Exodus in Many Times

I remember last semester how we discussed the parallels between Utah and the Holy Land. How they were both promised lands of safety and plenty. How even geographically they were similar. But the discussion on how the methods of arriving at the two paralleled each other was fascinating.

In each case, the chosen of the Lord were being guided to safety from their homes and the homes of their enemies. Realizing this reminded me that the Jews in Exodus were also leaving homes, not just slavery. It had to be hard for both groups of faithful Children of God to leave their homes. No matter how much faith you have, the unknown is scary. However, they trusted their prophet, and gathered together to leave.

Because it would be hard and scary, both Joseph and Moses arranged their followers into groups. God's system is a Patriarchal order. He wants people in families, placed together to support each other. In both ancient times and modern He has set this up. In Moses' day, they were divided into tribes, companies, and smaller groups. In Joseph's day, they were given in companies of tens, hundreds and thousands. Today we are also arranged by family. Stakes, then ward families, and then FHE or blood families within the ward. Families, physical and spiritual, are the backbone of the Saint's strength.

Once the groups or families were organized and given a leader, with someone else to report to, supplies were collected.  Before the Jews left with Moses, they all gathered together to see that they had what they needed for the journey. Joseph tried to get each small company to gather supplies to support themselves. Although not everyone listened, they were able to simplify the journey by knowing what they needed and collecting it early.

Not only physically, but also spiritually, the two groups had to prepare similarly. They were all God's chosen people. Along with this blessing comes responsibility to follow His commandments. In both the ancient and modern exodus, those who were led by the Lord were commanded to interact peaceably with each other, to cease from drunkenness, to uplift those around them. To be guided by the spirit, you need to be able to hear him. By following God's commands, and remaining true and faithful, His children could hear instruction vital to keeping their journey safe and successful. 

History through printing

Last semester I had a chance to go to the Crandall Museum with my class. These were my thoughts at the time, since I didn't have a chance to go this semester.

Being a bit of a history geek, I really enjoyed watching the development of printing. We started in Gutenburg's time. They had this MASSIVE press and showed us how to use it. They even cast a piece of type. It cooled crazy fast! They poured in burning hot printers' metal into the cast, and almost instantly it was solid.

The second room was probably my favorite. It was shown to us by Ben Franklin. He told us his history. How he became a printer, his love story with his wife, and many of his contributions. As I've said before, I love seeing the story of the people behind history. This was a great insight into who Ben Franklin, the grandfather of our country.

On top of hearing Ben Franklin’s history, we learned a bit about the physical process the Constitution and Declaration of Independence underwent. The Declaration was written, edited, reworked, ratified, and then signed. Then, it was rushed to the printer’s, late at night. By morning, several copies had been printed and were distributed throughout the colonies. The speed of the process was astounding. Plus, it was all done in secrecy. When we had been told this story, we were told to touch the type set that was in the press. It was type set molded from the same punches that formed the original letters for the first printing of the Declaration of Independence. To touch something that close to history was moving and exciting.

Our final stop on the tour was in a room the same size and shape as that in which the first copies of the Book of Mormon were printed. The room contained a pres s that was an exact replica of that original press for the Book of Mormon. It was really cool. We had seen how the presses had gotten smaller and more precise, but other than that, this press was basically the same as that which Guttenburg had invented. We looked at the type for the first few pages, and saw stacks of pages, 2,000 high, just as they would have been when the original printing happened. We even got to see how the books were bound.

At the end, we got to see a linotype machine and the ink rollers that replaced the old fashioned beaters. Those were both cool. The rollers were what I usually imagined when I thought of old-fashioned presses. The linotype machine was also awesome. It was like a massive, old type writer. Except, instead of putting words on paper, it put words on metal! That was super crazy.

The entire experience was wonderful. It made me happy to know that they are going to expand, and then have all the missionaries in the MTC come through the tour. I think it’s a worthwhile experience that all students who have the chance should take. I would not hesitate if I had another chance to visit. The one drawback is that it cost a ton if you don’t go with a group. So find a group, and have fun!

