BEING IN THE WORLD - BUT NOT OF THE WORLD

This is a talk my wife is giving in another ward tomorrow as a Stake YW assignment.  I thought it was worthy to post and hope it gets as many hits as my number one google hit on LDS FUNERAL TALK. 

I have married one of the most thoughtful and wise women - and patient, too.  I have proof of that; she has put up with me for 20 years - mostly without too much complaint.

Hope you like my sweetheart's work:

"Being in the world but not of the world."   How to prepare yourself and others to be in an ever more spiritually perilous world without being influenced by the world.”

If I could boil this talk down to one or two points, I would say that loving our Heavenly Father more than we love anything else that would get in the way or prevent us from returning to Him would be the key.  Now I would like to expand on how this fits in with being from the world , but not of the world.”

We were born into this physical place called “Earth.”  We learn from the prophet Abraham that this earth was prepared for us in order to see if we would do “all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command us.[Abraham 3:24-25]”  As Alma the younger counseled in the Book of Mormon…”this life is the time for us to prepare to meet God; yea, behold this life is the day for us to perform our labors. [Alma 34:32]”

So one meaning of the word “world” is a physical place for us to dwell when our spirits are first united or with our mortal bodies.  This dwelling place or world provides an opportunity for us to show ourselves and God what is most important to us.  The other meaning of the word “world” is that which is contrary to God or that which distracts us or prevents us from the purpose we came on this earth to achieve….which is to prepare to return to our Heavenly Father.  This use of the word “world” in this context is also used with other words in the scriptures such as “Babylon,” the great and spacious building, the mists of darkness, temptations of the devil, the pride of the world, secret combinations, praise of the world, just to name a few.

So in order to live in this world without being influenced by it, we have to be aware of how our Heavenly Father works and how the world works.   When Lehi was describing his dream of the tree of life to his family, he talked of beholding or seeing “a ^atree, whose ^bfruit was desirable to make one ^chappy.

 11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the ^afruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the ^bwhiteness that I had ever seen.

 12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great ^ajoy; wherefore, I began to be ^bdesirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was ^cdesirable above all other fruit. [End of Lehi’s quote.  1 Nephi 8 :10-12]

We learn from his son, Nephi, that this fruit symbolizes “the love of God.”  As we further look at the dream, we can learn tactics Satan uses to either prevent us from receiving this love of God in the first place or rejecting this love when we have had a taste of it.  I would encourage you to read chapters 8 – 16  of 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, to verify for yourselves what these tactics are and how God helps us not to be ensnared.

As I read each scenario from Lehi’s dream, try to identify with scenario you can relate to and which one you hope to achieve…

1.     Some do not even have the desire to partake of the love of God or eat of the fruit of the tree.  They simply do not want to move toward the tree nor eat of the fruit.

2.     Some have the desire, but they don’t know which way to go to reach the tree with the fruit.  They need direction.  Some who have found the tree and have tasted of the fruit call out to those who have not found the tree or the fruit yet.  Those who want to find the tree and partake of the fruit hear their voices, find the tree, and eat of the fruit.

3.     Some have the desire to eat, but there are obstacles that they can get stuck in.  A straight and narrow path was placed to guide them directly to the tree and to avoid these obstacles, but the mists of darkness are confusing and hide the path.  Then they get off of the path, get lost, and do not eat of the fruit because they can’t even find the tree.  These mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil.

4.     Some have the desire to eat, and a rod of iron was placed to prevent them from wandering off of the path, so when the path gets obscured by these mists of darkness, they still cling to this rod, which follows the path and also leads to the tree of life and the fruit.  So even when they can’t see the path they will not get lost.  This rod is the word of God.

