Priesthood vs. Priestcraft

2 Nephi 26:23 states, “The Lord God worketh not in darkness.” Verse 24 continues, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world, for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, He commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.”

Verses 25-28 expound on this same idea. By contrast, verse 29 talks of “Priestcraft”, prefacing the discussion with a direct statement that “He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts.” Continuing, the term is defined: “For behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.”

Verses 30 and 31 conclude this line of reasoning: “Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. And except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish. But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.”

The word “priestcraft” seems like an opposing form of “Priesthood”. But if Priesthood is the authority of God, how are these two terms related?

One can consider the word “Priesthood” in connection with its suffix, particularly when considering other words with this suffix such as, “sisterhood”, “brotherhood”, “neighborhood”, etc. What do these words have in common? The suffix “hood” can be understood to mean something like “The close association of”. So for instance, a “sisterhood” is a close association of sisters (or more commonly, women). A “brotherhood” is a close association of brothers (or men). A “neighborhood” is a close association of neighbors. Put this way, “Priesthood” is a close association of priests, similar to the kingdom of Priests as found in the scriptures (for instance, Revelation 1:6). But what are “priests”? 

The Bible Dictionary defines a Priest in the Old Testament times as follows, “The essential idea of a Hebrew priest was that of a mediator between his people and God by representing them officially in worship and sacrifice. By virtue of his office he was able to draw nigh to God, while they, because of their sins and infirmities, must needs stand afar off. The priest exercised his office mainly at the altar by offering the sacrifices and above all the incense (Num. 16:40; 18:2–3, 5, 7; Deut. 33:10) but also by teaching the people the law (Lev. 10:10, 11; Deut. 33:10; Mal. 2:7), by communicating to them the divine will (Num. 27:21), and by blessing them in the name of the Lord (Num. 6:22–27).”

Whether we are ordained as Priests in the Aaronic Priesthood or not, all Latter-day Saints are part of what Exodus 19:6 calls “A kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. As Latter-day Saints serve as a mediator between someone and God, they are serving in a priestly function. For instance, when a Latter-day Saint teaches, shares an impression, prays for, visits, ministers to, or blesses others in the name of the Lord, he or she serves in a priestly function.

To summarize, the idea of “Priesthood” could be understood as a close association of Latter-day Saints (or Christians) that serve others and each other in a priestly manner, building up the kingdom of God by serving as a mediator in imitation of and in the name of Jesus Christ. This is in sharp contrast to “priestcraft”, where individuals skillfully (implied by the word craft) build themselves up at the expense of others. They do not seek the welfare of Zion.

On Prophetic Foreknowledge

Some suppose that as we believe in prophets and prophecy, we therefore believe that prophets have clear, explicit future predictions and understandings. However, as we consider sacred history, ancient and modern, we are confronted with the contrary idea that as Latter-day Saints, we often possess no special access to the future, regardless of our righteousness. Even when we receive clear impressions or promptings indicating a course of action, rarely do we know at the time of the impression the reasons or consequences for following or not following. Our knowledge and perspective is inherently limited to those items which are most needful and pressing for us to know.

Let us briefly examine the role of prophets and limitations with regards to their clairvoyance. In the Bible Dictionary, we read

“The work of a Hebrew prophet was to act as God’s messenger and make known God’s will. The message was usually prefaced with the words ‘Thus saith Jehovah.’ He taught men about God’s character, showing the full meaning of His dealings with Israel in the past. It was therefore part of the prophetic office to preserve and edit the records of the nation’s history; and such historical books as Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings were known by the Jews as the former Prophets. It was also the prophet’s duty to denounce sin and foretell its punishment and to redress, so far as he could, both public and private wrongs. He was to be, above all, a preacher of righteousness. When the people had fallen away from a true faith in Jehovah, the prophets had to try to restore that faith and remove false views about the character of God and the nature of the divine requirement. In certain cases prophets predicted future events, such as the very important prophecies announcing the coming of Messiah’s kingdom; but as a rule a prophet was a forthteller rather than a foreteller.”

Thus, the biblical idea of a prophet as a forthteller rather than a foreteller suggests that prophets may lack specific knowledge of the future. Certainly predicting future events was at most a less significant part of the biblical prophetic office. This seems consistent with what we read throughout scripture. For instance, consider the timing of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Paul evidently believed that the return of Jesus was imminent, as implied in 1 Thessalonians and elsewhere. Similarly, early Latter-day Saints, including Joseph Smith, believed that the Second Coming was similarly imminent.

For instance, Joseph Smith taught in D&C 130:14-17: “I was once praying very earnestly to know the time of the coming of the Son of Man, when I heard a voice repeat the following: Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter. I was left thus, without being able to decide whether this coming referred to the beginning of the millennium or to some previous appearing, or whether I should die and thus see his face. I believe the coming of the Son of Man will not be any sooner than that time.”

From the scriptural record in each Gospel account, it seems that the earliest Christians were surprised, even shocked by the death and also the resurrection of Jesus. The disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24, for instance, seemed befuddled by the entire situation. At the time, neither of those events seemed intuitive or predictable to these earliest Christians. Only in hindsight, after the resurrection, did they see Christ in the Old Testament.

More recently, in his opening message to General Conference in April 2020, President Russell M. Nelson stated, “Little did I know, when I promised you at the October 2019 general conference that this April conference would be “memorable” and “unforgettable,” that speaking to a visible congregation of fewer than 10 people would make this conference so memorable and unforgettable for me! Yet the knowledge that you are participating by electronic transmission, and the choir’s beautiful rendition of “It Is Well with My Soul,” bring great comfort to my soul.”

While perhaps not extremely explicit, it indicates that President Nelson had at least a limited knowledge of the future, and perhaps did not foresee the pandemic before it occurred. Yes, many church members point to the blessing of a “home-centered, church-supported” church that was taught and in some ways, implemented shortly prior to the pandemic. Latter-day Saints can be grateful for the providential blessings from God without insisting that prophets had perfect clairvoyance into the future. All that is necessary is for prophets to discern and follow the will of God. But understanding all of the future implications is neither necessary nor realistic, and that perspective neither diminishes the blessings of following prophetic counsel nor the power, love, majesty, and foresight of loving Heavenly Parents who work through limited mortals to accomplish their work.

