What if we're Lot?

                                                                          

What happens when we find out we are Lot instead of Abraham?

Last week I talked about the amazing example of our father Abraham, of his faith and trust in the Lord, to go where ever the Lord called him to go and to do whatever was asked of him. He waited 25 years for his covenant son, then was willing to sacrifice him when asked (now I'm not saying that Abram was perfect, there was a time or two when his faith didn't extend as far as Heavenly Father's plan and he did try to do things his own way, yet as he tried, sometimes failed, sometimes mis-directed he went back to the Lord for direction and as he did his faith was refined until he exhibited the faith to have his exaltation made sure).

Yet even acknowledging Abraham's moments of imperfection I wonder if sometimes we don't feel more like Lot than we do like Abraham. Lot had grand potential and good desires (as far as we can tell). He desired to live peaceably with Abraham and to do the Lord's will, yet over time like the frog in the boiling pot of water (cliche true, but effective) or as it says in Nephi being led away by a flaxen cord, what started with Lot just having his tent pointed toward Sodom soon (soon being a relative term) led to him living there listening to men at his door propositioning angels, yes I said propositioning, the men of the city had gotten so bad that they sought to corrupt the purity of angels and Lot's virgin daughters. Yet that night, as they fled a burning city, Lot's wife still looked back, she was drawn more to a city and a people who would rape her daughters than of a life that the Lord was leading her to. When the angels first came to escort Lot and his family away they told Lot to talk to his son-in-laws, yet those son-in-laws said that the city was good enough for them. (Mind you according to Ezekiel 16:49-50 Sodom also struggled with pride, over abundance and abundance of idleness and not giving to the poor, those too are sins we see all around us.)

Yet as I am typing this I don't mean to pass judgment, am I shocked at the apathy and depravity? Yes, and that is why I am seeking to type this in such plain language. God doesn't save a city for no reason, in order to save a land from such depravity and to prevent innocent children from being born to those cities to be corrupted He decreed its end. If there had even been ten people in that city He would have decreed it safe, yet there was not, so Lot was encouraged to leave.  This is the world we live in today, Pres Benson, Pres Kimball and Pres Packer have all said that we live in a world of wickedness comparable to Sodom and Gomorrah.

"“These are days of great spiritual danger for our youth,” President Packer said. He said that he knows of no time when worse things were so widely accepted in the world, not even in the time of Sodom and Gomorrah. While evil was localized then, he pointed out, it has now spread across the world."
(https://www.lds.org/ensign/2004/04/news-of-the-church/youth-need-inoculation-against-the-world?lang=eng)

Yet as I said above, though I feel in my bones a call to repentance, I also realize that I cannot judge, for I struggle to leave behind the things of this world. Oh how I wish I could be an Abraham, but often I feel like a Lot or a Lot's wife. The scriptures don't tell us their goals or desires, we don't know what specific path led them to leaving Sodom one night, with one making it to a cave and the other becoming salt, but it shows us what happens when we pitch our tent toward Babylon and that can happen in so many ways. One small example for me is music. Due to certain aspects of my job there can be some days when I can listen to music for hours at a time, so I can get bored with the more uplifting music after listening to it on repeat. Then even knowing that the more uplifting music sets a better tone in my work environment and helps me feel closer to the Spirit, I still make the choice to click other music instead. Nothing that seems explicitly bad, yet not uplifting either, then sooner than I care to think my youtube playlist has gone to pot and I have to start all over again.

Yes the world is enticing, it's the nature of being a mortal fallen being on a fallen earth. Sometimes the things of the Spirit don't come naturally to us, sometimes we reach for frustration, anger or judgment instead of loving-kindness, compassion and empathy. Just now as I've been scrolling through facebook I've been assaulted by the many divided posts about gun-control and violence. I realize myself that I have strong feelings in this debate, yet instead of trying to tell other people why I'm right, what if I took the time just to listen. I wonder what good would come if we all just listened.

