Ward Preacher Podcast Ep 202 - God wants you to stop acting like a harlot

This week, our Come Follow Me curriculum brings us to Hosea and Joel.  We discuss the applications of Hosea to "shame culture" and the promise of forgiveness.  Study with me!

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Ward Preacher Podcast Ep 200 - Eyes, Wheels, Sticks, and Other Enigmas in Ezekiel

This week, our Come Follow Me curriculum brings us to the book of Ezekiel.  We discuss a key to understand his symbolic visions, connections to the Book of Mormon, and the promise of restoration.  Study with me!

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Ward Preacher Podcast Ep 193 - The Prophet Sawn Asunder

This week, our Come Follow Me curriculum brings us to Isaiah 1-12.  We discuss the historical context of Isaiah, his prophecies of latter-day restoration, and the miracle of forgiveness.  Study with me!

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Ward Preacher Podcast Ep144 - Restoration and the Temple

This week, our Come Follow Me curriculum brings us to section 109-110.  We discuss the dedication of the temple and the restoration of priesthood keys.  Study with me!

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Ward Preacher Podcast Ep 111 - The Priesthood Bond To Christ

This week, our Come Follow Me curriculum brings us to D&C 12-13.  We discuss similarities in early sections, and ancient messengers restoring divine authority.  Study with me!

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Ward Preacher Podcast Ep 67 - A Bicentennial Proclamation

This week, I give a few thoughts about the new proclamation and the reality of Jesus Christ.  Join me!

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Ward Preacher Podcast Ep 43 - αποστασία

This week, Come Follow Me brings us to 1 and 2 Thessalonians.  We look at several proverbs of Paul, and discuss the falling away prophesied by the apostle.  Study with me!

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Ward Preacher Podcast Ep 16 - The Fall and Rise of Jesus Christ

This week, the Come Follow Me curriculum covers the story of Easter.  We discuss this from the perspective of the Apostles, to whom the death of the Messiah was the worst case scenario.

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Restoration and the Strait and Narrow Path

Shortly after returning from my mission, I recall hearing about a scandal in the Catholic Church where their clergymen were participating in and covering up heinous crimes.  On one occasion, I watched a news program that had a number of guests.  One of these guests was a representative of an organization of members of the Catholic church that actively worked to affect change in doctrine, policy, and practice.  I could hardly believe that such an organization would exist... I mean, if you believe that the leadership of your church is inspired, and receives direction from God himself, why would you want to form a group that wants to alter such inspiration?

At the time, I thought to myself how glad I was to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, after all, for the most part we understood that the church was led by revelation, and that organizing groups to affect change was completely foolish.  Of course, about ten years later, I have learned of the existence of a number of groups of "Mormons" that actively try to alter the doctrines, policies, and practices because they are under the impression that the leadership of the church could be more inspired if it listened to them.  

Some of these individuals have even gone to the length of being excommunicated from the church to promote their views.  To me, this seems completely idiotic.  It's like Frodo giving the One Ring to a Nazgul, because they can bring it to Mordor faster than a hobbit.  It's like cutting off your own hand to convince people that Captain Hook wasn't such a bad guy.  It's like eating at McDonald's...  That's all I had for that one, but that's pretty bad, right?

Anyway, back when I heard about the Catholic controversies, I was under the impression that apostasy and restoration were best described as events.  These events had happened more than a century previously.  What I have come to recognize as I have seen some members of our own faith openly fighting against the prophets and apostles they claim to sustain, is that apostasy and restoration are better described as forces.  They represent two factions of a very real and very ancient conflict.  They are not limited to a pair of events in relatively recent history... but even now, the forces of apostasy are seeking to displace the forces of restoration.

To add to the difficulty in this conflict, apostasy seems to have the upper hand.  Less than 1% of humans alive today are members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, and while the church is growing, there are so many ways that the forces of evil can lure people away from the blessings of restoration.  Some individuals get hung up on century-old statements, others are offended by things like misspellings in revelations, or others by who is allowed to hold the priesthood.