Similarly, we could point to prophetic wrestlings with the Priesthood ban, particularly by David O. McKay, as well as explanations and prognostications provided by Bruce R. McConkie which, after the June 1978 revelation was received, he explicitly repudiated.

These and other examples highlight the limited nature of prophetic insight into specific future events. This principle can help Latter-day Saints better understand prophetic limitations while not discounting the blessings of following prophetic counsel. In other words, specific future foreknowledge is not necessary for prophetic direction to be inspired, and for individuals to be blessed by following prophetic counsel.

Training to Listen

"It takes training, focus and the ability to create silence in the soul to learn how to listen, whether to God or to a fellow human being." -Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

In my life, I find myself most at peace when I take time to try and calm down spiritually so I may listen to the still, small voice.  Proper preparation, time, and mindset can help heaven feel close.

The above quotation from Rabbi Sacks sets the sacred task as "To learn how to listen".  Listening is not just the simple act of paying attention, but requires preparation.  Sheer focus is not enough; training and developed ability are required.

But as in the above quotation from Rabbi Sacks, such listening requires a silence in the soul.  It takes time and planning to clear out the clutter in our lives and make some space for breathing, for peace, for divinity.  There is always one more chore to get done, one more box to check, one more distraction.  And yet, God invites and empowers us to take time apart from the business, from the constant hum about us, inviting us to draw near, to seek, and to find.

How might we learn how to listen to God?  How might we prepare, or develop this ability?  As in a previous quotation, Rabbi Sacks meaningfully counsels, "Listen deeply to those you love and who love you."

With regards to improving or developing our ability to listen, might I suggest that the answers are as close as they are numerous.  Each of us, often many times a day, has multiple interactions with others.  How engaged are we in listening?  When someone else's lips move as they deliver a message to us, are we receiving the message as it is being delivered, or do we find ourselves drifting away or shutting down?  Do we interrupt?  Do we strive to thoughtfully enter that person's head space to better understand not only what they are saying, but where they speak from?

I know I have mountains of work left to do to improve my listening skills, particularly when it comes to focusing on the present, on the here and now, and the person right in front of me.

And we may suppose that the fruit of such efforts is not necessarily improved memorization or rote recitation, but a deeper understanding of the depth of humanity, of the motivation, and of the divine imprint of goodness on those we strive to listen to more charitably and deliberately.

Reflections on D&C 19

D&C 19 is a beautiful section given to Martin Harris.

The first section, after a brief prelude, focuses on repentance and on punishments that befall those who do not repent, as in verses 5 and 15-19.

There is an interesting aside about the idea that God's name is eternal, so that eternal punishment is God's punishment. A reasonable extension is that eternal life is God's life.

The thrust of repentance is so that Martin Harris may more fully keep the commandments which he has received by the hand of God's servant Joseph Smith.

Verse 21 seems to be a pivot towards preaching, though it seems mid-stream.

The back half of this section seems to focus on several interrelated points such as:

1. Pray (see vs. 28 and 38)
2. Preach  (see 21, 29-31)
3. Seek the Lord (see 23-24,
4. Humility (see 23, 30, 41)
5. Sacrifice (see 25-27, 34-37)

The Lord is encouraging Martin to willingly sacrifice his property for the publication of the Book of Mormon, and to look forward to service, to preaching, in a spirit of prayer and humility, rejoicing in the great promises such as verse 38.

Considering Martin's wealth, age, and past history with the plates, it is understandable that the Lord saw fit to focus on humility.

This is wise counsel to all of us. How am I building the kingdom of God? What am I sacrificing? With increasing wealth, how humble am I? Do I remember to pray fervently to the Lord? Do I look forward to preaching and sharing the Gospel?

Reflections on Jonah

Jonah is commanded by the Lord to go to Ninevah and cry against it as its wickedness had come up to God

The text indicates and even emphasizes that Jonah flees to Tarshish "from the presence of the Lord".

The Lord sends a big storm which jeopardized the ship. While the sailors reacted by fervently praying to their gods, Jonah slept.

Being woken up, Jonah is encouraged to pray to his god, though it appears he does not. The crew cast lots to determine who is responsible, and the lot falls on Jonah. As they ask Jonah more about his God and his background, they realize the power of the God of Israel, and were afraid that Jonah would flee from such a powerful god. Asking Jonah what to do, he replied to throw him into the sea, which they ended up doing, in fear and trembling. The men even offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows after Jonah was cast overboard.

Jonah is of course consumed by the sea creature, where he becomes more humble, quoting various psalms.

The Lord forgives Jonah and he is cast out of the fish, and goes to Ninevah to preach. Unfortunately for Jonah, the people repent. This actually makes him upset. He was prophesying destruction and doom and gloom on them, not mercy and blessings of repentance.
 So when they repent, he struggles.

To teach him a lesson, the Lord provides a shelter from the hot sun with a vine that grows on it. When the vine withers and dies, Jonah feels great sorrow and sadness for it. The Lord chastens Jonah for feelign sorry for a vine dying, when the city of Ninevah has thousands of his children.

This book has a couple of odd stories which seem almost smashed together. Each could be read separately, but they also work together. Sometimes, we are afraid of what God is asking of us, or we may even disagree with the direction that we are receiving. We may want to ignore it or move away.

Sometimes we are confronted with the idea that those who do not worship or live as we do in many ways are more admirable and respectable to God than we are, particularly if (when?) we are prideful, hypocritical, arrogant, stand-offish, or self-righteous.

This can be humbling, and is a call to repentance of a sort.

At other times, we may see that those things that we value, that we treasure, either by our money or our time or our thoughts, are really of very little significance. Sometimes we find that we neglect or even refuse the seek the welfare of those who are most in need of our friendship, our fellowship, our blessing, our attention, our message, our love, our time.

Sometimes we struggle when things do not turn out according to our plans, to how we see the world. Hopefully we are humble enough to realize that we are not God, and that He has his plans, and we have ours.

Sometimes we may feel anger or a desire for vengeance or justice against someone or some organization that has harmed us or someone we car about, or has been complicit in harm. But God in this book invites Jonah (dove) to call the people of Ninevah to repentance, which they do. Jonah struggles with this, seemingly thinking that the Ninevahites should pay for what they've done. Jonah seems to demand justice most of all, and really struggles when God forgives instead of when he punishes. Do we struggle when we see God's judgments (or what appear to be God's judgments)? Are there those we strive to punish, and who we refuse to accept unless they are punished?

