To Be A Pioneer

We’ve all heard stories of the early pioneers who sacrificed all they had, including their own lives in many cases, to preach the gospel, build up the church, preserve the authority and truth that had been restored, and support those in greater poverty than they found themselves. Driven from state to state and then into the wilderness, the pioneers faced harsh conditions as they walked the nearly 2,000 miles across the Great Plains and over the steep passes of the Rocky Mountains. Many of them experienced severe hunger and fatigue, and many left behind friends and family that did not share their faith, that had apostatized and persecuted the saints, or who had died from any one of the many perils they encountered along the way.

Every year on July 24, the membership of the Church celebrates the eventual success of our pioneer forbearers who first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. More families would make the long and hazardous journey over the next decade. These individuals’ faith in Christ and willingness to endure all things has made it possible for us to gather here today. Not unlike Easter, where we celebrate the Savior’s victory over death and hell, to me Pioneer Day is a holiday where I can rejoice in the triumph of the Saints as their faith in Christ was victorious over the death and hell the devil sought to inflict upon them.

The scriptures are filled with stories of individuals, families and nations that were led to promised lands through their reliance on the Lord. Abraham inherited the land of Canaan, the Israelites returned to that land from Egypt, the friends and family of Nephi and the Brother of Jared were guided to the Americas, Alma the Elder led a faithful band back to Zarahemla, and Enoch’s city was translated.

In each case, as with the early pioneers, the faithful have faced significant challenges. Abraham’s father tried to sacrifice him to idols, the Israelites ran out of food and water, Nephi’s brothers doubted his every move and often tried to kill him, the Jaredites needed to find light and air for their barges, Alma’s people endured a period in slavery, and Enoch’s people were assailed by nations on every side. Most of these groups endured long journeys, years of uncertainty, poverty, hunger, illness, death and people who fought their efforts to live righteously.

All of these people are pioneers. They courageously went forward and prepared the way for those who would come after them. Each of them has contributed to the life we enjoy today—a life of relative prosperity where temples dot the earth and we can highlight favorite scriptures on our tablets without needing a hammer and chisel.

They succeeded because of their faith, unselfishness, willingness to sacrifice, obedience, unity, cooperation, commitment, integrity, endurance and courage. If we are to have the same success in reaching the promised lands of our lives, and blaze the trail for those coming behind us, we must develop these same attributes amid the challenges of our day.

Elder Oaks has taught[1]:

Many of our challenges are different from those faced by former pioneers but perhaps just as dangerous and surely as significant to our own salvation and the salvation of those who follow us… The wolves that prowled around pioneer settlements were no more dangerous to their children than the drug dealers or pornographers who threaten our children. Similarly, the early pioneers’ physical hunger posed no greater threat to their well-being than the spiritual hunger experienced by many in our day. The children of earlier pioneers were required to do incredibly hard physical work to survive their environment. That was no greater challenge than many of our young people now face from the absence of hard work, which results in spiritually corrosive challenges to discipline, responsibility, and self-worth.
There are many other dangers that pervade our society and will stop our progress if we succumb to them. With the dangers however, also come significant blessings if we will choose to receive them. One of the greatest blessings that we share with pioneers throughout scripture is the presence of a living prophet on the earth. His counsel steers us away from the obstacles that would damn our progress. Consider a few recent examples:

“Choose wisely when using media because whatever you read, listen to, or look at has an effect on you. Select only media that uplifts you… Do not attend, view or participate in anything that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in anything that presents immorality or violence as acceptable. Have the courage to walk out of a movie, change your music, or turn off a computer, television, or mobile device if what you see or hear drives away the Spirit”.[2]

“We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey. Likewise, we cannot fully love our fellowmen if we do not love God, the Father of us all.”[3]

“It is impossible to stand upright when one plants his roots in the shifting sands of popular opinion and approval. Needed is the courage of a Daniel, an Abinidi, a Moroni, or a Joseph Smith in order for us to hold strong and fast to that which we know is right. They had the courage to do not that which was easy but that which was right. We will all face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us—all of us—have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval.”[4]

Do we have the faith to be obedient to prophetic counsel?

Finally, we should not be surprised if it takes significant time and effort to develop the attributes that will help us meet the challenges we face. Marathons are rarely ran the first time a person gets off the couch, the best crops do not come from the first or second or third year of planting, and the faith to see God does not come from a single, thoughtless petition to ‘bless the food’ or ‘drive home safe’. The Jaredites wandered over five years to reach their goal, learning shipbuilding and the nature of God as they went; Moses and the Israelites witnessed many miracles and received the Ten Commandments while wandering the desert for 40 years; and the early Saints received the restored gospel through the Book of Mormon and Doctrine & Covenants over 27 years before they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. We’re still waiting to return to Jackson County to build the New Jerusalem.

