2 Nephi 21: 13-32 Self-Mastery, Finding Unity

2 Nephi 21: 13-32   Self Empowerment and finding unity in all things

Once while visiting my mother's home, Mom invited me to sit and talk for a bit.  Her tone was somber but cool; direct but polite; strong but tender.  I was already married and with two small children so when she extended the invitation, I wondered what it could possibly concern:  health, legal issues, family?  But my mother, out of love for my young family and me, wanted to discuss something of greater concern – the power of drug and alcohol addiction.

As a Psych Nurse and Director of the Drug and Alcohol Unit at our local hospital she was all to aware of the dangers of drug and alcohol. She wanted to make sure I shared in her knowledge. She had both primary and secondary experience of how alcohol and drugs and a myriad of other addictions - by undermining the strength of unity and community- ruin lives and families.  In her profession she had helped de-tox patients from every corner of society.  She shared with me how alcoholism affects all social economic levels, destroys brain cells, lowers birth weights, robs one of nutrition and becomes an unquenchable thirst that destroys our God given power to choose. 

addictions rob us of choice

I respectfully  sat and I listened. I was touched by her sincerity, her determination to speak her mind, and her depth of emotion. As she shared how addictions are often unintentional inheritances, I could feel her love and concern for me.   I did not feel bothered by her desire to instill limits upon me - but rather, I felt her love for me.  She made me promise that I would never drink alcohol, under any circumstance.  I would be allowed to use her as an excuse if ever I felt hounded. I promised and then assured her that her fears were unfounded. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints I faithfully practiced the spiritual and dietary law known as the “Word of Wisdom.”

The recognition of God's love brings us self-mastery. 

My declaration of faith did not comfort her. Her life experience had taught her that religious belief, while good, might not be enough to keep me safe.  Again she asked me to promise. So I nodded my head in assurance. Little did I know that the day would indeed come when faith-based belief would not deter social and business associates.  But when told of my respect for and promise to my mother they ceded their purpose and left me to my choice. The sincere love of a parent, a mother, can be a strong power in our lives. 

As I pondered Lehi's words, I realized that his talk with his sons, like my mother's to me, was meant to empower. My mother’s words left with a strong sense of self. And even more important, I gained the gift of family unity. I knew that if I would make wise choices, my mother’s strength would always be with me. If ever I felt alone or lost the power to choose, I had only to remember her experience to help me regain perspective. 

Addictions lead us into cycles that become hard to break

Lehi recognized that his sons actions were caught within a rut; they were not in control of their lives, their emotions, their goals or desires. He implores them to "awake"(v13) and "shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound." He wants them to "arise from the dust" and come forth out of their-self inflicted "obscurity.(v.23)"

Lehi's plea helped me to recognize that life is filled with varied and diverse powers that want to destroy our power to choose.  Lehi wanted his sons to discard the powers that bind them and recognize how the “power of God” gives us our true freedom.

When we engage the powers of God we find self. God's love is a selfless gift. In contrast, when we allow any of these other powers to control us, we unwittingly find ourselves surrounded by "the sleep of hell" or caught by the "awful chains" (v.13) that bind. A few of these might be: anger, jealousy, hardened hearts, bad habits, the need for “power over others”(v.25), alcohol, drugs, the need to win or be right etc.

Lehi understood that the powers of God bring truth(v.26) unity and self mastery(v. 15,20).  For when we are in control of our lives, we have the power of choice. Once free to make choice we are then able to choose unity. Once "united in all things" we are able to find strength beyond our own, and a safety that comes from “the arms of his love.” (v.15)

Addictions weaken our resolve to self motivate

Having tasted of the Lord's "glory", Lehi only wanted his sons to have this joy.  Lehi understood the difference between the powers that breed faith in our lives and the powers that make us weak.  As a power, faith in God's love (v.15) leads us to "the truth" (v.26) self expression(v.23), self realization(v.21), and above all self-empowerment (v.21). As a power, addictions weaken our resolve, our desires, and our ability to self motivate.  In an effort to inspire his sons Lehi expounded where weaknesses lead:

·       to a "deep sleep" (v. 13)

·       to "the sleep of hell" (v.13) 

·       to be "bound by chains"(v. 13)

·       "the eternal gulf of misery and woe."(v.14)

·        to become blind to the "statutes and judgments of the Lord"(v.16)

·       to bitterness and hard heartedness( v. 17)

·       cursing and destruction (v.18) 

·       obscurity (v. 23)

·       rebelliousness (v 24) 

·       false accusations (v 25)

·       a denial of the power of the Spirit of God

Confucious says: He who contains himself goes seldom wrong

In contrast, Lehi implores his sons to remember the goodness that comes from self mastery.  He wants them to "be men", "be determined in one mind," "be determined in one heart," and "be united in all things" (v 21).  He wants them to be "righteous" (v 19) and enjoy the fruits of "prosperity" (v 21). He wants them to "remember"(v.12), hearken (v.12), "hear" (v.14), and "keep"(v.20) the commandments of God. Ill-bred obsessions keep us from remembering; they keep us from hearing, they teach us to let go of all that is eternal and all that would help us find unity.

Lehi spoke in verse 27 of the "power of God" within his younger son Nephi. Nephi, unlike his embittered elder brothers had chosen to exercise the power of belief, the power of faith, the power of righteousness, the power of truth, the power of the word of God,  the power of  "eternal welfare" and even the power of "the glory of God." Because of his choice to act in such a manner he retained the power of self-mastery, discernment, and decision making in critical situations: i.e. the saving of the ship, the loss of the bow, the finding of food, the direction of travel(1Nephi). 

My mother's love can be likened unto the love Lehi had for his sons. He implored them to arise from the dust. My mother implored me to make and keep a promise. Like my mother, Lehi shares his experience and seeks to help his sons understand he only wants for them to know "joy" (v 21). But before they can know this joy they must find within themselves the power of choice and take back the power that their unbridled passions had stolen from them. 

In her experience as a nurse, Mom had seen how unchecked habits can destroy our ability to discern life truths. And she saw many of her patients reclaim their love of self and find joy. Lehi's mastery of life powers had led him to state that "the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love." (v15) I understand now how God's love can not only empower us but can unite us. The power of self-love when combined with love of family creates a mighty force for good in our lives. 

Unity is a blessing that comes to those that seek self mastery.  In order for unity to exist each individual must exercise their own strength. They must "keep" within their heart a desire to serve, to love, to reach out and include others. They must seek the powers that strengthen. No one can force unity upon another. Unity comes first from self mastery. 

Lehi wanted his sons to know that addictions and unbridled passions separate us. He wanted them to understand that in order for them to become "men' they needed to put their fears aside and exercise faith. He understood that self-mastery unites us, but only when we are free from the powers of habits that bind. He understood that faith in a loving, all powerful, and selfless God brings the best kind of power into our life, the power of eternal joy. 

After These Things (Genesis14- 15:1)

After These Things: Believe, Hope and Endure

Abram refuses Bera's rewards and accepts blessings of Melchizadek

We all have trials. It is not that we have them but rather how we choose to deal with them. Abram chose to believe not in the arm of man but rather in God, to hope not for riches but for the blessings of heaven, and to endure his time of challenge with a strength and fortitude that promised him sacred opportunity, wisdom, perspective and promise.

Ancient Irrigation Techniques 

I have had many trials in my life. I imagine that many of my trials have not been too different from what Abram endured. The scenes and props may change but personal trials tend to be the same. We know from history that his time in history was one of where man attempted to gain control over mother- nature and create a sense of stability in his life.  As man gained a sense of understanding over crops, water and weather, he still had to deal with himself.  Through all of the innovations, inventions and discoveries and after all of this time, I have to wonder how much the true nature of man with relation to one another has changed?    Has the human condition improved? I believe Abram understood that the ability to truly change the human condition began with a faith in a power greater than his own.

