Sunday, January 6, 2013

Worthiness

One of the interesting traditions in the Church of Jesus Christ is the concept of worthiness. Before any ordinance is performed, priesthood conferred, ordination made, or calling advanced, the person is interviewed by someone in authority to determine if they are worthy. I have always thought this was a mere formality because nobody is ever really worthy, in the sense of deserving, to receive any blessings, callings, or gifts. This makes me wonder about what it means to be worthy.

Using the definition of "worthy" to mean, "meritorious," "deserving," or "virtuous," I don't think anyone is ever worthy of salvation, or any blessing. Jesus Christ has paid the price so how could anyone merit anything? I have felt the problem that on my own I can never be worthy of any gift from God in the sense of deserving. I cannot earn the gift of the Holy Ghost. I cannot earn gifts of the Spirit or a place in Heaven, it's impossible. Therefore, I could never be deserving of even the least blessing. This would make all blessings from God arbitrary. For this reason, the sense of being worthy to receive a blessing was an enigma to me.

However, another meaning in the Scriptures of the word "worthy" is "ready," or "prepared." These words are often used interchangeably. When I am worthy to receive knowledge, wisdom, or some gift it means I have the proper preparation to receive it. When I am worthy to go to the Temple, it means I'm prepared. Worthy for baptism means ready for baptism. The interview by the bishop or other authority is only an opportunity to review my preparation or readiness to move on to the next step on the path to Eternal Life. For me, this concept of "readiness" sheds a whole new light on the issue of worthiness.

Commandments are blessings
In the Doctrine and Covenants we read: "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated --
And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (D&C 130:20-21)

I think the key words here are "all" and "any." I cannot receive any blessing without keeping the law -- all blessings must be received by obeying the law upon which it is based. In other words, there are no arbitrary blessings from God. He doesn't randomly hand out blessings to those he believes are trying. If I don't keep the law, I will not get the blessing. If I keep the law, I will get the blessing. Thus, being worthy of a blessing is simply keeping the law that governs it. It's the law, then, that prepares me to receive a blessing, making me worthy to receive it.

This being true, a knowledge of the laws is the key to all blessings. When I desire a blessing, and pray to God for Him to bless me, I will be given the knowledge I need. However, in order to receive it, I must keep the law. "For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing." (Moroni 7:22) Every good thing comes from Christ. Angels are sent to minister to men, meaning to teach them about Christ, and how they can receive every blessing from God. Thus, knowledge is essential to receiving any blessing because ignorance cannot help me to be blessed. This is why "It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance." (D&C 131:6)

Receiving blessings
Moroni tells us about the ordinance of baptism in the ancient Church in America. "And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it." The next part tells us what makes them worthy: "Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins. And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end." (Moroni 6:1-3)

This goes right along with the third commandment: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (Exodus 20:7) Baptism is taking upon ourselves the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. If we are not prepared to make that commitment to "serve Him to the end" by repenting of all our sins then we should not take His name at all because it is not helpful -- it is vain, or useless -- we will not be cleansed, forgiven, or become guiltless.

Worthiness is knowledge
Being worthy to receive gifts from God, then, is as simple as learning and keeping the law that governs it. For example, if I want to be cleansed from all sin I need to repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost. If I want to "open the windows of Heaven" then I need to keep the law of tithing and offerings. I have often heard those who are called to some position of authority in the Church state in front of the congregation that they are not worthy to hold an office or perform a calling, but they are willing to do what they can. The law of being worthy to do the work of the Lord is desire. In the D&C we read: "if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work." (D&C 4:3) That's all it takes! The keeping of the law makes me "worthy," or prepares me to receive the gift.

The ministering of angels is so important because angels, or servants of God, teach people the laws so we can receive blessings from God. The Scriptures also take on greater meaning and importance when we realize that the laws of God are contained in them that allow us to know how to receive blessings. By keeping the commandments of God we prepare ourselves to receive the gifts He has waiting for us. This is how we make ourselves worthy. Worthiness is as simple as repenting and obeying a well-defined law. We know we are worthy to receive any blessing from God when we are able to keep the commandment that governs the blessing.

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