The final challenge, once we are on the right path, is to endure. To add a few miles or a few blocks or a few feet to the end of the path so our children and grandchildren will know the way back to our Heavenly Father. To “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men… feasting upon the words of Christ, and endur[ing] to the end”.[5]

If we are willing to do this, then Pioneer Day is about us too because we will be one of them. We will cross the figurative Great Plains and Rocky Mountains of our lives, we will mark the path for our children and grandchildren to follow, and we will be able to rejoice with those who have gone before in the Celestial Kingdom of our Father in Heaven.
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Sources:

[1] See Dallin H. Oaks, “Following the Pioneers,” Ensign, November 1997, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1997/11/following-the-pioneers?lang=eng.

[2] “Entertainment and Media”, For the Strength of Youth, https://www.lds.org/youth/for-the-strength-of-youth/entertainment-and-media?lang=eng.

[3] See Thomas S. Monson, “Love—the Essence of the Gospel,” Ensign, May 2014, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/love-the-essence-of-the-gospel?lang=eng.

[4] See Thomas S. Monson, “Be Strong and of a Good Courage”, Ensign, May 2014, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/be-strong-and-of-a-good-courage?lang=eng.

[5] See 2 Nephi 31:20-21, https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/31?lang=eng.

Bring on the Second Coming

There's a statistic floating around cyberspace that claims that a single edition of the New York Times contains more information, on average, than a 17th-Century Englishman would have encountered in their lifetime. This factoid makes sense only if restricted to written information, and a counter argument could be constructed to suggest that the average 17th-Century Englishman gained more useful information from conversations with other people than exists on all of Facebook. The point here is not to validate either argument, but rather to point out that the printed word-- and now the digital age-- have flooded our browsers and our lives with information and put an incredible portion of the cumulative knowledge of mankind at our fingertips. If you are not impressed, I dare say Benjamin Franklin would be-- and who knows what men like Galileo, Newton and Einstein could do with a Google search and an online subscription to JSTOR.

So what's in the info-packed New York Times these days? Today's cover story is a tribute to a heroic firefighter who became trapped and later died while searching for residents in a burning Brooklyn high rise. It's one of many sad stories and the only one on the front page with any element of inspiration. Other stories include gruesome killings in Kenya, a racially-driven murder in Palestine, political tension with Germany after an intelligence officer was accused of spying, more information about the most recent in a long history of IRS scandals and an article encouraging readers to relax their values and stretch the definition of family until it breaks. America's most popular newspaper doesn't paint a very bright picture of the world.

News-induced melancholy is not limited to readers of the New York Times either, nor is the Times unique in its approach. Earlier this week there were several major and local news entities headlining stories of parents that have killed their children; military action or potential action in Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, North Korea, Congo, Columbia, and elsewhere; big earthquakes in New Zealand, Tonga and Alaska; athletes and actors who, despite the success they once enjoyed, now have lost their way in life and have been arrested for a variety of base and demeaning crimes; political conflicts caused more by wanting to get credit than any sort of convictions; murders so numerous it is almost hard to be shocked at each new story; growing acceptance of homosexuality and other spiritually grievous behavior; and every other sort of depressing, deflating and divisive content imaginable.

Sometimes I wonder if perhaps life in the 17th Century must have been nice. Then I remember my mother. I think she hated watching the news-- who can blame her?-- but growing up my dad and I would tune in often and usually discuss a few of the events that had been reported. Whenever our discussion began to take a sorrowful tone or the uncertainty just seemed too much to bear, my mom would exclaim, 'Bring on the second coming!'

What I think she was trying to teach me is that even though the world can seem overrun with evil at times, and our hearts will sometimes ache for innocent children and broken families and the rejection of truth, we need not abandon our hope in humanity, our brothers and sisters, nor in that Christ, our glorious Savior and Redeemer, who will come again.

What I've realized since my teenage years is that the last days can be as great as they sometimes appear to be terrible. We are able to use our agency to see only the hopeless gloom and doom that dominates news reports or, through the eyes of faith, experience the thrill of hope that can come as we see the fulfillment of prophecy and the hand of God preparing the world for the coming of His Son.

Ancient prophets saw our day and looked forward with rejoicing to this time when the world would be prepared for the Savior to come again. They wrote of the latter days so that we would be able to recognize the times in which we live and, by recognizing these signs, take courage in the knowledge that the glorious return of Jesus Christ is near. Christ himself taught of our day:

In that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men's hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ delayeth his coming until the end of the earth.