Prophetic Discource to Canonized Scripture

Early in Joseph's time as prophet of the church, his main work was establishing the fullness of the gospel on earth. Because there was little to nothing to work with, most scripture was direct revelation from God, giving instruction to His children. He reestablished priesthood, baptism, and sacrament. The order of church was laid out. Joseph had very little knowledge of what he needed to do, and had to rely entirely on the Lord for direction.

As persecution increased, the church struggled to stay together. They constantly moved, and had to basically start over all the time. Having written instruction of the basics was vital in the early months of the church. The early records helped the members know what to do and where they were going.

Coming into the Nauvoo period, the saints were feeling like they finally had a home where they could stay. Nauvoo was their Zion and they didn't forsee anything making them leave. A feeling of home and settling came over their culture. Because the church was well established in Missouri, more and more missionaries were being sent out. The basic pricinciples of the gospel were established, and the temple ordinacnes were in the process of being so. Joseph better understood the fullness of the plan and how important it was that the saints understand the plan as well. To fascilitate this, he began more often to preach. Partly due to the outward growth of the church, it became important for Joseph's sermons to be recorded. His teachings were able to benefit new and seasoned members alike. The record of his preaching was carried out into the mission field and used within the church at Nauvoo.

In this time, many of the teachings that are now scripture were being created. Later, they were canonized and are now in the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants. Each piece was added for a different reason, and often times slowly, but they were all considered beneficial to the church as a whole. Many of Joseph's sermons fell into this category. His teachings on temple ordinaces especially. Now we read as scripture what was once a letter, a missionary lesson, or a discourse. Although we don't now publish prophetic council in our D&C or other standard works, we continue to take our leaders' teachings as guidence that should be followed. This follows the tradition started by Joseph's teachings in Nauvoo.

Zion's Judiciary

This semester, I am in a class on the Constitution. It is fascinating. We read several articles or amendments each week, and then discuss them in class. If nothing else, it gives me a better idea of what is in there just from reading it. I've learned a lot more about how a governmental system is formed, and the sorts of questions that must be answered by an establishing contract. We've studied elections, amendments, and judiciary licence.

At the same time, I've been studying the Pearl of Great Price. In that class, we have talked about Zion, which includes God's political kingdom on earth. The political system He has outlined is centered around family and community. Consecration will be the major economic system, and a divine King will lead the government. A judgment system, economic system, and leadership system are all planned.

The manuscript that later became section 102 in the D&C is like a constitutional statement on the judiciary system of God's kingdom. The mortal presidencies and high councils that the church needs are arranged and their appointment is laid out. Officers will be selected by revelation and the vote of the council. Within the presidency, the authority to lead is given first to the President and then to the other two presidents who preside with him, should circumstances not allow him to do so.

After establishing the top leadership, this revelation lays out how trials are to be run. The council of twelve is to present the two sides to the presidency for judgment. Each is previously assigned to the order in which they will speak so that there is an established routine. Also, to protect the accused against "insult or injustice,"half of the council will defend the accused. This half is determined by the order in which they speak. Those who draw an even number are given to the accused for their defense.

There is a lot more protocol about how the council can call a council meeting. I didn't understand how this worked. But I did gather that a council can be called wherever it is needed, so long as the high priests shall perceive the necessity of the council.

This judiciary system still functions within the church, and will, in some form, exist in God's Zion. Eventually Christ shall be the presiding president over the council. He will reign as King of the earth, and His Father will be the ultimate judge. It makes me wonder how similarly the eternal councils will function.

New Perspectives

Having attended the MoA tour last fall, I took this chance to explore more on my own. There had been several paintings I wanted more time with, so I skipped straight to those. As I tuned out the sound of other visitors, I felt a stronger connection to each image.

