Wax Cold

I was preparing a lesson on Tuesday night on Matthew 24 and I was struck by the phrase "the love of many shall wax cold" in verse 12 amongst the signs of the second coming. Cold has a footnote next to it and there is also a JST.

I will start with the footnote for Matthew.

Cold- Apostasy of individuals

OK, now lets take that definition and replace the word cold in the verse:
"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall cause apostasy among the people."

Let's now define apostasy from the dictionary. "The renunciation of a religious faith or abandonment of a previous loyalty (could also include political-currently I would say I have apostatized from the R party)"

The Topical Guide leads us on a better understanding of apostasy and what leads to it:
your heart turns away
Duet 29:18  to serve other gods of nations- it will bear poisonous fruit
1 King 11:9  Solomon's heart turned away after God appeared to him twice!
Jeremiah 17:5 cursed who trust in man - make flesh his arm

We also turn away from righteousness, trust our own righteousness. Without God we have no revelation. We have no root. 

We also know that this now puts our house on the sand which when the rains come down and the floods come up- the house will wash away. Matthew also warns us that wicked bring more wicked with them. Apostasy leaves us unprepared because we aren't following God's will. 

There are lots of great little areas to jump off and study from the topical guide, but now lets go to the JST Matthew. The footnote here leads you to Isaiah 9:19 where we learn that wax cold means that no man shall spare his brother. Also Mosiah 9:2 is a cautionary tale of being slow to remember the Lord. They became blood thirsty and wanted to kill their leader. 

I would say that I definitely see a lot of the signs of the second coming as laid out in Matthew. It will be interesting to see how we look back on this time in our history. It is a world that I never thought would be. We have slid all the way back to the beginning with racism. It is an upside down world we live in and It's hard to believe that this is where we are. Especially after studying the OT last year and the Lord cautioning the people that they didn't want a king but the people wanted to "be like all other nations." What do we have going on today? The very same argument. Sometimes I shake my head in disbelief at how very little we have learned from our history ( a history that many believe is only a fairytale).

Not to despair! A cool little thing happened to me while I was sitting in the temple this morning. I had started writing this post yesterday and started making notes a day or two before that. I decided to just open up and see where I landed. It was the 45th section of Doctrine and Covenants. It's signs of the second coming and talking about a lot of the same things as Matthew 24. Here was my wax cold again. I think it gives a clearer understanding in section 45. 

The big question is this: how do we keep our hearts from waxing cold? Matthew tells us we need to treasure up the word. First; don't be troubled for these things must come to pass. Then, Don't let ourselves be overcome, watch, prepare, be faithful, wise, and doing God's will. What does section 45 say? 

57 For they that are wise and have received the ^atruth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their ^bguide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the ^cfire, but shall abide the day.

Yesterday while reading my newsfeed on FB I saw a quote by President Eyring which went so perfectly with what I had been studying:

"As the challenges around us increase, we must commit to do more to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. 

Casual prayer won’t be enough. Reading a few verses of the scripture won’t be enough. Doing the minimum of what the Lord asks of us won’t be enough. Hoping that we will have the Atonement work in our lives and that we will perhaps sometimes feel the influence of the Holy Ghost won’t be enough. And one great burst of effort won’t be enough.

Only a steady, ever-increasing effort will allow the Lord to take us to higher ground."

That quote sounds like an inoculation from apostasy and the extra strength we will need to endure the trying times that precede the second coming. A little later I decided to pull up a BYU speech to listen to while I cleaned all the sand out of the windows so that they could be repaired. I decided to listen to "The Lord's Pattern" by Kim B Clark. While I was listening to it I realized that I had heard the same thing from him a year earlier at a Seminaries and Institute fireside. I had remembered being shocked when I heard him say this:

"whatever level of spirituality we now enjoy n our lives. Whatever degree of faith in Jesus christ we now have. Whatever strength of commitment and consecration. Whatever degree of obedience or hope or charity is ours, and whatever level of professional sell r abliliy we have obtained- IT WILL NOT BE SUFFICIENT for the work that lies ahead." (emphasis added)

He continued by relaying that he pondered what it might mean to put on the whole armor of God and he learned to ask himself 2 questions:

*What am I doing that I should stop doing?

