Spiritual Totality

I just read this today from facebook, I think I'm going to use some of it tomorrow for a sacrament talk about Zion - I loved the comparison between the difference a partial and total eclipse and the difference between partial and total commitment to Christ. From Rob Eaton

I had read all the hype, and I had a hard time imagining there was any way a total solar eclipse could live up to so much promotion and praise. One account was so effusive that even my young nephew dismissed it by saying, “It had too many superlatives.” Surely nothing could be that good.

If I had not lived plop in the middle of the zone of totality in Rexburg, Idaho, I don’t know that I would have traveled far to see it. When I mentioned it to my brother a month ago, remarkably enough, he hadn’t even heard about it yet. But before I could even say anything about it, he said, “It seems like every eclipse that comes along is supposed to be the only time in the next 57 years you’ll be able to see something like it.” He hadn’t been that impressed with what he’d seen in the past, so he wasn’t interested in driving a couple of hours north to reach the zone of totality for this eclipse.

I don’t fault him. If I were him, I might well have looked at a map and figured, “I’ll just stay here and see 75% of the eclipse and get 75% of the benefits. Why go all that way just to see the sun all the way covered?”

But with solar eclipses, I learned vividly and personally today, there is a world of difference between even 98% of an eclipse and 100%. We watched with interest and amusement during the partial phases of the eclipse, but right up until a few moments before we witnessed the total eclipse, it seemed like not much more than a pleasant astronomical quirk visible only with special protective glasses.

But as the moon began to totally cover the sun and we witnessed the diamond ring and the corona visible only with a total solar eclipse, I was absolutely blown away. I thought I would remain calm, but I couldn’t keep the emotions I felt inside. And neither could most of the people around me. As one writer had predicted, it was as if it touched something deeply primal within us. No photograph or video I’ve seen of this spectacular phenomenon does justice to it. It is simply the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

Afterwards, my nephew volunteered to his mother: "Now I know why they used so many superlatives."Despite all the hype, we discovered a total solar eclipse had not been overrated.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, this experience has reminded me of three important lessons. First, heaven is not overhyped; eternal life will be worth every sacrifice we could possible make to partake of it.

In one of my otherwise favorite songs by Train, the singer asks of a friend returning from some kind of cosmic journey, “Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded and that heaven is overrated?” Just as my brother assumed a total eclipse had been oversold, much of the world today has come to believe heaven is not real or that it can’t be all that. They doubt the reality of an eternal existence with God so exquisite that Peter described it as becoming “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). I believe that one day, everyone will be as convinced of the desirability of eternal life with God as those who witnessed the total eclipse today were of its stunning glory.

Second, I was reminded that there is a dramatic difference between the blessings that come from sort of following the gospel of Jesus Christ—being in the zone of partiality—and striving to following Him and His teachings with all our hearts—the zone of totality. One of the reasons my brother and I underestimated how rewarding the total eclipse would be is that we based our estimates on what we’d witnessed in prior partial eclipses. But a total eclipse isn’t just twice as beautiful as an eclipse where the moon covers half the son; it is exponentially better.

And so are the blessings that come from living in the zone of spiritual totality. I’m not talking about a place where we are perfect, and I’m certainly not talking about a condition we achieve through our own efforts alone. But I am referring to a state of mind and heart where we jump in with our whole souls, holding nothing back but relying on Christ to realize our divine potential. The blessings of spiritual coronas and diamond rings come not to those who merely go through the motions and occasional effort it takes to reach the zone of partiality; they come to those who yield their hearts and souls to God in the zone of spiritual totality.

Finally, now that I know what a rare and exquisite experience a total solar eclipse is, I regret terribly the fact that I didn’t try to persuade my brother and his family and all my siblings and children who lived elsewhere to join us. What a terrible waste it was to have a home located in the heart of the zone of totality with only 5 guests. I wish I’d been more like some of our neighbors, who had family members and friends stuffed into every bed and couch and spilling over onto their lawns.

For those of us who have lived the gospel of Jesus Christ enough to know just how exquisite its blessings are, there is a special responsibility to find ways to help others come to understand or even consider the possibility that it will be eternally worth the sacrifice to come to the zone of spiritual totality.

For me, in some small way, glimpsing the silvery brilliance of the corona today felt like a symbolic foreshadowing of what it might be like to dwell eternally in the presence of God—in a place with “no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” (Rev. 21:23). Even more than I will strive to persuade my loved ones and friends to go witness the next total solar eclipse visible in the United States in 2024, I feel inspired to do all I can to help others know that heaven is real and that moving to the zone of spiritual totality is eternally worth it. We cannot use enough superlatives to describe it.
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An interesting comment on his post was one of a lady who said they experienced 92% coverage, and other than making funny shadows, most people could have been unaware of anything different.

To build Zion, we've got to give 100%!! It's got to be total commitment, all our heart, might, mind and strength!! We need to give all our heart and be of one heart with all to really see the exquisite blessing being offered to us, to build up and be in the latter day Zion - City of God.