And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound.

And again, the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come, or the destruction of the wicked (D&C 45:26-27, JST Matt. 24:32).

President Ezra Taft Benson wondered aloud in a 1982 address:

Are we not witnessing the fulfillment of these signs today? The gospel is being extended to all nations which permit our missionaries to penetrate their countries. The Church is prospering and growing. Yet in undiminished fury, and with an anxiety that his time is short-- and it is-- Satan, that great adversary to all men, is attempting to destroy all we hold dear. The greatest system of slavery ever devised by the forces of evil--communism--has been imposed on over one billion of the earth's inhabitants. We constantly hear or read of wars and rumors of wars. Atheism, agnosticism, immorality and dishonesty are flaunted in our society. Desertions, cruelty, divorce, and infidelity have become commonplace, leading to a disintegration of the family. Truly we live in the times of which the Savior spoke, when 'the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound.'

The world hasn't become more virtuous since 1982. As the testimony of the servants of God is rejected on an ever-greater scale, the Lord has warned that then will come the testimony of earthquakes, thunderings, lightnings, and the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds (D&C 88:89-91). There will be desolating illnesses and a scene of conflict such as the world has never seen before followed by even greater signs in the heavens (D&C 45:31-33, 40-42). Are we hearkening to the signs that have been given and preparing for the things we know will come? Or are we letting information overload dull our sensitivity to the miracles in our lives and distracting us from seeing what would be of greatest lasting value to our faith and salvation?

At the same time the Church has grown to over 15 million members-- nearly three times as many as in 1982-- and there has never been more temples, more missionaries, or greater access to the ordinances of the gospel and the tools for family history work in the history of the world. Like the New York Times, truth and testimony are also more accessible around the world today than ever before. Are we focusing on these great and encouraging signs of the second coming or are we so focused on the gloom and doom that we have become blinded to all that would lift us up and give us the courage to carry on?

Through all of this our agency remains. We choose whether we will be shocked, offended, proud, without hope or motivated, steadfast, faithful, and even joyous that the signs of Christ's coming are being fulfilled before our very eyes. President Benson taught that 'an otherwise gloomy picture [has] a bright side-- the coming of our Lord in all His glory. His coming will be both glorious and terrible, depending on the spiritual condition of those who remain.' It is ours to choose, regardless of circumstance, whether today and tomorrow and the next day will be glorious or terrible.

For the people of ancient America, most days were terrible. The scripture records:

And the people began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign from heaven, insomuch that they began to be hard in their hearts, and began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen-- Imagining up some vain thing in their hearts, that it was wrought by men and by the power of the devil... And thus did Satan get possession of the hearts of the people again, insomuch that he did blind their eyes and lead them away to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and a vain thing (3 Nephi 2:1-2).

Plagued by terrorists, government corruption and class warfare, the people would repent and remember the signs they had seen for a time, only to become consumed by selfishness and again forget the signs they had seen in order to seek for personal glory and gain. This philosophy eventually destroyed their  government and divided the people into tribes that each subscribed to their own laws and 'relative morality'. Unprepared for what they had once known was coming, this people could only mourn their iniquities and their dead when struck by a three-hour earthquake with vicious thunderstorms, city-consuming landslides and sinkholes that swallowed their towns and dropped their villages into the sea.

We cannot afford to be blinded by pride nor soothed by the philosophies of the world. Our peace and joy in a tumultuous world depend more than ever on our willingness to make the gospel, particularly daily scripture study and prayer, a priority in our lives.  Living the gospel softens our hearts and allows the Holy Ghost to help us discern the signs to the faithful, to feel of God's assurances, and to move forward with confidence because of the revelations we have received strengthened our testimonies. As we build spiritual strength and stand in holy places, we will be able to withstand the storms of evil and of nature that will come. If we are righteous, we may even feel to rejoice-- for the coming of the Lord is near.

What Would I Do (WWID)?

When facing a difficult decision, millions of Christians around the world have rightly learned to ask the steering question, 'What would Jesus do?' The answer to that question sheds light on any scenario as we strive to act with the compassion, courage and wisdom of our Great Exemplar. In our efforts to follow our Savior and act righteously, we may also benefit from asking the often overlooked companion question: What would I do?

This question is not meant to be blasphemous nor elevate your own opinions to conceit and the kind of pride that rationalizes sin and blinds us to our own faults. The life of Christ remains the standard to which all of us must aspire. Rather, this question echoes the advice Karl Maeser once gave to a young J. Golden Kimball to 'Always be yourself; but always be your better self.' Let me explain.

