10,000 Years From Now

Today I got invited to a class reunion for my Book of Mormon class—scheduled 10,000 years from today. I thought to myself, “Only at BYU would a professor plan something that far into the future.” But it also made me wonder about people who don’t believe we will live after death, and what that says about the purpose of life. If we ceased to exist once we died, the only meaning in life is finding pleasure and happiness here and now. Every moment of life becomes driven by selfish desires that benefit ourselves. We exploit others for more money and gain. We give into sexual desires for brief pleasure. Nothing lasts, and because there is no eternal consequence, laws are just man-made and true morals don’t exist.

I believe that way of living will not bring about long-term happiness. I believe that living a life of obedience to God’s commandments will bring us the most joy in this life, and in the life to come. This may mean denying yourself of sins that give you instant pleasure or gratification in order to work towards something that will last for eternity. In Moroni 10:32, Moroni exhorts us to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness… that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ.” As we come unto Christ and resist temptations, we will become perfected and complete. Through Jesus Christ and His Atonement, I know I can live with my family and God for eternity in a perfected, resurrected body. Because of Christ, I can receive the gift of eternal life and be able to attend my Book of Mormon reunion 10,000 years from now.

Uncutting Corners: Putting Forth Your Best Work

In  Ether 3:1, the brother of Jared “did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount.”  He then asks the Lord if He can touch the stones to make them light up so they will be able to see on their journey in the barges that are “tight like unto a dish.” My teacher asked us a question I had never thought of before. Why didn’t the brother of Jared pick up sixteen random rocks from the ground and ask the Lord to touch them? The Lord would have been able to make any regular stones glow. Instead, the brother of Jared put his best effort and work into making the most perfect and clear stones possible. He took his best work to the Lord, and then the Lord made it better and more useful. I know in our everyday life, we get tired and want to cut corners in our work. Instead of doing the bare minimum, we should always put forth our best efforts so that the Lord can perfect and glorify our offering.

This same principle applies to schoolwork—especially as the end of the year approaches and finals are just around the corner. Sometimes it is so hard to find the energy and strength to stay strong. In my psychology class, my teacher read us an article about Christians in college. Christians are not just paying a lot of money to go to school, it is their calling to learn as much as they can and stand as a witness of God. They must spend their time wisely and better the world. My teacher encouraged us to stay focused on giving our best efforts in college by sharing an experience he had. When he used to teach a Book of Mormon class, he would assign his students to write an end-of-the-year paper on a chapter from the Book of Mormon, analyzing Hebrew poetry, symbolism, etc. The students asked him the minimum number of pages required, and he said, “I don’t know, but usually students in the past wrote at least 10 pages. I don’t think you could write it any shorter than that and still get a good grade—but I don’t know. I’m just looking for quality.” Then he paused and looked at his students, “Don’t just try to slide by with the minimum. Think about this as an offering to the Lord, thanking Him for the Book of Mormon instead of a paper that you need to at least get a B+ on in order to keep a good grade.” My teacher said that when the end of the year came, he had completely forgotten that he had said this to his class. When one student stayed behind on the due-date of the paper, he assumed the student hadn’t finished the paper in time and would ask for an extension. However, the student walked up and pulled out a giant book, roughly 60 pages long. He just didn’t want to draw attention to himself in front of other students. My teacher was surprised and said, “Oh, you didn’t have to do this for me.” The student said, “I didn’t do this for you.” Then my teacher remembered and understood. This student had done this project as an offering unto the Lord. He had not looked at it as a burden or done the minimum required for a good grade. He had made it for the Lord as a testament of his gratitude for the Book of Mormon. Just like the brother of Jared, he had offered unto the Lord his very best work.

As I go through college, I want to be able to enjoy each day, but I also want to have the right outlook on schoolwork. Everything I do should show the Lord my appreciation for Him. I know that as I do my best work, He will magnify it and make more out of it than I could by myself. I challenge each of you to spend more effort in doing your homework, assignments for church callings, or whatever work you have. As we do so, our work will not be a burden, but will become glorious.

Why Do We Pay Tithing?