On the other hand, there is a very specific path that must be followed in order to receive the blessings of restoration.  The pattern that is repeated over and over again in restoration is this: 1. Search the scriptures.  2. Pray.  3. Believe in the power of God.

Consider the First Vision: Joseph Smith searched the Bible and came across James 1:5, then he went to the sacred grove to pray...  While he may not have anticipated the appearance of the Father and the Son, he knew that God had power to answer his questions, and grant him the wisdom he lacked.

Consider the Restoration of the Priesthood: Joseph found passages in the Book of Mormon describing the authority to baptize, then he went and prayed with Oliver Cowdery...  While they did not know that John the Baptist would appear and restore this power, they believed that God was the ultimate source of authority.

Consider the methods our missionaries invite people to use to gain testimonies: They read select passages from the Book of Mormon, they are asked to pray to ask God what is true, and if they ask with faith and real intent, then the truth is manifested by the power of the Holy Ghost, just as Moroni promised.

With many ways that lead to apostasy, and only one that leads to the truth of the restoration, it is just as Jesus said: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way which leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.  Because strait is the gate and narrow the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be which find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

Because restoration is not a one time event, it is worth discussing each of these steps that lead to the strait and narrow path.  

First: search the scriptures.

I have heard many stories of individuals that had questions or trials and flipped open their scriptures to find a verse that provided the perfect words to help them.  I have never personally experienced this, and I propose that more often, the answers that we need come from regularly searching the scriptures... not just reading... but searching the scriptures.

With more scripture available to us in this dispensation than ever before, the question should be for what should I search?

Let us return to the example of Joseph Smith.  Here is his description of what he found after reading James 1:5:

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know..."

I suggest that the feeling that came to him is the thing for which we should search.  The connection to Christ that comes from reading the Word of God is what led Joseph to the grove of trees.

Please also note that the same scripture that inspires one individual, may not be the most inspiring scripture for another.  This is by design.  Some people need to know of the love of God, and stories of mercy such as Christ blessing the Nephite children, or the mercy that God extended to Nineveh after Jonah's preaching, or the pleading of God that Israel return to him to be healed.

For me, I find confidence in God as I read stories of him sending fire from heaven, or dividing the red sea so that there was a wall of water on either side of the Israelites, or in the way he saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego from Nebuchadnezzar's burning fiery furnace when they boldly held to their faith.

The more that individuals search for and find the scriptures that help them to feel a connection to God, and an assurance that he is real, the easier it becomes to recognize the blessings of the restoration, and walk the strait and narrow path of which Christ spoke.

Second: Pray.

Jesus was not the sort of person that needed a lot of answers or understanding, but even he was a huge advocate of prayer.  He not only preached of it, but he practiced it... and he practiced it frequently.  It makes his advice on the subject the most valuable of any.

Jesus taught:

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (Matthew 6:5-13)

After giving advice on how to make prayer effective, he then offered an incredibly bold promise:

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:7-11)

As the greatest expert on prayer, Christ was clear in saying that God answers them, and that the answer is probably a yes.  It is not necessary to distinguish between "not now" answers and "right now" answers...  When a prayer is offered in the manner which he taught, the answer is yes.  Praying to have a family, or that your family will receive help, or that sickness or infirmities will be removed will result in an answer of yes.

Is it any wonder that prayer is so important in the force of restoration?

Third: Believe in the power of God.

There are people who read the scriptures and offer prayers, but that can come away with the impression that participation in the true Church and the blessings of the restoration are unimportant.  That is undoubtedly why Joseph Smith was persecuted when he shared his experiences with individuals in a community where religious devotion was important in the lives of every person.  Prayer and scripture study were known throughout the region, but the power of God was not.

Mormon taught on this subject in Moroni 7:33-37:

" And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. And he hath said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved. And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased? Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain."

Please do not misunderstand me.  I am not suggesting that you should demand an angelic visitation, or that you should withhold your faith until you have experienced a miracle.  Sign-seeking is bad.

I am saying that when you are on the Lord's errand, the Lord can help you... and not just by offering comfortable speech or the type of motivation you find on a pretty picture in a corporate office... he has real power.  The gift of tongues, prophecy, revelations, visions, healings, and the interpretation of tongues do not even scratch the surface of what God is capable of giving to you if you take part in the divine work of restoration.

