Sand Castles

Years ago our family went to Catalina Island for a weekend getaway.  It was quite a fun trip.  The kids enjoyed our hotel room.
We played putt-putt-golf.

 We watched the fishies from a glass-bottom boat.

We paddled ocean kayaks for miles.

We soaked-up the sun.

And, we ate ice cream!

One of the activities we enjoyed on the beach was building sand castles.  Everyone worked very hard to make the biggest and best sand castle. 

Sand was piled eight feet high and then carefully carved out.  Some were very simple and small, hastily put together in the form of a castle, but otherwise not very ornate. 

 

I think Charly won the contest with her sandbox entry, it must have taken her almost an hour to create this!

You can see, however, that even while she was in the process of creation, entropy was already working against her.  Her beautiful sand castle was falling apart.  The wind, water, and children touching it were breaking it down faster than she could repair it.

Of course, she didn't really build it, she found it, and claimed it for her own -- her "Princess Castle" -- in spite of disrepair.

I think life is like building sand castles.  We work so hard to accomplish things, getting food, clothing, shelter, and all the necessities of life.  We try to clean up the house, fix things, put a new deck in the backyard, and generally work against the constant and irrepressible force of entropy.  No matter what we build, whether a sand castle or a nation, all will come to naught.  The writer of Ecclesiastes said it wisely:

"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun."  (Ecclesiastes 2:11)

When Jesus was visiting His friends, Mary and Martha, Martha was going around the house, cleaning, preparing the meal, and making sure everyone was comfortable.  When she began to feel overwhelmed she went in to Jesus where Mary was asking questions and learning from Him and asked Him to have Mary help out with the preparations.  Jesus denied her request saying, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."  (Luke 10:41-42)  I think the point is that while Martha was busy with the preparations, she was missing some important instruction.

I have often found myself "in the thick of thin things," as Elder Jeffrey R. Holland says.  Getting busy with the stuff I feel I need to do in order to survive, I can lose sight of what is really important.  I believe one reason we are on the Earth is to learn and grow in all ways.  Often, my efforts to accommodate others leaves me doing a lot, without growth or learning.  For example, yesterday I really wanted to go to the Temple, but Charly changed her plans and stayed with me, and Micah had a luncheon he wanted me to attend.  I supported them, but I wonder what I missed by not going to the House of the Lord and sitting at His feet to hear His word.  She was learning things of Eternal worth, while all of Martha's efforts would be lost.

All that we do of the world is building sand castles.  We can make them large, wonderful, and ornate, or small and simple, but, either way, they will come tumbling down eventually.  Or, we can be as Mary and choose to spend our time learning.  The things that don't go away, even when we do, are the people we love and the knowledge we gain.  While Martha was taking care of things, Jesus indicated that Mary had chosen a good thing that Martha lacked -- learning.

I know I have wasted a lot of time building sand castles that have all gone "the way of all the Earth."  Only now am I beginning to look for things of Eternal value.  The things I do, whether building a house, cleaning, preparing meals, or running a business can teach me the truths of life.  I can also bless the lives of others by teaching them and supporting their growth, instead of just accommodating them.  If I do this, even my sand castles will be a means for me to learn and grow, and I will gain Eternal Life.

We will serve the Lord

Heather was wondering about how I can work in the name of God. I have often pondered this over the years, and am just beginning to understand. I have always thought wrong about life, and I need to change. Adam was told how to make these changes. I consider myself to be Adam in the following:

"And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence. And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.

"And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore." (Moses 5:4-8)

I have wondered about this idea of doing everything in the name of Jesus Christ. The Prophets speak of this, but I don't understand. I have always segregated my life into compartments that are convenient, depending on the hat I'm wearing. I have a career in which I earn money to support myself and my family. I have a family life where I spend time with my wife and children, doing all of the "family things." And then I have the "church stuff" where I serve the Lord. The last, and maybe the second are done in the name of the Lord, but certainly not the first. I wonder about quitting my job, my work and just going on a mission, doing more at church, visiting members, or helping others to come to God. Surely these would be things I could do in His name.

However, I am now beginning to see that I can do everything in His name, if I am doing His will. As I go through life, I can celebrate every day the bounties I have been given to learn and to grow. I can rejoice in:

My body

Food that is provided

Work

Children

Neighbors

The Gospel

Money

Travel

Opportunities for learning and growth

Those who share with me

Love

School or classes

Touch

Business

Pain and suffering (Yes! Even problems are blessings!)