Reflections on Alma 2

At a surface level, Alma 2 is a chapter about a sizeable military conflict, effectively a civil war where Amlici and his followers, who want Amlici as king, anoint Amlici as the king and then go to war against the Nephites, who just recently had done away with the kingship and had a chief judge instead.

Both the Nephites and Amlicites have a organizational structure (captains and chief captains), and a variety of weapons.

At their first engagement, the Amlicites fought "with great strength", resulting in many Nephite casualties.

But the Lord strengthened the Nephites and they began to gain the upper hand, making the Amlicites flee.

That night, Nephite spies found that the Amlicites were teaming up with the Lamanites, greatly increasing the risks and costs of a military conflict.

The words of the Nephite spies were, "They are upon our brethren in that land; and they are fleeing....towards our city; and except we make haste they obtain possession of our city, and our fathers, and our wives, and our children be slain."

The next day, the Nephites were strengthened by the Lord after praying mightily to be delivered from the hands of their enemies.

Alma fought Amlici, the leader of the Amlicites and killed him.

Alma chased down the king of the Lamanites, who fled, though Alma and his guards fought with the king's guard.

Let me stop here and go back and revisit some aspects of this tale and suggest applications that may apply to us today.

1. Note that both the Nephites and the Amlicites had an organizational structure. Both had the same sorts of weapons. And both were fighting for causes they thought were just. What was the main difference that we read in this account? It was that God strengthened the Nephites. Consider yourself: how much different would my marriage be, would my family life be, would my profession or church service be, if God never strengthened me?  How would I struggle? What would I lack? In other words, I would like all of us to consider how God strengthens us today in each of those venues, and I'd encourage you ask yourself if there is something you can do today which will unlock greater spiritual power, a greater dose of God's help for you? Maybe there's a family member to forgive. Member there's a sin to be repented of. Maybe there's a sacrifice that needs to be made, or some time that we need to spend with our wives, or our kids, or with the Lord in prayer. Whatever it is, I'd encourage you to think about God's strengthening, how that has blessed you, how it blesses you today, and how it can bless you in the future.
2. This story records that the Nephites needed to pray mightily, powerfully in order to receive this strength from the Lord. Again, it wasn't enough that they were organized, or that they thought they were in the right, or that they had done their homework. They needed to pour out their hearts to God, to pray mightily. In the scriptures, wonderful miracles and visions and blessings are often preceded by someone pouring out their heart to God. When was the last time that you poured out your heart to God? When was the last time that one of your prayers could be considered mighty or powerful? When was the last time that, as the Primary song says, you felt heaven close around you as you prayed? If it has been a long time, consider this a suggestion, even an invitation, to make the time and the effort necessary to pray mightily, to pray powerfully to God. We all have the energy and the capacity to serve God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength, and one way we show this is through fervent prayer.
3. Once Alma and the Nephites were strengthened, their troubles did not immediately stop. God did not magically transport the Lamanites and Amlicites back to their lands, nor did he make the weapons disappear. A war still had to be fought. Lives still had to be lost. A titanic struggle still ensued. Sometimes in the middle of a struggle we may not realize that God has strengthened us, but that does not mean that trials and difficulties go away. God's grace strengthens us to face them. Consider Nephi's account of their wanderings in the wilderness, when he recounts the great blessings that God has given them, "[T]hat while we did live upon raw ceat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings." The blessings that Nephi saw as miraculous was not that they had plenty of delicious food to eat. It was that their wives could provide plenty of milk for nursing infants. It was not that the women had no burdens, it was that they were strong. It wasn't even that they weren't complaining, it was that they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings. In other words, they murmured less. A cynic or skeptic could look at any one of these and discount that God had anything to do with it. Sometimes we can be a little skeptical or maybe even unbelieving about God working in our life. If you can't see God in your life, I'd invite you to step back and try to see things as Nephi did. Prayerfully and honestly look at how God is strengthening you or someone close to you. If we pray to ask God to show us His hand in our life, it is my conviction that God answers those prayers by opening eyes to see the blessings He gives us. Seeing a blessing like that is a great reason to be grateful and to rejoice.
4. Alma's struggle has effectively two parts: in one, he kills Amlici. In the other, he chases away the Lamanite king. The Lamanite king may return, and in fact did with a large army shortly after the Nephite victory. We can see that the problems we face are a little like Nephi's problems: some of them may go away, effectively be destroyed. When we have a difficulty or a challenge, this is how we want it to end. And some do end this way. Others, however, may only be able to be pushed away or fought away for a time, but they come again. So don't be discouraged if you find yourself struggling with something again and again. Sometimes the struggle that we live in requires fighting the same sorts of battles repeatedly, as the Nephites did. This is not a clear and obvious sign of failure. People doing everything that they can do may still struggle with something over and over again, perhaps throughout their entire life.

As we struggle, may we see that God is on our right hand and on our left, and that He has powers and resources and abilities that can strengthen and bless us as we fight our own battles, whether against physical health, mental illness, family challenges, employment difficulties, personal weaknesses, or many other obstacles or problems that get in the way, that act effectively as enemies to our progress, to our happiness, to our potential. God's grace is sufficient, meaning that He has enough. He doesn't run out!

Lynn G. Robbins on Mistakes

One way of understanding Mormonism is that it pertains to eternal progression: growth that is on-going and everlasting and never stopping. It is difficult to conceive of this idea of eternal progression that pertains to us mortals that does not involve lots of mistakes. How do we deal with these? How should we feel about mistakes?

Elder Robbins helpful talk can present a useful paradigm towards those that believe in a Gospel of perfectionism, the idea that God expects me today to be completely perfect (as I understand it) in every area of my life. There is no room for mistakes, for slip-ups, for sins, for weakness. I need to be perfect. That's what God expects of me.

The ideas in this talk, however, while not downplaying the great expectations and long-term perspective of our eternal growth and exaltation, point to the not just inevitability of mistakes, but the idea that this is part of God's plan.

One implication is that these ideas, if embraced, help to remove shame and guilt associated with mistakes, with slip-ups. It helps put our weaknesses and short-comings in the proper perspective, and realize that God does not expect us to avoid all mistakes from this time henceforth and forever.