Whether your role in this work emphasizes restoring those that have passed on to the blessings of ordinances in the House of God, or undoing the damage of apostasies ancient and modern by proclaiming the gospel to those around us, or in striving to bring our families and ourselves closer to Christ, the power of God will aid those that are engaged in his divine work... and that believe in him.

With so many apostate influences seeking to bring men away from the restored truths, it is important to know how to find the path that leads to God.  It is just as Christ taught: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way which leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.  Because strait is the gate and narrow the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be which find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

It is also important to note that the methods of searching the scriptures, prayer, and believing in the power of God are not the path... they are methods to find the path, or to stay close to it if it has already been found.  The path is something separate... Oh, it leads people back to God... but it has a different name.

The name of the Strait and Narrow Path that leads to God is Jesus Christ.  He is the way, the truth, and the life... and no man cometh unto the Father but by him.

For those that accept his invitation to enter at the strait gate... for those that strive to forge bonds with him through searching the scriptures, prayer, and believing in his power, and persist in following him, he will lead them back to the presence of our Heavenly Father, never more to part.

Is the Bible authoritative?

Is the Bible authoritative?

The answer to this question depends on the branch of Christianity.

The original church that Christ established existed before the Bible, which meant that the word of God was not a single closed book.  This is not to say they did not value scripture.  Matthew’s gospel points out that many Old Testament passages are fulfilled by Christ, and Paul discusses the value of the law in his numerous epistles. 

Scripture was not the ultimate authoritative source of guidance for Christ’s original church; the Apostles were.  They had authority to be witnesses of Christ and his gospel to all the world, and through guidance they received in the form of visions and revelations, they established new doctrines that directly contradicted established scriptural practices such as the dietary law of Moses, circumcision, Sabbath day observance, and so forth, while maintaining the spirit of the laws contained in the scriptures.

The leadership of the Apostles worked well until they were all caught and/or killed.  The remaining bishops in the church tried to maintain Christianity, but over time they began to disagree.  Eventually, the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and prohibited persecution of Christians in 313. Later Theodosius made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire on 27 February 380.  The Bishop of Rome became known as the Pope, and from that time, the Papacy has claimed an unbroken line of authority that goes back to the Apostle Peter to whom Christ said “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)

The majority of Christians seemed satisfied with the authority of the Pope, but eventually, concerns were expressed when their actions seemed inconsistent with Biblical teachings.  Specifically, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the door of the Castle church in Wittenburg protesting the sale of indulgences, which basically amounted to certificates of forgiveness for sins.  Eventually, the dispute between Luther and Pope Leo X resulted in Luther being excommunicated from the Catholic Church.  Luther openly rejected the authority of the Pope, and instead demanded that his actions be proven wrong based on scripture.

For the Protestant movement to have authority after breaking away from the formerly accepted unbroken line of leadership in Catholicism, it was necessary that something besides the Pope be the authoritative guide for Christianity.  To this day, the Bible is that authoritative source for defining faith for Protestants.

So, on the one hand, Catholic authority derives from Papal claims, and the Bible does not need to be authoritative.  On the other, Protestants must use it as the authoritative source of Christianity.  There is a third group that differs from these two.  They can be called restorationists and they believe in a literal restoration of Apostolic authority.

The largest of these groups is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The story of their restoration begins with Joseph Smith.  Like Stephen in the New Testament, he saw God the Father and his son Jesus Christ.  Because the authority to lead the church had been lost with the Apostles, it needed to be restored at the hands of Apostles.  In 1829, Joseph Smith received this authority from Peter, James, and John.

The line of authority continues today with Apostles that stand as in the days of Jesus, guiding Christians with revealed truths.  Though restorationists teach that the Bible is the word of God, they follow the precedent in the Bible by proclaiming that God’s word is not a fixed or completed work, but that he guides us as he always has: through Apostles and Prophets.

For more information on restoration, see http://mormon.org/restoration.

