From Fasting to Feasting

  “Whom shall he teach a knowledge ? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are b weaned from the c milk , and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, a precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little…” Isaiah 28:9-10 God, from the beginning of the fall of Adam and Eve, instituted the eternal laws of progression; a pattern for learning. There is an order to progression. It comes the same way for every one of us, from the least to the greatest. We are taught that even Jesus Christ, our Savior and Mediator, learned in this fashion. He did not have a fullness at first, but learned line upon line. (Luke 2:40, Doctrine and Covenants 93:12-14) Thus the pattern was established that we should grow into our gifts, our purposes for being on this earth, and our eternal progressions. Understanding that this is the way our Father in Heaven works, I have always struggled with the idea that Joseph Smith was a pro...

This week, within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are discussing the eleventh chapter of John. There is an interpretation within these verses that has always been a source of struggle for me. Not because I couldn't understand but because what I understood was so contrary to everyone I've ever heard speak of those words. When I read the words "Jesus wept" I do not believe he was weeping for the loss of Lazarus. It is contrary to everything else within that chapter and within the character of who He was in His mortal life. The first time I heard my mother expounding on the Lord's compassion for the loss of Lazarus, something inside of me said, "NO! That is false." But I didn't know why and I couldn't articulate what it was. It just felt wrong. As years passed and I grew in understanding of the scriptures, I became able to articulate why I felt that interpretation was false. But NO ONE else was saying anything other than the ...

The allegory of the Olive Tree is one of my favorite things in all the world.  Jacob, along with the book of James (who is the mortal brother of the Savior), ties for second place in my scripture hierarchy.  As we go through this allegory (which will be broken down into many parts), I hope to adequately represent why Jacob is one of my favorite prophets. I'm going to just share what I wrote a couple of years ago in my scriptures about these verses as I was studying them.   In order to give the full understanding of the verses in chapter 5, we have to go to chapter 4 and gain perspective a bit.  So follow along, if you wish, as we walk the paths of Jacob's heart. The first few verses of chapter 4 tell us why they have written on these plates and that they rejoice in the very laborious process which is part of this gift they have preserved for us. Then we get into verses 4 and 5. "For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may kn...

In Mosiah chapter four, we find the people of King Benjamin just after he has taught them great truths about the Savior, His Atonement, the natural man, and many other notable and important doctrines.  They were understanding them with their hearts (whether or not they understood with their heads) for perhaps the first time in their lives.  And their reaction was one of true repentance.  "And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth.  And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.  And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their...

These next posts about how I see the Savior are excessively personal and sacred.  It has been impressed upon my heart to share them, but I hope that if you are not in a space to read and treat these things as sacred, that you will come back at another time.  I do not trifle with sacred things and I hope that you feel the same. Also, please be so aware that this is my personal testimony.  These are things I have learned at great cost and great sacrifice.  I do not claim them to be the doctrine of the LDS church and I do not claim to have the authority to teach these things as such.  This is my testimony as gained through my experiences and my interpretations of those experiences. There was a time in my life when the name Jesus Christ only meant some imaginary being with whom I had no connection.  He was not real to me.  I did not know Him.  I believed He was real - that was never a question for me.  But I did not have a relationship with H...

I had this post started and all mapped out as to what I wanted to say.  It was going to be easy because I've really learned this concept. Then the last two weeks happened.  Suddenly it didn't feel easy anymore.  It was hard.  It was impossible. Except that it wasn't.  I've learned a more profound meaning of this doctrine in the last couple of weeks - which is why I've put off posting this.  May I share with you?  I'll start off with what I was originally going to write and then I want to add a little to it. The Lord has said, in the book of Matthew: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." What does it mean when He says His yoke is easy? What does that feel like? What does He mean when He says, "...my burden is light."? Naturally, I t...

"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." "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." In hebrew, the word "perfect" has a different meaning than the way we tend to understand it in English. A very general interpretation would be to see all of the parts that make up the whole. The parts do not all have to be functioning properly, it is only required to see them. So if that is true, th...

Okay.  We are taking on the flaming sword today. What exactly do cherubim have to do with all of this?  I'm going to do my best to give to you the understanding I have - and I hope I don't leave out anything.  All of these truths came to me in small increments through periods of extended study.  Sometimes I feel like I'm leaving things out because I don't remember all of the steps in order.  But I'm doing my best.  By the way, if ever I've lost you or you have questions about what I'm sharing, please ask.  Please comment or email me and I'd love to share more or help clarify things. Now on to cherubim. Cherubim are gate-keepers for knowledge.  They dictate how far along the path to the way of the tree of life we go, depending on our internal state.  They block the way only when we are not ready to progress and moving along would do us eternal harm.  They guard and keep the way when we are ready to move forward on that path which le...

Please bear with me while I share all of this with you.  At the beginning, the gift of the natural man will not be super clear.  But as I explain and go through all of the things that will give you the frame of reference, you'll begin to see what I'm trying to share with you. In Genesis 3:24 we read: "So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." The first thing I would like to do is point out a few distinctions.  It reads "cherubims  and  a flaming sword" not " with " a flaming sword.  This is important.  It is also important to note that the flaming sword turns "every way." Another important distinction to make is that it says "to keep the way of the tree of life" not "the way  to  the tree of life."  Again, very important if we are going to understand this doctrine. Lastly, let's make ...

In Ether 12:27 we read: 27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. And then verse 37 in part states: 37 And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. So let's start with verse 27.  The Lord says that if we come unto Him, He will show us our weakness.  I love this because it means I don't have to listen to anything anyone else says about my faults or flaws.  I don't have to be worried about what order they think I should work on things.  It's about me and the Lord and no one else.  Now, this is not to say I should be proud or stubborn.  I'm not saying anything like that.  Jus...