How Do I Know How I Am Doing?

A friend of mine asked a really good question:

Someone asked me this week "how can I know if God is really happy with who I am and what I am doing in life?" and I've been thinking a lot about that. I talked to her about Helaman 10:2-5 because it came to mind, and about the power of prayer and being able to recieve guidance from God. But I've also been thinking about that. There's a big difference between doing good things, and doing what God wants, and I was just wondering what you thought about that. How can one know if they're really following the will of God in their lives? 

This is a topic worthy of careful consideration. Here is what I answered:

Your question is good. Many people struggle throughout life to know how to measure their standing in life and with God. The world suggests externally measurable indicators of ones worth. Things like positions at work or in the church, salary, degrees, physical fitness accomplishments, being on winning teams, etc. These can all be good things, but when we set up measures of our ability to compete with others as our metric of self-worth we will be disappointed. We create enmity with others when we are focused on winning in order to feel good about ourself.

I like your suggestion of Nephi in Helaman 10 as a good example. His sense of self-worth came from the Lord’s acceptance of Nephi’s life and service to others. Notice that key idea. Nephi did not seek his own life, he sought God’s will and to keep God’s commandments. In other words, Nephi’s life is an example of the Savior’s teaching in Matthew 16:

24 ¶ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? … 

Understanding God’s commandments can be a challenge. You asked about the difference between doing good and doing what God wants. It seems to me that it is easy to get caught up in lists of things to do as a measure of doing good. For example, missionaries have many, many rules to guide them. It is possible to mistake the lists of rules for God’s commandments. Then, it may be disappointing to find that, despite not breaking the rules, you are not feeling success as a missionary. Good missionaries generally live by the rules, but keeping the rules does not necessarily make you a good missionary. This is the same in life after a mission. People can get caught up in rules. We make lists of things to do and confuse the list with righteousness. For example: read scriptures every day; attend the temple every week or month; complete a four generation family tree; write in a journal every day; pray morning, noon, night, at meals, with the family, and more; etc. These are all good things. But, going through the motions is not the same as being righteous.

Consider scripture study as an example. When we read the scriptures as a task on a “to do” list, we may, or may not, feel the spirit and learn from the scriptures. And, when we miss a day we get down on ourselves. It is possible to read every day and not get the real benefit. When we read because we hear the voice of the Lord through the scriptures, then we learn and draw closer to God. Would you rather read every day and not get any closer to God, or would you rather hear the voice of God through the scriptures even if you miss a day here or there? Honestly, I don’t know if there has ever been a time when I have read every day consistently. But, I have always loved the scriptures. When I read, I feel closer to God, I hear His voice, and I learn. Sometimes I study intently one day and then ponder for a day or two before reading and studying more. The point is that if you love God, and draw closer through the scriptures, you will read them effectively. If you read the scriptures as a task list item, you might never get closer to God. It is getting closer to God that is the measure of success, not the frequency or duration of scripture study.

John gives a great insight into what it means to obey the commandments of Jesus Christ. In 1 John 3:

16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Our standing with God is not measured in competition with others, it is measured by service to others. And, when we love and serve others we have confidence toward God. Confidence that we are obeying His commandments comes from the recognition that we have His Spirit in us. These verses suggest that the sacrament ordinance is the key to knowing that God is happy with us. We know because we have His Spirit with us. We don’t need a visible calling to serve others, we serve as guided by the Spirit. We don’t need a task list, or accomplishment list, or any other external measure, if we have the Spirit and love for others to guide us.

One last idea. In Helaman 10:5 Nephi receives a promise from God that he will be blessed forever. This is Nephi having his calling and election made sure. Peter gives an important insight into how Nephi, and all of us, can receive this promise from God. In 2 Peter 1:

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Notice that in verse 10 is the admonition to make your calling and election sure. How is it made sure? You do the things that Peter has listed, then the Lord will promise you that you will never fall, or in other words, you will be blessed forever like Nephi. Peter gives a list of attributes. This is not a task list. Rather, it is a list of the attributes of a true follower of Christ. We can pray and ask for help to develop these traits. We can study them to understand what they are and why they are in the sequence that Peter has listed. We can know that we are pleasing God as we receive God’s help in developing into this kind of person. Notice that this is the same list as in D&C 4:6. These are the essential attributes of a servant of Jesus Christ.