Revelation - A Dragon of Disease?

So just a thought as I've been thinking about the recent eclipse and next one in 2024 and the big X that is being put on America... and Revelation 12 and how destruction might come upon the world in the latter days... So I've been thinking of the Dragon in Revelation 12. The dragon wants to devour Zion and the people of Zion - the dragon will try to destroy us and kill us in anyway he can - war, drugs, addictions physical and mental. Speaking of physical addictions - what about the foods we just can't give up? Junk foods and fast foods, all the fat, meat and cheese are culturally acceptable addictions, but they are addictions none the less. What do most Americans die of? We're not dying in battle these days. Could our poor diet that is killing us be thrown into the addictions category? Is that something that the dragon might symbolize? Cue Rip Esselstyn -

So he talks about a 5 headed chronic western disease dragon. Not quite the 7 heads from Revelation 12:3 but I'm sure could figure out two more heads if we tried. What are the 5 heads?:

• Heart disease
• breast cancer
• prostate cancer
• diabetes
• obesity

This dragon is playing for keeps. This dragon is what's killing most Americans today. The way we are eating is bringing death to almost every household. And it's also one of the ways to die that we can avoid and it is entirely in our own hands. It's time to repent and change for the better! The Lord promises in the Word of Wisdom in D&C 89:21 is that as we keep and do these saying and are obedient to the commandments, that "the destroying angel shall pass [us] by as the children of Israel and not slay [us]." In this remarkable passage, Elder George Q. Cannon warned that future calamities will wake the saints up to the need for better observance of the Word of Wisdom (emphasis mine):

"Our religion impresses upon us the importance of taking care of our bodies. Yet, notwithstanding that which the Lord has done for us in revealing to us the true principles of life, there is a great amount of ignorance even among us upon this important subject. . . . Many of the Saints do not seem to be alive to the importance of those laws which pertain to well-being and preservation of the health and strength of the body. Their old traditions cling to them, and it appears to be difficult for them to shake them off. Yet the day must come when the people of God will be superiors physically and mentally, to every other people upon the face of the earth. Before this day shall come . . . pestilence of various kinds, which we are led to expect through the word of the Lord are yet to break forth, will have their effect in calling the Saints’ attention to those laws of life and health which, to be a strong and vigorous people, we must observe.

"If pestilence should stalk through the land . . . many who are now careless respecting the words of the Lord contained in the Word of Wisdom will be likely to reform their habits and pay attention to the counsels which He there gives. . . . We are promised greater safety than other people are likely to enjoy; but the promises are based on certain conditions, which must be observed . . . why should people in our day expect to enjoy health and an exemption from the visit of the destroyer when he goes forth as he did in Egypt if they do not comply with the conditions which the Lord has prescribed."

- George Q. Cannon, “Topic of the Times,” Juvenile Instructor 27, no. 22 (November 15, 1892): 689–691.

Beginning a Year of General Conference

So I made an ambitious goal for myself. Over the upcoming school year, I am going to try to listen to all General Conference talks since I was born to the present, so that is all General Conferences from April 1976 to April 2018 (since that will be the last one of this upcoming school year). School doesn't start until Monday but I thought I'd give myself a head start, so I listened to two talks on my morning walk today. I didn't start from the beginning, but started to browse through them to see which one spoke to me. I started with "The Still Small Voice" by S. Dilworth Young. I liked how he emphasized how a major part of personal revelation comes through feelings. After sharing 1 Nephi 17:45 he says

I repeat: “He hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words.” (Italics added.) Why did he not say, “Ye are past hearing that ye could not hear his words?” Because the assurance comes through feeling.

And the next talk in order was "You Are Your Greatest Treasure" by John H. Vandenberg. He shared a verse that I just recently read (in bold below) in Elder Maxwell's book -

“Such was, and always will be, the situation of the saints of God, that unless they have an actual knowledge that the course they are pursuing is according to the will of God they will grow weary in their minds, and faint, for such has been, and always will be, the opposition in the hearts of unbelievers and those that know not God. … For a man to lay down his all … requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when these sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God. … Let us here observe,” he continues, “that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” (Lectures on Faith, 6:4, 5, 7.)

I like it when there is a quote I like that I come across several times in different places! I feel like the Lord is emphasizing this message for us. Corey and I need to seek to know God's will and follow it. The most important thing is to be doing the will of God.

Then tonight I listened to the next talk by Elder Maxwell "Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King". This whole talk was wonderful. Two parts I'll mention of many, bold emphasis mine:

"I testify that his premortal performance reflected both an astonishing selflessness and a breathtaking commitment to freedom as a condition of our genuine growth. I thank him for combining his long view of our needs with a short step forward to volunteer his services. Never has anyone offered so much to so many in so few words as when Jesus said, “Here am I, send me.” (Abr. 3:27.)"

~ and the second part:

"I testify that he and the Father are serious about stretching our souls in this second estate. I thank him for truly teaching us about our personal possibilities and for divinely demonstrating directions—not just pointing."