           I had another insight regarding why we pay tithing in my Book of Mormon class on Wednesday. My teacher told us the parable of the thankful cat. ( The full story is found here: http://ldsmag.com/article-1-13621/  ). In summary, the parable is about a mother cat being grateful to an old man for saving her kittens, and in gratitude, she finds the biggest, juiciest rat and drops it at his feet. This is a parallel to when we offer our money to Christ. He doesn't need our money. It is only something we value. Some might say He needs our money to carry about business in the church. While this is how we are able to build churches and temples, God could just as easily direct His apostle's to land with precious metals and jewels in the ground. He could make money appear out of nowhere. Basically, He is all-powerful and has no need of our money. But we desperately need to pay it. When we give up something that is valuable to us to show God we love Him more than it, He is able to take it, change it into something more valuable and then bless us with it. He asks us to pay tithing so He can bless us more and make us better.

Why Do We Fast?

In Christ’s time, a hypocrite was not a person who said one thing and did another. A hypocrite was a play-actor. A small group of men would be able to put on a big production because they would act one way—slumped over, deep voice, a costume—and then quickly change off stage and come back on with a different posture and tone of voice. The same men would play dozens of roles each, yet the audience couldn’t tell the difference. In 3 Nephi 13:16, Christ counsels, “Moreover, when ye fast be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.” Christ is telling us not to change the way we act in front of people, like a play actor. We need to always be ourselves—be genuine, a steady follower of Christ—no matter if we are fasting, or with our friends, or with our parents. In every circumstance we need to give glory to God and not hide who we are. The Pharisees in the bible may have been going without food, but they did so on the outside just for the sake of appearing righteous to their fellow men. Truly, deep down, they were not fasting for Christ, so they had their reward of looking good to others, but do not gain any extra blessings.

Additionally, my Book of Mormon teacher taught us the significance of fasting. The relationship between our spirit and our body is very delicate and interconnected. When our body is tired, we go to sleep. When our body is hungry, our spirit lets it be fed. Same for when we are thirsty. Our spirit is constantly giving into the requests of the body because when the body is healthy and functioning, so is our spirit. However, after a while, our body starts making demands instead of requests. This upsets the delicate balance between the two. On fast Sunday, our body demands food. We (our spirit) say no. The body is angry and freaks out (so to speak—really, you just consciously refuse to eat food even though your tummy grumbles and you feel hungry). Throughout the day, the body‘s demands turn to requests. “Please feed me?” Our body says, “Nope, not yet. But thanks for reminding me of the purpose of my fast.” As we let our spirit control our physical desires, the body eventually submits to our spirit and by the end of the day is pleading, begging for food and water. And we can finally give in because the balance between the two is restored. We get to go through this process once every month to keep our carnal and physical desires in check. We are more than our biology; we are spiritual beings as well, children of God. Our spirits have power—agency—over our physical body. I know that as we keep this balance in check, we will have more fulfilled and happier lives. I look forward to fast Sunday tomorrow!

What Would You Sacrifice?

            Watching General Conference today was amazing! I love that every single time I hear exactly what I need to. I know that whatever questions you have, they will be answered by the prophets and apostles of the Lord during General Conference.

            This week, I contemplated a lot about the story of Alma and Amulek in the Book of Mormon. In the city Ammonihah, Amulek feeds Alma, who is a prophet of the Lord, and is converted to the gospel. Because Amulek starts preaching of Christ among his friends and family, who are very hard-hearted and reject the message, Amulek loses everything. Alma 15:16 reads, “And it came to pass that Alma and Amulek, Amulek having forsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious things, which were in the land of Ammonihah, for the word of God, he being rejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred;”

            Amulek had to sacrifice a lot to remain faithful to the Lord. He gave up literally everything He had—his home, riches, friends, and family. I have often imagined in my mind what hardships and trials I might have to go through—losing my hearing or vision, having a close loved one pass away, losing a child. I know, it’s awful to think about. But I imagine a scenario and think to myself, “If this happened, would I still be faithful and rely on the Lord?” Usually I think, “It would be very hard, harder than I can ever imagine, but I will learn a lot, be humbled, and rely more on the Lord.” I hope by imagining this I am preparing myself to rely on the Lord no matter what happens. But then I thought, why do I have to wait for something big and traumatic to happen before turning more to the Lord? Why can’t I start small and give up what little sins and bad habits I already have? I know I am not perfect and have a lot to improve on, and I can already have the help of the Lord and build a closer relationship with Him. I encourage you all to listen to conference tomorrow with a question of how you can improve and be better in your lives. I know you can start making small sacrifices now—no more TV on Sunday, no more losing my temper—that will help you grow closer to the Lord and strengthen you for whatever the future might bring.