*What am I not doing that I should start doing?

I love how when we are searching and pondering and have a sincere desire to know the will of our Heavenly Father concerning who he wants us to be, what he wants us to know and what he wants us to be doing - HE WILL LEAD US THERE. I know it. I know it because I'm nothing special. He takes our efforts and magnifies them. I'm guided to many different sources to help me better understand. Sometimes what I'm learning becomes really clear and sometimes I learn something and don't know what it means to me, or how to apply it, or if I'm getting out of it what I'm supposed to. One thing I do know, is that it's always leading me to my personal mission. This specific exercise in study reveals a mission for all of us. The rest of that talk by Clark was about us being able to educate the world and help move the work forward in the climate we are in, but that it won't be easy and we are going to be asked to do increasingly more difficult things that we think we can't. The world will make it harder and harder to be righteous and to desire righteousness. Even the very elect will be deceived. We need protection from the storms that are headed our way. While the world crumbles around us in apostasy (cop killings, riots, terrorists, freedom erosion, no morality, complete breakdown of the family, Christianity on trial...), we don't have to. We can rise above and be a strength and a light and a testimony to the world of God's great love, mercy, and grace for those who turn to him through repentance and prepare themselves to join the family of God where they can find peace, rest and belonging. 

It's my goal to ask myself those 2 questions daily. I want to be part of the work. I teach early morning seminary and now online seminary as well. I also raise a family and have interactions with people everyday. I want to make a difference. I don't want to be deceived. I want to help people find their way to repentance and God. I want to be part of the solution and raise kids that can handle the battles of tomorrow. I can't do that without the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and I can't obtain that without upping my commitment and letting go of my favorite sins. It's not going to be easy, but it will be worth it. 

Not Today!

I wasn't feeling well today, but was tired of laying around being a bum. I decided that the best cure was to go and work on the blanket of weeds that was growing in the backyard due to all the rains we've been having. I had just been to the chiropractor yesterday and working this strenuously is not a good idea, but I'm stubborn. The kids and hubby got back from lunch and the first thing my youngest did was come out and chastise me for ruining my back. She said "you are in sooo much trouble!" The weeds still have to be taken care of even if my body can't handle it very well and my soul needs to work hard.

Jordyn decided that she was going to help me. She was cracking me up with her methods. At one point I mentioned that she may want to hold the scraping tool farther back, but she said that her method of choking up down at the bottom was better because: "you've got to put your back into it." she said. A little later she was looking for some more validation and showed me how she was getting the weeds out good with her 2 short scrapes followed by a long one to get the weeds. I told her that I really liked what she was doing and she said something to the effect "look and learn, look and learn." hahaha I let her take the victory of "teaching me" something.

We went about our work and she was talking about how hard pulling weeds is and that I had better enjoy her being out there because "this is my last time- I'm getting these good and gone, and don't forget I did this of my own will." I thought for a minute and decided to go where I always take things and it garners lots of eye rolls. I reminded her that weeds are never gone, just like satan is never gone and never not tempting us to sin. As soon as you pluck one out the next one is already growing. You have to stay strong and not give up. You have to say "you're not winning! Not today, not today!" If you start thinking about how the fight is never over you can become overwhelmed and decided it's not even worth the effort to try. Why bother, there will be more tomorrow. You have to take the fight one day at a time and say you're not winning, not today! Not today!

Jordyn connected with this analogy and decided to go with it. She was like " you have to hit hard and keep on hitting. Satan wants us to be sad about all the weeds (sin), but we've got to be happy. He thinks he can make us sad with all the weeds, but we need to by happy." She was so right. We kept this analogy going and she was getting excited to move on to the next really big patch because she knew how good it would feel to clear so much. That is exactly how we have to look at fighting off evil. Is it possible to get excited about clearing a large patch? Boy I'm sure going to have to try hard, but I've got a new way to see things now. And it's all thanks to my 12 year old daughter. We put on some music and were happy about clearing weeds for the rest of the afternoon. The best part? We did it together!