John, Peter, and Joseph Smith all teach the same thing. As we develop charity, pure love, we gain confidence toward God, become like Christ, and have His Spirit with us. This is how we know our standing with God and become blessed forever.

How Do I Walk the Path Back to God?

Recently, I wrote about the existence of a path back to God that is taught by Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and in the temple endowment. (You can read about that here.) It is one thing to know the steps of the path, and another to actually walk the path. I want to share an approach to walking the path that has been very helpful to me in my experience. This approach may seem surprising at first. Yet, once you know that God wants to have you return to Him, of your own desire and without any compulsion, this approach makes a lot of sense. It is as simple as asking God to give you what He has offered, but will not force you to receive.

Here are the principles that comprise the path back (References are in the previous post.)

• Faith that comes by hearing the word of God, through the testimony of the servants of God
• Repentance
• Baptism, the channel and key by which the Holy Ghost will be administered
• The Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, by the principle of righteousness
• Knowledge of the doctrines of the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment
• The Doctrine of Election - being sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise
• Receive the Second Comforter - no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
• Jesus Christ will manifest the Father to us

It has been my experience that we can review our progress along the path by carefully considering each step of the path. For example, if I have heard, and recognized, the testimony of a true servant of God then I can act in faith on that testimony. Then, I repent. Repentance is ongoing as we learn how the things we do are in error, we change and come to know God better and feel the joy of our redemption through Jesus Christ (See Alma 37:8-9 and this past post about repentance). The next step is baptism, and I received that when I was eight years old. Receiving the Holy Ghost is supposed to follow baptism. If I am not sure about having received the Holy Ghost, then how can I proceed?

We can pray about it. And, I want to suggest an approach to prayer. The process that I am suggesting here is not something to be done lightly. When we approach the Lord in prayer it should be sincere. You might consider fasting, going to a special place (a favorite room in the home, a grove of trees, a place in the mountains, the temple, or anywhere that you know you can feel the Spirit), and pray with real intent. The conversation with the Lord includes prayerfully asking:

1. Have I received the Holy Ghost?
2. If not, will you give me the Holy Ghost?
3. If not yet, what lack I yet?

The first question is based upon the Savior's observation that the Lamanites "were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." (3 Ne 9:29) it is possible that we can receive the Holy Ghost and not know it, or not recognize it as such. If we have received it, then when we ask this question the Lord will bring to our mind when and how it happened. If it has not yet happened, it may be that some study of the scriptures will be needed in order to receive the answer to this question. Thus, at first, the answer may be silence accompanied by hope that you will receive an answer in response to the next two questions. 

The second question is the one that exercises our agency to ask the Lord to give the gift that He has offered through His servants. If a gift, like the Holy Ghost, is offered through Joseph Smith, or the many other prophets in the scriptures, we can ask for it in faith. The answer to this question may be powerful, or it may be silence. Just listen and gratefully accept the response. If the response is silence, or a peaceful feeling of "not yet," don't be discouraged. By asking in faith you have set in motion the experiences that will ultimately lead to receiving, or recognizing that you have received, the Holy Ghost.

The third question, if asked with real intent, leads to learning. And, sometimes, what we learn requires significant change (repentance) in our lives. It is likely that after asking the third question we will need to spend some time searching and studying in the scriptures, the temple, and in continued prayer. I have found, though, that the Lord always answers if we are willing to learn and change. Usually our learning includes the observation that we do not merit the gift we seek, but He wants to give it anyway because of His love for us. We just need to obey the promptings that come as a result of asking this question, even when it is difficult. Remember, the rich young man who asked this question (see Matt 19:20) found the answer very challenging. We, too, may be stretched and challenged as the Lord asks us to sacrifice and offer our all to Him.

You may use different words when you pray. It will be your unique conversation with the Lord. It has been my experience, though, that this process has been an essential part of each step of my journey along this path. And, when it works for each of the early steps, it gives real confidence and faith that it will work for all of the steps.

The Lord has revealed through His servants the things that He would like to give to us. We can ask for those things with faith that we will receive. Because He honors the agency that He has given to us, He will not force these things upon us. But, when we ask and seek in this manner, He will give all that He has promised. Remember His process and promise in D&C 93:1 -

  1 VERILY, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;

We cannot just casually ask for gifts that the Lord wants to give. When we ask for gifts and then ask "what lack I yet?" we must be ready to act on what He tells us. The process involves repenting, coming to Christ, calling on His name and obeying his voice as He gives us commandments. When we do this we will be able to walk the path back to Him and, ultimately, see His face and know that He is.