Reflections on President Ballard Talk, April 2018: Gifts God Gives to Me

The title of the talk was "Precious Gifts from God"

What gifts has God given me? What gifts mean the most to me?

How do I consider the Atonement a great (the greatest) gift?

The Atonement is what gives me hope. I can get into problems, difficulties, and troubles in many areas of my life, but the Atonement always give me reason for hope. Any broken window can be repaired just as if it had never broken.

Jesus Christ, through His Atonement, brings joy and peace and hope back when I drive it away. Those gifts that unlock spiritual power, or that are associated with spiritual power, are for me some of the greatest personal gifts.

Scripture is a great gift, and time to slowly consider the scriptures is a great gift.

Times when I am aligned with God so that I feel the Spirit strongly and unmistakeably are great gifts.

Times when I strive to be guided by the Spirit, and feel nudged to do so, are great gifts.

Times when I feel revelation, or promptings, or impressions, and strive to act on them, are great gifts.

Feeling inspired by beautiful music or art or experiences or uplifted by family time are great gifts.

For me, the greatest gifts involve my engaging with or experiencing the divine as an active participant, and not just a silent observer.

Reflections on Solemn Assembly April 2018

In response to President Ballard's invitation to record thoughts or feelings during the April 2018 Solemn Assembly where Russell M. Nelson was sustained as the President of the Church, with Gerrit Gong and Ulysses Soares as newly called Apostles, I have written the following:

While I tend to think of the word "solemn" meaning "really serious" or something like that, the spirit or feeling associated with the "solemn" assembly seemed to reflect a different understanding of "solemn" than that.

The assembly was significant, it was formal, and it was serious, but I think "important" or "meaningful" would be a better way to describe the feeling for me. It wasn't overly burdensome or formalized. There was a pattern followed, and of course it was orderly.

There was a sense of anticipation, and of spiritual power, but not necessarily spiritual power that was present more than the sense that it was imminent for me, pointing to the ministry of President Russell M. Nelson.

There was a sense of great joy at the callings of Elders Gong and Soares.

There was a sense of great joy and unity as the Saints rose and individually committed, promised, or covenanted to sustain the First Presidency and the Quorum of the 12. There is something wonderful in a joint commitment, made willingly, that unlocks spiritual power.

I could certainly have been better prepared to be receptive to the Spirit. But it was a wonderful experience for me, and I'd like to think that my kids will also remember it. It helped me feel connected with the Church, and with the traditions of the Church.

God Doesn't Always Meet our Expectations

One of the challenges of discipleship is that God doesn't meet our expectations.

Perhaps there are unanswered prayers, or unforeseen trials that God appears to give no warning nor preparation for.  Perhaps something happens in our life that seems cruel.

However, if God always meets our expectations, what kind of a God is He?

If God doesn’t challenge us or act differently than we would expect, what kind of a God is He?  Why would we need Him?  In short, why would God be anything other than a psychological construct?

We believe in a God that is transcendent and superior, possesing a greater power, awareness, and perspective than we possess. If his awareness and perspective are greater than ours, it stands to reason that there will be times when our perspective and awareness are different from God's; if they are not different, what type of a God is He? In a sense, then, having unmet expectations, or unexpected surprises in our lives, or counsel and teachings and principles and ideas and framework that challenge us is an evidence that God's awareness and perspective is greater than ours. Thus, we may reasonably expect His counsel to at least periodically push back or challenge us.

This is not to say that God is some trickster or charlatan, some unconcerned, arbitrary, or unknowable being, or that God lives in the realms of malice or random decision-making. He is neither a computer program nor a roulette wheel. This is to suggest that God's plans and designs may not always agree with us, and in a sense, that is a witness or evidence of God's divinity, of His greatness, and of His divine perspective and superior knowledge.

Elder Renlund, "That I Might Draw All Men unto Me"

In April 2016, Elder Dale Renlund gave a talk entitled, "That I Might Draw All Men unto Me".  He starts by talking on entitlement, teaching that the farther apart we are from the source that provides a gift, the more entitled we feel and the less appreciative we are.  This lesson is quickly focused on God:

"Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are the ultimate Givers.  The more we distance ourselves from Them, the more entitled we feel.  We begin to think that we deserve grace and are owed blessings....When we are distant from God, even small inequities loom large.  We feel that God has an obligation to fix things--and fix them right now!"

Elder Renlund uses the term, "The ultimate Givers" to describe Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in this context.

Perhaps sometimes we do not see God in that way.  We may see God primarily as one demanding or requiring, or perhaps, watching our stumblings with some sort of an amused aloofness, chuckling softly at himself as we bumble our way through life but taking no active role in it.

But Elder Renlund cuts right across this false doctrine that some may believe by calling Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ "The ultimate Givers".  The implication is that is there are none that give as generously or richly as God.  That God's giving is, by it's nature, a whole other category of giving, or perhaps the type of giving by which all other gifts are compared.

Prayer can serve to help us see how God is the ultimate Giver; it can help us brush away the cobwebs to better see how much we receive from divine hands.

Prayer also helps us grow closer to God, improving not just clarity of vision but proximity both to the light source by which we see and the ultimate end of all seeing.

Elder Renlund sees in this closeness an increasing willingness to embrace a countercultural idea:

"The closer we are to Jesus Christ in the thoughts and intents of our hearts, the more we appreciate His innocent suffering, the more grateful we are for grace and forgiveness, and the more we want to repent and become like Him."

The countercultural idea is that by increasing our closeness to God, rather than an increase in appreciation for strength or courage or power or wealth, we become more appreciative of weakness, of sorrow, of grace, of mercy.  At the same time we cultivate our desire for these attributes. God can then work with us through our weakness and His grace and mercy.

L. Tom Perry's Final Talk

In October 2015 General Conference, Elder Perry gave a talk entitled, "Why Marriage and Family Matter--Everywhere in the World".

Let me comment on the talk title: this suggests both the importance of marriage and family, but also a global, even universal power to common interests in marriage and family that Elder Perry shares.

Elder Perry mentions an invitation to attend a colloquium on marriage and family at the Vatican.  Religious, geographic, and presumably ethnic diversity is immediately brought up: "In attendance were religious representatives from 14 different faiths and from six of the seven continents, all of whom had been invited to express their beliefs on what is happening to the family in today's world."