I wish I knew what my over all point is tonight, I guess I am tired of a wicked world one that we won't admit really is as wicked as it is. We get so caught up in the battle of legislation that we miss that our society is a mess and love would go a really long way (I think we all realize love needs to be part of the equation, yet somehow it gets buried). I am tired of hearing All is Well in Zion.... 2 Ne 28:20-21

21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateththeir souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

We live in a wicked world and we need to admit it and face what that means. What got Lot and his family, apathy, that things just weren't that bad. I realize that we are bearers of light and truth and we can make an amazing difference in a darkening world. But first we have to realize the world is a dark place, the adversary is on the move and we need to realize that so that our defenses are raised, we are seeking the light, we are seeking the Savior and we are ready for battle. Satan is seeking to lull away this generation, to slowly accept what the world has to offer, to convince that we need to be on the "right side of history". We always respond with love, at the same time we say what we feel and know to be true. What the world has to offer is toxic in large enough doses, it doesn't matter how big your small dose is if you just keep going back for more. And that dose can be divisiveness, apathy, sins of omission or commission.

My dear brothers and sisters, please see the world for what is truly going on, we can't keep saying the world isn't that bad yet, certainly it can still get worse, but it is already pretty bad. It is time to armor up, come to grips with what is going on and be willing to fight for our souls, for this is an eternal war infinitely worth fighting for. 

Yes some moments we are Abraham and some moments we are Lot, yet through the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, we can change, we can be more than we think we can and we can change the world. We aren't a weather vane being tossed about by every wind that blows our way. No we must be the light house, on a firm foundation that guides others to safety through the wind, rain and darkness.

*I don't share these views as doctrine, but hopefully as food for thought

Our father Abraham

   I want to talk a little about the third estate tonight, but more in the context of the second estate than of the first estate. If that sentence makes no sense to you I hope it will make some sense by the end.
                                                    

   Before coming to this life we had a choice to make, that choice involved an eternal plan and two brothers. One supported the eternal plan, respecting agency and offering himself a sacrifice, the other brother desired the glory the plan offered without any of the restrictions/sacrifices the plan required. In order to progress we had a choice to make, did we choose the responsibility of a body and mindful agency or for a myriad of reasons opt out and follow Satan. Now some chose to follow the Savior because they had taken the time to get to know Him, to hear His teachings and develop faith that He would fulfill the Atonement on our behalf. Some chose to follow the Savior because we had spent time with our Father in Heaven, we had learned to see our potential and realize that we had gone as far as we could without a body and we trusted Father when He told us we could trust Christ our elder brother. I sometimes wonder if others, like Cain, saw that they would have more ability to gain power in evil with a body than without, so they chose to come to this life wanting power that Satan could never have because they had a body and he did not. And perhaps others chose to come to earth because they were just trying to hedge their bet, they knew they were stuck if they stayed, ultimately doomed if they followed Satan and figured their best bet was to at least keep their first estate and take a try at their second estate.

For as we know from the Book of Abraham and the Doctrine and Covenants those who chose to come to this mortal life kept their first estate and are now working to keep their second estate. Thus it would seem to follow that those who choose to live this life with faith, who seek greater light and knowledge and desire to progress will then keep their second estate and receive an as of yet not completely explained third estate. Yet I would guess that as precious and necessary as keeping our first estate it is even more precious, important and necessary to keep our second estate.

Before receiving the Abrahamic Covenant Abram said that:
   "...finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right where unto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself
a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers." (Abr 1:2)

It isn't enough to just hedge our bets anymore, perhaps we did choose to come to this life because it seemed like a better alternative than following Satan or damming our progression by staying. Yet in making that choice we leveled up, we chose to progress and that means to keep moving forward we need to continue leveling up.

