UNBREAKABLE CONNECTION

 

There is a certain connection we have with God which surpasses even our freedom of choice and it is this: thoughts. Consider these scriptures:

·       He knows every single thing that comes into our mind (Ezekiel 11:5);

·       He sees every thought of men’s hearts (Genesis 6:5);

·       There is nothing that He doesn’t know (2 Nephi 9:20);

·       Only God knows our thoughts and intents of our hearts (Helaman 9:41; D&C 6:16)

·       Thoughts, words and works will condemn us on judgment day (Alma 12:14)

·       God knows our thoughts which lead to wickedness of the heart (Jacob 1:4-6)

This is the first danger of unworthy thoughts: “Yes, as a man thinketh, so does he. If he thinks it long enough, he is likely to do it, whether it be theft, moral sin, or suicide. Thus the time to protect against the calamity is when the thought begins to shape itself. Destroy the seed and the plant will never grow. (President Spencer W. Kimball, “Miracle of Forgiveness”, pp 113-4).

And this is the second danger: “Every man and every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil. It is not what he says alone; it is not alone what he does. It is what he is. Every man, every person radiates what he or she really is…It is what we are and what we radiate that affects the people around us.

“As individuals, we must think nobler thoughts. We must not encourage vile thoughts or low aspirations. We shall radiate them if we do. If we think noble thoughts; if we encourage and cherish noble aspirations, there will be that radiation when we meet people, especially when we associate with them.” (President David O. McKay, “Man May Know for Himself”, p 108; see also 2 Nephi 13:9)

And here is the hope: President Kimball also said that “man alone, of all creatures of earth, can change his thought pattern and become the architect of his destiny” (ref as above)

And here is a formula that we could relate to: “When temptation comes, you can invent a delete key in your mind….your mind is in charge; your body is the instrument of your mind. When some unworthy thought pushes into your mind, replace it with your delete key.” (President Boyd K. Packer, “Prayer and Promptings”, Ensign Nov 2009, 46)

And here is the greatest reason why, with a holy promise: “….let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God….” (D&C 121:45)

On judgment day we will want to stand pure in body and mind in front of Him who is the purest of us all and who knows all things….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Christ by David Beraru)

A FALL FROM GRACE, A FALL FROM GLORY

"Do we emphasize the David who killed Goliath, or the David who killed Uriah? Should we view him as the servant who refused to lift his hand against the Lord's anointed, or as the Lord's anointed who lifted his hand against a faithful and loyal servant? Was his life a tragedy or a triumph?" (Old Testament Student Manual, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, p 287)

David's accomplishments were not only great but they were great accomplishments. David did three things for temporal Israel that typify what Christ will do for spiritual Israel.  Following Saul's death, Israel's kingdom was divided in two for seven years. The tribe of Judah accepted David as their king and the rest of the tribes of Israel were ruled by Ishbosheth, one of the sons of Saul, whom Abner, Saul's commanding general set up as the new king (2 Sam 2:8-9). Despite being anointed as Israel's king, by Samuel, the prophet, David refrained from taking action against Ishbosheth in honour of the covenant he made with Jonathan not to retaliate against Saul's family when he came to power. Following Ishbosheth's murder (2 Samuel 3) David showed great wisdom and judgment by executing the two men responsible. This brought him into favour with the tribes under Ishbosheth and ultimately united all twelve tribes into one nation under the ultimate leadership of God. Secondly, David succeeded in winning the whole extent of the promised land for the covenant people. For the first time the chosen people of the Lord controlled the whole land promised to Abraham's posterity nearly a thousand years earlier. Thirdly, David established Zion or Jerusalem as the spiritual and political center of Israel. Under David's reign Israel reached its golden age. Never before had Israel achieved such heights of power nor did they ever again. (Old Testament Student Manual, p 291)

