God Intervenes

This post is a thought I wrote five months ago but I want to post it to save it and make it available to all the family.

7 July 2011

Last night our dear daughter, Nicole, was delivered of a beautiful baby boy, her first.  Nicole is a sweet young woman who is dedicated to all that is good, who has spend years dreaming and imagining what it would be like to give birth to her first child.  She was not afraid, but anxious to experience what God had ordained for mothers.  

Nicole's desire was not fulfilled as she had hoped.  The delivery had to be Cesarean.  I imagine she was disappointed, perhaps discouraged or even angry that her birthing experience had to take this artificial turn.  She might have felt in her heart; "Why did Heavenly Father let this happen to me when He knows the desires of my heart?"  "Why didn't God intervene in my case?"

Why didn't God intervene?  Who oversaw the invention of stainless steel?  Who taught men to refine and polish it to scalpel sharpness?  Who inspired the development of incredible anesthetics that allow once life-threatening procedures to be nearly painless?  Who trains men and women in the skills needed to perform live-saving measures such as Cesarean delivery?

God intervened.  He took over in mercy and in wisdom to save both mother and child from what could have been a horrific disaster.  God is in control.  He allows terrible suffering, it is true, but He also answers prayers, and saves. 

We confess God's hand in all things and thank him for intervening, as he so often does, to bless our family.

All Dogs Go To Heaven

Monday, 28 November 2011

Today we lost a week-old puppy that must have been slightly defective from birth.  Ned’s dog Ellie gave birth to a litter of four cute puppies but one would not nurse properly and could not digest what it did manage to eat.  She was a concern to us from the day she was born and though Ned and Nicole did all in their power to save the little thing she could not be helped and saddened us all by taking her leave this afternoon.

The passing of this little creature called to my mind a clever conversation that appeared on the Internet a few years ago.  It was a short dialog carried out between the marquees of two churches, the  Our Lady of Martyrs Catholic Church and, across the street, the  Beulah Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  The conversation is shown in the following images taken from the Internet.

All Dogs Go To Heaven

  

Rebuttal:  Read The Bible

God Loves All His Creations

Rebuttal: Dogs Don't Have Souls

Catholic Dogs Go To Heaven

Conversion Does Not Grant A Soul

Yes It Does!

No, It Doesn’t; Dogs Are No Different From Rocks

OK, All Rocks Go To Heaven, Too

 There is no winner to this debate by appeal to the Bible because, unfortunately, the condition of plants and animals in the next life is not plainly dealt with in the Bible.   But the Bible does give some information in  favor of the Catholic viewpoint, especially when considered in the light of restoration scripture.

Chapters one and two of the book of Genesis give two accounts of the creation.  The two accounts are connected by verse 5 of Ch. 2;  “And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.”   This verse implies that although the seven creative labors were accomplished there was still no life on the planet until “there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.”

Man is now created in the flesh and likewise all the plants and animals.  We know from the Book of Moses that the first account describes the spiritual creation and the second account the temporal:

For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. For I, the Lord God, had not caused it to rain upon the face of the earth. And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air;

But I, the Lord God, spake, and there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created; but spiritually were they created and made according to my word.

And out of the ground I, the Lord God, formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and commanded that they should come unto Adam, to see what he would call them; and they were also living souls; for I, God, breathed into them the breath of life. (Moses 3:5-7, 19)

Here is our clue that the animals and plants have spirits and constitute living souls just like Adam, you, and me.  We also learn from Genesis that God valued everything He created: “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good (Gen 1:31) .” If the plants and animals are living souls just like people, and God considers them to be “very good”, there is no reason to believe they will not be resurrected along with humans to enjoy the blessings of eternity.

In my mind the real difference between people and animals is agency.  Animals make decisions by instinct, not by agency.  They cannot be tempted to lie, cheat, or steal.  They act out of natural instinct to preserve their species rather than out of desire for wealth, power, or fame.  They do not need repentance but they do need resurrection as provided by the Savior’s infinite atonement.

What else can we say about the state of animals in the next life?  The Lord provides some insight in a revelation given to Joseph Smith early in the history of the Church.  This revelation contains marvelous knowledge about the Millennium and the end of the world.  It seems to have been given as a reward for the faithfulness of the elders in rejecting false spirits and putting their faith in the Prophet Joseph.  Verse 24 describes conditions that will occur at the end of the Millennium.

And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth.

For all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea;

And not one hair, neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the workmanship of mine hand. (D&C 29:23-25)

At this point death will have been done away and all things will have become glorified, including people and animals.  I think we are safe in including dog hairs in the Lord’s promise in verse 25.  The animals are definitely the workmanship of his hand.

