famous decision to "go" was that of Dwight Eisenhower on the night before D-Day-- a decision that sprung the invasion of Normandy in World War II. …

6. Who is responsible? It is easy to lay the blame for the tragedy of the Willie and Martin handcart companies at the feet of Brigham Young and other Mormon leaders. On the other hand, members of these handcart companies debated among themselves as to whether it was wise to leave Iowa late in the season. Some refused to go. Emma James of the Willie Company described the scene (cited in: C. C. Madsen, Journey to Zion, 1997, p. 625): "There was nearly one hundred people of the companies who decided to winter over and come in the spring. The majority voted to go on as soon as everything was ready." The handcart experience is a reminder that adults bear the ultimate responsibility for their own actions. Ignorance in action is a small excuse when the ultimate consequence is death.

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Why be morally clean?

Preface: I wrote the following essay for my two oldest boys when they were in their mid- to late teens. On occasion I would write such essays, print them up, and put them on their bedroom desks.

The advantage of such essays is that it fulfilled my need to preach without being overly obnoxious to my sons. They could read or they could discard. They had a choice and could exercise it. By contrast, confrontational preaching (face to face) sometimes takes away that choice and as such becomes counterproductive.

I cannot be sure how often they read my essays, but I wrote enough of them that some of it stuck.

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There is a story of a young man who was dissatisfied with his life so he struck up a deal with the devil. The young man said, “Devil, let me have a life full of fun and no boredom and I will give you my soul.” The devil said, “Fine, but first tell me what you mean by fun?” The young man replied, “I want my life to be a big party with wine, women and song until I die.” “No problem,” said the devil, “I will throw you such a big party that it will kill you.”

For some reason, human beings have a problem with fun. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. And sometimes, bad things are just plain bad things but we mistake them for good.

I imagine the young man in the story above getting sick of wine, and worse, not even being able to stop drinking it. I imagine the young man indulging himself in the party and then finding himself empty and bored (despite what he thought he had been promised). What seemed fun just ended up being unfulfilling.

*****

When I grew up in the late 50s and early 60s my family did a lot of traveling by car. The interstate highways had just been newly built by Eisenhower (my favorite President). We behaved just like anyone else on the road at the time. When we finished eating our hamburgers in the car, the wrappers would get thrown out the window, and the same for the cups holding our root beer. It didn’t take long for those interstate highways to become one big mass of litter. Everyone littered. There was filth everywhere. The appearance of the highways became a great lesson of the type: “What if everyone did such and such….” Fortunately, a national campaign started about being “litter bugs” and people started using garbage bags in their cars. Now days our highways are spotless compared to what they had been.

Imagine a world where there was no marriage. Yes, children would be born, but fathers would not take any responsibility. Why should they? Even today, children born out of wedlock often go fatherless, but this is not so within marriage. In marriage, children know the identify of their parents and know who is responsible for them.

I think this is why God said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” If everyone practiced it, the highways of marriage would be littered and ugly. As hard as marriage is, a marriageless society would be harder.

The great enigma of life revolves around the question, “How ought we behave?” We can decide that we know better than all previous generations and behave differently. That is fine, and sometimes that is the right decision. However, most of the time it is wrong. Often, we behave according to set standards because that is how our ancestors behaved in order to be successful.

It is easy when you are in your early twenties, as a new adult, to decide that a life of wine, women, and song is the ideal lifestyle. Some keep this lifestyle for a lifetime, usually a short lifetime, and ultimately not a very happy one. Fortunately, most realize, like most drivers who abandoned using the streets as a garbage dump, that the greater happiness is considerate of others not just the self.

When all is said and done, what looked boring to the young man was in fact the greatest challenge in the universe. The moral life is worth living. Are you up to the challenge?

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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The Biggest Difficulty in the Church

The biggest problem of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is not with doctrine, policy, or controversy – it is with population. The graph below shows the growth of the LDS Church using actual data.

The upshot of the chart is this: within the lifetimes of many readers the population of the LDS Church could reach between 15 and 20 million people. Over the past several years, the Church has grown by about 350,000 new members per year. The problem is that the relatively rapid growth of the Church could easily outstrip the ability to generate leaders (both male and female). The demand for leaders within relatively new local congregations will be considerable.

Thus, as the Church grows, there is going to be an increasing demand on the Church welfare system -- especially considering the current world economic problems. The Church is well aware of all of these issues, and it has been dealing with them for some time – especially in Central and South America. The blog "LDS Church Growth" is a very good resource for reviewing these issues.

The Church will be always engaged in a massive building program. Buildings are expensive and require constant maintenance. Given the instabilities of the world economy, there is always the potential for financial strains.

As such, the Church will need people trained in management, business, and finance – as well as many other areas. College education or experience will be a critical need. 21st century Mormons need to combine faith, education, reason, the enabling power, and priesthood to solve the future problems and needs of the Church.

Because LDS ministers are unpaid, future LDS leaders need to make sure their secular lives and careers have proper direction, otherwise they cannot be led by a spiritual compass. Thus, the secular careers of leaders need to be compatible with the foundations of the gospel.

While the Church may need us, no one person is critical. The Church will move forward with or without us. As such, humility is a much better quality than self-pride.

In the context of the priesthood, every young man needs a Melchizedek priesthood-figure (such as a father and/or a Bishop) to help point the direction. It helps to learn from experienced others how to place the Kingdom of God first.