Despite all his great accomplishments David made one very big error of judgment. He became very comfortable as a monarch of a successful kingdom. This comfort zone became detrimental to his ability to endure to the end. As his kingdom ran like a well oiled machine, his approach to his kingly duties became somewhat lax. "At the time when kings go forth to battle" (2 Sam 11:1) David chose to send Joab and all Israel to fight Ammonites while he remained in Jerusalem, strolling upon the roof of his house to cool off in the heat of the night. This was David's first and big mistake that began his gradual demise into depths of sin from which he could not extricate himself. Sin seldom happens in one giant leap. As Elder Boyd K. Packer says: "I don't think anyone steps off a precipice into the depths of immorality and apostasy. They slide down the slippery sides of the chasm...." (Improvement Era. May 1970, p. 7)  It would seem that David didn't think he needed his armour of God on such a hot night while he was lounging and relaxing away from battle but the adversary doesn't take sabbaticals and he took advantage of David's lack of protection. David spotted a temptation bigger than the Goliath he slew so valiantly some years prior. Not turning away once he happened to see a woman washing herself his gaze lingered enough to discover she was beautiful. Not content with leaving it there, he inquired about her. This should have stopped him in his tracks for the reply he got was that her name was Bathsheba (which means "daughter of the covenant") and that she was married to a man called Uriah (which means "Jehovah is my light"). These two names alone should have lifted him to a higher plain but 'his casualness in righteous things had dulled his spiritual senses' (Bruce Satterfield, Lesson 24,  "Create In Me A Clean Heart", Meridian Magazine). The adultery that happened next was tragic but what happened after it was devastating. David dared to believe that he could conceal his sin, not just from Israel but from God. As he devised one plan after another to cover his sin he developed a treacherous character that led him to the loss of his salvation. When he failed to entice Uriah to spend time with his wife so that the conceived child could be passed off as his, David allowed the spirit of murder to enter his heart. He devised a plan that would insure Uriah's death at the front lines of battle and took Bathsheeba to be his wife. At what point do you think David could have stopped himself from advancing towards the edge of the precipice? None of this need have happened if David was at the right place at the right time, namely, out on the battle field instead of the roof of his house.

David had many wives and concubines which were given to him of the Lord by the hand of Nathan, the prophet (D&C 132:39). It was Nathan who was sent to prick David's conscience regarding the one wife that was not given to him of God and which 'displeased the Lord' (2 Sam 11:27). Nathan recounted a parable to David in these words:  "There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him" (2 Sam 12:2-4). Perhaps the most sombre words spoken to anyone in the scriptures were Nathan's words to David as he responded to David's outrage about the rich man who took the poor man's lamb and prepared it as a meal to a weary traveller whilst sparing so many lambs that he owned. At David's insistence that the man should be put to death for such a selfish act, Nathan's response to him cut deep as he said: "Thou art the man" (2 Sam 12:7). Nathan then continued to recount all that the God of Israel had done for David, pointing out his gross sin of murder and prophesying all the calamities that would befall him. He would not be put to death as the law required but he was given a worse punishment than that. The child born to David and Bathsheeba died and David lived to see many of his wives and sons turn against him and much of his household turn to infighting and blood.

Unlike Saul, David acknowledged where he had gone wrong and suffered godly sorrow that brought him to repentance. His sins, however, were grievous and even though he will eventually receive forgiveness in the sense that all sins are forgiven except the sin against the Holy Ghost, the forgiveness he will receive will not assure him axaltation. In the LDS Bible Dictionary we read: "Like Sault he was guilty of grave crimes, but unlike Saul, he was capable of true contrition and was therefore able to find forgiveness, except in the murder of Uriah. As a consequence David is still unforgiven but he received a promise that the Lord would not leave his soul in hell. He will be resurrected at the end of Millennium", meaning he will receive the telestial glory. Is this not a tragedy of gigantic proportion? A great man who accomplished so much, who had unwavering faith in God, who stood to remain a king throughout all eternity, will be resurrected to the lowest kingdom of glory. Joseph Smith said that David could get forgiveness only through hell but that his soul would not be left there. The question begs to be asked, who wishes to spend a term in hell with the devil before being cleansed from sin? If you are sitting on the edge of the precipice pushing the boundaries every which way, as far as you can, move. The cost of your falling will far outweigh the thrill and excitement of the edge.