When Abraham went seeking the blessings of the fathers he had already been righteous, Jehovah came to stop the wicked priests of Elkenah from killing him, this would tell me that he was already firm in his testimony, yet that wasn't enough for him, he desired, not only did he want the blessings of the fathers, he wanted them to such a degree that he could offer them to others to bless their lives. He sought to be a greater follower of righteousness, to receive greater knowledge, to become like Christ as a prince of peace and to receive greater instruction. Abram who later became Abraham desired to be all that the Lord knew he could be. The Lord promised him posterity, then offered Abraham the opportunity to test his faith by waiting 25 years to fulfill that promise with a covenant son. As children of Israel, literal or adopted we are heirs to Abraham, not only to the responsibilities (Abraham spent much of his life sharing the gospel, he and Sarah spent time with the patriarchs, yet ultimately had to leave them so that they could share the gospel) and blessings of eternal increase (literally godhood D&C 132) but also heir to his example. We are called to be more, to seek greater light and knowledge, to seek to see the Savior, to seek the faith to one day prepare for that interview. The Lord will call us in many different ways and directions, we like Abraham must follow where He leads if we truly seek to find and be prepared for our third estate. There is soon coming a day when hedging our bets won't be enough, there is a greater world before us than we can even imagine, but our Savior must be our friend and companion long before that world arrives or we might find ourselves unprepared for all He desires us to receive. He will call us along many roads and to many places as He called Abraham. We could do much worse than following the example of our father Abraham.

He has infinite Patience/ A Foundation for Eternity

 Today marks a month and a day that my husband has been tooth-less. To think that it's already been a month since tooth day (or at least that's what I called it), I knew that it would be traumatic for us, but I didn't really realize all that it would entail, the need for chewing is a very real thing, then add thin blood, infections and painful dentures (it's just part of the process) and it's been quite a month. Now in talking to lots of different people I realize that at this point in the earth's progression pretty much everything is in commotion for everyone, this just happens to be the thing for us to be working through right now.

  It is a good check to self-centeredness when you realize that everyone is dealing with something, on the other had that doesn't stop you from feeling overwhelmed by what you are dealing with and frustrated by things outside of your control. This was just such a week for me. I just felt that so much of what was going on was outside of my control and that all the things I wanted to start doing so that I could feel something was in my control were not appropriate at this stage of things. So I got frustrated, then realized that getting frustrated wasn't a good option so I tried to tamp down my emotions and pretty much just get over things. P.S. that isn't a good way to deal with or work through things, because instead of processing the emotion you just stuff it down inside you with no way for it to ever leave. By the time Friday came around I was just feeling stuffed with emotion, sadness, frustration, confusion and just plain over-whelmed. With all of these emotions inside me boiling around as I walked across campus to work I was confused when the Spirit said to take off my shoe and stand in the grass for a while, but I did and you know what it made so much of a difference. All of that emotion that I had trapped inside, refusing to accept or deal with was able to just flow out of me, no longer bottled in with cement and mental restraints. I wondered later if perhaps that isn't a part of what makes winter so hard for us, not only do we miss the sun and the light it brings, but we also (when the earth is covered with snow for months on end) miss the connections to the earth we so badly need. I am a strong believer, especially after the marked change it brought this week, at the power of connecting with the earth (growing things like grass) and letting go of the stress, pain, fear and purposefully sending it down in to the earth and away from us. I also learned that sometimes it isn't enough just to think things, sometimes you have to take the time to visualize them and let yourself feel, to show forth real intent.

