Hearken

The very first word of the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) is hearken. This old-fashioned word is used frequently in the Bible and over 70 times in the D&C. President Russell M. Nelson has indicated that "it means 'to listen with the intent to obey.' To hearken means to 'hear Him'—to hear what the Savior says and then to heed His counsel" ("Hear Him," General Conference, April 2020).

hear·ken (här′kən) verb
1 Literary. to give heed or attention to what is said; listen.
2 Archaic. to listen attentively; give heed.

The Japanese kangi for the word listen is instructive as we consider what it means for us to hearken to the voice of the Lord.

This single symbol combines the symbols for the words ears, eyes, mind, heart, and undivided attention. This implies that listening is more than just hearing; rather true listening—or hearkening—requires the whole of us as well as our focus.

 
President Nelson has promised us great blessings if we will be more intentional in our efforts to "hear Him."

I promise that you will be blessed with additional power to deal with temptation, struggles, and weakness. I promise miracles in your marriage, family relationships, and daily work. And I promise that your capacity to feel joy will increase even if turbulence increases in your life.

These are certainly blessings I seek in my life! Our current prophet has promised that they can be ours— and we also see this promise in the preface to the D&C:

Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.

How do we know that this is true? Because God keeps His promises!

"Behold, I Am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World" (D&C 43:34)

In the introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C), three purposes of the book are outlined:

(1) explanations of fundamental doctrines of the gospel,

(2) an unfolding of the administrative structure of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and

(3) a testimony of "Jesus Christ — His divinity, His majesty, His perfection, His love, and His redeeming power — mak[ing] this book of great value to the human family."

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The Doctrine and Covenants contains powerful testmonies of Jesus Christ and His work — most of them from the Lord Himself. Consider the following:

  His Atonement and Resurrection

"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance" (D&C 18:10-12).

"For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men" (D&C 19:16-19).

Harry Anderson's Christ in Gethsemane

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We may never understand nor comprehend in mortality how He accomplished what He did, but we must not fail to understand why He did what He did.

                — Ezra Taft Benson (in October 1983 General Conference)

As I read this next passage, I can insert my own name and feel Jesus's love for me personally!

"My [daughter Alison], hearken and hear and behold what I, the Lord God, shall say unto you, even Jesus Christ your Redeemer; The light and the life of the world, a light which shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not; Who so loved the world that he gave his own life, that as many as would believe might become the [daughters] of God. Wherefore you are my [daughter]" (D&C 34:1-3).

Our Advocate

"Behold, and hearken, O ye [people] of my church, saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted" (D&C 62:1).

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An advocate is one who pleads the cause of another. To succor literally means "to run to." 

What a magnificent way to describe the Savior's urgent effort in our behalf. Even as He calls us to come to Him and follow Him, He is unfailingly running to help us.

— Jeffrey R. Holland (in BYU Speeches, March 1997)

While imprisoned in Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph Smith learned how low the Savior is willing to go for our benefit. "If the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" (D&C 122:8-9)

Again, I can put my name in the verse: "I will encircle [Alison] in the arms of my love" (D&C 6:20).

"I Know That My Redeemer Lives"
"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the bright hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father— That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God" (D&C 76:22-24).

These verses reflect the testimony of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, resulting from a vision they received.

Minerva Teichart's Christ in His Red Robe

A passage that is personally significant to my own testimony is found in Section 78. My mother included these words in a letter she wrote to me while I was in college and having a particularly hard time, and I have returned to them for the comfort they bring many times since.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you; And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours" (D&C 78:17-18).

 

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine.
I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?

Text by Charles H. Gabriel

May we always remember our Savior, Jesus Christ, and as we study the Doctrine and Covenants, may we look for what it teaches us about Him. He is the central figure of the book!