How not to react to a shooting

The tragic massacre in Connecticut this past week has inflicted horrible pain on the families and friends of those directly involved.  It has also produced shock and anger in Americans everywhere else.  It is difficult to imagine the feelings that I would have if one of my children were to have become a victim of such a tragedy.  Unfortunately it seems that there are a number of people that find ways to react inappropriately with respect to this event.  In thinking about this, the purpose of this post is to identify how not to react to tragedy.

One of the first reactions that spread was that gun control laws would have prevented this.  Of course, these comments almost always come from those that favored gun control laws before the tragedy occurred.  Unfortunately, some people do not see that in expressing their well-meaning desire to prevent gun-related crime, they are being insensitive.  When someone experiences pain, the last thing that they want to hear is the equivalent of "I told you so."  Gun advocates may mean well when they talk about their desire to restrict access to firearms, but claiming that legal restrictions would have saved the lives of victims is disrespectful.

Of course some people in reading this might be saying "that right-wing nut job ward preacher is probably just worried about his guns."  I do not deny that I am a gun owner, and I confess that I find people blaming weapons instead of perpetrators to be incredibly short-sighted.  If laws against murder have not protected people from being murdered, then why would laws against weapons protect people against weapons?  Also, mass killings did not begin with the invention of gunpowder.

On the other side of the political spectrum, there have been individuals that want to blame video games for shootings.  Just as those on the left are quick to find something to blame, so too are those on the right that believe that if only video games had not been invented, perhaps the tragedies that have affected schools and theaters would not have occurred.  Such individuals point out how killing can be glorified in these games.  Of course, the problem is that murder pre-dates video games, and has been glorified in other forms of media and literature (including the Bible) for longer than English has been a language.  Though it is true that violence has been wrongfully glorified in many forms of media, there are many people who enjoy James Bond films or games without feeling the urge to shoot up a school.  The motivations and causes behind those that do feel such urges are likely more complex than any one explanation.

Even among the most religious individuals, there exist some who claim that if only people were more accepting of God in society and in our education systems that he would have protected those who became victims.  As well-meaning as these individuals may be, and as important as it is for individuals and societies to accept God, this is simply another form of "I told you so."  Just as gun control advocates are misguided, so to are religious persons who think that citizens will be guaranteed protection with greater religious piety.  Being a devout Christian can never be considered a 'get out of problems free card' or a path to life on easy street.  Bad things happen to good people all the time. 

How many good deeds do such individuals believe are enough to entitle them to unlimited divine intervention?  Religiously speaking, almost no one has lived well enough to actually deserve protection from all harm or misfortune.  The one person who did live flawlessly, and could claim that he deserved a life free from harm was the one who suffered more than any one else...  That was Jesus Christ, and he in fact suffered because of every one else!  There has never been a greater injustice than this, and it is fundamental to Christian faith.

As well as anyone may mean when they express condolences, regret, anger, or ideas for preventing similar tragedies in the future... none of these things can bring back the victims.  None of these things have power to restore the lives of children to their grief-stricken parents.

In the end, there is only one power that can bring them back.  There is only one power that can put life back into the children that have fallen, and peace in the hearts of those that lost loved ones.  The name of that power is Jesus Christ.

When Martha professed to Jesus that if he had been there, her brother Lazarus would not have died, he replied with perhaps the most powerful declaration that has ever been made:
"...I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die..." (John 11:25-26)

Jesus Christ defeated death itself when he was resurrected.  He extends his power to every man, woman, and child that has ever lived on the earth.  Additionally, his power can bind husbands to their wives and children to their parents such that family relationships do not need to end at death.  He literally has power and authority to heal every wound and restore everything that may be lost in any calamity.

Particularly for those of us who are indirectly affected by shootings, our role is not to trumpet "I told you so" or any of its equivalents.  Our role is not to find something to blame or come up with a solution to every problem. 

It is so much better to exercise faith and offer prayers to the one that already has a solution to every problem, a plan to overcome any difficulty, and the power to restore everything to its proper place.  It is our role to help those that have been hurt as best we can until they receive every gift that Jesus Christ has prepared for them.