"In the Name of Jesus Christ"

I was studying today and came across something interesting that gives some insight into what it means to do something "in the name of Jesus Christ." Section 42 of the D&C was given to Joseph Smith in Kirtland, Ohio in the presence of 12 elders. The first verse is very important to understand what it means to do something "in the name of" Jesus Christ. Here is the verse:

 1 HEARKEN, O ye elders of my achurch, who have assembled yourselves together in my name, even Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, the Savior of the world; inasmuch as ye believe on my name and keep my commandments.

This section is addressed to the elders of the church. They have assembled themselves together in His name. Notice what follows. The next phrase begins with "even".  Thus, what follows is a definition of His name. So, they are doing something in His name and the name is, "Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, the Savior of the world." Thus, when we do something in the name of Jesus, we should do it while remembering that He is the Christ (the Greek form of the Hebrew word Messiah, meaning the anointed one) and that He is the Son of the living God and that He is the Savior of the World. Also, this discussion could apply to anything that we do in His name.

The next phrase begins with "inasmuch as ..." The words "inasmuch as" mean "to the extent that ..." or "in proportion to the amount that ... " Thus, we do something in His name as long as, or to the extent that, we believe on His name and keep His commandments. Believing on His name means that we believe that He is the mortal Jesus, the Christ (the anointed one), the Son of the living God, and the Savior of the world. And, while believing those things we obey His commandments.

It is amazing how much information is in that first verse! What follows in the next several verses is even more interesting when you keep the details of this first verse in mind. In verse 4 it says, "I give unto you this first commandment, that ye shall go forth in my name, every one of you ... " So, the first commandment to obey is to go forth "in my name," which makes more sense when you remember what was taught in verse 1. And, what do you do when you go forth? Look at verses 6-7:

 6 And ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit, preaching my gospel, two by two, in my name, lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, declaring my word like unto angels of God.
 7 And ye shall go forth baptizing with water, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

We are to go forth in the power of the Spirit of Christ, to declare His message and to baptize. There is a lot that is worth studying in these verses. What does it mean to work by the "power of my Spirit"? What is it to speak like unto angels of God? What does it mean for the kingdom to be at hand? These things are worth studying.

The Truth of the Book of Mormon

Often, in response to questions about the truth of the Book of Mormon, people will quote from Moroni 10:4, "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask ... , he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." Now, this simplification of what Moroni said leaves out a lot of what Moroni actually said. But, setting that aside, assume I follow this admonition and receive a witness that the Book of Mormon is true. Now what do I do? Am I done with the Book of Mormon? Is it enough to be able to say, "I know that it is true!"? Is the Book of Mormon now just a prop for me to use in inviting others to know for themselves the truth of the words it contains?

Of course it seems silly to just carry the book around, proclaiming that it is true, without doing something with it. If it is, in fact, the word of God, then it should become one of our most prized books. It should be where we turn to hear the voice of God. Its words should inform who we are, how we treat people, how we approach God, etc. We should read it regularly, looking for guidance and allowing it to help us repent and know God.

In Doctrine and Covenants, section 84, the Lord says:

  45 For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
  46 And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.
  47 And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.

So, if we know the truth of the Book of Mormon then we know that it contains the word of the Lord, light, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And, it is up to us whether that light is enlightening, or not. Notice in verse 46 it says that only those who hearken to the light (the truth, or word of the Lord) are enlightened by it. And, in verse 47, those who hearken come to God the Father.

Nephi teaches us what to do once we know that we have the truth, the word of the Lord, and are in the path. He says, in 2 Nephi 31:

  19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
  20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

We must press forward and live by the words of the Lord, as found in the Book of Mormon, because we have come to know the truth of these words. Knowing the truth is not enough on its own. We must live by the words that are true.

Just over two years after Joseph Smith organized a church, the Lord told the members that they were under condemnation. Notice that this is in Section 84 and follows right after the verses quoted above:

  54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—
  55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.
  56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.
  57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

How do we treat the Book of Mormon lightly? According to verse 57 we treat it lightly when we say that it is true, but fail to do according to the words of the Lord contained in the Book of Mormon. And, how do we know if we are doing the things taught in the Book of Mormon? We know because we are coming unto God, feasting on the words of Christ, and receiving the promise of eternal life (walking the path as described in an earlier post).