Steven Covey's 7 Habits is one of dozens of books that have briefly summarized the basic research of maturity with the simple, three-step model of dependence, independence, and interdependence. This is easy enough to understand-- when we're kids we depend on our parents to meet our needs, then one day we set out on our own, and ideally we end up learning we can do more working together with a spouse, coworkers and others than any of us could ever accomplish working separately.

It's important to note that maturity must be a progression. We cannot function properly in a marriage relationship if we have never learned to be independent, for example. Trading dependence on parents for dependence on a spouse only is hardly a recipe for a successful relationship, regardless of whether that dependence is physical, emotional, financial or otherwise. We may accomplish a stage of maturity in a very brief period, even seconds, but we must experience each stage to progress to the next.

The end goal for our maturity is interdependence, which requires two or more independent parties to work toward a common goal by acting with complete trust in a partner or colleague. Under the Law of Consecration, the saints chose to give all of their income for the needs of the community as a whole. Handing over your whole paycheck with no guarantees requires immense belief in the integrity and character of the other participants; yet, if everyone participates, the principles of economics predict that the community will produce more than the sum of what the individuals produced before consecration and all are insured against disability, unemployment, and other such personal tragedies. Similarly, when we give our whole hearts to our spouse we expose ourselves to hurt and disappointment, but through coordinated effort and complete trust we make possible greater happiness (and ultra-romantic economic efficiencies) than either of us could have alone.

Examples of other successful interdependent relationships abound. When Dell and Intel agree to work together on a computer, each faces the risk of significant losses if the other party is unable to deliver on their contractual agreement; yet, when they go to work with full faith in each other they co-manufacture computers with rapidly advancing technology in significantly less time than if each were attempting to produce all of the computer on their own. It's the same when neighboring communities work together to deliver 911 services or when Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg contribute their talents along with a larger cast and crew to make a movie. When two independent individuals voluntarily decide to work together toward a common goal, relying in whole or in part on another person for their support, interdependence happens-- and the results exceed the sum of the parts.

Each of us are complex creatures with varying maturity in different areas of our lives. We don't have to be living with our parents to be emotionally, socially, or fiscally immature; nor does our immaturity in any one area of our lives guarantee that we are not enjoying the benefits of independence or interdependence in another area. To make things even more complex, our maturity may slide up or down the maturity continuum from day to day. Returning missionaries with testimonies of their own often face the choice of building their faith by associating with those who will strengthen and be strengthened by them or depending on the faith (or doubts) of others.

The point here is that as we mature in the gospel, as with anything else, we will find the greatest benefit when we become interdependent with others. When we are baptized, we covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Christ just as a new bride takes the name of her husband. In so doing, we pledge to rely on Him for salvation from our sins and He asks that we do all we can to live righteously and spread the gospel. It doesn't matter that He is better at all those things than we are any more than it matters that a lawyer and a farmer may both be living the law of consecration at the same time; if we have a testimony and are doing good on our own, the result of the interdependent relationship we have entered by covenant will be just as advantageous to us spiritually as the cooperation of Dell and Intel is profitable.

Hopefully our second question is now all but obvious. Interdependent relationships require two or more independent individuals working toward a common goal. If we are to reap the benefits of an interdependent relationship with Christ, we must also be using our agency to take independent action toward our common goals of immortality and eternal life. Neither prayer without action nor action without prayer are sufficient; it is through prayer that we unify our goals with His and through action that we can realize those goals.

In the Lord's words:

It is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward. But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned (D&C 58:26-29).

So, if you are an agent unto yourself and free to choose your actions, and knowing that the greatest benefit will always come through interdependent relationships, particularly such a relationship with the same Christ that can forgive sin and empower us to do all things, it follows that once we consider the example of Christ we must also inquire of our own agency and ability, 'What would I do?'

In contemplating what you or I could do that would be of greatest benefit, we do well to remember another mastery scripture from the teachings of King Benjamin:

And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne—and of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day. Yet, my brethren, I have not done these things that I might boast... for I have only been in the service of God. And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God...[A]nd if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another? (Mosiah 2:14-18)

As we face difficult decisions, there is much we can learn from asking, 'What would Jesus do?' Completing the question we've worked on with advice from King Benjamin, we may also benefit from asking the companion question, 'What would I do if Christ were here?' In the service we render as accountants, bus drivers, school volunteers, policymakers, salespersons, entertainers, home teachers, or whatever else, do we treat others as though we are delivering the service to Christ? If we manage others, do we develop policies that direct our subordinates to treat all people as you would want them to treat the Savior? Do we treat our own kids with the same dignity and respect?

