February 2024

The Ways of the Devil 

In 1 Nephi chapters 8 and 11, Nephi introduces the Tree of Life, which appears in a vision given both to him and to his father. According to Nephi, the Tree of Life represents the love of God spread abroad, and is a symbol of the Savior and His Atonement.  Partaking of its fruit brings happiness. The temple instruction embraces this love, and teaches that it is at the heart of all that is done there. 

In the same vision, Nephi and his father describe a great and spacious building which represents love of self, exemplified by pride. That great and spacious building stands in opposition to the temple, the first representing the church of the devil, and the second the way of the Lamb of God. The Ways of the Devil charted below are tools that the devil uses to lure unsuspecting (or rebellious) travelers to the great and spacious building.   (From the book Charting the Book of Mormon, by John Welch)

Considering that priesthood leaders are concerned with teaching eternal of truths, what useful things about temple instruction are there that can be shared among members of the church that can be used to counter the tempting allure of the ways of the devil? How important is regular temple attendance in assisting members as they strive to stand firm in the face of temptation and endure in faith to the end of their lives? For some ideas, check out the next section on the temple endowment.

Embedded in Nephi’s prophecy in 2 Nephi 28 are many phrases that describe the conduct of those who follow the devil. These sins, Nephi states, will pervade much of society in the latter days. Today they can be found well disguised as the philosophies and tendencies listed in this chart.  Such conditions are symptomatic of society’s passive acceptance of “false and vain and foolish doctrines” (2 Nephi 28:9) that can lead people away from God. Knowing how the devil works and being able to see his tactics in operation in the ideologies of the world around us help prevent us from being taken captive by Satan, who leads people “carefully down to hell” (2 Nephi 28:21).

Based on the research and assistance of Miriam Horwinski, teaching assistant of John W. Welch, Book of Mormon 121H, Brigham YoungUniversity, fall 1997.

Chart 79 The Ways of the Devil

Understanding the Temple Endowment

The knowledge that both Nephi and Moses received is similar to what President Ezra Taft Benson described to a general audience at BYU as the key covenants of the temple. These are “the law of obedience and sacrifice, the law of the gospel, the law of chastity, and the law of consecration.”9 [In 1977!]

Moses 5:1–6 emphasizes obedience, verses 4–8, 20 discuss sacrifice, verses 58–59 cover the gospel, chapter 6:5–23 explains chastity, and 7:18 is the classic text on consecration.10

It is impossible to know exactly what Moses and Nephi experienced in their mountaintop encounters with God.12 Yet their experiences should give us all a greater appreciation for the temples that dot the earth in this dispensation.13 As one goes to the temple today and learns things related to what Moses and Nephi learned, one can come to see the temple as our own mountaintop experience—a time for us to draw close personally with God.14

As we make covenants with God, we can look back on the long line of faithful saints who went before us and appreciate the similarities between our temple experiences and theirs.15 Our time in the temple can be just as powerful as Moses’ and Nephi’s time on their mountaintops if we are prepared to enter into a solemn covenant to keep all the laws mentioned in the Endowment and to receive all the revelations and blessings God is willing to give us.

The accounts of Moses and Nephi remind us all of the significance of the temple. In these sacred buildings, we are symbolically being invited into God’s presence to partake of all that He has to offer us. We should all strive to think a bit more about the grandeur of our temple experiences and remember that when we are in the temple, the house of the Lord, we follow in the footsteps of Moses and Nephi and are truly in the company of God and stand in holy places.16

https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/how-do-the-book-of-moses-and-book-of-mormon-help-us-understand-the-endowment

Choose to Think Celestial!

Knowing that no one is perfect and that we all make mistakes, we will find peace and safety as we choose to “Think Celestial.”

K. Brett Nattress, January 16, 2024 BYU Devotional

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/k-brett-nattress/choose-you-this-day-think-celestial/

The main topic is introduced by thsi quote from Elder Holland's 2012 General Conference address: "I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines."

In spite of imperfections, "we will find peace and safety as we choose to think celestial. This is the key to receiving spiritual power from on high." Elder Nattress demonstrated how this works by sharing an uplifting experience from his time in Papua New Guinea - a baptism which took place in a crocodile infested river, where members stood guard with clubs and spears as they protected the people who were in the water. He went on to say that each member of the worldwide church has his or her own crocodiles to deal with, though probably not of the literal physical sort. He shared President Nelson's admonition for each of us to take charge of our own testimony of Jesus Christ: "As you make the continual strengthening of  your testimony of Jesus Christ your highest priority, watch for miracles to happen in your life." (October 2022 General Conference).