Abram’s story of faith began in Genesis 14. As I was reading Genesis 15 my mind caught the words, “after these things.” What things? I went back to Genesis 14 and discovered a few important things that Abram had done. (because the chapter deals mostly with the wars between the 9 kings, it is easy to miss Abram’s important role) These things were prerequisite to his vision where “the word of the Lord came unto him.”

Before I delineate Abram’s role I want to set the stage.

There were 4 kings  that  “made war” with 5 kings. The four kings I will call Team A (for Amraphel king of Shinar).  The 5 kings I will call Team B for Bera king of Sodom

Team A: Shinar, Ellasar, Elam and Nations (Geneses 1)

Team B: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, Zoar (Geneses 2)

Who: Team A make war with Team B in the vale of Siddim near the salt sea.

Why: They had served Chedorlaomer (king of Elam) 12 years, but in the 13^th year they rebel.

What: 14^th year Chedorlaomer  comes with his 3 other kings and plumaged and smote the REphaims, Zuzims, Emims, Horites, the Amalekites, and the Amorites. In other words they were on rampage as a rebellion.

The five kings joined together to stop the slaughter. (Genesis 14:9) They came together at the vale of Siddim where there were slimepits. A slimepit is a plot of earth that is soft and mucky, usually of clay or very moist mud. The point of this reference is to help us understand that the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah could not take a stand because the ground would not allow for it. It was a very precarious place to stand a fight against the confederate forces. They fled.

The confederates come and take the spoils of war: all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, all the food, and all the people for slaves.  And a ally of Abram comes to tell him of Lot’s capture.

What did Abram who dwelled in the plain of Mamre the Amorite  do:

• ·      He armed his trained servants (318 of them)
• ·      He pursued Chedorlaomer and his 4 kings to the land of Dan
• ·      He divides himself with his servants and attacks them at night and pursues them to Hobah
• ·      He slaughters Team A (all 4 kings) at the valley of Shaveh (the kings dale)
• ·      He then brings back all of the spoils that had been taken, “all the goods, his brother Lot, the women, and the people.” (Gen 14: 16)
• ·      He receives a blessing from Melchizedek
• ·      He pays his tithes
• ·      He gives credit to his  “most high God”.  (Genesis 14:22-24)
• ·      He meets out his reward with justice and in such a way to give recognizes the true source of his strength and virtue.

In Abram’s time the kingdoms vied for security through power struggle’s and war. Abram chose to follow a different path that allowed him to discover the power that faith in a true and living God brings.  When I considered what he had done and why he had done it, I was moved to understand the true nature of his faith.

Abram rescues Lot

Abram’s only heir was Lot, so that when he heard what had happened to him he took strength to defend him, but in defending his family the Lord gave him opportunity to testify and declare his allegiance to his God.  When Bera, the king of Sodom, wants to glorify Abram and give him the spoils of war, Abram refuses him, “lest thou should say, I have made Abram rich.” 

Abram who had left his father’s land and dwelled in the land of the Amorite, who at this point was childless, who had refused the traditions of his family and had returned to the God of Adam and Enoch and Noah, felt very much alone in the world. But yet he knew from whence his strength and power came.

And it was “After these things”, or after the trial of his faith that the Lord will bless him with a vision for his future.  After these things… after he stood strong for what was right, after he fought with strength born of virtue and faith, after he defeats all of the rebels using the tactics of division and nighttime warfare, after he uses the power of the Holy Ghost to help him outsmart the rebels in the valley of Shaveh, and after he refuses his “victors glory” and chooses to humbly give credit to the Lord, he is able to sit and contemplate just exactly what his faith has brought him.

While he is resting from his conquest and considering what he has in life, he is given a vision that brings him hope and a promise. 