We will achieve the impossible if we labor independently and collectively toward our common goals, trusting in each other and in our Savior to complement our efforts. We will be resurrected from the dead and inherit all that God has. So ask yourself, 'What would I do?' and get to work.

Because of Him

By the Voice of My Servants

For thousands of years the relationship between Syria and Israel has been tenuous at best. Certainly that was the case in the 9th Century B.C., when Israel's King Jehoram was approached with an unusual request from the leader of Syria's army. That leader, a captain by the name of Naaman, had heard from one of his servants that there was a prophet in Israel that could miraculously cure him of his leprosy. He had come to Jehoram with money, gifts, and a letter from Jehoshaphat, king of Syria, requesting that Naaman be healed.

At Elisha's request, Naaman was eventually sent to the prophet's home in Samaria. He arrived with his servants 'a mighty man in valor' and appears to have also been a very good man, for 'by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria' from the Assyrians (2 Kings 5:1). It isn't known how severe Naaman's case of leprosy was, only that he was willing to seek out an unfamiliar prophet in a rival country on the chance he could be miraculously freed from his disease. That willingness to seek out the prophet made it all the more important for Elisha make a good impression-- not only for political reasons, but also to show the idolatrous Syrians the reality of the one true god of heaven.

Leprosy at the time accounted for any number of chronic skin diseases ranging from skin that was scaly with reddish patches to conditions so severe flesh actually fell off the bone. Fearing Syria was seeking an excuse to make war with Israel by requesting the medically impossible, and without faith the prophet Elisha could provide a satisfactory resolution, Jehoram rent his clothes in frustration, exclaiming, 'Am I God... that [the king of Syria] doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?'

Given the gravity of the situation, and Naaman's expectation for a miraculous cure, what happened next was completely underwhelming. Rather than meeting with Elisha in his home and being healed of his infirmity, Naaman was greeted by a lowly servant who relayed the prophet's instruction to wash seven times in the dirty water of the Jordan River.

Insulted that the religious leader of his political rival had dismissed him without so much as a personal appearance, 'Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper... And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean' (2 Kings 5:9-14).

As with Naaman, sometimes the Lord teaches and blesses us through people we do not expect. His thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways the same as our ways. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth,' He told the prophet Isaiah, 'so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts' (Isaiah 55:8-9).

President Spencer W. Kimball taught that the Lord hears our prayers, 'but it is often through another person that he meets our needs'. Significant lessons for our lives may come from the prophets in our dispensation through a conference address, a mission call, or a personal interaction. We may also learn and even witness miracles at the hands of the seventies, stake presidents, bishops, church spokespersons, home teachers, missionaries, and others that are appointed to deliver prophetic messages on their behalf.

The Lord has taught that we are to hearken to the voices of his servants, whatever their title might be, just as we would hearken to Him. On November 1, 1831, as the prophet Joseph Smith was preparing to publish the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord taught the saints, 'What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same' (D&C 1:38).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to be led by the risen Lord, Jesus Christ, as it has been in every dispensation throughout all of time. He inspires his servants, whether prophets or primary teachers, to speak His will to us. He also grants to each of us the gift of the Holy Ghost, so we can know through the Holy Ghost that the words of his servants are true. As Elder Oaks has taught, true inspiration will always be consistent with all other revealed truth and the teachings of the living prophets.

Naaman had to overcome his pride and his intellect to be healed of his leprosy. President Harold B. Lee taught, 'You might not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may conflict with your political views. It may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social life... Your safety and ours depends upon whether or not we follow' (Conference Report, October 1970, p. 152-153).

Though it may be difficult at times, as we listen to the voice of the Lord and His servants He will soften our hearts, enlighten our understanding, and convert our hearts to the gospel of Jesus Christ, that through Him we may be healed.

Journeys of Faith

Sometime in the three years following the birth of Christ, a group of travelers arrived in Jerusalem from an unnamed eastern country. The group, which had likely come over 1,000 miles by camel or on foot, was notable for the noble men who were their leaders-- considered wise either because of royal status or education or devotion to the gospel-- and journeyed because they recognized a new star in the heavens that testified of the birth of the Messiah.

That heralding star had likely not appeared for some time, possibly even years, when the group finally arrived in Israel's capital city. Scripture does not say exactly how long the star shone over Bethlehem nor how long this group of easterners had been traveling, but it is clear the wise men, or perhaps one or more of their wise wives, found it necessary to pull over in Jerusalem and ask for directions. Knowing they sought the King of the Jews, they inquired at the palace.