Here is a simple idea that can help with turning our reading of the Book of Mormon into an active process of becoming closer to God. The basis of this idea is Joseph Smith's statement in the introduction to the Book of Mormon, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” (A precept is defined as a principle or general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought.)

As a means of hearkening to the word, try to identify, and act upon, precepts as often as possible. To get started, as you read the Book of Mormon this week, pray for help to identify a precept that you can experiment upon to see if it will help you get nearer to God. Next, you might try to find other places in the scriptures where that same precept is taught. Making connections with other scriptures that teach the same ideas will refine your understanding. Then, identify specific things you can do to live that precept as an experiment upon the word. Keep track of the experience you have as you live (hearken to) the precept over a period of time. See if, in fact, through the power of the Holy Ghost you feel closer to God. Then, repeat ;-). (Here is more on this idea, if you are interested.)

I have tried this repeatedly and can tell you from my own experience of the truth of the words of the Book of Mormon. I know this because it has brought me closer to God than has any other book.

Is There a Path Back to God?

I have been hiking in the mountains of Utah for almost 20 years. There are so many beautiful trails, summits, lakes, and valleys that I love to share with others. My favorite type of hike is to get to the summit of a peak. Some peaks have well defined trails to the top (if you know where the trail starts) and others require a little creative route finding. Often, people will ask me how to get to the top of a particular mountain peak. It is a lot easier to describe a route that I have actually walked than it is to describe one I have never tried myself.

There is an analogy to be made. Many people are struggling with information about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or about its members and leaders. People come across descriptions of claimed problems with the history or behavior of the leaders or members and feel that their faith is challenged. The analogy I want to draw is that the core of the faith that we received through Joseph Smith is well defined. It defines a path back into the presence of God. Much of the criticism of the church or its members is like arguing about whether the path could exist based upon the behavior of people who may have talked about the path, walked only a portion of the path, tried other paths, made claims that the path is different than we thought, or even claim that no path exists.

Joseph Smith described seeing the Father and the Son (see Joseph Smith - History 1: 17). He also enjoyed the ministering of angels, such as Moroni (see Joseph Smith - History 1:30-33) or, together with Oliver Cowdery, John the Baptist (see D&C 13:1). He and Sidney Rigdon saw a vision of Jesus Christ and the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (see D&C 76:14). Joseph's ministry and teachings are based upon the claim that the heavens are open and that revelation of God is available to us living in mortality. And, Joseph did not require us to merely take his testimony as sufficient. He taught that "... God hath not revealed anything to Joseph, but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and even the least Saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear them, for the day must come when no man need say to his neighbor, Know ye that Lord; for all shall know Him (TPJS, pg. 149)."

Joseph walked a path that leads through personal revelation and the ministering of angels back to the knowledge of God. And, he then taught us how to walk the path. In a sermon given in June of 1839 (See TPJS, pp. 148-151) Joseph Smith described the path as including the following elements:

• Faith that comes by hearing the word of God, through the testimony of the servants of God
• Repentance
• Baptism, the channel and key by which the Holy Ghost will be administered
• The Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, by the principle of righteousness
• Knowledge of the doctrines of the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment
• The Doctrine of Election - being sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise
• Receive the Second Comforter - no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
• Jesus Christ will manifest the Father to us

This path is a remarkable thing. Imagine the possibility that each of us could walk the path and be reconnected to our Father in Heaven again. It seems to me that the best way to test the teachings of Joseph Smith is to get busy walking the path he described. If the path takes me to where I enjoy forgiveness of sin, the Holy Ghost in my life, knowledge of Jesus Christ, and a reunion with my Father, then I know the Lord for myself and I know that Joseph Smith taught a correct path.

It turns out that the Book of Mormon also teaches this path. The book opens with Lehi seeing a vision of God in just the sixth verse of the first chapter (see 1 Nephi 1:6). The message, throughout the Book of Mormon, is that the heavens are open and revelation is available through the ministering of angels, the power of the Holy Ghost, and through open vision and the voice of God. Nephi is a great example of someone who walked this path. Here are examples, from the life of Nephi, of every step of the path that has been described by Joseph Smith:

