Fiction and The Word of God

“As Enoch spoke forth the words of God, the people trembled, and could not stand in his presence. And he said unto them: ¹Because that Adam fell, we are; and ²by his fall came death; and ³we are made partakers of misery and woe. 

⁴Behold Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him; and ⁵they have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, 

and ⁶are shut out from the presence of God. 

But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent—

and by his own voice said to Adam: turn unto me, 

and hearken unto my voice…”  

(Moses 6:47-50 emphasis added).

These words of God define our present condition. And our response to this condition is what I want to talk about today.

Oliver Cowdrey said:  “…the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current, the giddy to the grave…” (Oliver Cowdrey, Footnote to Joseph Smith History, Pearl of Great Price).

Fiction in the gospel is created by perverting and/or neglecting the word of God—failing to hearken unto His voice.  

…as land neglected produces thorns and thistles, so your mind, by long neglect will produce noxious opinions, false dogmas and fictions—fictions masquerading as the gospel. 

It should not surprise us that many of the things we know, are taught, and teach to others, are, in Oliver’s words, fictions. As Nephi said we “…preach false doctrines…and pervert the right way of the Lord”  (2 Nephi 28:14-25).  

Do we respond to our condition as a result of the fall using fiction or the word of God? One places a burden on us, the other places the burden on our Savior. One is a heavy burden the other a light burden.

Repentance means a change, not of our behavior, but of our hearts. It is because of our sins and not our goodness that brings us to Christ. The gospel is about redemption not about improvement. Niceness has nothing to do with the price of our redemption.

It is a fiction to think that by further, better and more aggressive living we can have life. The truth is we cannot live our way to eternal life. We can only die our way there. We should understand better than most that baptism (by proper authority) is a symbol of death and resurrection. 

The old must die before it can become new. We cannot be saved by living. Why? We don’t live well enough to do the job, and our goodness is flawed goodness. We cannot be saved by our efforts at living well. Overcoming the effects of the fall cannot be by human efforts and sacrifice, by self discipline and moral living. It requires an infinite and eternal sacrifice. There is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood for the sins of another—even his own (Alma 34:10-11).  

If the world could be saved by providing good examples to which we could respond with appropriately good works, it would have been saved an hour after Moses came down from Mt. Sinai. 

“For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Gal. 3:21-22).  

Do you see the problem? Redemption is not some state to which we can lift ourselves by our own bootstraps after the contemplation of sufficiently good examples. It does not come from test passing or by winning, but only by losing. Satan is content to see us chaste and well behaved, with proper dress standards, as long as we take the credit. He cures our cold and gives us cancer. He wants to place the burden on us, and make us believe that we must earn our way.

To show you how our love for justification by works is so profound, look at the Parable of the Pharisee & the Publican. After the Publican goes to his house justified (for simply recognizing that he was a sinner), what is it you would want him to do during the next week or month? Don’t you want to see a little reform, some changes in behavior? 

We all long to establish our identity by seeing ourselves as approved in other people’s eyes. We spend our days preening ourselves before the mirror of their opinion so we will not have to think about the nightmare of appearing before them as naked and uncombed. We fear the Publican’s acceptance because we know precisely what it means. It means that we will never be free until we are dead to the whole business of justifying ourselves.

Repentance is the main message of the Book of Mormon, which also tells us that the essence of repentance is knowing exactly what we are—“O how great is the nothingness of … men” (Helaman 12:17). Godly sorrow, “sorrowing unto repentance, because of the goodness of God” (Mormon 2:13) ---lead both Paul and Nephi to exclaim “What a wretched man that I am!” (2 Nephi 4:17; Romans 7:24).  And for Paul to say:  “…Christ…came to save sinners, of which I am chief” (I Tim 1:15).

“…there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:7)  --Those who think that through their performance and good works they will be saved. 

The Lord and everyone in heaven rejoices over the sinner who repents, but again Satan wants you to think that you must earn your way back, when Christ only asks us to come unto Him and recognize our nothingness and His greatness. Then He can do his work.

