I
am tired of sailing my little boat
Far
inside of the harbour bar;
I
want to be out where the big ships float –
Out
in the deep, where the great ones are!
And
should my frail craft prove too slight
For
storms that sweep those wide seas o’er,
Better
go down in the stirring fight
Than
drowse to death by the sheltered shore!
- Daisy Rhinehart
I imagine this is what we would have been like in our pre-existence, not content to stay intelligences without form and purpose. We wanted godhood and we accepted the price we had to pay to get it. The sheltered shore is never enough for the ones that want to be great. The truly great ones want the storm and the stirring fight and the grandeur that comes with victory. The truly great ones wanted to risk everything in order to gain everything. They are formidable souls of men that did not flinch in battle with the opposing forces who wanted to keep us in the sheltered shore. They stood firm, believed and accepted when the Father said:
"All that I have I desire to give you - not only my wealth, but also my position and standing among men. That which I have I can easily give you, but that which I am you must obtain for yourself. You will qualify for your inheritance by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived. I will give you the laws and principles by which I have acquired my wisdom and stature. Follow my example, mastering as I have mastered, and you will become as I am, and all that I have will be yours." (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, The Challenge to Become, New Era Aug 2002)
In William Wordsworth's poetic words, we came to this earth 'trailing clouds of glory....from God who is our home' (Ode On Intimations of Immortality), leaving the memory of our greatness behind the veil, leaving all that we once held dear but determined to return ever triumphant and more glorious than when we left. Now in mortality we know very little of who we truly are because most of the time we do not seek to know our former selves. President Lorenzo Snow taught that we can come to know exactly who we are just as the Saviour did. He taught that "Jesus was a god before he came into the world and yet His knowledge was taken from Him. He did not know His former greatness, neither do we know what greatness we had attained to before we came here". He also taught that it was revealed to the Saviour who He was and 'for what purpose He was in the world. The glory and power He possessed before He came into the world was made known unto Him" (Conference Report, April 1901). We too can come to possess such knowledge and revelation for the Father can tell us all things through the power of His Spirit.
Consider Brigham Young's words on this subject : "I want to tell you, each and every one of you, that you are well acquainted with God our heavenly Father, or the great Elohim. You are all well acquainted with Him, for there is not a soul of you but what has lived in His house and dwelt with Him year after year; and yet you are seeking to become acquainted with Him, when the fact is, you have merely forgotten what you did know....There is not a person here today but what is a son or a daughter of that Being" (Journal of Discourses, 4:216). The fact is though that the veil is as thick or thin as we make it be. We are the ones that determine which way it will be for the Lord has promised: "If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things - that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal." (D&C 42:61)
Now that we are here, some of us are struggling to remain great. President Harold B. Lee warned that 'there were many who were foreordained ...to a greater state than they have prepared themselves for here. Even though they might have been among the noble and great...they may fail of that calling here in mortality' (Ensign, January 1974, p 5) It would seem it all depends on whether we are converted. We might have a testimony and a conviction of the gospel but we might not be converted, meaning our basic nature is not changing to reflect that of a Christ like person. It is one thing to be convinced of the truthfulness of the gospel and another to hunger and thirst after righteousness and allow it to change our hearts and our nature. It is one thing to know the commandments and another to have them 'written in our hearts' (Mosiah 13:11). We are here not only to achieve but also to be true and even add to our greatness that we brought with us. The gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to help us become as gods, namely the Father and the Son in whom is all perfection. We are not here to merely make deposits into 'some heavenly account' by doing good deeds (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, The Challenge to Become, New Era Aug 2002). To be converted means to 'become'. With conversion comes the desire to live according to God's plan. It is then that all feelings of compulsion to choose the right flee and the path to eternal life becomes easier. Following King Benjamin's memorable sermon, his people ".....cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." (Mosiah 5:2) This is true conversion. How much easier is it to live God's plan when you have no more disposition to do evil? The path to this conversion lies in yielding our hearts to God continually and being worthy of the Spirit which can sanctify us and change us. As we change and get closer to God, the veil thins and we become aligned with our true greatness. The aim is not to just return home but to return home being great. The Saviour of all mankind realised his greatness and has paved the way. May we walk in his footsteps for He is the light, the truth, the way.