Christ is the life of the world. All that is life, meaning growth, is of Him. Only He can give us life. "He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and ever." (D&C 88:41) To rejoice in all things, is to rejoice in Him. To celebrate life is to celebrate Him. To do whatever I do for life, for growth, for knowledge and wisdom is to do it for Him. If I do it for Him, no matter what it is, then I do everything in His name. I can do everything for Him, because He makes it possible, because He gave His all so I could grow, because I love Him. It's not just in church that we can serve Him, but rather in all things.

Fighting against God

If I reject a gift from God, I reject Him. If I am doing my will, then I am doing it in my own name. There are many gifts of God that I have rejected and denied. He has taught me true principles of health, but I choose not to take good care of my body. I know that exercise is very important, but I get too busy and don't feel like doing it. I'm lazy. Also, in spite of all I know about food, I choose to eat poisons because they taste good. I am tearing down my body with chemical ingredients, sugar, preservatives, pesticides, and flavorings. I like them. They taste good! So, I rebel against the knowledge I have and choose to eat unhealthy things for taste.

I am divorced from my first wife because I rebelled against the commandment I was given to love her. Instead, I was seeking my own. I wanted what I wanted, and I wasn't getting what I wanted. By insisting on my own way I ended up without her.

Another good example of rebellion is my business. The Lord gave me work to do. I have a profession, I like being a doctor. I would like to just sit and counsel others on their health. I can do that. It's easy. I'm good at telling them what to do. They can take my advice, or not, just as long as they pay me for it. It is good advice so they are not paying for nothing. However, the Lord wants me to learn to run a business. He has given me a practice to teach me how to be a leader, but I have had so many problems that I keep wanting to quit. "I'm just going to go and work for someone else, I'll make more money and have fewer headaches." I say. Anyone who has had more than one employee may know what I mean. This is the "natural man." By rejecting what the Lord gave me, I have rejected Him.

Repentance

However, if I take what the Lord has given me, and run with it, learning how to do all the things of a business, I can see how much I can grow and learn. Life is growth. Life is learning. Life is NOT about rest and retirement, and doing the easy thing, but rather continual improvement. I am being lazy and seeking the "easy way" instead of looking to learn. If I change that and instead seek growth, life, and love, then I am "doing all that I do in the name of the Son." This is repentance. I am changing from doing what I want to doing His will. I am loving Him by keeping His commandments. I am filling the measure of my creation. The business God gave to me teaches me these things.

I can keep my body healthy by doing His will, keeping His commandments. In section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants, The Word of Wisdom includes, "All wholesome herbs," and "eat meat sparingly." Another commandment is to "retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated." (D&C 88:124) Also, I know that exercise will improve my body in many ways. By choosing good, wholesome food, and sleep and exercise, I am serving Him.

 

If I choose to love my wife, instead of seeking my own fulfillment then I also serve Him. To love her is to be happy with her, to appreciate her, to find her strengths, and to help her grow, even if it means giving up what I want. Love is in the sacrifice.

The everyday acts of life are where growth happens. It isn't in the big things, the mission trip to Africa, being a bishop, or a large donation to charity. Rather it is in the daily decisions to celebrate life by learning and growing. Life is lived by overcoming laziness and acting on the knowledge we have. This is how we repent of all our sins and iniquities.

Becoming perfect

Understanding that all things which bring growth lead us to Him makes perfection a possibility. When I get up in the morning, I do it for Him. When I exercise to build my body, I do it for Him. When I choose good food, I do it for Him. When I choose to learn the piano, I do it for Him. When I learn how to run a business, I do it for Him. When I read good books I do it for Him. When I budget my money I do it for Him. I do everything for my own growth for Him. Some of these things I really enjoy, but others I don't really want to do. In both cases, everything that leads me to being complete and whole, leads me to Him.

Moreover, when I do things to help others grow, to give instruction and encouragement, in every area of life I am doing His will. When I help Charly with her homework, I do it for Him. When I go to work, I do it for Him. When I counsel a patient, I do it for Him. When I serve in the Church, I do it for Him. When I help another to know the Gospel, I do it for Him. I share with others to teach them to grow, or support their growth -- for him. It's not just preaching the Gospel as taught in church, but rather every form of growth that brings life, that celebrates life. "Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together." (D&C 50:22) "Preaching" is broad enough to include all science, religion, politics, relationships, music, math, art, and philosophy -- all truth. All things that improve and increase life bring us to God. The injunction by Jesus is to "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) The original word translated as "perfect" means "complete" or "whole," like a "perfect circle" means a full, or complete, circle.