Joseph Smith received additional understanding of the conditions in the next life in March 1832 as he was working on his inspired translation of the Book of Revelation.  In response to a question posed about the four beasts referred to in Revelation 4:6, Joseph explained:

They are figurative expressions, used by the Revelator, John, in

describing heaven, the paradise of God, the happiness of man, and of

beasts, and of creeping things, and of the fowls of the air; that

which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal;

and that which is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual;

the spirit of man in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of

the beast, and every other creature which God has created.  (D&C 77:2)

Here is another instance where the Bible, correctly interpreted, provides insight regarding the destinies of the beasts and the fouls.   They all have spirits, will be resurrected, and will enjoy an eternal happiness prepared just for them.

In a later revelation referring to the next life, Joseph Smith provides a glimpse of how things will be there.

When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see

that he is a man like ourselves.

And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us

there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do

not now enjoy.     (D&C 130:1-2)  

I am comfortable defining our mortal sociality as including pets.  Any social situation that does not include pets surely could not provide the complete happiness we look forward to.

Have any Church leaders since Joseph Smith expressed opinions about the future of the beasts? Elder Orson Pratt once gave a discourse in which he gave his personal view of how heaven will be.  His description is not considered church doctrine but no one since has refuted or criticized what he said.

A Saint who is one in deed and in truth, does not look for an immaterial heaven, but he expects a heaven with lands, houses, cities, vegetation, rivers, and animals; with thrones, temples, palaces, kings, princes, priests, and angels; with food, raiment, musical instruments, etc.      (Orson Pratt, JD 14:40 41.)

Elder Pratt’s view sounds reasonable to me and is couched in temple images.  God has pronounced all of his creations to be “very good” and I can’t believe he would intentionally leave any behind.  Our love for vegetation, rivers, animals, musical instruments, etc. is, I believe, inherited from our Father, who must also love these things. 

It is difficult for me to imagine a Heavenly Reward that does not include the things that we instinctively love here, especially family, friends, and pets.  I have to agree with the good Vicar of “Our Lady of Martyrs”.  Surely “All Dogs Go To Heaven!”

Flecks vs. Nuggets

In his April 2011 General Conference address Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke of finding peace in this life through giving loving service.  He introduced his message with the interesting story about a young prospector.  Here is the story in its entirety in case you have forgotten it.  By the way, this story has been made into a short movie which can be seen on YouTube.  Search for “Flecks of Gold” under Mormon Messages.

Oftentimes we are like the young merchant from Boston, who in 1849, as the story goes, was caught up in the fervor of the California gold rush. He sold all of his possessions to seek his fortune in the California rivers, which he was told were filled with gold nuggets so big that one could hardly carry them.

Day after endless day, the young man dipped his pan into the river and came up empty. His only reward was a growing pile of rocks. Discouraged and broke, he was ready to quit until one day an old, experienced prospector said to him, “That’s quite a pile of rocks you are getting there, my boy.”

The young man replied, “There’s no gold here. I’m going back home.”

Walking over to the pile of rocks, the old prospector said, “Oh, there is gold all right. You just have to know where to find it.” He picked two rocks up in his hands and crashed them together. One of the rocks split open, revealing several flecks of gold sparkling in the sunlight.

Noticing a bulging leather pouch fastened to the prospector’s waist, the young man said, “I’m looking for nuggets like the ones in your pouch, not just tiny flecks.”

The old prospector extended his pouch toward the young man, who looked inside, expecting to see several large nuggets. He was stunned to see that the pouch was filled with thousands of flecks of gold.

The old prospector said, “Son, it seems to me you are so busy looking for large nuggets that you’re missing filling your pouch with these precious flecks of gold. The patient accumulation of these little flecks has brought me great wealth.”

This story can have several meaningful interpretations.  Elder Ballard’s purpose in using the story was to illustrate how service in the kingdom should be simple and frequent (fleck-like) and does not need to be large or heavy (nugget-like).  I would like to share two other interpretations that have occurred to me as I have pondered this story.

Interpretation 1:

The story of the flecks and the nuggets can be applied to our building a foundation of testimony of the Gospel of Christ.  A solid testimony comes from the continuous collection of small, fleck-like experiences with the spirit.  The Holy Ghost may whisper to us that something is true as we are listening to a lesson in a Sunday class, or hearing a talk in Sacrament Meeting, or reading and pondering a scripture during personal study.  These small, spiritual incidents become a heavy bag of gold when patiently collected and saved over many years of willing exposure to Gospel-centered activities.  As Elder Bednar expressed in the same April conference, testimony rarely comes as one suddenly turning on an electric light, but slowly grows brighter and brighter as the gradual sunrise on a clear morning.   We may be fortunate enough to pick up large nuggets of testimony along our way.  These could be in the form of dreams or visions, visits from heavenly messengers, or a powerful missionary experience with the spirit, but such incidents are rare and their convincing effect is often short-lived as it was for Nephi’s brothers, Laman and Lemuel.   The still, small flecks of gold from the spirit have more staying power than the Hollywood-style nuggets that impress for the moment but soon fade.

