The important documents of our life require a full signature or a full name with proper identification. A birth certificate indicates that a child with a certain name was born. A college diploma having an inscribed name certifies that a student properly obtained a higher education. An engaged couple will give their full names to a County Clerk in order to obtain a marriage license. In a similar manner, the Lord has asked us to place a signature on our lives. A signature is a symbol of agreement and commitment. The gospel has many such signatures – those given to God, and those God gives to us.
Consider the following:
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Four 1839-42 p.198
Baptism is a sign to God, to angels, and to heaven that we do the will of God, and there is no other way beneath the heavens whereby God hath ordained for man to come to Him to be saved … .
What is the sign of the healing of the sick? The laying on of hands is the sign or way marked out by James, and the custom of the ancient Saints as ordered by the Lord, and we cannot obtain the blessings by pursuing any other course except the way marked out by the Lord. What if we should attempt to get the gift of the Holy Ghost through any other means except the signs of way which God hath appointed -- would we obtain it? Certainly not… .
There are certain key words and signs belonging to the Priesthood which must be observed in order to obtain the blessing. The sign of Peter was to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, with the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost obtained.
Further,
Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.3, SYMBOLISM
The temple ceremony is richly symbolic, with sacred symbolism in the signs, tokens, clothing, covenants, dramatic enactment, and prayer circle. The unifying connection of this symbolic material is the idea of centering. Everything in the temple is suggestive of centering oneself on Christ. The enactment of this privilege precedes the symbolic entrance into the celestial world and the presence of God.
The Book of Mormon is full of signs and signatures that we often miss because we are not educated enough.
For example, Alma 36, more often cited for its Hebraic chiasmus, very much contains the themes of the Passover: bondage, deliverance, redemption, and freedom in the context of the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt as they escaped slavery. Alma 36 could easily be a Passover commemoration from Alma to his son Helaman. It has all the necessary elements. Jewish families discuss being “enslaved in mitzrahyim” (pronounced “mitz-rah-yim” and means Egypt). God is the great liberator of nations and individuals. Alma 36 teaches these lessons.
Alma 30:2 refers to “the days of fasting, and mourning, and prayer” as if these were an observance. “The days” appear to allude to the Jewish “Days of Awe” -- the 10 days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur. These are indeed the days of fasting, prayer and mourning.
The Book of Mormon does not name Jewish holidays. Instead, it just takes them for granted. Critics may argue that Jewish holidays are not in the Book of Mormon, but actually they are scattered throughout. However, we must search for them with prepared eyes.
Little elements in the Book of Mormon could have great significance if we knew how to look.
Signatures are tools, not dictators. Righteousness comes from the spirit and the heart. Find the proper spirit behind religious laws. Then, live the spirit without being caught in Pharisaical extremes.
Copyright 2009 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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4 comments:
To Richard:
You are welcome to make opposing comments, but they must address the topic. Casting ad hominem stones is not only fallacious, but very disrespectful. I teach my children not to make unsubstantiated accusations or to call names. Similarly, I do NOT allow such behavior on my blog. Thanks.
S.Faux,
Good one.
Do you think that a charactersitic of Christianity that deserves more attention in LDS culture is developing a personal relationship with God? It seems we place a lot of attention on obeying the written law (which is good), but pay less attention to writing God upon our hearts. IMO, the more we emphasize developing a personal relationship with God the more we keep the written laws out of love rather than duty.
When we distance ourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, obeying the law becomes more of a chore than a pleasure. In my life I have found it easier to obey the law the closer I am to God.
Dave C:
Thanks for reading. I must admit I am a Liahona Saint as opposed to an Iron Rod one. I believe in the rule of law, but if we needed to be commanded in all things, then I suppose we would never need the Holy Ghost. I am a firm believer in thinking, wisdom, evaluation, prayer, data, and revelation. Turning ON the brain seems better than turning it OFF. So, yes, I believe in developing a relationship with God, because in so doing, I am enhancing my freedom, NOT limiting it. A strong relationship with God gives one an enabling power.
Hope that made sense. I suspect, from reading your blog, you would take a similar position, but correct me if I am wrong.
When I took early morning semitary . . .uh, I mean seminary, there was a lot of emphasis on what we as youth should be doing and not doing based on potential rewards and punishments. That sort of instruction for youth is a good thing because their brains are wired to receive that sort of preconventional moral reasoning a'la Kohlberg's model of moral development.
But as we get older I think there needs to be a shift in our reasoning, away from (but never forgetting) the preconventional rewards and punishment reasoning to a higher level. Kohlberg called it the higher postconventional level of reasoning where we act based on ethics and principles. In the spiritual domain we may call this higher level of reasoning choosing to obeying because doing so is a matter of spiritual conviction derived from a close relationship with God.
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