 

As I learn true principles, and choose to live them, to incorporate them into my life, I am repenting. It's really simple. In order for me to do all I do in the name of the Son, I would need to do it in submission to the will of God. All that I do to take care of myself and others gives me potential for growth and development, and helps me to celebrate life. All that I do to learn and grow helps me come closer to Him. All that I am given is a blessing over which I can rejoice and be glad, even if it is something I didn't want, such as pain, loss, or other suffering. All that I suffer I can choose to accept with all my heart as a gift for my own growth, just as I can accept a new car.

Everything I can do with all my heart, I must do fully. I need to celebrate all things, even if I don't like doing them so that I can grow. Rejoicing in life is growing. If I reject these opportunities, then I reject the Lord, and I am doing my own will. God gave me all that I have, and I need to be diligent in seeking His will for me in each of them so that everything I do is His will. I want to live. I want to grow. I want to love. I want to connect with God through His only begotten Son. So, I will "repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore." Thus, I will learn to do everything in His name. So, I can say, as Joshua, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)

They dance for Him

I walked into the outdoor theater with the sun blazing hot, worried that I might be late. I wasn't. I sat down, Michele and Tutu were across the aisle, a couple of rows down. I didn't see anyone else I knew. I was alone. I was feeling lonely. I was wishing Karyn could be sitting there by my side so I could enjoy her company. I was specifically thinking that I didn't understand dance, that I had to sit through twenty-two dance numbers just to see Charly in two, one jazz and one tap. She loves to dance and is technically very good. She accurately does all the steps, but I wonder about her heart.

After most of it was over, including both of her numbers, I was relaxing, just watching when I saw a young girl with a big smile dancing with all of her heart in a ballet. I don't know about the technical parts, but it was beautiful. I felt it in my heart. At the same time a voice inside me said, "They dance for Him."

Dance is a celebration of life. It is a sacrament of the body. It is a ritual of gratitude for all that the body can do, be, and represent. It is a ceremony of the wonders of life. In doing so it is also a tribute to Him who makes it all possible. Christ is the light and the life of the world. He is the way, the truth and the life. He makes it all possible. Without Him we could not exist. He created all things so that we would have a place to be. He constructed our home. He gave us the gift of independence, choice, and agency. He allows us to use that freedom -- and misuse it. And when we die because of our bad choices, He allows us to repent, and return to life. He gives us life in the first place, and then allows us to return to life, whatever life we desire. He is the life. Dance is a celebration of Him.

Some may be selfish, dancing for another reason. Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael were dancing and making merry and forgetting the Lord. The daughter of Jared in the Book of Ether danced to get Akish to desire her. She had a sinister plot to marry him so he would kill her grandfather, the king, and get the kingdom for her father. Her dance was not for the Lord, but rather for Satan.

Whenever we dance to celebrate life, love, and all the gifts we have been given we do it for Him. I believe most don't know that they dance for Him. When they find joy in expressing the wonder of the body and all it is capable of doing they are dancing for Him. King David came triumphantly into Jerusalem, dancing for Him. David was a man after the Lord's own heart.

"Let them praise his name in the dance." (Psalm 149:3)

"Suffer" means "allow"

A perfect synonym for "suffer" is "allow." When we take out the pain and sorrow of "suffer" and simply replace it with "allow," we get a whole new meaning of the Scriptures. For example, we understand that Jesus was perfect and sinless, but what made this so? I always imagined Him with His siblings at the dinner table to be like my family. His little sister says, "Oh Jesus, you think you're so perfect!" And He says, "Yep!" with a smug grin. And He would be right, but this sort of perfection is not definable. It is the "perfection" of pride, the "I'm right, I'm good, I don't need to grow or change," sort of perfection.

Jesus, in reality, was just the opposite. Humble perfection is doing exactly the will of God, submitting our own will to His. This is what Jesus did, as He explained to the Nephites:

"And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." (3 Nephi 11:11)

How wonderful it is to have the Book of Mormon and be able to know about Christ after His resurrection! This scripture is a good example. If we take the word "suffered" and use instead the synonym "allowed" it reads:

"And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have [allowed] the will of the Father in all things from the beginning."

The first tells us about the pain He experienced, and the fact that it was painful, bitter, and hard. However, the second gives us insight into other things.

