Service and love

I've been reading Les Miserables in the non-original English. (Hah.)

I've learned so much about love and service. Today that's what I'd like to study about.

The scripture to start from is the obvious classic: Mosiah 2:17

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. 

Or how about this classic?

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Isn't it interesting that there is NO indication of righteousness on these people's part except for service? Service alone cannot qualify us for the Celestial Kingdom, but it's sure that charity covereth a multitude of sins. 

What usually stops us from helping people?

What stops me?

1) Fear of getting assaulted: Most of the time, the people who need help are the people who raise my alarm. We're taught to avoid the rough people out of self-preservation. 

If you are doubly blessed for getting assaulted as you share the gospel, surely you are doubly blessed for getting assaulted as you care for the poor. Not that we should be reckless or ignore clear danger signs. But remember that God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  (2nd Timothy 1:7).

2) A feeling of "they have brought it upon themselves." 

Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just--But I say unto you, O man, whoseover doth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind? 

~~Mosiah 4:27

So, that's how I'll deal with those objections.

Well, here we have a major misconception: That the only way to help others is to give them money directly. There's also Fast Offerings which is in a very literal sense "feeding the hungry." There is also emotional service, helping a friend, spending time with the lonely, visiting those who need help... etc, etc.

OH! What a great idea! For a date sometime, try gathering some siblings to learn to sing, and then putting on a Family Home Evening for a retirement home.

In short, if the essence of the gospel is love, then the essence of love is service. Therefore, the essence of living a Christ-centered life is living a service-centered life. Service to family, church members, community, and nation. It is a useful life spent helping OTHERS. 

The Wise Use of Time

I've been thinking about time a lot lately. That's probably because I have oodles and oodles of it right now. 

“Every day, every hour, every minute of your span of mortal years must sometime be accounted for. And it is in this life that you walk by faith and prove yourself able to choose good over evil, right over wrong, enduring happiness over mere amusement. And your eternal reward will be according to your choosing." 

That is a quote from Elder Richard L. Evans, and it can really help in crunch moments. Will I choose enduring happiness or mere amusement? It's a good question. 

So, time is precious. We ought to safeguard it. But why? 

I think it's tied up in the whole idea of Stewardship with a healthy dose of Consecration thrown in.

When we realize that this life is not ours, that it's a gift, and that we are entrusted with tasks of enormous responsibility, we are more likely to treat time nicely.

And as my friend Josh White just barely said, "Wasted Time is Wasted Personality." 

It's true! You could be developing something about you. 

So, Jarom. Next semester...I really want you to develop a lot of good habits. A lot of good time management habits! I want you to read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens and apply what you learn.

And I want you to realize that the key to self-growth is doing ONE THING different TODAY! And making a habit of it.

So, today... I will plan my time realistically and use it realistically. 

Tragedy

Lately, I have been very afraid. What if my mother should die, or my father should die? 

First of all, I think if either of them died, my real and immediate reaction would be rejoicing. They both are such good people, with such difficult, trying lives. I think of all the weight lifted off my mother's strong yet exhausted shoulders, or the suffocating pressure removed from my father's loyal yet tense mind, and I think of just how wonderful it will be for them to enter into that white light and the beautiful feeling of well done, my good and faithful servant. Thou has fought the good fight. Come now into my rest. 

You see, the Savior cannot prevent all tragedy in this life. Tragedy, sorrow, hurt, is all a part of this life. But it's a necessary part. And I know that every prayer is effective, if not in preventing sorrow, then shielding us from hurt, from despair, from emptiness. The Savior is light and life and vibrance, and He can fill the emptiest of hearts, light the darkest off souls. 

It requires a humble heart and a knee bended in prayer. It requires real determination and full, wholehearted surrender to the care of your Heavenly Father. But for these lofty prices, an even loftier gift of love and care are given. 

One women lost her father at an early age, and experienced the Savior's protecting love. Now, instead of fearing the loss of her own children and husband, she says that "when I see them, I rejoice in the peace and knowledge that every sorrow, trial, and challenge in their lives can bring with it greater faith, new witnesses, and wonderful miracles. I rejoice in the profound certainty that when they need something beyond what my husband and I can give them, they will be protected, consoled, and saved, just as I was." 

Is God out to get us? Yes.

What is this thing that men call death? 