First I stopped by the image of the praying woman and the glass of water. I saw for the first time how much they were part of the same image. Much discussion had focused on the flatness of the woman as opposed to the realism of the glass. However, I saw several connecting elements. The proportions were perfect. The woman could easily pick up and hold the tall glass, but instead she just looked. Her dress was intricate, but not gaudy. It seemed subdued, and created the perfect background for the simple glass. I really got the sense that this woman deserved and was capable of having the water. If she simply made the effort to step out of her flat and one-way life, she could have the fullness the living water offered her. Her face showed her desire, she simply needed to take action.

Next I sat in front of my personal favorite, The Prodigal Son. Last time I visited, I was entranced by the idea that should you remove the middle, squalid panel, the two ends would fit nicely together. The son did not need to go through his time of struggle in order to have a full life. This visit, I noticed more details. Although his life would have been happier, and just as full, there were experiences that forever changed him. In the first panel, there were beautiful, perfect apples, and the blue cloth cover. But down in the bottom were a couple of darker, moldy-looking apples. Something was festering. There was unhappiness and discontent with the way life was. Life was good, full, and happy, but there was a desire for something else. In the middle panel, richness was everywhere: lots of wine, apples, grapes, pigs. But despite the seeming glory of this compared to simple apples, it was all moldy, grey, and miserable. Only sorrow really came through. The signs of splendor were nothing more than empty promised. However, in the final panel, the beauty and cleanness of the first panel is restored and improved. Here, there is no festering longing for something else. Life has changed, and now there is wine and grapes along with beautiful apples, but it is all in the light. Definite changes happened, and the story may even have improved because of the trials and mistakes of the center. To me, this really shows how every experience in life changes me. I can improve and better myself, even when I make mistakes. The key is getting back into the light and returning to where I need to be. Bringing lessons along with me, I will continue to grow, and even push farther forward, despite mistakes I will inevitably make in my journey. 

The Olive Leaf

Reading the original transcript of D&C 88 made me notice different things. Without much punctuation, I got more of the idea than the specifics. I noticed several different things, and have explained my thoughts on each below.

The Holy Spirit of God is through all time and space, even while God is a single entity in a single place and time. Because the Spirit is part of God, He is able to see all things. He knows and understands everything in existence. And more than that, He is in and through all things. His power is the quickening and life-giving power of the universe. All things are dependent on His power and presence for their organization and existence. Thus, His power is restricted only by "wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment."

Before the last days, the responsibility of the Saints will be to declare the prophesies and commands of the Lord. I must take up this responsibility, as it is mine. I'm not one of the revolutionary students who helped change roll across Europe. I'm not someone who can march with Civil Rights activists. Those days are over. It's not the same anymore. But I can't sit quietly and watch the world be "made drunk with the wine of her fornication." (Rev. 17:2) Today my voice can make a difference. If one person speaks out, that is one less person supporting Babylon. And maybe someone will listen. But as long as I don't back down from my stand, I can be a rebel for righteousness. 

One day, God's full will will unroll across the face of the earth. It won't be calm and quiet. Testimony of the Lord will be born in the rumblings of earthquakes and thunder, in the flash of lightning, and in the sound of rushing floods. The entirety of our world will be thrown into turmoil and "reel as a drunken man" in the sky. This will be a terrifying day. No matter how righteous I am, if I am alive at that point, I will experience terror. Although my safety may be assured in Zion, many loved ones will probably be in the main line of destruction. But fear cannot exist where there is faith. I shall strive to have full faith to help accomplish God's will, no matter the temporal difficulty it may place me in.

Courage out of Misery

All life experiences change and shape the character of those involved. Some affect them very little, being merely routine happenings. It is rare that a trip to the grocery store alters the philosophical views of an old man. Other events can radically change those they happen to. Liberty Jail did this to Joseph Smith. He considered it the worst possible experience of his life. Trapped in a small room for months, with no sight of the end, and little word from those outside, he was cut off from everything he cared for.