5.      Some have the desire to eat.  They make it to the tree.  They eat the fruit.  Then they cast their eyes round about…even though they have experienced the love of God.  They seem to care more about who is watching them than they do about enjoying God’s love.   Lehi said, “And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ^aashamed.  And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the ^aother side of the river of water, a great and ^bspacious building; and it stood as it were in the ^cair, high above the earth.  And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the ^aattitude of ^bmocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.  And after they had ^atasted of the fruit they were ^bashamed, because of those that were ^cscoffing at them; and they ^dfell away into forbidden paths and were lost. [end of Lehi’s quote.  1 Nephi 8: 25-27]

6.      Then there are some who have the desire to eat.  They make it to the tree by following the voices of those who have made it, and clinging to the rod and staying on the straight and narrow path.  They eat of the fruit of the tree and they “heeded not” those in the building that were scorning them, according to Nephi’s words.

Again, if I could boil this talk down to one or two points, I would say that loving our Heavenly Father more than we love anything else that would get in the way or prevent us from returning to Him would be the key.

We are taught from this experience of Lehi and Nephi that there is a wide gulf that separates the love of God from those that mock the things of God.  Nephi learns that the“^a tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most ^bdesirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the ^cgreatest of all the ^dgifts of God.”  [1 Nephi 15:36]  We are also told elsewhere in the scriptures (D&C 14:7) that eternal life is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”  So does that mean that fruit of the tree of life is symbolic of eternal life?” 

Do we trust God that eternal life truly is more desirable than other states of existence? 

Do  we know God?

Or have those who mock God tried to paint an image of God that isn’t true…that distorts how we perceive the true nature of our Heavenly Father?

Do we trust more and give more heed to those who mock us than we strive to do God’s will?  Remember in Lehi’s dream, that those in the great and spacious building were in an attitude of mocking.  When I looked up the word “mock” in Noah Webster's 1806 Dictionary, these were the meanings I found:

mock:deride, mimic, tantalize, deceive

So if I look those words up in the same dictionary, I find these words:

deride:to laugh at, ridicule, mock, scorn

mimic:to ape, imitate, ridicule

tantalize:to teaze with false hopes

deceive:to mislead, mock, cheat, impose on

So these are the attitudes and behaviors of those who sway true followers of Christ from seeking God’s love and truth.

Lehi and Nephi in the Book of Mormon teach us that those who will experience eternal life will “heed not” those who mock them.  What does it mean to heed?  I looked this up as well in the same dictionary:

heed: to mind, observe, regard, attend, value

mind: to mark, head, regard, attend, incline

observe: to watch, mind, mark, see, obey,

regard: to esteem, respect, attention, look, view

attend:  to wait, listen, accompany

value: to fix a price, rate, apprise, esteem

So we are taught by Lehi and Nephi not to esteem, obey, pay attention, watch, view, listen, or regard those who would make us ashamed of following Christ.  

So we need to ask ourselves some questions:

Do we heed what God teaches us or do we heed what the world teaches us?  

So in order to prepare ourselves and others to be in an ever more spiritually perilous world without being influenced by the world we have got to rely on God, and not those from the great and spacious building.  We should avoid developing attitudes of those in the great and spacious building, or joining them in mocking others, or becoming like them.  When we choose Heavenly Father’s will over our will or the will of others, we can overcome the influences that are imposed upon us by the world.

Do we value what God values more than we value what others think of us?

Sometimes we wonder what our friends, co-workers, loved ones think of us. (And sometimes that is not always bad.)  We have to be cautious, though, not to rely on the arm of the flesh for our approval.

When was the last time we asked Heavenly Father what He thought of us?

When was the last time we asked God to help us understand or know something?

When was the last time we asked God to give us power to do something he has asked us to do? 

When was the last time we asked God to give us power to refrain from doing something he has asked us not to do?

When was the last time we asked God to forgive us for our sins and falling short?

“When sons or daughters of God communicate with God, we call it prayer,” says Elder Bednar.  He goes on to say, “When he [God] communicates with us, it comes in a variety of methods, means, or channels.  We are talking about the patterns whereby God communicates with his children here on earth.  Revelation is communication from God to his children here upon the earth.  Sometimes those messages come quickly and rather dramatically.  I’ve compared that to a light being turned on in a dark room, where very suddenly the darkness is expelled, and you can see everything in the room quite clearly and brilliantly.  I would suggest that that pattern of receiving messages from God is more rare than common.