Elder Perry starts his summary of the colloquium by quoting the Pope's remarks, speaking against the prevailing "culture of the temporary" and its attendant fruits of "spiritual and material devastation to countless human beings, especially the poorest and most vulnerable."  He quotes the Pope's statement of hope that "the rising generation" will "'seek true and lasting love, going against the common pattern'", becoming "'revolutionaries'" by so doing.

There is a tone of unity and hope as Elder Perry hears "the widest imaginable variety of worldwide religious leaders...agree completely with each other...on the sanctity of the institution of marriage and of the importance of families as the basic unit of society."  He continues optimistically, "I felt a powerful sense of commonality and unity with them....It was remarkable for me to see how marriage and family-centered priorities cut across and superseded any political, economic, or religious differences.  When it comes to love of spouse and hopes, worries, and dreams for children, we are all the same."

I found the ecumenical tone of the first part of this talk very uplifting and edifying.  As brothers and sisters of varying religious traditions, we can support each other in basic beliefs and perspectives on marriage and family.

Of course the religious world is not one monolithic whole.  Differences exist.  Only members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, says Elder Perry, "Have the eternal perspective of the restored Gospel."  Specifically, "The entire theology of our restored Gospel centers of families and on the nea and everlasting covenant of marriage."  Distinctive LDS beliefs, doctrines, rituals, and cultural practices reflect this.

Elder Perry returns to the theme of working with others to strengthen marriage and family, even making this somewhat surprising assertion, "We know that it is not only those who are actively religious who share common values and priorities of lasting marriages and strong family relationships.  A great number of secular people have concluded that a committed marriage and family lifestyle is the most sensible, the economical, and the happiest way to live."

I struggle to think of any General Conference talk that speaks praise to consensus from "the widest imaginable variety of worldwide religious leaders" and even "secular people," those not "actively religious."  And yet Elder Perry here does so.

The above only makes the popular backlash against this inspired Apostle and his wonderful talk equally parts befuddling and tragic.

Towards the end, Elder Perry martials the Saints, "We want our voice to be heard against all of the counterfeit and alternative lifestyles that try to replace the family organization that God Himself established.  We also want our voice to be heard in sustaining the joy and fulfillment that traditional families bring.  We must continue to project that voice throughout the world in declaring why marriage and family are so important, why marriage and family really do matter, and why they always will."

Unfortunately, many LGBT activitists felt that Elder Perry was speaking accusingly at them as if from a Rameumptom.

However, in the context of the talk, I find it difficult to believe that this is what Elder Perry was referring to.  What does he mean by "counterfeit and alternative lifestyles"?  I suggest that the best clue is from several paragraphs earlier:

"Much of the media and entertainment that the world shares does not reflect the priorities and values of the majority.  For whatever reasons, too much of our television, movies, music, and Internet present a classic case of a minority masquerading as a majority.  Immorality and amorality, ranging from graphic violence to recreational sex, is portrayed as the norm and can cause those who have mainstream values to feel like we are out of ate or from a bygone era."

In this paragraph, I see no mention or even a hint of same-sex marriage or same-sex relationships.  Only condemnations of "Immorality and amorality, ranging from graphic violence to recreational sex" are specifically called out.

To me it seems far more likely that Elder Perry is referring to a whole host of enemies to marriage and family.  He is not referring to LGBT individuals, even obliquely, as opponents or fence sitters.  LGBT Latter-day Saints are not called to task or taken to the mat in this talk from what I can see.  And I see no reason why any LGBT Latter-day Saint cannot see the wisdom in Elder Perry's condemnation of "graphic violence", "recreational sex", "immorality", and "amorality".

Elder Perry closes the talk with his testimony, with expressions of gratitude for family members, and with a call to unite with "other faiths", stating that "It is around marriage and family that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the greatest opportunity to be a light on the hill."

So ends a classic talk by and the final talk of Elder L. Tom Perry.

President Eyring "Where Two or Three Are Gathered"

President Eyring gave a conference talk April 2016 entitled, "Where Two or Three are Gathered".

I like his supposition made early in the talk: "I am grateful that you have come to the conference to feel inspiration from heaven and to feel closer to our Heavenly Father and to the Lord Jesus Christ." There are other reasons to participate in conference, or to seek something spiritually, but President Eyring picked these two: to feel inspiration from heaven and to feel closer to God.

There are at least a few probable implications from this statement:

1. These are commonly held needs by the conference audience, specifically, Latter-day Saints and friends.
2. We are self-aware that we have these needs.
3. The proceedings in General Conference are able to meet these needs.
4. We have a hope that in Conference, or through Conference, we may have these needs met.
5. Perhaps these are the two most important reasons for General Conference.

I like how these needs apply almost universally to everyone, no matter age or stage: married, widowed, divorced, single, very young, very old, lonely, overwhelmed, frustrated, seeking, in crisis, etc.

I also like how President Eyring is not saying something about learning what we are doing wrong, or being filled with guilt, or rejoicing in our own superiority, or finding some reason to leave or be angry at the Church.  Of course, if someone is listening in that mindset, they are free to see thoughts and expressions from that perspective.  But that is certainly not in either the tenor nor the explicit content of President Eyring's remarks.

He turns to the parable of the sower as the text to address the needs of his audience, those who are spiritually disillusioned, but with a spiritual past.

"The survival of the seed and its growth depended on the condition of the soil."

"Again, the seed is the word of God.  The soil is the heart of the person who receives the seed."

Parables can be read many ways; that is one of their strengths.  Here, President Eyring frames the parable in a certain way, similarly to how Jesus frames it in the Gospels.  In a sermon or a talk, this sort of framework is valuable, perhaps even essential for putting the parable in the desired context of the speaker.

"We have all had seeds, or the word of God, planted in our hearts at one time....Each felt that the seed was good, even felt the swelling in our hearts, and experienced joy as our hearts and mind seemed to expand."

President Eyring is making a supposition that all of those in the audience have not only received the word of God, and have acknowledged it as such, but that the word of God, at least at one time, has had a positive impact.  He is appealing to bright memories of spiritual peaks in our personal past.

"All of us have had our faith tested" by various ways.

This is a frank acknowledgment that the relationship between our spiritual lives and the parable of the sower is not a straightforward, linear relationship.  Discipleship is not fatalistic; nor is it a one-time event or even a one-time process.  We need to be constantly aware of the health of our faith and our testimony, and take steps to see that the seed is nourished and strengthened.  An implication is that our faith, our testimony, our spiritual life can ebb and flow like the tide or an economic cycle.