Part of the Stone

I was reading a talk by Neil L Anderson yesterday (Thursday-it's now Sunday) called: "A Classroom of Faith, Hope, and Charity." It was a CES devotional from 2014. On the way to my training this morning I was listening to my scriptures; 1 Nephi:20 and even more understanding began to flood my mind. I'm not sure that any of that information came out in my devotional or piecing together of the Lord's pattern was seen as seamlessly as things appear to me now. From my meeting I went straight over to the temple for an 8 am session. It wasn't until I was sitting in the celestial room and decided to open up the scriptures that this theme continued. 

I always marvel at how willing the Lord is to instruct us if only we will block out some time for him and devote ourselves to some pondering. 

I started off my devotional with a quote from the talk: 

"You are a most important part of the stone, cut without hands, rolling forth to fill the whole earth."

This picture of the stone rolling forth cut without hands comes to my mind. Especially after teaching OT last year. I taught this lesson. So what does it mean that we are "part of the stone?" What is the stone doing that's rolling forth? What is that statue? 

Here's the definition of the statue. It's important that the stone is cut without hands because the statue is made with hands. Statue- workmanship of man. Stone- workmanship of God. My listening to Nephi this morning help explain this in another way.

1 Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness.

 2 Nevertheless, they call themselves of the holy city, but they do not stay themselves upon the God of Israel, who is the Lord of Hosts; yea, the Lord of Hosts is his name.

 3 Behold, I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did show them suddenly.

 4 And I did it because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

5 And I have even from the beginning declared to thee; before it came to pass I showed them thee; and I showed them for fear lest thou shouldst say—Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image hath commanded them.

 6 Thou hast seen and heard all this; and will ye not declare them? And that I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.

 7 They are created now, and not from the beginning, even before the day when thou heardest them not they were declared unto thee, lest thou shouldst say—Behold I knew them.

 8 Yea, and thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time thine ear was not opened; for I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.

 9 Nevertheless, for my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain from thee, that I cut thee not off.

10 For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

 11 For mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do this, for I will not suffer my name to be polluted, and I will not give my glory unto another....

 22 And notwithstanding he hath done all this, and greater also, there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.

The stone rolling forth is going to destroy the different kingdoms in the statue, but those kingdoms are a representation of the people in those kingdoms. The wickedness. The worship of man's knowledge and ways. The "statue" will be destroyed. Even though it's big, mighty, and fierce. I think of big huge Goliath being defeated by David's throwing of a little stone. That can't be mere coincidence. I think there is something to this statue being made out of metals. The Lord is talking about in Nephi about refining us and choosing us in the furnace of affliction. There is a refining of metals and a furnace to shape the metal. We think we are in control of this process and build up our statues- thinking and ways of doing things, when in reality it is the Lord and His work-not ours.

Back to our stone and us being apart of it. While I was sitting in the temple I opened up the Book of Mormon to wherever it wanted to go. It opened to section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

1 Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.

 2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.

 3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;

 4 For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;

 5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.

 6 Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.

7 Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.

I felt that section was speaking of how to be part of that stone rolling forth. Having your eye single to the glory of God means not being confused between your abilities and God's. Always doing the will of God. Not deciding to do your own thing. Don't accidentally start building statues. Worshiping false idols. This is not your stone rolling forth. It wasn't created by man. 

What is another obligation we have as being part of this stone rolling forth? I just taught a lesson last week in seminary about the famous "judge not lest ye be judged" and what that really means. Judge righteously is always forgotten about in that. We absolutely have an obligation to judge, just not engage in final judgments. 