King Herod was apparently not aware of the star and its prophecy, but he certainly knew of the political threats posed in the prophesies of the Messiah. He consulted with his advisers to direct the travelers to Bethlehem and, attempting to compensate for his own unpreparedness, petitioned them to do a little scouting for him and report back to the palace.

As they walked down the palace steps, the wise men would have had every reason to question the legitimacy of their voyage. It had been so long since they saw the star-- and since then they had faced the numerous challenges and fatigues inherent to a journey across the desert without a notable confirmation that they were on the right path. When they finally reached the palace, there was confusion and little knowledge about the prophecied King of the Jews they sought. Even if the Christ child would be born in Bethlehem, as they had just learned from the king's advisers, there was no way to know which house in town to go or whether he was still in Bethlehem at all. Maybe this was a dead end or just a wild goose chase. Or maybe they hadn't really seen or understood the prophecied star. Wouldn't things be easier if it was right?! Maybe they would be better off turning around and going home-- or at least searching less diligently to mitigate the risk of disappointment.

Thousands of miles away in the Americas, those kinds of doubts had quickly dominated the public discussion. They had also seen the star, but some small groups immediately began to persuade the masses that they had not really seen the star or that, if they did see a star, it was not the prophesied sign of Christ's birth (3 Nephi 1:22). Most of the people did not listen at first, rejoicing in the birth of the Savior; but within a few years the people, 'began to be less and less astonished at a sign or wonder from heaven, insomuch that they began to be hard in their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen' (3 Nephi 2:1-3).

That would not be the case with the wise men, who wasted no time listening to foolish doubts or pondering potential failures. Instead they set out immediately from the palace, traveling the five-mile road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in the darkness. Somewhere along that path, 'lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him’ (Matthew 2:9-11).

As we seek the Savior in our journey through life, at Christmastime and throughout the year, we will face many of the same kinds of trials as the wise men did. The Lord will give us revelation that we will need to trust and believe absolutely even when the special feelings have long since faded. Sometimes it may seem that we've hit a dead end or that there is no possible way the Lord could keep His promises. We may question ourselves and whether God has really spoken to our minds and hearts or if He is really guiding our path. Certainly the world around us will question our devotion and mock our reliance on the revelation they ignorantly see as strange or only imagined.

We will be tempted to quit, to trust in only what we can calculate or see for ourselves, to believe that we have reached a dead end or that God has not dealt fairly with us, or to hesitate and shy away from hard things. And if we give in to those temptations, we will most often find that we are giving up on finding Christ when we are nearest to Him, giving up the miracles and blessings we have just worked so hard to make possible, and giving up our chance to worship at His feet and live in His presence.

In the story of the wise men we see a wiser path for our lives. Journeys of faith, like journeys through the desert, simply do not happen without exertion, endurance through fatigue, and determination to press forward despite our doubts and fears. But then, if we will 'press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men', the Lord will confirm our faith and guide us to our goals; He will purify our hearts and we will know Him; and we will learn for ourselves that 'whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day' (2 Nephi 31:20, Alma 36:3).

A Covenant Example

When Abram was around the tender young age of 75, and that really isn't so old when you live to be 175, it's safe to say that he began to have a few family troubles. The root of the trouble was his father, Terah, and possibly others in his family, who had turned against the gospel taught by Adam, Enoch, and Noah to instead worship the wood and stone idols of the Egyptians.

A part of Egyptian idol worship included sacrificing men, women and children on an altar to their idol gods. As the scriptures begin their account of Abram's life, idol priests had just sacrificed three virgins because they were virtuous and refused to bow down to the idols. Abram had spoken out against the atrocities being committed, but writes that his fathers 'utterly refused to hearken to my voice' and 'laid violence upon me, that they might slay me also, as they did those virgins upon this altar'. At the last moment, as the priests were about to sacrifice Abram, an angel appeared, untied him from the altar and helped him escape.

This context sheds some light into one of the greatest understatements in all of scripture as Abram wrote of his circumstance that he, 'saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence; And finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers'. The sought-after blessings included great knowledge, increased capacity to obey the commandments, to be a father of many nations, and ultimately the priesthood (Abraham 1:1-2).

With this background in mind, the story of the man who would become Abraham, the great patriarch, shows us how we can live in an evil world yet remain steadfast and loyal to the one true God. The scriptures are filled with stories that provide similar examples, yet Abraham's account is unique because of the clarity and detail given to the covenant process as he attains the blessings he desired.