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The fifth chapter of Alma is my favorite single chapter of the Book of Mormon, and verse 26 is among my favorite verses in the chapter. This one verse summarizes the whole of Alma's powerful sermon —

• the change of heart required of Jesus' disciples,
• the redemptive power of His Atonement to "[take] us as we are — and [make] us more than we ever imagined" (Neill F. Marriott, "Yielding Our Hearts to God," October 2015), and
• the importance of remembering "because remembering with thanks is what causes us to trust — to really believe" (Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts Devotional: Reflections on Finding Everyday Graces, Zondervan, 2012).

A Joyful Day

This morning I woke up in a gorgeous mountain setting. The beautiful blue sky held the promise of goodness, and the glorious sunshine invited joy. Almost immediately the words of Psalm 118:24 came to mind, and I was glad.

Like Martha, I often find myself "careful and troubled about many things" (Luke 10:41). Recently, as I sat on the edge of my bed early in the morning and worried about the day ahead, the admonition consider the lilies came into my mind.

This simple phrase was a powerful reminder that my Father is mindful of my needs.

He knows my anxious heart.

He is aware of my struggles.

And He will provide.

As Jesus taught, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

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"And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

"And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions."

-Mosiah 24:13-14

‪#‎BecauseOfHim‬ ‪#‎Hallelujah‬ ‪#‎Ponderize‬

Living Water

I love these words of the prophet Isaiah!
Brigham City Temple, 2012.

"O Lord, I have trusted in thee,
and I will trust in thee forever.
I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh;
for I know that cursed is he that putteth
his trust in the arm of flesh.
Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust
in man or maketh flesh his arm"
(2 Nephi 4:34).

God Blesses Us Abundantly

D&C 78:17-18 Perspective

Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee

Mark 6:31-32 #SpiritualWhitespace

"Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Divinely Possible

On Monday morning, my alarm went off at five o'clock, just as I had intended. Although I'm not a morning person, I had to get my son to the school early so he could do a make-up timed run for his fitness class, which ironically enough, he'd missed by participating in the region championship cross-country race.

I had started the weekend physically and emotionally exhausted. Though I had tried to re-charge by sleeping late on Saturday morning, an emotionally taxing phone call and the realization that I'd forgotten about an impending deadline just raised my stress level higher. Having decided to "just keep swimming," I had made some progress - but I was still tired and worn out.

As I sat on the edge of my bed trying to gather the strength to start my day, I quickly reviewed the calendar. "We need to leave the house by 6:30," I thought, "or as close to that as humanly possible."

Almost immediately the thought entered my mind that nothing was "humanly possible." Not one item on my to-do could be accomplished by relying on my human abilities. Yet, with God all things were possible (see Luke 1:37).

My son and I could leave the house by as close to 6:30 as divinely possible.

"Help, please," I prayed.

And His grace was sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

"Grace Shall Be As Your Day"Out of the Best Books No. 6

Emily Freeman loves the word of God like I do, and I find so many of her insights immensely valuable. In this short book, she outlines six lessons to help us as we wait for the answers or the miracles we need, according to the Lord's promise:

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised (Jeremiah 33:14).

My favorite of the lessons is Recognize and Remember His Mercy. The hymn "Come, Come, Ye Saints" contains the line grace shall be as your day. In other words, "Grace will be given as your day requires." The hymn "How Firm a Foundation" teaches this same principle: "As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be." Says Emily:

I believe in a God who continually ministers to His people. ... A friend told me that in Finnish the phrase tender mercies is written lempeät armoteot, which translates directly as "gentle works of grace." I love that translation. The Lord is tender and gentle in His ministry to us.

The Lord very literally poured out blessings from heaven on the children of Israel. "Behold, I will rain bread from heave for you; ... in the morning bread to the full; ... and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God" (Exodus 16:4, 8, 12). He will pour out blessings on us too. "I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those who He hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance" (1 Nephi 1:20).

Great power comes from recognizing and remembering the hand of God in our lives. Henry B. Eyring taught, "[As] we come to see the hand of God more clearly ... in time we not only remember Him, but we come to love Him and, through the power of the Atonement, become more like Him" ("O Remember, Remember," General Conference, October 2007).