David was promised by God that his throne shall be established through Christ forever, that he would become the progenitor of the Messiah and Saviour of the world (2 Sam 7:16). Jesus thus came into mortality as a descendant of David, through his mother, and as an heir to his throne both physically and spiritually. Elder James E. Talmage explains it like this: "At the time of the Saviour's birth, Israel was ruled by alien monarchs. The rights of the royal Davidic family were unrecognized; and the ruler of the Jews was an appointee of Rome. Had Judah been a free an independent nation, ruled by her rightful sovereign, Joseph the carpenter would have been her crowned king; and his lawful successor to the throne would have been Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews". (Jesus The Christ, p. 87)

So David, a man of greatness who left such a huge mark on the world and who became an ancestor to the most important figure in human history turned out to be a study in tragedy. As we study this tragedy we cannot fail to recognise that the fall from grace is extremely easy. Sometimes we think we can handle a little temptation, that we are bigger than the pull of sin, or that we are strong enough to stand in the side lines and just watch but if you give in to the desire to watch, you will eventually have the desire to do.  And sometimes we don't like to be regimented by the Church and we allow our 'right for freedom' to loosen that armour of God and it starts to slip and eventually it becomes a nuisance to us and we remove it altogether endangering our ability to endure to the end for no matter how great you started off, what matters more is how great you end up.

It is never too late to turn around and go the other way. The road of repentance might be rough and steep as opposed to the smooth road that requires nothing of us and that leads to nowhere. You might get a few blisters and a few cuts but if you press on, by the time you come full circle you will be a possessor of a humble heart worthy of the redemptive power which can make you clean. The Saviour waits ready to forgive and to encircle you in the arms of his love.

What win I if I gain the thing I seek?
A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy?
Who buys a minute's myrth to wail a week
Or sells eternity to get a toy?
For one sweet grape, who would the vine destroy?
Or what fond beggar but to touch the crown,
Would with the scepter straight be stricken down.

- William Shakespeare

KNOW THYSELF

As the children of Israel progressed towards the promised land toward the end of 40 years of wandering, they found themselves in Moab country having already taken possession of the land of  the Amorites. By this time in their travels Israelites had become so numerous that it seemed to king of Moab that they covered the whole earth (Numbers 22:11).  Not only were their numbers frightening but their ability to take over was terrifying.  The king of Moab recognised that the Israelites were powerful because of the god they worshipped.  This point of Israelites' history brings us to one of the most interesting stories of the Old Testament.  Balak, the king of Moab knew he had to enlist some help if he was to withstand the Israelites so he sent for Balaam, a Mesopotamian diviner (Deut. 23:4) who had an international reputation.  Ancient Aramaic texts refer to Balaam as a 'seer of the gods'.  It was believed anciently that diviners could speak for any god.  Balaam received his instructions from God during the night (Num. 22:8) and then rose in the morning to reveal them.  It is not known whether or not Balaam was a true prophet of God holding the powers of the priesthood authority but his geographical position suggests he could have been one of the few scattered people such as Jethro, who held the priesthood and exercised its power (Old Testament Student Manual, p. 207).  The Bible suggests that he had a true knowledge of God and was susceptible to receiving revelation from Him, hence the title of a 'prophet'.