Like Abram, our hearts may yearn for greater happiness and peace and rest. We may long to be reunited with relatives who have passed on, to have greater spiritual strength for the trials we face, or to better understand the Lord and His love for us collectively and individually. Abram, more than anything, wanted posterity. With Abram, as with us, desire for the blessings that come from covenants with God is a first step toward finding what we seek.

The next step is to prepare to receive the Lord's blessings. Abram was taught about the blessings of the covenant he would make on at least four separate occasions over the next 24 years (see Genesis 12:2-3, 13:14-16, 15:5, 15:18). Along the way he made smaller covenants and his faith was tested. He moved his family several times, risked his life in Egypt, experienced famines, knew prosperity, resisted Sodom and Gomorrah, rescued his nephew from a foreign army, paid tithing, experienced frustration at continued infertility and dealt with all the emotional and relationship challenges of taking a plural wife who bore a son while his first wife remained childless. Through it all, Abram 'believed in the Lord; and the Lord counted it unto him for righteousness' (JST Genesis 15:12).

When Abram had acted on his desires, learned about the covenant he would make, trusted in the Lord and proved his faith and obedience through all manner of difficulties, he was finally prepared enough to covenant with the Lord. This sacred occasion is differentiated from his previous encounters with divinity by the presence of the Lord himself. Though Abram had talked with God several times previously, this is first time the Lord appeared to Abram. It is also the first time the Lord predicated covenant blessings on specific requirements.

'Walk before me,' the Lord said, 'and be thou perfect' (Gen 17:1). The commandment to be perfect has been a covenant requirement to the faithful in all ages. Among other places, the command to be perfect is repeated each week as we renew our covenants through the sacrament. The presence of this requirement is evidence of the covenant nature of Abram's conversation with the Lord. Covenants are two-way promises with God-- it's not a covenant if we don't have to do anything-- so we can understand that earlier mentions of covenant blessings must have been made as instruction and encouragement preparatory to the time when Abram would be ready to enter into the covenant with the Lord.

Another evidence of Abraham's covenant is the new name he received. Names are often associated with covenants. We take the name of Christ upon ourselves when we are baptized, for example, and wives often take the surnames of their husbands when they are married. Similarly, Abram was told that he would now be called Abraham, which means 'father of many nations', reflecting his greatest desires and the nature of the covenant he was making with the Lord.

The Lord also repeats the blessings of the covenant. Abraham is to become the father of many nations, heir of the chosen land of Canaan, and the head of God's covenant people. He is also promised that these blessings would be everlasting, providing access for Abraham's posterity to receive the covenant and blessings of Abraham while also admonishing Abraham and his posterity to keep the covenants given to preceding generations.

In other words, Abraham will not only have so many posterity that they are as difficult to count as stars in the sky, but this covenant allows those unending generations of posterity to be linked together with all previous generations retroactively back to Adam, being bound by the same requirements and receiving the same blessings. Fittingly, this strong family element that appears to satisfy and exceed Abraham's desires also allows for each new generation to learn and progress upon the last, line upon line, covenant upon covenant, here a little and there a little toward the Lord's requirement for perfection.

Since we're responsible for keeping all of the covenants given through the Lord's prophets, it's worth knowing what those covenants are. Three significant covenants predating Abraham include the covenants made with Enoch, Noah, and Adam. Interestingly, these great men are also seen as fathers in the covenants they made with God-- Enoch as the father of Zion or of the righteous, and Noah and Adam, whose experiences are remarkably similar, as the fathers of all people that came to Earth after them.

The Lord covenanted with Enoch that when men should keep all of God's commandments, Zion should again come on the earth. Noah covenanted that when all of his posterity (all people everywhere) embrace the truth, and look upward, 'then shall Zion look downward, heaven and earth shall tremble with joy, and the general assembly of the church of the firstborn shall come down out of heaven and possess the earth until the end come'. Adam's covenant is revealed to us through temple ordinances.

In each case, covenants are accompanied by tokens or signs. For example, Noah was given the rainbow as a token or sign (reminding us to 'look upward') that the earth would not be destroyed by flood again until his covenant was fulfilled.

The Lord introduced circumcision as the token of Abraham's covenant. This was a particularly appropriate sign given the sins of Abraham's generation, most notably infant baptisms and false teachings of Abel as a Savior rather than the coming Christ. Circumcision performed at eight days old was a reminder that a child was not old enough for baptism, nor accountable before the Lord because of the Atonement of Christ, until they were eight years old. The number eight in Hebrew importantly symbolizes the first in a new series, such as the first day of a new week, or more relevant to baptism, resurrection or rebirth. Baptismal covenants are likewise renewed through the sacrament ordinance administered on the eighth day of the week.