A second pattern is when light comes gradually, much like the rising of the sun. You can discern the increase of light on the horizon, but never all at once.  This pattern of revelation I would suggest is more common than rare.

Sometimes receiving revelation is like a foggy day.  There’s enough light that you can tell there’s not darkness anymore, it’s not night.  But it’s not brilliantly illuminated.  You can see just enough steps ahead to take a few steps ahead into the cloudiness.  There’s enough to just take a few steps, and the light continues to help me see just far enough ahead that I can continue to press forward.

Jesus Christ is the light of the world, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened.  As we follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, He is the light.  One of his names is “The Light.”  As we follow his light and live according to his teachings, there is illumination for all the aspects of our life.  To the degree that we reject him and reject his teachings, we are on our own.  I’d much prefer to follow his light.  I know when there is a power beyond my own that comes from God to me and through me, which is the spirit of revelation.”  [End of Elder Bednar’s quote from Mormon Message Part III]

So in order to prepare ourselves and others to be in an ever more spiritually perilous world without being influenced by the world we have got to pray to God sincerely for His revelation.  We have also got to believe that we can receive an answer from God and be ready to accept it.

When Joseph Smith read the words of James in the New Testament, about gaining wisdom and asking God with faith, he not only believed God could answer his prayer but he believed God would answer his prayer.  It may not have come in a way that he or any of us might have expected, but God answered his sincere prayer and desire to know.

When Nephi in the Book of Mormon heard his father’s dream of the tree of life, he had a desire to know for himself.  He says in 1 Nephi 10:17:

17 And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the awords of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a bvision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the cMessiah who should come—I, Nephi, was ddesirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the eHoly Ghost, which is the fgift of God unto gall those who diligently seek him, as well in times of hold as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.

And then he says in 1 Nephi 11:1…1 For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat apondering in mine heart…”

This pattern is repeated over and over in the scriptures.  There is a desire to know, and a belief that God will make them known to us.  We don’t have preconceived notions of how God will answer or when he will answer.  It may be that he brings something to our remembrance that we have already been taught.  It may be through a servant of God that we learn, it could be directly from him or His Son.  We should not limit God, but accept his answers the way he sees fit to give us revelation and be grateful for it. 

The Lord said in D&C 50:23-25:

23 And that which doth not ^aedify is not of God, and is ^bdarkness.

24 That which is of God is ^alight; and he that ^breceiveth ^clight, and ^dcontinueth in God, receiveth more ^elight; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

Are we putting ourselves in places and frames of mind where we can receive answers and be edified?  Or are we distracted by all that the world has to offer us?

It is my personal opinion, that media and entertainment are our biggest hurdles to receiving revelation.  In my opinion, media and entertainment can be one the most intrusive gateways or tools that the attitudes of the great and spacious building have in altering the way God would have us believe.  The media not only affect us directly, but they affect our family and friends and co-workers, who then affect us.  The media and entertainment can affect our views and attitudes on many critical things like: sexual purity, modesty, humble service, work ethics and self-reliance, dress and appearance, honesty and integrity, language, music and dancing, families, friends, Sabbath Day observance, physical and emotional health, learning, dating, agency and accountability, tithes and offerings…all things which are in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet.  Without personal purity we limit the amount of light we choose to receive.  The media can distort how we view things and prevent us from seeing things as they really are.  This is done through distorting truths just a little at a time or blatantly.  This is done by omitting truths or leaving out critical information.  This is done by repeating certain distortions over and over.  This is done by baring false witness.  This is done by scorning or mocking those who are reluctant to be persuaded by the world, name-calling, etc.  This is done on purpose by some in power who have the intent to deceive and on accident by those who are deceived by the deceivers.  

The First Presidency and leaders of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have given us the For the Strength of Youth.  This is what they said about media and technology:  We live in a day of marvelous technologies that give you easy access to a wide variety of media, including the Internet, mobile devices, video games, television, movies, music, books, and magazines. The information and entertainment provided through these media can increase your ability to learn, communicate, and become a force for good in the world. However, some information and entertainment can lead you away from righteous living. Choose wisely when using media because whatever you read, listen to, or look at has an effect on you. Select only media that uplifts you.