"There will be a precious opportunity in the next few days to have our hearts softened and to receive and nourish the seed....They have prayed to have the power to encourage you to make the choices that will create in your heart a more fertile ground for the good word of God to grow and be fruitful.  If you listen with the Spirit, you will find your heart softened, your faith strengthened, and your capacity to love the Lord increased."

This a dramatic turning inward of the condition of soil: it is our responsibility to make the choices that may create in my heart a more fertile ground.  And the Church offers opportunities for our heart to be softened.  Members of the Church at all levels are invested in your spiritual development, in the condition of your heart, and want to provide opportunities for growth and development.

President Eyring makes a promise of sorts that if we listen to Conference with the Spirit,

1. We will find our heart softened.
2. We will find our faith strengthened.
3. We will find our capacity to love the Lord increased.

Elder Oaks and Opposition

In April 2016, Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a talk called, "Opposition in All Things".

Elder Oaks opens the talk by quoting from The Family: A Proclamation to the World: "The purpose of mortal life for the children of God is to provide the experiences needed 'to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.'"

There are a couple of phrases to note:
1. "Progress toward perfection" is not "achieve perfection" or "reach perfection."  This is something we are moving towards, as an end destination on a long journey, as if getting on the highway are the first steps on a long road trip.
2. "Ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life".
2a. In this phrase, the word "ultimately" suggests the possibility of a long time frame before this is realized.  Also, the use of the term "realized" is different than "achieved."  The wording could refer to something given or something earned, but is ambiguous, perhaps intentionally.
2b. The term "heirs of eternal life" hearkens back to New Testament teachings in Romans 8:17 and Revelation 3:21, that of reigning with God as joint-heirs with Christ, or sitting with God on His throne.  Such sitting does not refer to just taking a relaxing break, but refers to inheriting the rich reward of living God's life and participating in the divine work to bring about the eternal life and immortality of God's children.

This quotation further suggests that life is not a static nor passive experience; it is for progression, movement.  Elder Oaks refers to President Monson in teaching that, "We progress by making choices, by which we are tested to show that we will keep God's commandments."

In other words, how do we move forward?  By making choices which show (or are a type of test to show) that we will keep God's commandments.

Elder Oaks continues: "To be tested, we must have the agency to choose between alternatives.  To provide alternatives on which to exercise our agency, we must have opposition."

We can consider that agency is a necessary prerequisite for choice; if we are not able to choose, and either have only one option, or have only two options, one of which seems so repulsive as to be unthinkable, agency is not possible.  A world of only one choice, would annihilate agency.  Similarly, a world of pairs of choices, where one was always unthinkably bad, would also annihilate agency, as there would be only one legitimate choice.

And so Elder Oaks' final point in this paragraph is that to provide alternatives on which to exercise our agency (to make choices), we must have opposition.

If opposition is removed, our actions are no longer defined by agency.  Life takes on a completely different tone.

Consider a few examples:
1. What would it look like, for instance, if we only had one style of shirt or shoes to wear?
2. What if a restaurant menu had only one option?  What would be the point of a menu?
3. What if we had only one possible career path for us?

As our world includes agency, it includes choices and the opposition to make those choices real. Often, perhaps almost always, we are faced with more than two or three choices, and the choices are not typically good vs. bad, but are often between multiple good things, or multiple ambiguous things.

None of this is to excuse sin or destructive behavior, but we could take some comfort in knowing that choices are designed to be difficult, and that agency requires the best of us.  Part of the structural conditions of mortality are that we will make poor choices, we will make mistakes and sin and fall, but that such has not only been foreseen and had provisions made, but that such negative experiences are part of God's plan.  There must be contrasts for light, joy, peace, goodness, reconciliation, and truth to mean anything.

Be Thou Humble, Part II

In Elder Steven E. Snow's talk on Humility given in April 2016 General Conference, he recounts a challenge where his 15 year-old son had a serious head injury, spent a week in a coma, and had some serious side effects, including short term memory loss.  This blindsided the family.

"Honestly, we wondered how such a thing could happen.  We had always strived to do the right things.  Living the gospel had been a high priority for our family.  We couldn't understand how something so painful could happen to us."

I like this honest admission of befuddlement, of bafflement, of not understanding why God would let something like this happen.  There appear in these words an almost confession in the mistaken notion that in striving to keep the commandments and live righteously, we avoid pain, suffering, and hardship.

In the talk, Elder Snow sees at least one purpose for this experience, which seems to be that he and his wife, as well as his son, became more humble.

Mosiah 2:41 we read that "those that keep the commandments of God" are in a "blessed and happy state," and that "They are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual."

Perhaps sometimes we misread this scripture as if it reads, "They are blessed in all things, according to all of their desires, and avoid any hardship, trials, or difficulties, both temporal and spiritual."

What is the difference between the two readings?  While King Benjamin is clear people are blessed temporally and spiritually, it is unclear exactly what type of blessings, temporal and spiritual, are offered.

In my expanded second reading, the blessed received according to all of their desires, which blessings preclude difficulty, hardship, or trials.  King Benjamin teaches no such principle.  He frankly admits to the physical frailties of old age, for instance.

Perhaps sometimes we miss the blessings that we do receive temporally and spiritually because of our fidelity and obedience to God and His Church.  This could be further complicated by seeing other blessings (physical objects, mental states of mind, circumstances, etc.) that we may want but which are as yet unrealized, and perhaps may never be realized in the way that we would like.  But Mosiah 2:41 does not say that God gives every blessing to every righteous person.  The scripture merely states that the obedient are blessed in all things.  It does not say anything about the type and manner of blessings the blessed receive.

Similarly, the Book of Mormon includes the promise, even the covenant, that those who keep the commandments prosper in the land.  But this is often contrasted with those who do not obey God, and are cast out of His presence (see, for instance, 1 Nephi 2:20-21).  Much more could and perhaps should be said on this, but for now, suffice it to say that prospering in the Book of Mormon is not just an increase in material wealth, nor an avoidance of pain, suffering and trial.  It does appear to be about God being with us, to strengthen and bless us in God's way, and not ours.