The pain and misery of the experience was never forgotten, and its memory stayed with him for life. But he also grew in that time, and changed. No longer was he the young leader of a church, a voice of God, but lacking the ability to articulate his own thoughts. When he emerged, he was a powerhouse of conviction, clarity, and even charisma. He still may not have been the strongest speaker, but his talks touched the souls of many. He was able to express his personal views and direction for the church. Before Liberty, Joseph relayed God’s messages. Now he understood the end goal himself, and was able to act freely to guide his followers in the right direction.

How could Joseph come out of such a dark and miserable experience with such an increase in power and conviction? There is probably no one answer. Some reasons may weigh more heavily than others, but having not been born until well over 100 years after the fact, I will not try to choose one reason as a main reason. However, I do believe that two key elements guided the change, and many other specifics can be included in these categories.

First is Joseph’s new relationship with God. During his time incarcerated, Joseph lost almost all hope. His well-know opening to a prayer is recorded in D&C 121: “Oh God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?” In complete despair he turned to a God he could no longer feel in his life. Although he had not been abandoned, he felt so alone and cast out that it was as if he were. God answers His prophet’s soul-deep plea with personal comfort: “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment.” Even as Joseph was beginning to lose hope, his Father was there, and looking after him. With this assurance, in even the darkest moments, Joseph was able to develop a new sense of assurance in his God’s protection.

Secondly, Joseph spent much of his time pondering. With not much else to do, he was able to think about all that had happened to him since the first vision. Being in the moment, it is often hard to see the bigger picture. Liberty Jail took him out of the time line, as it were, for five months. In close communion with God, Joseph was able to spend this time reviewing all the commands he had received, and the reasons behind them. By this point, a more unified end goal began to come clear. Joseph was able to see several yards down the path, rather than relying on God to tell him where to place his foot as each new step came about. Once he was released from Liberty, Joseph kept this greater perspective. He was confident in where he was to go next, and where the church should be right at the moment. This allowed him to step up on his own, and speak to his followers. He could confidently preach without worrying that he was out of line of the plan.  Along with the assurance that God would look after him and not allow him to blindly stumble and fail, Joseph began again with a new confidence in his cause, and in the steps he was taking to seek it’s goal.

Life after Death

A little over a year ago, my paternal grandpa died. He followed his wife, who had gone home less than two years previously. Their oldest, and only biological, child, Sydney, only has a single date on her headstone. I was here in Utah when my grandpa passed away, and watched as he neared that time. For me, it changed my perspective on life and death. Rather than viewing death as the end, I now realize that it's just as much a beginning. He is now home with his beloved wife and their long-missed daughter. Here on earth, we wish they were still with us, but where they are they are free from the ills that affected them in life.

Section 137 teaches me more about where my family is now. My grandparents, life-long and dedicated members of the church, are safe in the spirit world, waiting the resurrection when they will regain their bodies. Sydney is waiting with them. She never reached her first birthday, let alone her eighth. Despite this, God knows her heart, and has brought her home to be with Him. I will someday meet the aunt that I don't even have stories about.

The judgment system is fairly basic to a member of the church, but section 137 not only answers, but also raises questions. I wonder if Sydney is a little girl, or a grown woman. I wonder how she felt, finally meeting her mortal parents. Or even more so, how did they feel meeting her? I am satisfied that whatever the answers, my family is safe. Death will someday come to me, and I can be sure that so long as I do my best, I will go home and see them together once again.

Deeper than Ink

History is an interesting thing. It takes many forms. From a small diary, to a grandparent telling a story, to long-dead animals entombed in stone. For me, stories and journals keep the best histories. No matter how much you dig in a long-buried trash pile, you won’t get first-hand knowledge. For the past several years I have kept a daily or almost daily journal. It has been a source of relief when I am tense, an aid to my memory of detail, and a source of inspiration in times of struggle. Someday, I want to be the grandma telling stories, and my journal will help me remember what happened.

