Tag Archives: Zion

Peaceable followers of Christ

28 Thursday Dec 2017

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Is it more important to be right or to be one?

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

And

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
19 We love him, because he first loved us.
20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

The Pharisees, excelling in contention, continually sought to challenge Jesus Christ’s authority.

Matthew 22:34 ¶ But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Pharisees had no love for “publicans” and “sinners.” They took it upon themselves to exercise authority over the people over whom they presided, teaching for commandments the doctrines of men, or in other words, imposing traditions upon the masses, and meting punishments rather than extending “mercy” and “judgment,” the weightier matters, thus instilling fear upon the people of God. Then came the time when a variety of such “sinners,” outcasts, and undesirables converted unto Christ gathered to become one, apart from the authority of those who presided over and yet threatened them.

Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
31 ¶ And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold…

These true disciples of Jesus Christ loved one another as they loved God and as themselves. They imparted their substance among themselves equally, having none among them that were poor and none were rich, for all had been equally rich in Christ.

By the time Jesus Christ had visited His “other sheep” (John 10:16), the wicked had been destroyed and all they that had been spared were they who did not stone the prophets and were “more righteous” (3 Nephi 7:7, 3 Nephi 9:13, 3 Nephi 10:12).

And like the people at Jerusalem who had been converted, the people at Bountiful had been converted.

3 Nephi 26:17 And it came to pass that the disciples whom Jesus had chosen began from that time forth to baptize and to teach as many as did come unto them; and as many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were filled with the Holy Ghost.
18 And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful to be written.
19 And they taught, and did minister one to another; and they had all things common among them, every man dealing justly, one with another.

Such are the true disciples of Jesus Christ. They are filled with the Holy Ghost and they love one another as they love God and themselves. They suffer none to be poor among them, but have all things common among them.

NOTE: It is not the same thing to “have all things common” and to “have all things in common.”

True followers of Jesus Christ have stripped themselves of all worldliness, having no more desire to enrich themselves at the expense of another. They have “all things common” and “deal justly, one with another.” Futhermore, as the title I chose for this entry indicates, they are “peaceable” followers of Christ.

3 Nephi 11:28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.
29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

Is it more important to be right or to be one? How simple is it to inquire of the Lord what His will is rather than to engage in disputations over one matter?

3 Nephi 27:1 And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples were gathered together and were united in mighty prayer and fasting.
2 And Jesus again showed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you?
3 And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter.
4 And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing?

The people could not mutually agree on what to name their church. The Lord was not only displeased with their disputations, but also of their murmuring, which is to express discontent, engaging in petty grousing. And so Jesus gently corrected them:

5 Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;
6 And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endurethto the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.
7 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.
8 And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

If the people had erred in calling the name of their church after a man by mutual agreement, they could just as easily and effortlessly have been corrected by the Lord without having expressed disfavor over their disagreements. A child could have named the church, and that incorrectly, and still have been gently corrected by the Lord without reproving them for their discord.

We then get an account of the progress of the Lord’s people at Bountiful for a period of time:

4 Nephi 1:1 And it came to pass that the thirty and fourth year passed away, and also the thirty and fifth, and behold the disciples of Jesus had formed a church of Christ in all the lands round about. And as many as did come unto them, and did truly repent of their sins, were baptized in the name of Jesus; and they did also receive the Holy Ghost.
2 And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.
3 And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift.
4 And it came to pass that the thirty and seventh year passed away also, and there still continued to be peace in the land.

And so on in “all” the land:

13 And it came to pass that there was no contention among all the people, in all the land; but there were mighty miracles wrought among the disciples of Jesus.
14 And it came to pass that the seventy and first year passed away, and also the seventy and second year, yea, and in fine, till the seventy and ninth year had passed away; yea, even an hundred years had passed away, and the disciples of Jesus, whom he had chosen, had all gone to the paradise of God, save it were the three who should tarry; and there were other disciples ordained in their stead; and also many of that generation had passed away.
15 And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.
16 And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.
17 There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.
18 And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings; yea, even they were blessed and prospered until an hundred and ten years had passed away; and the first generation from Christ had passed away, and there was no contention in all the land.

For about seven decades, they were one. They were the “children” of Christ (Matthew 5:9), partakers of the heavenly gift, or in other words, the heirs to the kingdom of God. Such peaceable followers of Christ are they who Mormon addresses in an epistle to his son, Moroni:

Moroni 7:3 Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven.
4 And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable walk with the children of men.

Peaceable followers of Christ are the “children of Christ.” They do not feel the need to contend or dispute or murmur with the “children of men” to prove a point or just to be right, even if they are right. They allow the children of men to learn by their own experiences just as the children of Christ had to learn by their own experiences to become one. The meek who inherit the earth are the quiet. They are gentle and easily imposed upon. It is their acquiescent nature, which makes smoother transitions from a fallen state to an exalted one. They are flexible, pliant, cooperative, willing, obliging, agreeable, persuadable. It is the peacemakers and the peaceable followers of Christ who endure and become Zion. They become one heart before they become one mind. I believe it is this way on purpose.