Be Thou Humble, Part I

In April 2016, Elder Steven E. Snow of the Seventy, and acting Church Historian, gave an inspired talk entitled, "Be Thou Humble".  Before jumping into the text, I always find it fascinating when General Authorities and Officers give talks and make no reference to their day-to-day duties.  They are delivering a message that they have strived to receive through revelation, and are striving to deliver through revelation.

Elder Snow does not talk about or even allude to his duties as Church Historian.  Similarly, I recall both Merrill Bateman and Cecil Samuelson giving Conference talks while serving both as a Seventy and as President of BYU-Provo.  Apart from a few minor references to working with young adults, neither message, as I recall, seemed a direct reflection of their current position.

One could read that perspective and approach as self-diminishing and demonstrating some humility: who the speaker is and what the speaker does is not important compared to the message God has inspired to deliver.

The talk opens well, but for now, let me jump into the middle of this talk: "Like all of the Church's hymns, 'Be Thou Humble' teaches pure and simple truths.  It teaches that if we humble ourselves, our prayers are answered; we enjoy peace of mind; we serve more effectively in our callings; and, if we continue to be faithful, we will ultimately return to the presence of our Heavenly Father."

The consequences of humility presented here seem understated, almost fittingly humble in themselves.  Prayers being answered, peace of mind, and more effectively serving in callings may seem like small potatoes compared to the miracles we read of in the scriptures of healing and acts of nature.  They may seem small compared to the challenges we face.  They may seem small compared to the epic sweep and vision of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which could be understood as a transformation and exaltation of all creation.

Why do the blessings seem so small?  Why doesn't Elder Snow swing for the fences a little more?  Of course, I do not have a definitive answer, but perhaps there are some lessons we could draw from this.

All of us are in different spots in our spiritual space.  We have different friends and understandings and experiences.  And yet these relatively simple blessings can apply to us all.  No matter our age or stage, we could all benefit from increased capacity to serve, for a deeper and more enduring sense of peace, for answers to prayer.

Answers to prayer seem almost a mirror-like reflection of us, of what we want, what we humbly seek from God's hand, and of what God can do for us.  Notice that Elder Snow does not say how or when our prayers are answered, only that they are.  Any divine response to a sincere prayer, whether it meets with our expectations or not, is a blessing of great worth.

For those in the middle of personal, financial, family, emotional, or spiritual turmoil, peace is a literal godsend.  Further, we may wonder how many are there in the world, where the external trappings of their life seem in order, but peace is out of reach.

Notice also that Elder Snow doesn't teach that humility leads to external peace: freedom from suffering.  Instead, he says that humility leads to peace of mind, a deep, inner tranquility that cannot be purchased, imposed, or conjured.

Why is the capacity to serve such a great blessing?

In God's transformational work, we are being prepared to return back to live with our Heavenly Parents as families.  He sent His Son to redeem, to atone, to save, to heal a broken world.  The world remains broken; how does God save it today?  Surely God does at least some of this work through mortals, including in our current Church calling and responsibility.  As we express our willingness to serve, and as we give ourselves to God, we offer ourselves as a small sacrifice to help in that healing, in that work of redemption.

It is as if Elder Snow is saying that humility is actually what empowers the servants of God to do the work that God has for them.  And make no mistake: God has a work for you to do!

As we examine these blessings in greater depth, we see the great potential and power in each of them, and that as in many other things, so in humility: out of simple things proceeds that which is great (Alma 37:6-7).

The Hypocritical Peter and merciful Christ

In Mark 14, immediately after the Last Supper, just prior to His betrayal, arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples, "You will all fall away, for it is written:

‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered.’"

Jesus prophecies that after he is risen, he will go before them into Galilee.

At the charge of faithlessness, Peter bristles and rebuts the charge: “Even if all fall away, I will not,” he stoutly declares.  Jesus foretells that Peter will betray Him three times before morning, and that he will know it by hearing the rooster crow twice, provoking further protests from Peter.  Apparently Peter speaks for all the disciples, as Mark 14:31 adds that, "All the others said the same."

Jesus then takes Peter, James, and John with Him into the Garden of Gethsemane in a time of deep distress and sorrow to the point of death.  And so he instructed his disciples “Stay here and keep watch.”

Jesus, falling on His face, prayed for the cup to pass from Him, though admitting His willingness to accept the will of the Father.  This seems in direct contrast to Peter, whose expressed desire to never abandon Christ is actually contrary to what he is able to do.

As Jesus returned and found them sleeping, “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?"  Jesus reverted to calling Peter by the name he went by before his life-changing encounter with Christ, suggesting perhaps that Peter was slipping, regressing, forgetting, letting go of some of Christ's power.

Jesus counsels, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."  But then he compassionately acknowledges the weakness of Peter, and the gap between his expressions and even his intentions and his ultimate actions:  "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Upon praying and returning again, Jesus found his disciples sleeping once again; scripture indicates that Peter did not know how to account for his sleeping.

As the mob arrived and arrested Jesus, all his disciples forsook him and fled.  As the group containing chief priests, elders, and scribes went to the high priest, Peter followed far off, staying with the servants, warming himself at the fire at the palace of the high priest.  A young woman identified him as being with Jesus of Nazareth.  Peter denied it, after which the rooster crowed.  Another young woman identified him with Jesus, and Peter again denied it.  A third and final time, someone else identified Peter, recognizing in the speech of Peter that he was a Galilean, as was Jesus.  Peter strongly denied, cursing and swearing that he did not know Jesus.  As the rooster crowed a second time, the Gospel of Mark simply records that as Peter thought on what he had done, he wept.

In the Gospel of Mark, the next and only other mention of the name of Peter is at the time of resurrection, when the women are told by the young man to tell Jesus' disciples and Peter that he will go before them into Galilee as he said before.   The impression left then, is of Christ continuing to reach out, to forgive, to invite to witness, find, and follow a Christ that is active and on the move.

Each of us, like Peter, have a certain disconnect between what we say or what we intend and what we do.  None of us perfectly and faithfully live up to the moral principles we espouse.  Put bluntly, each of us is a hypocrite.  Perhaps some of us speak of fidelity to love, compassion, and justice, but are more interested in society applying those principles to us than in striving to apply those principles to others.  Perhaps some of us pray for our enemies to love us, and yet put less spiritual effort and energy into loving our enemies.  Perhaps some of us pray and work to be understood far more than we pray and work to understand.  Perhaps some of us desire more to be heard or valued, than to hear and value our spiritual brothers and sisters.  Perhaps some of us acknowledge the potential divinity of others, but have little faith in our own divine potential and inherent worth.  And yet no matter where we are in our spiritual walk, Christ is merciful and patient, inviting us, like Peter, to follow Him and to find Him as He goes before us in our world.