  Joseph Smith taught in the Lectures on Faith that faith is really just seeing what we have sought in our minds come to fruition in the world around us. Sometimes when our emotions speak so loudly we get so focused on controlling them or shepherding them we forget we can simply choose to consciously let them go. I realize I have much to learn in this area, but I'm thankful Heavenly Father gave me the opportunity to learn to be a better steward of my emotions inside and out.
  He also gave me an important reminder that just because a song doesn't necessarily have anything bad in it, doesn't make it a good song. Satan would have us rationalize that just because something isn't bad it is a good thing to do. But I would guess that Heavenly Father realizes that we are at a point that just because something isn't bad doesn't make it good enough for us. We have been called a part from the world, to be different, to seek after the best things, not the not bad things. I am thankful for His infinite patience with me, knowing that I am imperfect, that sometimes the natural man speaks loudly and wants to go back sometimes instead of moving forward. Heavenly Father isn't so much concerned with the slips as He does our desire to keep getting up and trying again.

  I'm thankful for this mortal journey that just keeps teaching me things, sometimes about the inner workings of myself, sometimes about relationships and sometimes about how I can interact with the world. This life is an important step toward eternity, what we learn and do here is preparation for all that will come. Heavenly Father knows He can be patient because He knows the foundation here is so important.

The Time is Now

The times of restfulness are past, yes we can have moments to rest, but the times of peace are past and the times for battle are here.

We can no longer sit back and say that all is well in Zion and be content to coast. We are in a battle for our souls and that means that we can't afford to expect for things to be easy or to look for the simplest path of least resistance. Satan tells us that if we are righteous things will be easy. Look at Christ's life and we know that idea is a lie. Righteousness doesn't mean easy, it means having peace of mind when the going gets tough, it means consistently seeking to improve yourself and always seeking progress even when you just want to rest. It means facing the demons and trusting to the Lord to send angels to our aid. It means trying, trying and trying again.

It means extending the hand of mercy when we feel we have been dealt with unfairly. It means looking to ourselves as the agent of change instead of blaming food, tv, addictions or other people for our bad habits. It means fighting for things we feel are important even when those around us say we are over-achieving. It means following the Spirit to move where we need to move even when things don't seem to be fitting the way we thought they would, it means continually working to improve ourselves in the small things because we know the little things prepare us and lead us to the big things. It means having faith and trusting in the Lord's time when your arms ache to hold your babies and all you have is the promise they will be yours one day, even as you stand in a sealing room mirror feeling oh so alone. It means continuing in faith when things just don't seem to be working out and shadows of days past seem to be creeping up on you again. It means responding in love, when you would like to yell and cry instead. It means trying new things to expand ourselves when we think the old way works just fine, but the Lord has something different in mind. It means giving and not counting the cost.

The adversary is not just the father of lies, the father of contention, the great deceiver and the fallen star of the morning. He is also the great distract-er. He would feed us a steady diet of mis-direction; preying upon our fears and have us so caught up freaked out in our own head that we never think to fact check what is going on in our heads and so caught up in self-absorption we see there are ways to serve and help that will get us out of our own situation. We are fighting a war, it may not be one of spears and trenches, but it is one with battle lines and opposing armies. What do we hope for in this life and the next? Do we want to be our best selves preparing for whatever will be asked of us or are we content to just keep walking along as we always have? I know I have my slumps, my survival modes, where I just can't seem to get out of my head and my fears, but I do want to do and become more. I want to be a warrior in the fight for right with my Savior Jesus Christ, I want to bear His message to the world. I want to be different, to stand out in new and happy ways. I want to be a light in an ever darkening world, I want to prepare for a personal interview with my Savior, the time for that interview is drawing nearer for each of us, we can no longer say the Second Coming is years away, it is coming, are we doing what is necessary to be ready to see Him face to face? A friend of mine mentioned that she isn't ready, because she feels she can do better on her end of their personal relationship and I whole-heartedly agree, there is much I can do to improve that relationship. All that is required is our desire and our surrender, our great Savior and Redeemer will do the rest.

In these the latter end of the last days are we ready? There comes a time when we need to choose whether we allow Satan to feed our fear or if we invite Christ to strengthen our faith, the time is now, what do we choose? Do we choose to coast or fight? I hope we each go to the Lord and ask Him how He would have us fight to prepare ourselves and the world to see Him again.