Moses 7:18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

Until then, the world will continue with competing theologies, religions, creeds, ideologies, organizations, and so on.

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Babylon, The Final Frontier, Part 1

02 Friday Oct 2015

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I served a mission on the other side of the world and when I returned, I went to the mountains of Ephraim to dwell. I saw Babylon bigger and brighter than ever. And I partook thereof until decades later, having been born of the Spirit and experiencing a mighty change of heart, I saw with new eyes how idolatrous I had been. Back then I thought worshiping idols, at least as depicted in scripture, meant nothing more than adoring or reverencing statues as the ancient Israelites did with the golden calf built by Aaron. But it is so much more than that.

The primary commandment given to Israel was to have no other gods before the Lord. Jehovah acknowledged the existence of other gods, though they were all fictions of imagination. If we love the Lord, truly love Him, there would be no need nor even use to go whoring after anything or anyone else. But the Lord’s covenant people did so and still do so. I like what Gileadi had to say in his essay, Twelve Diatribes of Modern Israel:

The final test in the scriptures of whether a god is true or false is whether he saves his people in the Lord’s day of judgment.

And so it was:

Judges 10: 13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.
14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

Isaiah 37: 18 Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries,
19 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
20 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, even thou only.

Jeremiah 11:11 ¶Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
13 For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.
14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.

And so it will be:

D&C 112:24 Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.
25 And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord;
26 First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord.

Idolatry is the great obstacle. Babylon and her idols are alive and well among the Lord’s covenant people upon the mountains of Ephraim (as well as throughout the world). It is so difficult to not be stained by it all. I cannot help but dirty my hands as I contribute to feeding Mammon, though I weep for Zion. I hate money. I hate that I have to work for money in order to exist in a system, which has too great a hold of us all. The people of Limhi learned the hard way. Today there really are no more places of refuge in the world. Above all else, I am vexed by my own sinful and carnal state. I am truly my own worst enemy.

I recently came home from visiting my parents in Texas and as I drove north along I-15, I looked toward downtown SLC at all the tall buildings and also the construction going on. I remember a time when the temple was easily visible. Now it is shadowed and eclipsed by great and spacious buildings, which recently enticed the world to partake of glamorous materialism.

If those giant posters and billboards advertising to the world to come visit the heart of Salt Lake City are disturbing, even more disturbing are the overpriced brands advertised with very attractive models. But isn’t that how all commercials are? Everyone is smiling, all made up, wearing beautiful clothes in the happy settings of Utopian society.

I’m reminded of Hugh Nibley’s words in “What is Zion? A Distant View” where he says:

Elders of Israel are greedy after the things of this world. If you ask them if they are ready to build up the kingdom of God, their answer is prompt–”Why, to be sure we are, with our whole souls; but we want first to get so much gold, speculate and get rich, and then we can help the church considerably. We will go to California and get gold, go and buy goods and get rich, trade with the emigrants, build a mill, make a farm, get a large herd of cattle, and then we can do a great deal for Israel.

I have heard this many times from friends and relatives, but it is hokum. What they are saying is, “If God will give me a million dollars, I will let him have a generous cut of it.” And so they pray and speculate and expect the Lord to come through for them. He won’t do it: “And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own property” (D&C 19:26). “Let them repent of all their sins, and of all their covetous desires, before me, saith the Lord; for what is property unto me? saith the Lord” (D&C 117:4). He does not need our property or our help.

Every rhetorician knows that his most effective weapons by far are labels. He can demolish the opposition with simple and devastating labels such as communism, socialism, or atheism, popery, militarism, or Mormonism, or give his clients’ worst crimes a religious glow with noble labels such as integrity, old-fashioned honesty, tough-mindedness, or free competitive enterprise. “You can get away with anything if you just wave the flag,” a business partner of my father once told me. He called that patriotism. But the label game reaches its all-time peak of skill and effrontery in the Madison Avenue master stroke of pasting the lovely label of Zion on all the most typical institutions of Babylon: Zion’s Loans, Zion’s Real Estate, Zion’s Used Cars, Zion’s Jewelry, Zion’s Supermart, Zion’s Auto Wrecking, Zion’s Outdoor Advertising, Zion’s Gunshop, Zion’s Land and Mining, Zion’s Development, Zion’s Securities–all that is quintessentially Babylon now masquerades as Zion.

On The Turning Away…

19 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by in Just Marc

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On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won’t understand
“Don’t accept that what’s happening
Is just a case of others’ suffering
Or you’ll find that you’re joining in
The turning away…”

This song has always resonated with me. I am reminded of an address given by a King hundreds of years before Christ:

16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
17 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—
18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth 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.

So my question to you, dear reader, do we really bring upon ourselves our poverty? Does a man who seek Zion become poor in heart? What did Christ finally advise a certain rich man who had seemed so sincere in obtaining eternal life?