He offered a stirring example of a family in a remote area of the world who had been preparing to attend the temple for a period of five years. In pursuit of this goal, they started each Sabbath day at 6 AM on a four-hour walk to attend their sacrament meeting, climbing two mountains and crossing five rivers. They are firm in their testimony of the power of a covenant relationship with God, and are grateful to renew those covenancts through the sacred blessings of the Sacrament. "They want to always remember Him."

Next, in building the case for personal testimony of divine love, Elder Nattress presents what has become a foundational idea for the covenant relationship, that of identity, from President Nelson's May 2022 Young Adult fireside: "My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God. No identifier should displace, replace, or take priority over these three enduring designations: Child of God; Child of the covenant; Disciple of Jesus Christ." Elder Nattress offers that among the helps that the Lord has given us in understanding this identity is the temple, where were learn of the Plan of Happiness in ways that give a breadth and depth to our understanding that is  available in no other place in the world.

In addition to the temple, he suggests three things that will really make a difference in our lives, but which are often the first things that are neglected and the first sign of trial and opposition. They are: pray every day; read the Book of Mormon every day; serve. He explains that "service is the measuring stick of love" and that service can be done in small and simple ways in our everyday interactions with other people.

The remainder of his talk is devoted to an inspiring presentation of a personal example of how the use of these divinely inspired techniques helped his family to persevere in faith through a soul-wrenching experience.

The video of the talk is below. According to the speeches.byu.edu site, Full text will be available after editing

The Truth About Garments

Here is a great tip from from the LDS Living site about how someone handles questions about wearing the garment of the priesthood - actually, she has found a way to forestall questions so that she, and likely those around her, doesn't get uncomfortable about  this unusual clothing.  Have you found this much ease and candor among those whom you counsel?

Natalie Hill Jensen has had an illustrious acting and singing career. She received her Bachelor of Music degree at New York University and performed on Broadway in popular musicals, including Grease, Bye Bye Birdie, and Wonderland. While living in New York City, Natalie also became known for her popular blog, “The Mormon in Manhattan,” which she wrote in the early 2000s.

Today, she is married to Alex Jensen, assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks, and they have three young girls.

Natalie was recently a guest on the All In podcast with host Morgan Pearson. They discussed what it was like for Natalie to be a single Latter-day Saint when she lived in New York City and worked on Broadway. As part of their discussion, Natalie shared how she would explain temple garments to her castmates who were not members of our church.

“The first day of rehearsal, I’d be like, ‘Hey ladies! … These are called garments. I wear them under my clothes. They’re super sacred to me. They remind me [of] the covenants that I made, and they remind me of Jesus Christ. I feel like they are a protection to me and they’re really special, and I love wearing them, so you’re going to see them a lot,’” Natalie would say.

She would also point out to her new castmates that many religions have religious clothing, and the garment is similar. She said that “literally everyone” responded positively.

“I think the more open you are about these things, the less weird it becomes,” Natalie says.

She and Morgan discussed how for endowed Latter-day Saints, it is important to understand for ourselves why we wear the garment. While developing a love and appreciation for the garment may not come easily to everyone, it’s always something we can work on.

“I feel like a more fullness of myself when I am wearing the garment. I really do. And I know that not everybody feels that same way, but I think that through lots of wearing them and praying about it you can come to [that],” Natalie says.

“And listen, … it was 109 degrees the day I moved [to Texas]. So I get why it’s challenging. And when I lived in New York it was hard too, but I think that the benefits really outweigh the challenges for me. I just I love them, and I wish we talked about more about just what a blessing it is to have them.”

Natalie says that when she was on stage, she would wear what the costume designer asked to in order to play her part. But whenever she was on a red carpet or appearing as herself in “any sort of capacity,” she always wore the garment.

“It was a chore to find dresses that work, and it’s always like a little bit more obnoxious, but you know what? It was totally worth it because I was more comfortable,” she says.

So what are the blessings Natalie has experienced from wearing the garment?