My younger brother and I were eating at our friends across the street one evening. As we were eating our friends’ father was asking how a hole the size of a softball got in his newly plastered wall in the kitchen. No one responded so he kept asking and said it didn’t get there by itself. The pressure was great, and finally my friend said, “I think I know how it could have gotten there? How was that?” asked his father. My friend said that maybe someone put a toilet plunger on the wall and pulled it off. And then said, “but I didn’t do it!” We all looked at his father waiting for the response. And do you know what? He laughed. I think that sometimes our Father laughs at us when we come and admit, even grudgingly, that we are guilty.

The narrow door spoken of by Christ in Luke 13:22-30, or the narrow way spoken of in other scripture, is faith in Jesus Christ. The Lord does not set up 1000 rules and admit to heaven only those who live all of them. Its narrowness lies not in the fact that it is small or hard to find, but rather lies in the fact that it is so hard to accept. 

The idea of losing our life is repugnant to us. The idea of being shown our weakness frightens us. Those who would not look at Moses’ staff and be healed called those who did fools, because they thought it was too easy.  “…if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly… (Alma 33:21)? It is our lack of faith in the healing process, our lack of faith in Christ. We have been so conditioned that we must do it with our strivings, our efforts, our doing, our goodness, our successes, our virtues, and our activity. 

The result is that we worship the creature rather than the creator. The Father’s command is to look (have faith in my Son), bury the old in the waters of baptism and come forth anew, receive a new spirit, and “…feast upon the words of Christ, for the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye must do” (2 Ne 32:3).  

“The Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). God is not impressed by display, and he does not need publicity. The world will always turn its attention to the highly placed, to the well known, to the visibly important. But God loves humility. He honors those who desire His righteousness, rather than those who are known by others for being righteous. The world will always ask, “Is not this the carpenter’s son” (Mathew 13:55)?

I first learned this from my mother. I was a problem child for my mother from the very beginning. She spent many hours in the principal’s office with me. She put up with me when I threw a tantrum on the floor of the bus because my mother asked me to give up my seat to an old woman. She loved me even when I didn’t play well with others, took things, got mad, or….don’t have time to list because so many.   

No one that I’ve known was more aware of her weaknesses and imperfections. She was always my example of humility. And the greatest blessing a boy like me could have was a mother like her. Her gift to me was more than bringing me into this life, nurturing and raising me. Her gift to me was her humility and patience. She was a window to my soul, and through her I learned to see myself: how can someone so gentle and patient have a son so selfish and impatient? The Lord knew that only my Mother could have a son like me.

When my mother saw goodness, she thought of her own weaknesses. 

When an evil person sees goodness, she thinks of herself and the evil of others.

As both my Mother and I grew older and my weaknesses became ever more apparent, I started to see myself through her. Then one day I read:

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me…” (Ether 12:27).  

I had read this many times before, but this time I realized that what my Mother was doing for me was much more than just being an example. She was bringing me to my Father in Heaven and it was through my weaknesses that I would find Him. She showed me the way! I love you Mom.

I think we find it easier to sell spiritual and moral achievement; salvation for the successfully well-behaved and pie in the sky for all the winners who think they can walk into the final judgment and flash their passing report cards.

It may be foolishness to some, as Alma said, to just be able to look and live. This requires faith and repentance.  Self justification requires performance. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of repentance, not a gospel of performance. None but the truly penitent are saved (Alma 42).

We corrupt the vineyard by taking strength unto ourselves (Jacob 5:47). We confuse righteousness with actively congregating and religiously performing ecclesiastical duties, and call those who perform those duties “righteous” thereby worshipping the creature rather than the creator. 

“Is our faith so little that we cling to the deeds that we do, calling them good, because we are afraid to see the evil in ourselves? Yet it is only through seeing the evil in ourselves that we can exercise the faith to see the good in Him.”  (George MacDonald)

We seem to believe that “…every man fares in this life according to the management of the creature; that every man prospers according to his genius, and that every man conquers according to his strength…”  (Alma 30:17). This is the doctrine of Satan – humanism –taught by Korihor, and almost everyone else in the world

Unfortunately we spend more time teaching each other (and our children) how to win our way to salvation, than we do in teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto Salvation. 