God is serious about stretching our souls. Made me think of how stretched Corey is lately with work, and how much the kids and messy house stretch me. We are getting the education we came here to get, (I hope!) We will try to endure it well and not faint. We do thank God for the education we are experiences, though sometimes (like Elder Maxwell said) when these moments come, we are sometimes feel:

"...too taxed to testify or too anguished to appreciate."

Marching Orders from God

I really like Matt Walsh, I love how he writes and I also agree with a lot of what he says. I liked this advice he shared on his facebook page today:

I get emails pretty often from people looking for advice on how to make a living as writers/editorialists/bloggers/opinion-givers. Here's one I received this morning:

"Dear Matt, I just graduated high school and like you I don't feel that college is the right thing for me. I feel called to engage the culture war in the way that you do, with ideas and arguments. How were you able to do this professionally? Do you have any advice? Sorry to bother you."

Now, I generally caution against pursuing this path. You're not going to make a living writing things on the internet unless you have hundreds of thousands of readers. That takes a lot of time to build, and the vast majority of people will never get there, and even if they do, it could go away at basically any time. The internet is a fickle beast.

I decided to go full time into writing shortly after the twins were born and only weeks after I had my first month with more than a few thousand clicks on my website. That was not a wise decision. It happened to work out, but I can't in good conscience recommend that anyone follow in my footsteps. However there are people who are meant to do this, and if you're in that camp, it will probably necessitate taking a huge risk that will seem insane to everyone around you and could very well backfire. I just can't tell any specific person whether they are meant to take that risk or not.

Here's what I will say, though. And this I think is just a general philosophy for finding success in any career or area of life. These are the two things I tell people, especially young people just out of high school, if they for whatever reason come to me for life advice (and maybe the best piece of life advice I could give is don't come to me for life advice):

1) Pray constantly.

We always have to be asking God whether we're walking the path He intends us to walk. And that path could wind and turn and veer in a million directions, so every day we have to come back and ask again. "Am I still going in the right direction, Lord? Am I still doing this right? Is this still where you want me to be? Is this still what you want me to do? Am I doing this how you want me to do it?" I think we're reluctant to ask these questions either because we don't believe they will be answered, or because we're afraid of what the answer might be.

2) Be undeniable.

If we're confident that we've determined our vocation, the next step is to invest ourselves and hone our abilities to the point where they cannot be denied, even by people who want to deny them. I simply don't believe that there are very many people in America who are truly great at something, have the drive and motivation, want to make it their career, and yet are entirely unable to make a living doing it. If you're not making a living doing a certain thing, it's either because you don't want to, you don't have the drive, or you're just not that good at it. For a lot of people it's some combination of the last two. I know that those last two explain all of my many failures in life.

Look at Tim Tebow. The guy wants to be a professional athlete. He gets cut from several football teams, despite that miraculous first season he had with Denver. They shut him out of the NFL anyway, so he says, "OK, I'll try baseball." Now he's in the Mets' farm system and he's batting close to .300. He's an athlete. He wants to play. He won't be denied. It's that simple.

People get denied mostly because they're deniable. Be undeniable and you'll find success. That doesn't mean fame and riches. Just success in doing whatever it is God has called you to do.

So, I'd say to the kid who sent the email, if you want to be a writer and a culture warrior on the public stage, or you want to do anything else, don't listen to me cautioning you against it. I've been cautioned against literally every good and fruitful decision I've ever made. At a certain point, you just have to consult with God, get your marching orders, and be undeniably great at doing whatever He wants you to do. If you approach it that way, maybe ten years from now I'll be coming to you asking for advice on how to reach the lofty heights you've attained. I just hope you'll have something more useful to say than what I've said here. Good luck.

I liked that last paragraph. You have to consult with God. Corey and I have also been cautioned against the good and fruitful decisions of our life, regarding marriage, children, and career... We just have to know that we are on God's errand and that He is directing us. I recently read this quote from page 3 in the book "Meek and Lowly" by Neal A. Maxwell, where he talked about the need for deep developmental commitment:

"The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that 'the situation of the saints' is such that 'unless they have an actual knowledge that the course they are pursuing is according to the will of God, they will grow weary in their minds and faint."

Corey often says that when he started his business, he wasn't "doing it for the personal growth!" He knows it's been a huge risk and it seems insane. And it's been so hard... he'd probably say that he's had enough growth experiences and he would like to not have to work so hard. But he also has a belief that he's doing what God wants him to do. He is very weary but refuses to faint. He's got to see it though eventhough it's taken a lot longer and been a lot longer than he imagined. The other thing he often says is "I should have gone to medical school... it probably would have been easier!" He is learning about endurance, perseverance, and deep commitment through trials and struggles.

And the same goes for me and raising these beautiful children. It is hard and, yes, it's a lot of kids. Yes, it's very demanding. Yes I have lots of dreams that are on hold right now. But I have an absolute knowledge that this is what God has called me to do, and I glory in this, my joyful burden of discipleship.