Nephi's Blessing.. In God's Garden Helaman 10:4-11

I spent the good part of my morning weeding my garden. I pulled weeds, hacked weeds, pruned bushes, and cleaned the beds. It was hot and I tasted the salty sweat as it rolled past my eyes into the corner of my mouth. This was a task that had to be done. The grass had crept its way from the edges deep into my beds. The roses had lost their bloom and wilted like baked apples. Crabgrass was not as pervasive as this one weed that carried many leaves upon each of its stems. It looks like a money plant and is everywhere. It must be its season to bloom?

I did not feel badly for pulling these weeds from my garden. I felt no remorse or concern that they would die. There were in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing and invading my beautiful garden. They had to go! I was amazed at how quickly they invaded and multiplied as we had weeded all of the beds only 6 weeks prior.

I hate weeds. They overrun, overcome, and destroy the beauty and organization of my garden plan. They kill the good plants, rob the nutrition and sunlight, and create havoc with the visual layout of my plants. Who invited them? Why do they insist on showing up? There is no place for them in my garden.

A few of them were seedling pine trees. I remember last summer when we moved here and I transplanted a few with GuitarGuy. He could not bear to kill a tree so we moved the seedlings to the side of the yard where I would not mind another pine. There is nothing wrong with pine, maple or oak saplings that come up, but they have to find their place in my garden. In the middle of a my rose bush just will not do.

As I pulled, pruned and sweated in my garden this morning, I thought of Nephi. I thought how God had entrusted him with so much power over the people. I thought how he would have had knowledge, foresight, and the ability to help God keep everything under control. Why? Because he was like a Master Gardner. He knew which plants were weeds and which were good. He knew that certain good plants could be saved and moved to a better location. He knew that some plants simply had to go, there was no redemption for them. He respected God's decision concerning his garden and eventually God turns control of it over to him.

If there is need to weed, to prune, to transplant, or to hoe God's garden, Nephi will be the one to do it.

God gave Nephi a blessing. God gave him power to be his servant so that the work would go forth. It's not about feeling sorry for the "plants" that have to go, its about the "plants" (people) learning their responsibilities concerning where they are to be planted and what they are to do with their blooms.

Words and Phrases (from a Gardner's perspective)

vs 4. unwariness unwariness declared the word - As a gardener I sow seed, fertilizer and water the plants so that they may received "the word".

vs 4 thou hast not feared them - In the garden there are many things to fear. Upon our first moving home to the south, I had memories of snakes, fire ants, mosquitoes, bugs, and spiders. Today I brushed several spider webs away as I cleared through the garden of weeds. Nephi had words to fear.

vs 4 hast sought my will and to keep my commandments - Nephi was a good apprentice gardener. He learned to follow instructions and have faith in the Master Gardeners plan and precepts concerning the welfare of the garden.

vs 5 I will bless thee forever - God is giving Nephi all of the blessings that come from being in the Garden.. (on earth). He is being blessed forever with the blessings of God's garden. Bloom, Beauty, organization, etc. and the ability to take care for the garden.

vs 5 mighty in word and in deed - Nephi's ability to "garden" is very advanced. God has decided to make Nephi a Master Gardener and turn the Garden and all the plants in it over to him. He trusts him. He feels that Nephi has such mutual respect and love for him (God) that he would never do anything contrary to his will. He knows that Nephi loves the plants of the garden as much as God does and will take great care to love and nurture them.

vs 5 will not ask what is contrary to my will - So great is the trust between God and Nephi concerning the plantings, the soil, the care of the garden that God understands that he and Nephi have the same respect, concern, love, admiration, desires for the garden. So great is the trust (for they have gardened side by side) in an attempt to help the garden bloom, that God has entrusted all of his power to Nephi.

vs 6 ye shall smite the earth with famine - If the garden needs a bit of drought, so be it. God understands that Nephi would not do anything in spite, to hurt the garden, to be mean. Pestilence - bugs, weeds,

destruction - the weeding of the garden, etc.. the death of plants b/c of weeds, or the death of one good plant when a weed becomes entwined within it's roots.