Be not deceived. Satan would come to you in a nice suit, white shirt and tie. He would be the perfect gentleman, and then He would teach you the words of the wisest men and women who have negotiated their way through this life by following the examples of others, by self discipline and their own ingenuity, and by faring in this life according to their ability to manage themselves. We must recognize this contrast between the word of God and the word of the devil.  

There is a reason why we are commanded to live by every word which proceeds forth from the mouth of God and not to rely on the teachings of men. Cut down the thorns and dig out the thistles from the fields of your mind. Replace them with the word of God—the truth, the light and the spirit, and continue to receive the word of God, until it is found in you. There is need now of much care in cultivating the field of your mind, that the word of truth, which is the true husbandman of the heart, must cultivate it with continual instructions. His words will teach you all things what you must do.  

The Lord said unto Alma: “Marvel not that all mankind, … must be born again; yea born of God; changed from their carnal and fallen state to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; and thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God” (Mosiah 27:25-27).

When we are born again and become new creatures, relying wholly on the merits of Christ. We will no longer be under the law but under grace, freed from the bondage of sin.

The works that we do will then be His works done by the power and gifts of God according to our faith in Him, the fruits of our repentance. 

If we do not work through the power and gifts of God, “…there shall be none that doeth good, no not one…”  (Moroni 10:24). 

We will learn through our experience that He is the vine and we are the branches, and that the branches cannot bring forth fruit of themselves. 

We will love because we have been filled with His love, and desire that all partake of His love. 

His love will be expressed through us and it will be His light that we hold up. 

We will look to Him and live, and desire all to look and live and will do everything we can to serve Him by serving others, and bring them to Him. 

He will take away our disposition to do evil. We will switch from worshipping ourselves and each other to worshiping our God and King.  

And what awakens us? “Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold they were in the mist of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the everlasting word...”  (Alma 5:7) – awakened from a deep sleep by the light of the word of God!  I say to you—turn on the light!

To complete Oliver Cowdrey’s statement in the footnote to the Joseph Smith History in the Pearl of Great Price, and to contrast it with the fiction that feeds the many:

…but one touch with the finger of his love, yes one ray, from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind.”

Imaginations of the Heart

Virtually every instance of the expression "imaginations of the heart" in the Bible likens such imaginations with idolatry and following other gods. At a covenant ceremony, Moses warns Israel, "Lest there should be among you a man, woman, family or tribe whose heart turns away this day from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that bears gall and wormwood" (Deut. 29:18).  Moses cites a classic kind of self-deception, at the same time harking back to the curses he has just enumerated in connection with the covenant: "And it come to pass, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace (salvation), though I walk in the imagination of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst" (Deut. 29:19).

Moses thereby gives us to understand that self-deception, or "drunkenness," follows a personal lack of "thirst" for the knowledge of God. Paul concurs with that interpretation. He says that imaginations--or reasonings and rationalizations--are a kind of conceit or pretense that exalts itself "against the knowledge of God" (2 Cor. 10:5).  Moses thus concludes his warning by showing how the Lord will not withhold his anger and jealousy from such but will bring "all curses that are written in this book" upon them, separating them unto evil from his covenant people, blotting out their names from under heaven (Deut. 29:20-21).

Imaginations of the heart are nonetheless something each of us has to live with. They are an integral part of being mortal, expressing a person's innate disposition to think or to do evil. Unavoidably, "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth" (Gen. 8:21). People possess a natural tendency to be proud, mischievous, and wicked (Prov 6:18; Luke 1:51). But when they let the imaginations of their heart rule them, when they do not make captive every thought in obedience to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5), then they fall. Then, though "they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Rom. 1:21).

When the Lord's prophet calls on the people to repent, they think, "There is no hope"--they continue following their own devices, relying for guidance on the imaginations of their heart (Jer. 18:12). Instead of hearkening to the Lord's counsel, they hearken to those who say, "Ye shall have peace.... No evil shall come upon you" (Jer. 23:17).  In the end, the Lord esteems such people as good for nothing and vents his wrath upon them (Jer. 13:10-14).  Biblical types of falling prey to the imaginations of the heart include the people before the Flood, the people at the Tower of Babel, and the nations of Israel and Judah before the Exile.