Circumcision was also a fitting token for Abraham's covenant because of the covenant's strong family focus. Abraham lived close enough to Sodom and Gomorrah that he could see them, so circumcision may have been a relevant reminder of sexual purity and the law of chastity. More importantly, Abraham's covenant includes both the promise of posterity and the ability for that posterity to be born into that covenant. Thus, the organ of the body that produces posterity and brings about physical birth is the organ on which the token was made. Later on, when Christ fulfilled the Law of Moses, the token is changed to a 'circumcision of heart', which references the organ of spiritual rebirth. Though the token changed, the covenant remains the same.

In keeping with that strong family focus, it is important to note that Abraham's covenant was not made in isolation. Genesis 17 clearly shows that Abraham's wife also covenanted with the Lord. She too was given a new name-- now Sarah instead of Sarai-- and with it a similar promise that she would be the mother of nations and kings. She also received the very personal promise that, though she had been barren 100 years, she would yet give birth to a son.

Sarah's covenant also explains why it is Abraham's second son, Isaac, that is chosen to carry forward the Lord's covenant. Ishmael was Abraham's oldest son, but he did not inherit the right to the covenant because his parents had not yet entered into that covenant themselves. Though Abraham later would, there is no indication that Hagar, his mother, ever did. Isaac, on the other hand, was born fourteen years after Ishmael to a mother and father who had entered the Abrahamic covenant with the Lord.

Even after desiring the Lord's blessings, preparing for them, and entering into a covenant with the Lord, the blessings of the covenant are not certain. Covenants provide a vehicle by which desired blessings can be achieved, but we, as Abraham, still have to live up to the terms of the agreement we have made to reach our final destination.

For Abraham, filling the terms of his covenant required more than thirty years of additional tests and trials. He fought an uphill battle to save the wicked city of Sodom, had family members die, and was compelled to exile his second wife and oldest son. Then Abraham, who had nearly been sacrificed to idols by his own father, who wanted posterity most of all, was asked to do the unthinkable and sacrifice Isaac, his son of miraculous birth, the symbol of his covenant posterity and the son Abraham called his 'beloved'.

There can be no doubt that the command to sacrifice his son was heartbreaking for the 'father of many nations'. He had received promises from God that may have confused him or made this commandment seem like it did not make sense. Yet, this experience would be the climax of Abraham's life and the capstone on the covenant the Lord gave his posterity through him. It is no coincidence that so many details of this account foreshadow the Atonement of Christ, also an only son miraculously born to a father of many nations and who put the capstone on the covenants of salvation with his sacrifice.

Despite the sorrow that must have been in Abraham's heart, the scriptures say that he rose early in the morning to obey the Lord's command. Traveling three days to the place the Lord had appointed, Abraham took his son to Mount Moriah, a major hill now located in the city of Jerusalem where Solomon's temple would later stand and on the same range of hills as Golgotha, the place where Christ was crucified.

For the last part of the journey, Isaac carried the wood for his own sacrifice on his back. Noticing they did not have an animal to sacrifice, Isaac inquired of Abraham, who could only reply, 'My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering'.

Isaac was to be that lamb, and he submitted to his father with the meekness of that gentle animal. Now in his thirties, as the Savior was at the time of his crucifixion, Isaac was certainly capable of overpowering or escaping Abraham, now more than 130 years old, but instead he laid on the altar to be sacrificed. At the last moment, an angel of the Lord stopped Abraham and a ram was offered in Isaac's place.

It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of Abraham's relief and joy at the angel's interference or Sarah's delight when she learned her only son would be allowed to live. Family was the most important thing in their lives. They had been separated from their parents by apostasy and struggled for multiple decades to have children of their own. So it was only after Abraham was willing to do the Lord's will in all things, even giving up the thing he had righteously desired most all of his life, that the Lord pronounces the blessings of the covenant they had made upon him.

'Because thou has done this thing,' the Lord says of Abraham's perfect obedience in the way of the Lord, 'I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven... And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.'

As we desire the blessings of the gospel, we must also prepare to enter and keep covenants with the Lord. We will also be tested and tried to help us learn to trust in the Lord and become perfectly obedient to his commands.

President John Taylor taught these words he heard from the Prophet Joseph Smith:

You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God... If God had known any other way whereby he could have touched Abraham's feelings more acutely and more keenly he would have done so (Journal of Discourses, 24:197; 24:264).

When we are ready to give up our own will and the things that we desire most, the Lord is prepared to bless us with the greater happiness, peace, and rest that we seek, and all the blessings of exaltation promised by covenant to the great patriarchs of the scriptures.