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea.
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and the evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark:
For tho' from out of bourne of time and place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.
- Lord Alfred Tennyson
"All that I have I desire to give you - not only my wealth, but also my position and standing among men. That which I have I can easily give you, but that which I am you must obtain for yourself. You will qualify for your inheritance by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived. I will give you the laws and principles by which I have acquired my wisdom and stature. Follow my example, mastering as I have mastered, and you will become as I am, and all that I have will be yours." (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, The Challenge to Become, New Era Aug 2002)
In William Wordsworth's poetic words, we came to this earth 'trailing clouds of glory....from God who is our home' (Ode On Intimations of Immortality), leaving the memory of our greatness behind the veil, leaving all that we once held dear but determined to return ever triumphant and more glorious than when we left. Now in mortality we know very little of who we truly are because most of the time we do not seek to know our former selves. President Lorenzo Snow taught that we can come to know exactly who we are just as the Saviour did. He taught that "Jesus was a god before he came into the world and yet His knowledge was taken from Him. He did not know His former greatness, neither do we know what greatness we had attained to before we came here". He also taught that it was revealed to the Saviour who He was and 'for what purpose He was in the world. The glory and power He possessed before He came into the world was made known unto Him" (Conference Report, April 1901). We too can come to possess such knowledge and revelation for the Father can tell us all things through the power of His Spirit.
Consider Brigham Young's words on this subject : "I want to tell you, each and every one of you, that you are well acquainted with God our heavenly Father, or the great Elohim. You are all well acquainted with Him, for there is not a soul of you but what has lived in His house and dwelt with Him year after year; and yet you are seeking to become acquainted with Him, when the fact is, you have merely forgotten what you did know....There is not a person here today but what is a son or a daughter of that Being" (Journal of Discourses, 4:216). The fact is though that the veil is as thick or thin as we make it be. We are the ones that determine which way it will be for the Lord has promised: "If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things - that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal." (D&C 42:61)
Now that we are here, some of us are struggling to remain great. President Harold B. Lee warned that 'there were many who were foreordained ...to a greater state than they have prepared themselves for here. Even though they might have been among the noble and great...they may fail of that calling here in mortality' (Ensign, January 1974, p 5) It would seem it all depends on whether we are converted. We might have a testimony and a conviction of the gospel but we might not be converted, meaning our basic nature is not changing to reflect that of a Christ like person. It is one thing to be convinced of the truthfulness of the gospel and another to hunger and thirst after righteousness and allow it to change our hearts and our nature. It is one thing to know the commandments and another to have them 'written in our hearts' (Mosiah 13:11). We are here not only to achieve but also to be true and even add to our greatness that we brought with us. The gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to help us become as gods, namely the Father and the Son in whom is all perfection. We are not here to merely make deposits into 'some heavenly account' by doing good deeds (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, The Challenge to Become, New Era Aug 2002). To be converted means to 'become'. With conversion comes the desire to live according to God's plan. It is then that all feelings of compulsion to choose the right flee and the path to eternal life becomes easier. Following King Benjamin's memorable sermon, his people ".....cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." (Mosiah 5:2) This is true conversion. How much easier is it to live God's plan when you have no more disposition to do evil? The path to this conversion lies in yielding our hearts to God continually and being worthy of the Spirit which can sanctify us and change us. As we change and get closer to God, the veil thins and we become aligned with our true greatness. The aim is not to just return home but to return home being great. The Saviour of all mankind realised his greatness and has paved the way. May we walk in his footsteps for He is the light, the truth, the way.
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea.
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and the evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark:
For tho' from out of bourne of time and place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.
- Lord Alfred Tennyson
No comments:
Post a Comment