The story of Balaam is referred to by Elder Bruce R. McConkie as 'the madness of a prophet'.   Balaam was petitioned by Balak, the king of Moabites, to travel to Moab to curse Israel so they would not prevail against Moab and in return he would bestow on Balaam riches and great honour.  If Balaam heeded the first directive which he received from the Lord to decline the request and stay put, he would have faded into obscurity there and then but because of the choices which he made, three chapters of the Old Testament are devoted to his story and he is referred to a number of times throughout the scriptures.  Balak was persistent in his petitioning and Balaam was persistent in his hunger for riches and honour that were so easily offered. Because of this he kept pushing the Lord to allow him to go. So Balaam went to Moab against the Lord's displeasure even though the Lord allowed it and he importuned the Lord several times through offering of sacrifices to allow him to curse Israel.  Each time instead of a cursing came a blessing on Israel.  You would think that Balaam would at this point get the message that Israel was favoured of the Lord and that he should be on their side but Balaam wanted both, to please the God of Israel and to please the king of Moab. How wonderful it would be to be rich and powerful as well as having the prophetic powers that already were his. This is a classical example of being at two minds, with your feet in two camps, attempting to serve both God and mammon. This double mindnedness proved to be Balaam's downfall both spiritually and physically.

There are a number of lessons we can glean from this man and his choices. When Balaam couldn't get the Lord's permission to curse Israel he thought of another way to get his way. He came up with an ingenious plan to obey God and still get the riches. He told Balak that he can't curse Israel but God can.  He advised the king of Moab to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel by enticing them to commit sin through practices associated with idol worship. Through his advice, Moabites seduced the children of Israel into participating in the fertility cult associated with Ba'al worship. "And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor" (Num. 25:1-3) Here is a prophet who truly is mad thinking that he can retain God's favour while he is advocating such great sin.  Balaam met his death shortly thereafter while aligned against Israel in the camps of the Midianites where he was slain with the sword. Here is something interesting though. While he was on his way to Balak an angel of the Lord tried three times to stop him.  The donkey that Balaam travelled on halted each time and refused to travel further but Balaam was so fixed on his purpose that he could not see the angel and hurled such abuse on the donkey that the Lord opened the donkey's mouth and spoke to him.  Donkeys are known for their stubbornness. It is plain in this instance to see who was the real donkey.  Sometimes we are like Balaam and we insist on pursuing a destructive course of action with such exceeding stubbornness that we do not recognise the warning signs that God places before us.

Balaam's unwise course of action was not only to his detriment but to the detriment of others. Because of his craftiness the children of Israel were enticed into idol worship and whoredom with the Moabites and they paid dearly for it.  As a result they were cursed with a plague and 24,000 people died (Num. 25:9).  How often do we stop to think if our choices are going to be to the detriment of others?  We very seldom stop to think if they will be detrimental to ourselves let alone those who are within our influence.  Another lesson for us to learn from this story. It's a terrible thing to be the cause of someone's demise, whether physical or spiritual. This is why fornication is a sin with a double edge sword. When committed, you are not only damaging your spiritual welfare but are endangering the spiritual well being of another person.

The greatest lesson we can learn from Balaam is to trust God to direct our path. God knew that riches and prestige were Balaam's Achilles' heel and the adversary did too. In other words, God knew Balaam but obviously Balaam didn't know himself. Very often like Balaam we don't understand why God won't let us have something we want and we rationalise that we can handle that which we seek or that we can handle the temptation and so we flirt with disaster. We think we know how far we can go but we don't know how Satan will take that daring to his advantage and bring us to the point of no return.  If Balaam had trusted God he would have known that he couldn't handle the lure of riches and he would not have come to the point where he abandoned all common sense and ended up being an enemy to the god who once favoured him enough to reveal things of importance to him.  We are just children and God as our parent is trying to keep us away from the fire so it doesn't consume us. We need to trust that and we need to know our most prominent weakness which has the potential to take us away from Him.  We need to seek to know ourselves.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.....how oft would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matt 23:37).  How appropriate that the Lord would use a mother hen as a metaphor for his parental tender care. It is only under His safe wings that we can find refuge and safety. He knows us far better than we know ourselves. He can save us from our personal 'madness' by guiding us in the paths that we should go. His paths are sure and his protection never failing.