However, effective record keeping is contingent upon not losing the record. What would have happened if Nephi had misplaced two or three pages of the plates? What about the history of the early United States? Our knowledge of that time is vital to the identity of our nation. Why would I talk about this sort of a depressing topic? Well, I lost my journal. I wrote in only a few weeks back, and now I can’t find it. I even had to replace it. A year and a half of my record is gone. Memories and details that I thought I would have to treasure forever are now saved only in my mortal mind, a mind full of facts and figures for school that crowd out personal thoughts. Each book in special collections once had that much importance to a living soul. Now they are little more than specimens to be ogled over by interested and disinterested students alike. Once, those books were treasured, and loved. Each page gently turned, each cover carefully cleaned. A book to read and a book to write are keys to a unique form of happiness.

Losing my journal has given me a new perspective on the importance of history. Records of the past are not just records, they are bits of life. A book written by hand has the intrinsic, innate and intimate stamp of the soul of the person who wrote it. A printed book that someone owned was carefully read, softly treasured, and highly valued. The books most loved are the most battered, yet most carefully preserved. Letters are meant to share feelings, thoughts and emotions. This power lasts through the ages in the ink sunk into the paper. No matter the book, it has more than words can convey, and the meaning will last forever.

As I go on in my life, I will continue to treasure the written word, both in the books I read and the histories I write. I hope that I will continue to remember how valued these words on paper are, and how much they will mean to me and others in the future. It is my prayer that more people will come to look past the surface interest and curiosity of books, into the underlying value and personal meaning of each.

Connecting the Verses

Currently I'm in several religion classes. I'm taking Doctrine and Covenants with Ari and we are taking from Brother Holzapfel. Once a week, I go to a special studies class on Revelation taught by Brother Draper. Finally, for my students, including Book of Mormon. The story about the 116 pages is a wonderful illustration of how God uses all his resources to keep his plan on track. Lessons from all 3 classes connect to this, and were constantly coming to mind as I read.

After Martin Harris lost the pages, God's first revelation to Joseph reassures him that "The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught (D&C 3:1)." This pairs with a command God gave to Nephi, centuries earlier, to explain how and why he prepares his plans to be fail-safe. Anciently, Nephi wrote and Mormon retained through abridgments not one, but two records of the early Nephite and Lamanite history.

For God to have this ability to back up his plans, he has to have perfect knowledge of time to come. In the Book of Revelation, the script is in a surreal time because God sees what was, what is, and what will be in one eternal now. This does not mean agency is non-existent; it simply means that God sees where our agency will lead. In D&C 5:32, God tells Martin Harris what will happen if he fails to humble himself. This does not mean that Martin will choose that path, it only means that God knows the outcome of the choice.

Reading this, and seeing the connections makes it clearer to me what D&C 3:2 means. "For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said. therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round." God travels in a straight and narrow path, but that path encompasses the complete and "eternal round" of all time. He creates His plans within the framework of this path, then puts them into action in a world that exists in all time. We, the people who walk this path, only see a moment of now, and a sliver of what was, but our lives play into the eternal glory of all that is, was, and is to come. Although we cannot see it, God's plan is interlaced everywhere, and what may seem like a small choice (keeping two records) may create a major difference in some other time (a second version kept uncorrupted).

Blog Renovation!!!

I've been considering making some major changes to my blog, and I now have motivation. For my work at Freshman Academy, I attend class with my students. One of their classes is led by Dr. Holzapfel, my D&C professor. He asks his students to keep a weekly blog relating to what they learn in class. Therefore, I will be posting for D&C. At the same time, I will try to post for my students' American Government class as well.

At the same time, I will try to talk about what it's like living off campus, and being an experienced college student at BYU. It clearly talks about my perspective, but I want to try to help other students succeed. Right now I live in an all-girls apartment just below the hill south of campus. It's a very different experience from the dorms, but I think it's pretty fun. As the year goes on, I will talk about what's hard, what's easy, and such not in my life.

Oh, and I'm totally going to make a new layout and style too!! Super fun! :D