“I can see where I have been calm in situations I shouldn’t have been calm in, and I can tie it back to wearing the garment,” she says. “I feel like I have extra help from heaven when I am all in line, and part of that is honoring the garment and honoring my body.”

She also sees blessings from the temple garment that extend beyond her own life.

“We take these covenants upon ourselves in the temple, and it’s not just for us. It’s hard to remember that when you’re single, but it’s for your generations, for your posterity. These are Abrahamic covenants that we are covenanting for our lineage. And I feel like when I wear the garment, it blesses me immediately in such beautiful ways, but it’s also blessing my children,” she says.

“I feel bummed out when people don’t totally understand, [that] it’s not about a hemline. It’s not about, you know, the modesty thing; it’s not about where the clothes fit. It’s more of a how you live your life.”

https://www.ldsliving.com/we-love-how-this-broadway-actress-explained-temple-garments-to-her-castmates/s/11996

Temple Stories

There are stories gleaned from temple experiences that are worth sharing. From time to time, Jo and I would like to share them with you as we collect them. Hopefully they will be useful in strengthening a testimony of temple work, and maybe more importantly, in showing that the Lord has a hand in what goes on in His house. I testify that His attention is often presented as a tender mercy to those who keep His commandments.

Most are uplifting, but there are some that involve misunderstanding and perhaps a bit of mistrust, which often leave a person open to some of those degenerative attributes found in the "great and spacious building." Those attributes sometimes make an appearance in the temple. It doesn't happen often. Actually, I can say that I have never seen it happen personally to an extent that the influence of the spirit of the temple is driven away, but I know that I carry baggage with me every day that should be, but often isn't, disposed of properly (pray, read, serve as Elder Nattress proposes above) before I enter the temple. I expect others have had that experience as well. 

Based on prophetic insight from Nephi, Brother Welch's chart above ("The Ways of the Devil") is instructive in providing context for these types of story. I remember reading that, according to Hugh Nibley,  there are four things that we must never do, things that the devil does, - he remembers them by "two a's and two c's": never aspire to power; never accuse; never contend; and never coerce. I  think all of the items on the chart can be boiled down to these tools whose use has over and over been demonstrated by the devil to be so effective in his hands. But I can tell you that these attributes are neither native to nor common in the character of anyone who enters the temple. I think that the fact that they exist at all is a testimony to the power of the devil to provide insidious opposition designed to corrupt celestial thought, and to the accompanying necessity of repeated guidance by priesthood leaders to counter their influence. 

But the one we want to share this month is not one of those! This one is about a good Samaritan.

As you remember, a few weeks ago we had a big snow storm that interrupted lots of individual routines. We are still seeing the fallout from it. Sometimes exigent circumstances bring about unexpected blessings though, like the one in this story.

A patron was fighting his way through the snow and the bad traffic, hoping to make his 7pm appointment at the temple. His car was doing fine - doing a good job of taking on all that the storm could throw at it.  As he approached the State Street turn, he noticed a small car that was having trouble on the slick streeet. He slowed down, rolled down his window and asked if the driver needed help. The driver accepted his offer, and together they worked to get the car on the right track. Unfortunately, they failed. 

Our patron noticed that his clothing and that of his passengers was "Sunday dress" and asked him if they were on their way to the temple. Yes, they were, to do baptisms.  Knowing that he would likely miss his appointment, he nonetheless offered to first help them to get the car parked in a relatively safe place on the road, and then take them to the temple so that they could, even though they would be late, participate in the baptismal session they had been planning to attend.

They all piled in his car, and, thanks to this dear brother, made it safely to the temple.

As he had suspected, the endowment session had already started by the time that he had made his way past the recommend desk, and so he decided to attend the baptismal session.  It was full - assignments had already been handed out, and so he took a seat and observed, ready to take his cargo of travelers back to their car when the session was over.

As the work progressed, he heard a name called that he hadn't heard for a long time - the name of a girl that he had gone to school with. He looked up and saw that one of the girls that he had just rescued from the storm was acting now as proxy for his friend!

He counted it a tender mercy from the Lord - a reward for acting the part of a good Samaritan. It will be a treasured memory, a testimony that God's hand is in all things.

Do you have a temple or family history story that you would like to share here? If so, we would love to see it so that we too can be instructed and edified. Please send it to us via email and we will be sure to include it in this area in coming issues of the newsletter!