A related lesson is Trust God's Heart. Emily writes about the quote that hangs on the wall of her mother's bedroom:

When you can't see God's hand,
trust His heart.
Words that we can cling to when find ourselves wondering about God's purposes can be found in the Apostle Paul's epistle to the Romans:

If God be for us, who can be against us? ... Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans 8:31, 35, 37).

Note of Explanation: Part of my 10-week plan for summer this year was to read one short, inspirational book each Sunday afternoon and ponder on what I can learn from it. This blog post represents part of my efforts to do that.

"Art Thou Greater Than He?"Out of the Best Books No. 5

Accompanied by a CD of three songs, this little book by singer-songwriter Kenneth Cope presents, in about twenty pages, the lyrics to his song "Greater Than Us All" with added pictures, quotes, and scriptural references. The back cover of the book summarizes the context of the song like this:

Long before Calvary and the crown of thorns, before Bethlehem, or Israel, or even Eden, Jesus demonstrated His matchless love.

I was not familiar with the song prior to reading through the book, but the lyric that I found most meaningful as I read and listened was this one:

Every heart felt of His love / For us He'd come

The accompanying scripture is 1 John 4:19: "We love Him, because He first loved us." What a magnificent expression of Jesus's love was evident in His willingness to become our Teacher, our Exemplar, our Savior, and our Redeemer! Because of His perfect love, He is greater than us all - which enables us to rely upon Him in our sorrows, our sins, our pains, and our afflictions (see Alma 7:11-13).

In D&C 122:8 is recorded the word of the Lord to Joseph Smith while he was imprisoned in Liberty Jail.

The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?

Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.

In other words, nothing we can ever experience, no trial we must ever endure is greater than Jesus's power to comfort and heal! He is always with us!

Note of Explanation: Part of my 10-week plan for summer this year was to read one short, inspirational book each Sunday afternoon and ponder on what I can learn from it. This blog post represents part of my efforts to do that.

How Thirsty Are You?Out of the Best Books No. 4

In The Woman at the Well, Emily Freeman retells the well-known story found in John 4:5-42 of the Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at Jacob's well. Told from the viewpoint of the woman, whom Freeman calls Maya from mayim, the Hebrew word for water, the account draws on the writings of Alfred Edersheim, Frederic W. Farrar, and James E. Talmage. Illustrated by the beautiful paintings of Simon Dewey, the book emphasizes that the feelings of unworthiness or inadequacy that we all sometimes experience can be healed through the living water that comes from the One who knows us and every detail of our lives. He can teach us what we need to know and can quench our thirst if we are but willing to drink.

Whosoever drinketh of the water
that I shall give [her] shall never thirst:
but the water that I shall give [her]
shall be in [her] a well of water
springing up into everlasting life"
(John 4:14).
"The Lord provides the living water that can quench the burning thirst of those who lives are parched by a drought of truth. As at Jacob's well, so today the Lord Jesus Christ is the only source of living water."

- Joseph B. Wirthlin (1995)

"The Atonement can fill that which is empty, straighten our bent parts, and make strong that which is weak."

- Bruce C. Hafen (1990)

Note of Explanation: Part of my 10-week plan for summer this year is to read one short, inspirational book each Sunday afternoon and ponder on what I can learn from it. This blog post represents part of my efforts to do that.

Prayer Changes UsOut of the Best Books No. 3

"I pray because I can't help myself.
I pray because I'm helpless.
I pray because the need flows out of me all the time,
waking and sleeping.
It doesn't change God. It changes me."
― C.S. Lewis
I've been reading Anne Lamott's words for many years - and even occasionally writing about them (such as here and here). They touch me and inspire me and comfort me.

Anne Lamott's three prayers, she writes, are "variations on Help, Thanks, Wow. That's all I ever need, besides the silence, the pain, and the pause sufficient for me to stop, close my eyes, and turn inward."

Two of my favorite passages in the Thanks section are these:

• Grace can be the experience of a second wind, when even though what you want is clarity and resolution, what you get is stamina and poignancy and the strength to hang on.
• My pastor Veronica says that God always makes a way out of no way. This means that at some point, often against all odds, we will say "Thanks." Now, Veronica is paid to have faith, but even I - who am not paid to have faith - know that this is true. I don't always believe it, but I know it is true.