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

It isn’t enough to keep the laws. The Pharisees kept the laws and prided themselves in their zeal and knowledge of the laws. But their hearts were far from the spirit of the laws, even from He who gave them the laws. The laws don’t save us. Jesus Christ saves us. When we forsake everything to follow Him, even all our riches and worldly possessions, thus leaving us poor; when we have experienced that mighty change of heart, we truly become reborn.

Our hearts become one with Him. This is what prepares us for His kingdom. This is what prepares us for Zion, wherein no rich man exists, for there are no poor among them either. There are only the pure in heart who have all things common and where nobody esteems himself above another. Isaiah and others have prophecied of its coming. Who will abide the day? Until then:

…It’s a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting it’s shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we’re all alone
In the dream of the proud

On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night

No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It’s not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there’ll be
No more turning away?

 

 

 

All Things Common

07 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Just Marc

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In the April 2013 session of General Conference, Boyd K. Packer said, “We find safety and security for ourselves and our children in honoring the covenants we have made and living up to the ordinary acts of obedience required of the followers of Christ.”

Jesus Christ revealed to Joseph Smith in D&C 38 the following:

29 Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land.
30 I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.

After Christ had visited the Nephites and Lamanites at Bountiful, they had become a Zion people.

3 Nephi 26:19 And they taught, and did minister one to another; and they had all things common among them, every man dealing justly, one with another.

How many of us have more than one year’s worth of food storage and also emergency preparedness items? How many of us have less? How many of us just barely got started? And how many still haven’t worried about it. Now let’s look outside the box.

What if the “big day” hits tonight in the middle of your sleep. Your city has just been hit by a massive earthquake or some other disaster. Or war has struck. You just got a phone call from your Elder’s Quorum or another leader informing you of an emergency meeting in your chapel building as soon as you can get there. Bring EVERYTHING.

You loaded up the truck or your camper, whatever. Your family is set! You show up at church and wait as the rest of your ward/branch members show up over the next few hours, even the next few days, depending on the circumstances of the disaster.

The bishop has organized the ward into groups and everyone is “asked” to bring everything they have forward. What you have been saving up will be shared by everyone according to their needs.

Are you one of those who are giving years of saved goods? Or are you one who brought nothing, but will be sharing what others have shared? Would you feel slighted if you had been obedient for many years and now you’re seeing all your stuff going to those who spent their time and money four wheeling or boating instead? But what if you were the one who left all his toys on the driveway and reality has set in and you realize that you will be eating what your neighbors have been saving over the last decade? Or maybe you truly have been scraping by and doing without worldly things.

Will everyone be glad of heart, having all things common as Zion? Will there be grudges? Accusations? Perhaps some will be glad to share without judgment, being true and faithful to their temple covenant to live the law of consecration. Perhaps it would truly be Zion.

Could you do it with the pure and perfect love of Christ, whatever your circumstances might be, without judgment? Would you? You might find it harder than you ever thought possible. Or maybe it would come naturally. Perhaps only time will tell.

Who can abide Zion?

I Would Not Hear

21 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Book of Mormon

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The Lord told Adam that he “shalt” eat by the sweat of his brow all his days (KJV). Since then, there have been many who, rather than rely on the Lord for their bounty (the Lord multiplies crops, orchards, gardens, fruits, vegetables and grains, rebuking the devourer for the sake of the righteous), they rely on the arm of their own flesh; on their own industry. The more I ponder Amulek, the more I see just how much I was like Amulek. He was industrious and a man of means and of money and of reputation. He was the CEO of his own company.

2 I am Amulek; I am the son of Giddonah, who was the son of Ishmael, who was a descendant of Aminadi; and it was that same Aminadi who interpreted the writing which was upon the wall of the temple, which was written by the finger of God.

3 And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren.

4 And behold, I am also a man of no small reputation among all those who know me; yea, and behold, I have many kindreds and friends, and I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry.

5 Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and marvelous power. I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea, even in the preservation of the lives of this people.

6 Nevertheless, I did harden my heart, for I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.

I’ve been a business owner since I was a teenager. When you are a business owner, you rely on yourself and your cunning and intellect and and planning and organizing. You rely on people for your business as they are your potential customers and clients. You influence their agency. Where is the Lord in all this? It cannot be right to ask God to bless people so that they will buy from you, patronize your business and make you rich and prosperous. And I used to pray such things as a business owner for many years.

I don’t know how many times I did not fulfill callings such as home teaching, because I was too busy managing, organizing, making contacts, etc. I shudder to think how I will look back on my life and seeing how often I passed someone in need of my substance or succor. How often did I not come to someone in need because I was too busy getting gain (as described in the Book of Mormon)?

My life is in a much different place now. I have simplified my life considerably and am trying to simplify it further–in fact as far as I can. The more I cast off the world, the less I need money to subsist or even to be entertained. You can buy anything in this world with money. But you can also get by well enough without it, or at least, in a modern world without much at all. If you have no debt, you don’t need money. It is irrelevant. And then you can focus so much more time on helping and serving others. My heart is in a much better place today. Truly a rich man is not fit for Zion. He ignores its call. Those who labor in Zion labor for Zion.