Nephi identifies the large and spacious building he and his father saw in vision as the "vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men" (1 Nephi 12:18). Nephi notes that a great and terrible gulf--the justice of the eternal God--divides those in the building from the godly (1 Nephi 12:18). Those who gather in the building include not only non-Israelites but also members of the house of Israel, who mock, scorn and fight their humble brethern (1 Nephi 8:27, 33; 11:35).

One thing that distinguishes the great multitude in the building is the exceeding fine manner in which they dress (1 Nephi 8:27). Their sophistication and finger-pointing reflect a preoccupation with unreality, as the building in the air, standing high above the earth, also signifies (1 Nephi 8:26). The building's fall is the destruction of all wicked nations, kindreds, tongues, and people--an event of the last days (1 Nephi 11:36).

In the days of Noah "God saw that the wickedness of men had become great in the earth, and every man was lifted up in the imagination of the thoughts of his heart, being only evil continually" (Moses 8:22), a particular type of evil that also exists in these last days, even among those who "have professed to know my name and have not known me" (D&C 112:26).

By engaging in self deception, basing our behavior on false pretenses, we sell ourselves short of divine blessings. We endanger our lives as we face perilous times, denying the good effect of God's enduring love for us.

In summary, in the last days, those of us who seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but walk every one in our own way, after the image of our own god--whose image is the likeness of this world, whose substance is that of an idol--must face the consequences of our actions:  must perish in Babylon, which shall fall (D&C 1:16).

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man....  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.... (Romans 1:21-23;25).

See more on imaginations.

Vain Imaginations

Vain or vanity means useless, empty and without value. Used in the scriptures vain is often associated with the things of the world, or as a description that if we seek justification by works, Christ died in vain, whereas vanity is associated with unbelief. The words imaginations and image as used in the scriptures have a broader meaning and refer to the pride of the Lord's people who take great comfort in their image of goodness and righteousness. Because Satan cannot rule by virtue of his person because he is wicked, he therefore resorts to the use of images and self deception, of which he is the master. His world is a counterfeit full of illusions and "mists of darkness...which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men,... (1 Nephi 12:17).

The large and spacious building in Lehi's dream represents vain imaginations and pride of the children of men (1 Nephi 12:18). And when the Lord tells us at the beginning of this last dispensation that we 'walketh...after the image of our own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world' (D&C 1:16), He is telling us that we are the same as Israel of old.

We imagine ourselves as being righteous. We imagine that we are good. We imagine that we are favored of the Lord. We imagine ourselves as being obedient. We imagine that our works will save us. We imagine that the Lord may beat us with a few stripes but in the end we will be saved. We imagine that we study and know the word of God. We imagine that we believe. We imagine that we are in the world but not of the world. Through our vain imaginations, through our vanity and unbelief, we are lead away carefully down to hell.

Vain imaginations and vanity lead to a perversion of the Lord's word which leads to the teaching and believing of false doctrines. Vain imaginations and vanity cause us to hearken unto the precepts of men and to deny the power of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost. "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Colossians 2:8). While at the same time we hearken to the precepts of men, we rarely do away with the worship of our true God, but we worship the true God alongside our false gods. This compromise enables us to satisfy both our carnal instincts and our spiritual aspirations.

In some instances the worship of the true God and the false gods becomes fused, and the concept of the true God gets distorted. We impose our false images on the true God. This epitomizes the idea of "philosophies of men mingled with scripture." We then imagine that our outward forms of worship constitute true worship. For example we imagine that by actively congregating and religiously performing ecclesiastical duties that we are righteous. Another example is that by first giving ourselves to neighbor-love (service), we are serving our God. This is only true if we first love God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind, and not the other way around. If we give ourselves first to neighbor-love it cannot be sustained--it will become vain.

The Lord has told us that our vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation? Why because our minds have been darkened because of unbelief, and because we have treated lightly the things we have received-- (D&C 84:54-55).

Our minds become darkened when we set our "hearts upon the vain things of the world" (Alma 5:53); or when we gratify our vain ambition (D&C 121:37).