Satan uses media to deceive you by making what is wrong and evil look normal, humorous, or exciting. He tries to mislead you into thinking that breaking God’s commandments is acceptable and has no negative consequences for you or others. Do not attend, view, or participate in anything that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in anything that presents immorality or violence as acceptable. Have the courage to walk out of a movie, change your music, or turn off a computer, television, or mobile device if what you see or hear drives away the Spirit….

….Take care that your use of media does not dull your sensitivity to the Spirit or interfere with your personal relationships with others. Spending long periods of time using the Internet or a mobile device, playing video games, or watching television or other media can keep you from valuable interactions with other people. Be careful that your use of social media does not replace spending time with your family and friends.

I would encourage you read all of what they have to say on media and entertainment.

It is also my personal opinion that we could choose not to view anything evil, but also be so distracted and mesmerized by all there is to view…that our very way of thinking is changed by media and entertainment.  Instead of focused learning, and asking and seeking, we just jump to whatever we find, which somebody has chosen for us to see, or watch or read. Our ability to concentrate and focus on one issue at a time is hampered with short sound-bytes, instead of thorough examination of a subject.  Our ability to ask and seek for answers to important questions is dulled because of immediate feedback which we get used to receiving, instead of waiting and yearning, and struggling in the learning process. Or we don’t even learn to ask questions anymore because our minds are so stimulated with things to occupy and please and distract us, that we may not do anything evil, but we are distracted from searching and seeking the best gifts.

How would our media and entertainment choices be enhanced if more often we prayed to God to direct us to find, read see, watch and listen to what he thinks would be good for us?  What if we wrote down questions we had about life, and began asking him where to turn to find the answers?  What if we just asked him to help us to have good questions to begin with?  If we don’t even have questions or desires to learn, why don’t we?  These are all things to ask, because they will not only affect our choices in entertainment, but how we read the scriptures with faith. 

The world would have us only believe things that can be seen.  But Moroni, in the Book of Ether, in the Book or Mormon, wanted to show the world that. ^““afaith is things which are ^bhoped for and ^cnot seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no ^dwitness until after the ^etrial of your faith.

 7 For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself ^anot unto the world.

 8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.

 9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.”[ Ether 12:6-9]

Remember the gifts that God has promised us.  The scriptures talk of many of God’s gifts, if we just study them. It is my prayer that we will all have the desire to value what God values more than we value what the world values…that we will care more about what our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ, think of us, than what the world thinks of us.  That we will have a desire to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have testified.  Prophets of old have seen our day.  Jesus Christ has shown our day to them.  These prophets have warned us in very clear words how the world will seek to distract and deceive us from what we need to become during this life we have on earth.  Moroni asked, ” Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?”  We have a great privilege of living during a day when living prophets and apostles speak to us as well.  Do we ask God to testify to us of the truths they teach?

May we pray to Father for answers to our questions and for guidance in our lives.    If we don’t have the desire to seek God’s will, may we start with praying for that desire.  May we learn to ask, seek, and recognize revelation from God.   I did not discuss the many methods, means, and ways God shares with us his revelation.  That in itself would take a whole other talk, but I do recommend beginning, by listening to Elder Bednar’s three part Mormon Message on Patterns of Light.  As we get closer to the Second Coming of our Savior and have to navigate through the winding up scenes, our ability to ask, seek, and recognize personal revelation will be like having oil in our lamps to protect us temporally and spiritually.   My biggest desire is to learn to tell when God is speaking and when it is just me.    We can live in this world and not be of this world.  Christ has shown us the way.  I have faith in Him.  He is my Savior and your Savior.  I want to get to know him better through following His example, serving as He served, and being willing to do Heavenly Father’s will.  May I and you have the determination to ask what his will is daily, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Here are some links that she referenced when making the talk:

 https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#patterns-of-light-the-light-of-christ

https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#patterns-of-light-discerning-light

https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#patterns-of-light-spirit-of-revelation