I loved so much of the Wow section! Lamott introduces it this way:

When we are stunned to the place beyond words, we're finally starting to get somewhere. It is so much more comfortable to think that we know what it all means, what to expect and how it all hangs together. When we are stunned to the place beyond words, when an aspect of life takes us away from being able to chip away at something until it's down to a manageable size and then to file it nicely away, when all we can say in response is "Wow," that's a prayer.

Here are some other great Wow prayer thoughts:

• Wonder takes our breath away, and makes room for new breath. That's why they call it breathtaking.
• Even though I often remember my pastor saying that God always makes a way out of no way, periodically something awful happens, and I think that this time God has met Her match - a child dies, or a young father is paralyzed. Nothing can possibly make things okay again. ... But people don't bolt, and at some point the first shoot of grass breaks through the sidewalk.
• Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds. This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible. If you say, "Well, that's pretty much what I thought I'd see," you are in trouble.
• Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.
• Sometimes - oh, just once in a blue moon - I resist being receptive to God's generosity, because I'm busy with a project and trying to manipulate Him or Her into helping me with it, or with getting my toys fixed or any major discomfort to pass. But God is not a banker or a bean counter. God gives us even more, which is so subversive. God just gives, to us, to you and me. I mean, look at us! Yikes.
• God keeps giving, forgiving, and inviting us back. My friend Tom says this is a scandal, and that God has no common sense. God doesn't say, "I have had it this time. You have taken this course four times and you flunked again. What a joke." We get to keep starting over.
• If we stay where we are, where we're stuck, where we're comfortable and safe, we die there. We become like mushrooms, living in the dark, with poop up to our chins. If you want to know only what you already know, you're dying. You're saying: Leave me alone; I don't mind this little rathole. It's warm and dry. Really, it's fine.

Lamott ends the book with a few thoughts about Amen. "The Amen," she says, "is only as good as the attitude. If you are trying to finish up quickly so you can check your cell phone messages, you are missing the chance to spend quiet moments with the giver of life and the eternal, which means you may reap continued feelings of life racing along without you."

I love this counsel from Alma to his son Helaman regarding prayer:

Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day (Alma 37:37).

It's all in that one verse: Learning to trust God. Honoring Him. Loving Him. Help. Thanks. Wow.

Note of Explanation: Part of my 10-week plan for summer this year is to read one short, inspirational book each Sunday afternoon and ponder on what I can learn from it. This blog post represents part of my efforts to do that.

#compassionOut of the Best Books No. 2

Congratulations, by the way: Some Thoughts on Kindness is a slightly expanded version of a commencement speech given by George Saunders at Syracuse University on May 11, 2013.

This year I am reading and discussing Karen Armstrong's Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life with the Book Buddies. (Here is a link to our online discussions.) Part of that process for me is a search for written reminders about what compassion is and how to exercise it in the world around me. When I've shared via social media some of the things I've discovered, I've used the hashtag #compassion.

This entire book warrants that hashtag. Here are a few of Saunders' thoughts:

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.

It's a little facile, maybe, and certainly hard to implement, but I'd say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than: Try to be kinder.

That luminous part of you that exists beyond personality - your soul, if you will - is as bright and shining as any that has ever been. Bright as Shakespeare's, bright as Gandhi's, bright as Mother Teresa's. Clear away everything that keeps you separate from this secret, luminous place. Believe that it exists, come to know it bettr, nurture it, share its fruits tirelessly.

If I truly want to be in apprenticeship to Jesus - trying to become as He is - then learning and practicing compassion is vital!

Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions
every man to his brother:
And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart (Zechariah 7:9-10).
“Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary.”
― J.M. Barrie

Note of Explanation: Part of my 10-week plan for summer this year is to read one short, inspirational book each Sunday afternoon and ponder on what I can learn from it. This blog post represents part of my efforts to do that.