"I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth? Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say--Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth--and that he will save you?" (Alma 5:16-17)

By a simple sleight of hand Satan will trick you into imagining that you are on the straight and narrow path leading to the tree of life, when you are really in the large and spacious building.
 

For more on imaginations.

And of Tenets Thou Shalt Not Talk #2

Tenet is defined as any opinion, principle, belief, creed, precept or dogma, especially one held in common by members of an organization. If this is true why then did the Lord say "of tenets that shalt not talk" (D&C 19:31)? Looking at the definition of dogma may give us some hint as to why we are not to talk of tenets. Dogma is often applied to statements put forward by someone who has 'not searched knowledge" (2 Nephi 32:7), (meaning, in this case, the knowledge revealed by God through His word), and believes that the statements should be accepted without proof just because they are spoken and repeated by others especially by those in authority.

This is one reason why I have a problem with talks in church that are made up of lists of things we are supposed to do or to be doing. Lists are tenets. And the problem is that everyone has their own list, and each list is usually preceded by the statement that if you do these four (or five, or six or seven) things you will be in the right path. Also associated with lists is that the speaker generally tells you that this list works for him or her (translation: I am on the right path because I do these things).

Another problem I have with these lists is that they are associated with a slogan such as 'follow the living prophet,' or 'read the Book of Mormon,' and (according to the person who made the list) why it is best for us to do each item on the list. There is seldom any scriptural explanation of the items on the list, which is repeated mantra style as if it is the gospel. Mantra is any repeated word or phrase which is vague and without definition. These catch - phrases are almost always on everyone's list, as if just the repeating of them makes them true.

But the biggest problem I have with lists is that they lead others astray by making the gospel of Jesus Christ into a 'to do' list, and cause people to seek after righteousness by their performance of the items on the list, rather than by faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 9:30-32). And most importantly they ignore the Lord's way: "And of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost" (D&C 19:31 emphasis added). There is a reason why He has commanded us to "say nothing but repentance unto this generation" (D&C 11:9; 14:8; 19:21).

Repentance is the main message of the Book of Mormon, and the first commandment He has given the human race. "But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent" (Moses 6:50). The very purpose of our being here is to repent.  It is number one on our Saviors list where "God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son" (Alma 12:33-34 emphasis added).

Lists of things to do are almost always the product of the person making the list, and I ask why do we need someone's list when we have the Lord telling us what He does for us when we repent and come unto him?  And He makes it clear that repentance is a life long process. Hugh Nibley has said:

The fatal symptom of our day is not that men do wrong--they always have--and commit crimes, and even recognize their wrongdoing as foolish and unfortunate, but that they have no intention of repenting, while God has told us that the first rule that he has given the human race is that all men everywhere must repent. (Of All Things! Classic Quotations from Hugh Nibley, p. 189)

And every list I have ever heard spoken ignores this first rule.

The Lord has told us that strongly riveted creeds, which have been inherited upon the heads of the children, fill the world with confusion and are the "very mainspring of all corruption" (D&C 123:7-14). He describes these as lies and as "an iron yoke, ...a strong band...the very handcuffs, and chains and shackles, and fetters of hell" (Vs. 8).

Important in the records of the dispensations is that when men depart from God's way and substitute their own ways (lists) in its place, they usually do not admit that that is what they are doing. Often they do not deliberately or even consciously substitute their ways for God's ways. On the contrary, they easily and largely convince themselves that their way is God's way.

No list can come close to what the Lord has said and what our prophets (both dead and living) have always reminded us: that it is through our faith in Christ that we tap into His power. The Lord's Prophets have always reminded us that He is the vine and we are the branches and as branches we cannot bring forth the fruit--the fruit being becoming celestial persons--which all begins and ends with Him, and it is through planting His word (the seed) that we will, with continual nourishment from Him and His word, grow into celestial persons. That fruit will not be the result of our works, but because we are repenting and putting our faith in Him, and through Him, that is through His grace, we will be made perfect in Him. We are His fruit.

And that is another reason why I don't like lists, even if they are mingled with scripture.