vs 7 the sealing power of heaven - the ability to take the blooms from the garden and see to it that they do not fade, they do not wilt, but have a forever bloom of joy and beauty.

vs 8 rent in twain - If a rose bush needs to be taken out, or pruned heavily to keep from losing it to disease, I will understand. It will be done.

vs 9 cast down ad become smooth - add the valleys and the hills of your garden at will.

vs 10 God shall smite - winds, heavy rains, disease, mold, a over population of insects, God will smite the people if Nephi says that it must be so, because God knows that Nephi is filled with compassion, caring, and his word, but the people have lost their reason.

vs 11 - except ye repent - The flowers of my garden should stop inviting weeds within the garden. When a weed is found within the heart of a rose bush it is but impossible to remove. You have to a. prune heavily or b. take the bush out. destroy it before the weed is able to take over the garden.

Today I was able to see the power that God granted Nephi. I was able to understand the reason for the trust. If we liken the world to a great garden where weeds and such are prone to be found, we can understand Nephi's attempt to teach them, have them reject him, and eventually Nephi having to follow God's commandments and begin the self made destruction of those who did not repent.

The Gifts of God: Let Go and Let God!

1 Nephi 10

Two Gifts

I. Our church ward recently witnessed the conversion of an entire family. The father had spent the previous two years studying the scriptures. He bears testimony of how he knew the scriptures well, of how he attended (a different) church weekly, and yet he felt something was missing? He described his conversion as one of recognizing and accepting the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

II. The world believes that Christianity dates back to the birth of Jesus Christ. The world (because it does not believe and have faith in God nor his prophets) does not understand that the Messiah was promised "from the foundation of the world"(vs. 18). Jesus Christ is God's Gift to redeem the world.

I am aware of many gifts of God. As a child I was made to count them. I often counted them as butterflies, sunbeams, dogs, smiles, and food. But Nephi saw two other gifts of God. He recognized that God gives the Holy Ghost to those who believe in his words, and that the Messiah was a gift that came as part of the plan of salvation.

Today I learned how God uses the gift of the Holy Ghost to help me recognize all of his other gifts. Today (finally after how many years) I saw that when I am connected to God (through the Holy Ghost) I am connected to life. Life becomes more meaningful when I have eternal understanding. Life takes on a new purpose when I am filled with the Joy of God's love.

I am grateful to Nephi for helping me understand these greater gifts. (and Adena with whom I was speaking with this morning)

(Words and Phrases)

concerning the Jews (vs. 2) Nephi was a Jew. This is significant because Lehi is going to expound to him all that is going to happen to, through, and because of the House of Israel. The Lord is able to give his gifts to mankind because of the faithful prophets from the House of Israel. The Jewish people gave us many gifts: the Bible, the prophets, the prophecies, eternal perspective, the law of Moses (my Dad's specialty), traditions, culture, language, and so much more.

they should return again (vs 3)- I am of the House of Israel. I am not Jewish by religion, but the blood of the House of Israel runs through my veins. As I read about how the Jews were "carried away into Babylon", I am reminded that they returned again. I can liken this unto my own cycle and struggle with faith. I am often carried away.. only to return again. But Lehi's prophecies are not metaphorical, they are literal. History teaches us these things all took place. History teaches us how God used the Jewish nation to bestow and teach His gifts.

concerning the prophets (vs 5) - (how great a number that testified)

What of the prophets that taught of the Savior? What other gifts do prophets have? Clearly they have the gift of the Holy Ghost and an understanding of the mission of Jesus Christ, so what sets them apart?

They cultivated the desire to not only find the gifts of God, but to learn how to use them daily in their lives. I want to be like Nephi. I want to be desirous to see, and hear, and know of these things. Is this a bad thing? Why when I say it does the world want to put me down for it? Would God think it a bad thing?