There is an important lesson here about how parents influence the development of testimony in their children.  The consistent exposure of children to family prayer, family scripture reading, simple, happy Family Home Evenings, and wholesome recreational activities will go a long way towards filling the testimony sack full of flecks.  It may be tempting, as it was for the young prospector, to neglect the boring, everyday testimony-building activities and hope that a few good-sized nuggets will come along and fill the bag, nuggets like Seminary, a well-organized Youth Conference, an expensive week at EFY, etc.   Relying on such nuggets to fill the pouch instead of patiently accumulating flecks is risky indeed.

Interpretation 2:

I sometimes worry about the students who participate in the popular BYU event called “The Business Plan Competition.”   I have sometimes helped students with their contest entries when they involved solving manufacturing problems.  My concern with this competition is that some entries are calculated to generate a large return in a short period of time and with fairly high risk.  These projects do not lead to lasting enterprise but only to immediate, high profits.  These students are seeking nuggets.  The danger I see is that they may be forming an attitude that will continue with them into the work place.   They will look with disdain at the regular, often drab and difficult accumulation of gold flecks that we call work and rather be always looking for that elusive nugget that will make them a fortune in a short time with as little work as possible. 

There is nothing wrong with innovation and exciting breakthroughs, but they usually are the result of long and patient efforts such as those demonstrated by Thomas Edison.  If they are like a firework that lights up the sky for a moment and then fades away with no lasting contribution, they are probably benefitting only a small group of clever observers.  Such enterprises may be looked upon as nuggets and will be rare and unreliable as a source of livelihood for the serious prospector.  Again, the consistent and reliable getting up every morning and going to work will fill our pouch with gold and ultimately make us wealthy.

Those are my two interpretations of Elder Ballard’s prospector story.  I’m sure there are more.  It is a fitting metaphor for many gospel principles because Christ’s gospel is a plan that calls for consistent hard work, generously sprinkled with adversity, and requiring that we endure to the end.  Fortunately it is a work also filled with joy as we fill our bag with loving relationships and tiny flecks of knowledge, but that is another thought.

The Goods of Family

Dear Loved Ones,

I have spent the last two days attending a conference at BYU on the “Goods of Family”, or the benefits that are gained from having traditional families.  It was organized, I believe, to bring together scholars concerned about families to stimulate fresh thinking about how to defend the traditional family which today is being attacked on all sides.

The conference participants were university faculty and other professionals who largely called upon the ancient Greek philosophers and poets for ideas about the role of the family as an institution in society.  Their thoughts were interesting and mostly edifying but generally missing the solid foundation that is only found in the restoration.

After listening to the scholars, I came away with the following thought from the classics.  When it comes to the true importance and “goods” of families the world’s great thinkers, whether for or against families, are like those citizens sitting in Plato’s cave watching shadows of families dancing on the wall and trying to comprehend what they mean while the true form resides outside the cave in the bright sunlight  (If you want to review Plato’s cave analogy it is in The Republic; Book VII or you can simply Google “Plato’s cave”).

By this I mean the true goods of family are only understood in the light of restoration knowledge.  Understanding what we believe about prior existence, particularly the concept of birth of human spirits to a Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother, provides us a Heavenly Pattern of family.  When you add the understanding that families continue into eternity you have an organization that governed in heaven before and will govern in heaven hereafter so we should exert all our efforts to get it right while in mortality.  We will never see the end of the family organization.

Satan hates his Heavenly Family because of his rebellion and he hates mortal families because he will never have one.  One of his cleverest strategies to undermine mortal families has been to destroy men’s understanding of their Heavenly Family by replacing it with a solitary, self-absorbed god who is uncreated and is allowed no personal, familial connections.  If god is solitary and unfamilial, than humans can be successful and contented with a similar lifestyle.  Marriage and family are therefore merely a necessary inconvenience to the liberated, solitary life, the kind of life god lives.

Of course, our belief in an anthropomorphic, corporeal, married god capable of procreation invites the terrible question that mainstream Christianity does not allow.  That is the question of who fathered this god?  We do not pretend to answer this question but we don’t disallow it either given our understanding of worlds without number and eternal progression.  Again, the mainstream Christian world cannot allow a corporeal god, or a premortal family, because of this terrible question and so will never allow the doctrine until they accept modern-day revelation.

Those without an understanding of the restoration seek for information about families, and other doctrines, as the blind groping for the wall  (Isa 59:10).  I am grateful for my testimony of a new dispensation, with knowledge being poured out upon mankind in a way the world has never known, at least never recorded.  I love all of you and rejoice in the thought that we are a sealed, eternal family.  Thank you for all the good you do and the love you show to each other.

Grampa Carter