A young man yesterday asked the question, "if God loves us, why did He make the world so full of dangerous, sharp, scary things that can kill us?" 

The answer is simple: Because God has it in for you. God eventually wants you to die. 

We are children of our Heavenly Father, on a temporary study abroad here on this foreign planet we call earth. But we are not meant to stay here forever. As Russell M. Nelson said, "Before embarking on any journey, we like to have some assurance of a round-trip ticket."

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were immortal, and would have lived forever. God knew that this would not do. He wanted us to be able to die so that we could return to His presence. So, He prepared a fallen world full of lightning, trips and falls, diseases, and etc. 

Alma 40 discusses in detail what becomes of the spirit after death. 

"Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life." (Alma 40:11) 

C.S. Lewis says that for every longing, there is a fulfillment. People have hunger, well, there is such a thing as food. People have a reproductive drive, well, there is such a thing as the procreative act. People have a longing to live, then there must be such a thing as eternal life. Death is scary for us because we cannot see the other side. Death seems like the ultimate tragedy to us, much as a small child carrying an ice cream cone is convinced that the worst thing that could ever happen to him would be to drop the delicious scoop of mint brownie onto the concrete. But the child (and we) are mistakenly short-sighed. In the eternal perspective, death is as significant as the dropping of an ice cream cone, it's just one more experience and step on our path to become beings either divine or demonic. 

Entertainment

Welcome to Entertainment World where we entertain you slowly to death. Spiritual death.

Batman, Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World, and Thor 2. What do all these movies have in common? The fact that Jarom has seen them in the last 2 months. 

Since moving to Russia, Jarom has had more opportunity to immerse himself in Media than ever before. It's readily available, it's something to fill the long empty hours with, and he's treated like "one of the boys" whenever he agrees to watch The Dark Knight with his buddies. 

 But Jarom's not sure he likes it. 

"It's harmless fun!" people say. One of my friends even has a phrase. "Good wholesome violence," as in "I liked World War Z because of the good wholesome violence." 

Where is Jarom going to draw his line? What's going to be his standard on media? 

The church has published a pamphlet entitled For the Strength of Youth. It's designed to protect us against losing the Spirit and making dangerous spiritual choices.

The chief measuring stick seems to be the Spirit. "Select only media that uplifts you," instructs the pamphlet, understanding that when you are uplifted, the Spirit is present. 

I've staged endless debates with myself over what some of the more specific guidelines mean, but I keep coming back to the Spirit. Moroni explains it well here: 

 13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.

 15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

Choose wisely. Pray for discernment. Realize that it's not fun to have fun if the Spirit leaves. 

Prayin' up a storm.

What sort of things can we pray about? (From Alma 34)

• Call upon God's name for mercy!
• Call upon Him when you are in your fields! (at work)
• Cry unto Him over your flocks! (Temporal and financial stewardships.) 
• Cry unto Him in your household! Both morning, mid-day and evening! (Regarding family matters.) 
• Interesting, that this is the only area we are given specific instructions about. Jarom, one way you can be a blessing in the life of your future wife and children is to pray daily, multiple times, for their deliverance, health, and Spiritual Strength. 
• Cry unto Him over your crops (Financial holdings) THAT THEY MAY INCREASE.
• God wants us to be prosperous! Just keep your heart lowly and your pocketbook open! 
• Pour our your Soul in secret places, in your closets, and in the wilderness.
• And this is not all! We also ought to be continually praying for the welfare of those around us. 

I have this friend named Josh. I love him to death, but he loves to talk about politics and all the scary things happening in the world.

I admit that it makes me uncomfortable. Doubly uncomfortable because 1) I know he's right, and 2) I don't want to think about it because it does not invite the Spirit.

I have been unsettled about this for a few days. But this morning, I was reading the scriptures, and I realized that He's got the whole world in His hands. 

The world is not out of control. God is in control. This is not some aberration of the plan. This is the fulfillment of God's plan. He is in total control, and He will provide for those who trust Him! 

I felt so helpless, that there was nothing I can do in the face of economic uncertainty, political corruption, and rampant statism. But I was wrong. There IS something I can do.

Live the gospel with all my heart, might, mind and strength. Serve my neighbor. Love God. Go to the temple. Do my family history work. Teach my children to resist the devil and serve the Lord.

That is what you can do, Jarom.