I am so grateful we have prophets today. I am grateful for men who diligently seek out the Lord's will concerning men, and teach us truth not only through words, but through example. I am grateful to understand the power by which the prophets work. Nephi taught that it is available to all "those who diligently seek him"(vs 17). It was "in times of old", it is today, and it will be when Jesus Christ returns. Why because the course of he Lord is "one eternal round".

lost and fallen state (vs. 6) What does it mean to be in a lost and fallen state? If you are lost then you have need to be found? If you are fallen then you have need to be lifted up? How does the Holy Ghost and the Redeemer change things?

What I see is this: As humans in a physical state we see the world purely physically. We understand with reason, fact, and rational. We live to eat. We eat to work. We work to sleep. And we sleep to live. But this is a dreary way of life. Life eventually wears you down. Where is the Joy?

The Joy is found in God's gifts. They change us, our views, our thoughts, our spirits, our perspective. By believing there is more than the natural and physical cycle to life, we lift ourselves up to a spiritual plane. Nephi spoke of it in verse 17 when he stated, "the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God."

We are all "lost and fallen" until we learn to believe in the power of the Holy Ghost which will bear witness to us of the divinity of the Son of God's mission as our Redeemer. We are lost because we have no plan, no road, no course to follow. Fallen because we cannot go where God's love dwells.

rely on this Redeemer (vs 6) - How do we rely on this Redeemer? "by the power of the Holy Ghost which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him."(vs 17). The two work in tandem. If I accept the power of the Holy Ghost then I will know of the power of our Savior's Redemption. If I have faith to believe in the Savior's redemptive power, then I have faith to receive the Holy Ghost. By relying on either of these gifts I am entitled to have the power of both in my life.

the way is prepared for all men (vs 18) - How is the way prepared for me? Where is God's plan for me? Without the Holy Ghost or the belief in God's redemption my time here on earth takes on a view of finality. What a wonderful thing it is to know... (through faith) of God's power of Redemption and of his comforter (the Holy Ghost). I don't have to do any of this alone. I am part of the "all men". I am part of God's plan. When I use faith to ask, the Holy Ghost teaches me. When I falter, God's redemption lifts me up.

which power he received by faith (vs. 17) How does faith bring power? How does faith bridge the gap between our earthly world and God's gifts of the Holy Ghost and His redemptive love? I believe that power comes to those who believe like it comes to the seed who sprouts it's root deep. It comes to those who exercise their own power to let go of worldly views and believe in something that will lift them higher. We do not always have to understand the power, we only have to believe in it for it to benefit us. I.E. I don't understand how jets fly, but I believe they will fly me to my destination. Faith in God's power is like this, we may not understand the mechanics of it, but we only have to believe that it will help us reach the desires of our heart for it to begin to work within us. Unlike the gift of airplane-flight, the gift of faith requires that we participate. We must be the generator of the power. By believing, the power is made stronger and we gain even greater heights of understanding.

the mysteries of God (vs 19)- What is a mystery? Is it something to one but something different to another? Does it rely on our experience? Does it rely on faith to understand?

Are the mysteries of God like the mysteries of science?

I have experienced many mysteries that I have not understood. As a child I remember watching in bewilderment as a plate glided effortlessly across the table. As a pre-teen I remember learning to listen to a "still small voice" as it whispered to me that answer to a prayer on where to find the key I had lost.

God is no more mysterious than the laws of science. We need only to "diligently seek" to find. We need only to believe in God's love and gifts. He waits patiently for us to not only to open them, but to learn how to use them.

As I think about how I have used the gifts of God in my life, I am reminded of many different occasions when the Holy Ghost has prompted me to change my course while driving in the car, to call someone on the telephone (only to discover they had great need), to stop what I was doing and to pray for a child (and learn later they had a near miss accident), to learn to forgive myself and let God carry the burden for me.

My mother has a wonderful adage she tells me often.

"Let Go and Let God". In letting Go of my life, I must learn to rely on the Holy Ghost as it directs me down my path. In Letting God, I have learned to allow God's love carry me, so that I don't have to carry my burdens of mistakes.

What gifts have you been made aware of this day? What have you done to Let Go...

to Let God?