The next scripture I opened to was Ezekiel 3.  This specific chapter is regarding a prophet. He has eaten the doctrine (scrolls) of the gospel and it is sweet to him, therefore it's his obligation to share the message and to warn others of the consequences of remaining in sin. Are we prophets? No. Do we have the same obligation? Yes. We are all to be watchmen on the tours. We all have stewardships- people to whom we are accountable for. There are lots of example about our personal duty to warn throughout the scriptures and conference talks. This is just where I happened to open up to. When I taught this lesson in seminary we also went over our personal responsibility. I feel like I always have to qualify things like this because people get their panties in a twist whenever they think someone is telling them they have responsibilities only reserved for prophets. 

There is also a very specific role that missionaries have. What is it? Teach repentance. Who's a missionary? Every member a missionary. When you've tasted the fruit, you're supposed to share it. What is the fruit? The gospel. What is the all encompassing message of the gospel? How is the fruit sweet? Through keeping the commandments that the Lord has set forth to ensure our happiness. What's the only way that's possible? Through the atonement. How to we access that? By repentance. But that's judging people! No, that's God's judgements. Not yours. It is knowing that there are absolute truths. No one likes to think or believe that there are absolute truths. We like to live in the grey area. To say live and let live, God will work out the judgement. Well, yes. That's half true. God will work out the judgement, but we absolutely have an obligation to warn when someone is in danger. Here's what the Lord told Ezekiel. 

17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

 18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

 19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

 21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

But how can we know if we need to say something or not? Man, that's the question of a lifetime. We pray and then do the best we can. The Lord answers that question a couple of verses later:

26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house.

 27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

In the beginning of that chapter he cautions Ezekiel that not everyone will hear him. That it is up to the individual if he will accept the message or not. That is so hard. I know for me, when I feel like I'm following the spirit I expect different and happy results- that is not always what is going to happen. Here's what the Lord said earlier:

 7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.

 8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

 9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

 10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

 11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

It is the same for us. We have children, family members, friends that are choosing wrong paths. We pray, we plead, we search for the correct way to help. If you're like me you get caught up in he doing everything right and expecting saving results. The truth is that it is up to the individual you are trying desperately to help if they want the help. The trick is not loosing hope. Not giving up because it looks like your efforts aren't making a difference. We can't see the final judgement. We have no idea. Our responsibility is to keep trying, keep warning and trust that when our mouth needs to be bound it will. I know that it will because my mouth has been bound. We get ourselves confused on what compassion is. We think we should have the motto live and let live. That's again half right. When they've been told they are choosing wrong and still want to you've got to let them live in the choice and still love them and look for opportunities to warn when you can. But it is not compassion to see sharks swimming in the water and not tell your friend because you don't want to ruin their swimming experience. They will be eaten by a shark by your so called compassion. That's not compassion, that's you being scared of them not liking you anymore because you told them something they didn't want to hear. The Savior didn't come to earth to make friends, he came to save souls. Read the NT and you will see just how many "friends" he had. They hung him on a cross!

Where we started with the talk about faith, hope, and charity, is where we will end. It is our duty to figure out how to warn in love. How to learn the doctrine before we can preach it. How to be part of the stone rolling forth to dispel falsehoods, to destroy wickedness, to bring light to the world with the pure truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the atonement. Once we figure out how to do this like the Savior would, our mortal test will be over. As the days grow darker and more wicked it will be more and more difficult to remain faithful, hopeful and full of charity. We have to understand the danger within ourselves if we have any hope of helping anyone else along the path. 

The most frustrating thing for me is feeling like I have gained a deeper understanding of something and then failing miserably at putting it down into a cohesive thought that makes any kind of sense or comes close to what I feel like I learned. It took me a couple of days to come back to this because when I started writing it I suddenly realized I was in over my head trying to piece this together. If nothing else I hope that what came through all my attempts to connect is that there is a definite connection and pattern to the Lord. All things have a purpose and all things testify of each other. The gospel is true. God is the orchestrator of all things. All things work together for our understanding and benefit and strengthen us when we see how purposeful the Lord is in all that he does- down to the smallest of details. His works are glorious to behold and for some reason He wants us to be part of it. He wants to share it with us.