Angel's Landing

There is a striking rock formation in Zion's National Park called "Angel's Landing".  It is thought that it is so-called because an early explorer, Methodist clergyman Frederick Vining Fisher, thought that "only an angel could land on it". Today, though the path has steep and dangerous spots, it is daily climbed by many.

Perhaps there are parallels in our lives considering the limitations we live with and the judgments we pronounce.

For instance, sometimes we see something that looks so difficult, even impossible, that we declare it so, not realizing that it is, in fact, quite doable.

At other times, we may come across an experience that seems the supreme paradigm of the gall of bitterness, only to later find sweetness and joy in it.

Perhaps at other times we look at someone and in a glance, or after a brief conversation, we have them figured out, we have them pegged.  We know who they are, what animates them, what their problems are, and most importantly, what our problems are not. We become an expert on them.  Ironically, perhaps, we often insist that others don't understand our situation or circumstances.

All of us make decisions and judgments many times each day.  I'm not suggesting that we refrain from making decisions or judgments, or that first impressions are always (or even often) wrong, but I am suggesting that at times, our first impressions, about trials, or people, including ourselves, can be incorrect.  We should consider the limitations with which we judge and be open to the dynamic nature of human existence.  We should be open to the idea that what we see as impossible is, in fact, possible, or that the person who seems so distasteful, narrow-minded, arrogant, or problematic is, in fact, a kinsman, a spiritual brother or sister who, despite initial impressions, shares much in common with us.  Or that the person who seems so hopelessly lost in a prison of their own making really can change.

In other words, we should approach what judgments we must make with a good measure of humility, compassion, sensitivity, and even tentativeness, realizing that our preliminary judgments, necessary or unavoidable they may be, are limited by so many factors, and are subject to change.

Objectivity Revisited

"Spiritual identity means we are not what we do or what people say about us. And we are not what we have. We are the beloved daughters and sons of God." Henri Nouwen

Unfortunately, we live in a world that seems to believe or preach quite a contrary message.  Namely, that how we look, what type of possessions we have, how much wealth we possess, how others think of us, or our external circumstances ultimately define us.

Despite the constant drum beat to look a certain way, or have a certain type of possession, or to accumulate more overall, or to make sure we look a certain way (physically, socially, professionally, or spiritually) to other people, God sees us for who we are: in the words of Henri Nouwen, "Beloved daughters and sons of God."

This teaching is not just found in Genesis chapter 1, but throughout the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Latter-day scripture affirms "That by [Christ], 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 76:24)

One of the first encounters young Latter-day Saints have with this idea is in the beloved hymn, "I Am a Child of God".

Along the same lines, but with perhaps a more expansive vision, "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" states: "All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny."

Do we exemplify these teachings to all of God's children?  Do we strive to be the living embodiment of these pleasing words of Christ?

In the world today, including those within our social orbit, there are those that struggle.  There are those in physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual pain.  Do we accept these as our neighbors?  Do we, figuratively or literally, walk on by as did the Levite and the Priest in the parable of the Good Samaritan, viewing the person as "other" and as primarily an object, a test or an obstacle for us to move onto something more pressing?  Or do we, like the Good Samaritan, first and foremost have compassion on those who struggle, and sacrifice time, energy, and effort to bind up wounds?

One of the implications of this principle that all of us are eternal beings of divine parents is that we are all linked: we are all related, connected, have much in common, and should have many reasons to care for each other.

God sends Good Samaritans out into the world.  He sends messengers, people who God can speak and act through to bind up the broken-hearted and strengthen the feeble knees: to do the work He would do if He were here.

May we desire to be among these messengers that lift the hands that hang down, that bring tidings of great joy, to bring the preparation of the Gospel of peace to a world very much in need of it!

Objectivity vs. the Image of God

One of the great spiritual truths that encapsulates relationships among us humans is found throughout Jewish, Christian, and Latter-day Saint traditions.

In Genesis 1:26-27, we read of God creating men and women in His image.  According to this idea, all of us, men and women, have divinity within, as do those that we interact with every day.

A modern way of speaking against this mode of understanding the divine heritage of the human is objectification.  Broadly speaking, objectification of an individual is treating them more as an object, something to be acted upon, rather than as a living person, or, from a spiritual perspective, our brother or sister created in the image of God.

There are many manifestations of how we can objectify someone else.  Pornography is perhaps an obvious and unfortunately pervasive one, but it is certainly not the only one.

An ambitious manager may be inclined to treat their "underlings" as mere tools to get the job done or colleagues as stepping stones to a higher profession.  It is easy for us to see many of the people we encounter as merely objects: servers in a restaurant are there to give us our food, checkout clerks are there to scan our groceries, tellers are there to give us our money, etc.

This is not to deny that each of these individuals are employed and filling that function.  But to see them exclusively as determined by their function could be considered a form of objectification.  Similarly, when a man sees his wife primarily as a maid, laundress, cook, or taxi driver, there is an element of objectification.

Perhaps we all confront this to one degree or another.  And perhaps we all must wrestle with this idea, with how to both engage people in their function considering limitations of time and space (we can't spend an hour at the checkout lane in the grocery store, and the dry cleaner has limited time for conversation, to name two examples) and how to acknowledge, even briefly, the spark of divinity within.

And so how can we avoid objectification, or move towards acknowledging the truth expressed by C.S. Lewis:

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously - no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”

There are many ways to implicitly evangelize the divinity and inherent worth of others, to act out this truth.  Many seem ridiculously simple.  Being polite and kind can show respect towards others. Striving to follow the golden rule implicitly acknowledges the inherent worth of another.  Saying "Thank You" for something simple shows effort and intention on our part and recognizes work done by another.  Saying "Hello" to a stranger as we pass each other can be, in many circumstances, a way of sharing and expressing a common human bond.  Even simply smiling at someone that's had a rough day can have an impact, pointing to better times ahead, and a friendly face in the crowd.

May each of us strive to move beyond objectivity and more fully strive to recognize the divinity that we swim in.