Without sin

"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15)

We speak of Jesus being without sin, but what, exactly, does that mean?

"I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." (John 5:30)

Jesus is the perfect example of how to live because He never sought his own will, but rather allowed the will of the Father in all things in His life. He did this out of love for us, which love is charity.

"And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men." (1 Nephi 19:9)

 

Again, replacing each of the words "suffer" with "allow" we get:

"And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he [allows] it; and they smite him, and he [allows] it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he [allows] it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men."

He had a will, separate from the Father. He did not want to suffer. He didn't want to drink the bitter cup, but He did. It wasn't self-imposed suffering. He didn't create it, He only allowed it, as demonstrated in the Garden of Gethsemane.

"And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39)

The analogy here is incredible. If it's bitter, He could spit it out. How much more submissive could He be than to willingly drink what is bitter to the taste? Swallowing is willingness.

We just completed the circle. The events from this point we know. He willingly drinks the bitter cup, submits to die on the cross after allowing torture and humiliation, is buried in a tomb, rises from the dead, and visits the Nephites at the Temple in Bountiful to tell them: "I have suffered the will of the Father."

Follow Him

We follow Christ when we allow the will of the Father in our own lives, when we are "willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us]." (Mosiah 3:19) This is truly putting our trust in the Lord. We naturally seek our own will, instead of His, making us inherently evil, as King Benjamin points out:

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." (Mosiah 3:19)

The words used here are indicative of how we become saints:

Yields

Putteth off

Submissive

Meek

Humble

Patient

Love

Willing

Submit

Inflict

It is through the atonement of Christ that we can become saints. He is our example. We follow what He did. We submit to the will of God in all things. This means we allow chastisement and we allow evil to exist, as He explained:

"But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." (Matthew 5:39-41)

If to suffer is to allow, then allowing evil is literally what it means to be a true follower of Jesus Christ, a saint. Knowing that there is a plan made by God, and we follow His plan, instead of interjecting our own, "better," plan.

The sin of prevention

Lucifer had a "better" plan. He would prevent all suffering, pain, and sorrow by taking away the agency of man. Everyone would be obedient and do the will of the Father in all things, just like Jesus, but without the "willing" part. Submitting reluctantly is not giving the heart to God, it is just doing it by force. There are many in the world who try to enforce or follow the plan of Satan. Whenever power is gained "it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion." (D&C 121:39) They do this by pitting their will against the will of God, striving to put things right, as they see it.

When we try to prevent the will of the Father it is a sin. Whenever we insist upon our own way in anything, it is sin. There are many things that seem wrong that we try to put right: the death of a child, injustice, hate, pain, death, misery, and all the evils of the world. Yet, we are told that we are on the Earth to be tested, with what? Exactly that evil we think we want to abolish. God has a plan. His work is not like ours. We build sand castles all day, and fight and play with the other kids in the sandbox. However, He says, "this is my work and my gloryto bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39) This is necessarily done by experiencing, and allowing, evil in our own lives.

Absorb evil

As a physician I deal with a lot of people who are in pain. Almost always, they are trying to get out of pain. Michael Jackson was one of those, and it eventually killed him. I find that when people try to use drugs to abolish all pain they have two problems: 1. The side-effects of the drugs, and 2. More pain. They only get minutes to hours of semi-relief with the drugs saying, "it makes it tolerable," but suffering much more in the long run.

How can we deal with pain? Follow Jesus: suffer it. Allow it. Experience it to the fullest. Drink the bitter cup willingly. When we feel pain, we allow it. We submit to it. We feel it completely and get all the way around it. We know it, and love it for what it is -- the motivation to change, to repent, and to become free. Pain allows us to feel joy. Lehi explains:

"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility. Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation. Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes, and also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of God." (2 Nephi 2:11-12)

If there is no cold, there is no hot. If there is no darkness there is no light. If there is no death, there is no life. Life is choice, and if you have nothing to choose, you have no life. Moreover, if there is no pain, there is no joy. We actually can only experience joy to the extent that we have felt pain. If you want the greatest joy, you must be willing to experience the greatest sorrow. Again, Jesus is our example.

"He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;" (D&C 88:6)

Our Eternal life, joy and happiness depends on us comprehending all things through experience. Jesus shows us the way by allowing the will of God, even when it means suffering and pain, and submitting willingly and completely. Our only concern on Earth, therefore is to understand what is the will of God for us in our lives -- and suffer it.