• Faith - Nephi hears his father's teaching and seeks his own witness (1 Nephi 2:16)
• Repentance - Nephi taught based upon revelation and experience (2 Nephi 13:31)
• Baptism - Nephi saw baptism of Jesus and His reception of the Holy Ghost (1 Nephi 11:27)
• Gift of the Holy Ghost - The power by which Lehi taught and Nephi learned (1 Nephi 10:17)
• Resurrection and Judgment - Jacob taught it as part of the plan (2 Nephi 9:22)
• Election - Nephi taught that we may have the promise of eternal life (2 Nephi 31:20)
• Second Comforter - Nephi heard the voice of the Son (2 Nephi 31:12) and promised that Christ will manifest himself unto us in the flesh (2 Nephi 32:6)
• Father is manifest - Nephi was taught by the voice of the Father (2 Nephi 31:15)

Nephi made it clear that this path is the one given by God and that the Doctrine of Christ is the way; and that there is no other name than Christ given under heaven whereby a man can be saved in the Kingdom of God (2 Nephi 31:21).

Later, while creating his abridgment of the Nephite records, Mormon found this record of Nephi to be choice and pleasing and made it the basis for the remainder of his own record (see Words of Mormon 1:3-5). In fact, there are examples of every aspect of the path taught in the balance of the Book of Mormon. It is worth taking the time to search out the examples that are there and to convince yourself that this path is taught repeatedly through the Book of Mormon.

Joseph Smith provided us with an additional description of this path back to the Father. Describing what he taught on May 4, 1842 (TPJS, pg. 237), Joseph said:

Wednesday, 4. - I spent the day in the upper part of the store, that is in my private office * * * in council with General James Adams, of Springfield, Patriarch Hyrum Smith, Bishops Newel K. Whitney and George Miller, and President Brigham Young and Elders Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards, instructing them in the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to washings, anointings, endowments and the communication of keys pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood, and so on to the highest order of the Melchizedek Priesthood, setting forth the order pertaining to the Ancient of Days, and all those plans and principles by which any one is enabled to secure the fullness of those blessing which have been prepared for the Church of the Firstborn, and come up and abide in the presence of the Eloheim in the eternal worlds. In this council was instituted the ancient order of things for the first time in these last days. And the communications I made to this council were of things spiritual, and to be received only by the spiritual minded: and there was nothing made known to these men but what will be made known to all the Saints of the last days, so soon as they are prepared to receive, and a proper place is prepared to communicate them, even to the weakest of the Saints; therefore let the Saints be diligent in building the Temple, and all houses which they have been, or shall hereafter be, commanded of God to build; and wait their time with patience in all meekness, faith, perseverance unto the end, knowing assuredly that all these things referred to in this council are always governed by the principle of revelation. (May 4, 1842.) DHC 5:1-2.

Again, Joseph is teaching how to come into the presence of God. And, he is assuring us that all of these things are available to all of the saints as soon as we are prepared to receive them.

Many people spend a lot of time debating whether the path that has been described could exist in a church that is comprised of people who make mistakes. Whether it be individual foibles or something as doctrinally important as the ordination of people of African descent to the priesthood, these are issues that are peripheral to the core claim that there is a path back to God. These may be significant issues, but they are not the central message of the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They relate to the people who have attempted to live the Gospel. If the path actually leads back to God then, eventually, we will understand the answers to all of the other concerns.

If the fulness of the Gospel was given by Christ to the Nephites, then we should be able to follow that path, too. It seems to me that the best way to test the claim is to try to walk the path. There are many recognizable waypoints on the path that serve as signposts that we are on the right path (see related thoughts here). We can watch for those to know that we are headed in the right direction, even if we aren't at the end of the path yet. This is, after all, a journey of faith. If the path actually brings us to have faith, to repent, to be baptized, to receive the Holy Ghost, to gain a knowledge of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as our Redeemer and, through Him, to a knowledge of the Father, then the other stuff will work itself out. If the path does not bring these things, then the other stuff doesn't really matter.

The church is like a hospital where every member is part of a huge effort for the patients to treat the patients. It is remarkable how much good can come out of this kind of effort. It is not surprising that it will occasionally disappoint us, and maybe even break our hearts. But the real message is not the church, rather the church is where the real message is taught. Don't get caught up in the debate about whether the weakness of church members undermines the message of the church. Rather, start walking the path and see where it leads. I will tell you, from my experience, that the views are spectacular from this particular path!







* Just a note of appreciation to a great thinker that helped to focus my thoughts. This post is inspired by the "Parable of the Diamond," by Hugh Nibley. I have posted it here before.