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At some future time as the Church grows, nations and their governors will come to honor the Lord.

Psalms 102: 15-18
15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.

In these verses we learn that there will be a time when the name of the Lord has been spread all over the earth. During those times, a Zion will be built up, and sometime after that the Lord will appear in his glory (the Second Coming). He will bring blessings for the poor. All of this will come about in the future (“the generation to come” is an idiom for the future). There shall come forth saints in this Zion who will praise the Lord.

It seems to me that there are many such passages in the Bible that refer to our time, if we but have the eyes to see and ears to listen.

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The official numbers in the Church are based upon baptismal records. These numbers do not reflect activity rates. One of the problems associated with Church growth is retention. Church leaders have responsibilities that must address both active and less active members. Although sizes vary by region, both types of members (active and less active) are typically large.

A recent post in the LDS Newsroom makes it clear that there are regional differences in Church growth. Growth is rapid in South America and Africa. Growth is slower but steady in America, where the LDS Church is the fourth largest religion. Even so, the Church makes NO claim to be the fastest growing religion. Occasionally, one hears LDS members make that claim, but the claim is not supported by data.

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Will the Church ever slow down its missionary program? Not in the foreseeable future.

First of all, missionary work is based upon the Savior's admonition to go into all the world and "teach all nations, baptizing them" (e.g. Matthew 28:19). Second, the mission field is a leadership training ground for the young people (typically between the ages of 19 to 24) who serve as missionaries.

For right now, growth is a problem, but it is a good problem to have.

*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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Some Religious Lessons From Chess

“[F]or life is a kind of Chess, in which …
there is a vast variety of good and ill events,
that are, in some degree,
the effect of prudence, or want of it.”

-- "The Morals of Chess," by Benjamin Franklin

White to move and win. Mate occurs in several moves.
Scroll down for answer.

Chess is an ancient game that has survived the centuries because it is challenging, fun, and mimics life quite successfully. (One of the best chess sites on the internet is chessgames.com). It is the most complex game I have ever tried to play, and yet all the rules are relatively simple. (The exception might be the en passant, which too many people do not understand or even know about). Although there are ruthless aspects of the game of chess, there are also religious lessons to be derived.

Each chess piece has abilities and limitations. Pawns, Knights, Bishops, Rooks, and the King and Queen each can move in certain unique directions and not in others. All the pieces interact in specific ways, often creating new situations that overwhelm even the most experienced chess players.

Early moves in the game affect later moves dramatically. One bad move early in the game (let's say in move #5) can lead to a crushing defeat, even if the game lasts another 40 moves.

Although there are almost an infinite number of ways to make opening moves in chess, there are only a finite number of ways to open the game without leaving vulnerabilities and weaknesses. As such, there are entire libraries devoted to how to open a chess game. These libraries contain hundreds upon hundreds of possible openings, and unless one follows one of those "book-moves," one is likely to go down to defeat against a skilled opponent.

To a good chess player those "book-move" openings are like scripture. They are the strait and narrow way to survival. They have been so well worked out (by humans) that computer playing chess programs have them memorized in their files. Many, if not most, of those book-openings were developed centuries before the age of the computer, and they represent a kind of ancient wisdom. Computers playing chess typically start to compute moves only after the "book-moves" have been made. Even modern computers rely upon this ancient wisdom.

The opening "book-moves" in chess are intense and complex. Even so, they are the product of the human mind, not computers. The human mind is slow, but it sees farther into the future than any digital machine. The human mind captures the forest and sees the big picture, whereas the computer has trouble analyzing pine needles.

*****

Cultural evolution and ancient wisdom (such as memes) affect far more than chess. For example, religious values are a repository of ancient wisdom.

I am NOT arguing that we should blindly accept the past and never change it. Each generation has the OBLIGATION to determine what portions of the past will carry over to the present. Each generation must innovate and try to progress. Yet, such progress requires one to be careful NOT to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The Bible is full of ancient wisdom. The Bible is also full of humans making unintelligent errors. Modern people may conclude such stories are obsolete, but nothing could be further from the truth. Humans need constant reminders of where the cliff suddenly drops off. We may feel stable on our feet, but we need to know where the lines are drawn. Otherwise, we step over them and fall to our deaths.

The words of Proverbs seem to be particularly applicable here:

Proverbs 4:7
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Proverbs 19:8
8 He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.

To "keep understanding" is to discover the good from the bad.

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Pawns are the weakest pieces on the board. Yet, near the end of the game when a pawn can make it to the 8th rank, it can be promoted into a Queen or some other major or minor piece.

In both chess and life, the meek inherit the "board" (Matthew 5:5). To me, the transformation from pawn to Queen reminds me of the principles of exaltation and theosis.

Please note that it took hard work for the pawn to be transformed, but the pawn hardly earned it. The pawn is too weak to march all the way across the board on its own. All of its fellow pieces made the march possible, often by sacrifice (being captured). Grace and works intermix in both chess and life.

Who knows what "guardian angels" (usually just a figure of speech in LDS parlance) make our movements across the board of life possible? In any case, without the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, nothing would be possible.

*****

Below is the best answer to the chess problem above. In any case, Rf7 eventually followed by Rd7 appears to be mandatory.

1. Rf7 Rb2
2. Rc8 Rf8
3. Rd7 Rxg2+
4. Kxg2 Rf2+
5. Kxf2 g5
6 Rcxd8#


*****

Copyright 2008 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.




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