How do you look today?

Today's post is brought to you today by Isaiah 3:9.

It reads "9. The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves."

I'm going to reread that first line- "the shew of their countenance doth witness against them"

President David O McKay had something to say regarding that.

“Every man and every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil. It is not what he says alone; it is not alone what he does. It is what he is. Every man, every person radiates what he or she really is. . . . It is what we are and what we radiate that affects the people around us.

“As individuals, we must think nobler thoughts. We must not encourage vile thoughts or low aspirations. We shall radiate them if we do. If we think noble thoughts; if we encourage and cherish noble aspirations, there will be that radiation when we meet people, especially when we associate with them.’ ( Man May Know for Himself, p. 108.)

This concept has been going through my mind all week since Monday when I read it. I know it's true that we radiate the good or bad inside of us, we see it all around us. There's a certain darkness to those that are not living as they know they should, and a light with happiness in those that are living the gospel as taught in the scriptures and by the prophets.

Little kids are great examples of this. Most little kids radiate so much light and happiness. Now, this doesn't mean they are perfect, as my son has recently taken to screaming and throwing himself on the floor when he doesn't get his way, but he always is quick to apologize and say he is sorry and move on. He also LOVES so deeply and generously, which sometimes causes him to hurt his baby sister, but he just wants to give her hugs that turn into tackles, which turn into her getting hurt on the floor. But he wants to express his love freely to everyone. He has a purity in him that is expressed in a shining happiness. And it's not just my son! It's in all children. Especially as I have been observing other children this week, no matter their parents or who else is around them, children have this amazing light inside their eyes.

Now this isn't true about adults. I see many adults with darkness, weighed down by life and for many their choices which are contrary to what God has commanded, but what the world says is right. The darkness I see in them makes me sad, because they are sad, for wickedness never was happiness. (Alma 41:10)

Now, did I say my son was perfect to get that light? No, he is just pure. And I think purity is a key component of the spirit being a part of your life. What does purity mean to you, and why would that be so crucial for the spirit?

O.k. one last thought. Elder Parley P. Pratt once described the effects of the Holy Ghost like this:

“[His influence] quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections; and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates and matures all the fine-toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation and social feeling. It invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens, and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being” (Key to the Science of Theology, 9th ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1965], p. 101)

Isn't that great?!? Do you want to gain more beauty? Live the commandments better. Do you want to get stronger? Try to invite the spirit more in your life. More joy? More spirit. It's so simple, yet we often choose other things over the spirit. But you will radiate that choice. You cannot hide it, just like you cannot hide the goodness in you. Because your countenance will shine with whatever you have been thinking and doing.

So shine a little brighter today. Go serve someone, exercise your physical body, pray a little more, love a little harder, forgive a little more easily. It will be worth it, I promise!

Isaiah

I had the marvelous opportunity of taking a class on the book of Isaiah by S. Michael Wilcox one summer while I was home from college. As a professor his forte is with words and literature, and so it was an incredibly amazing experience as he unfolded the words of Isaiah to my eyes.

One technique Isaiah used frequently was repetition. Like any good teacher. :)

Let me show you. In Isaiah 2:9-17 it reads

"9.And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not." This scripture is referring to the importance of not being prideful, but humble.

"11.The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." An example of a proud person and that he will eventually be humbled.

"12. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low." O.k. at this point you might be thinking, I get it the proud person will eventually be humbled or brought down again.

But Isaiah keeps going, in words we might not understand as clearly today.

"13. And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan." These are luxury trees and Isaiah's using imagery to let us know those luxury trees will eventually be cut down.

"14. And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up.
15. And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall.
16. And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures." The ships of Tarshish were the biggest ships on the ocean at the time. And as you might guess it, eventually they will be taken off the earth.

And in case you needed a little more help in understanding this principle.

"17. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day."

Well, I got a lot out of that! It looks like you can choose to be proud, but eventually you will be humbled, and so why wait for God to humble you? Why not just become humble before you're cut down? And it probably will be more painful to be compelled to be humble than if you choose it for yourself.

Amos

Amos had a hard prophet life, as many prophets of old. The hard part for him came from that the Israel he was preaching to had very hard hearts, and he was continually preaching about destruction for the wicked, rather than the more delicate and happy truths of the gospel. He prophesied in Amos 8:11-12 :

"11. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
12. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek teh word of the Lord, and shall not find it."

If Israel didn't repent, there would be a famine in the land. But with this famine many wouldn't know where to turn, or that they are even hungry.

Elder Wirthlin a former LDS apostle spoke of the effect this famine had had upon Europe:

“We have observed a restless spirit of searching today among the people of Europe. Why? Because there is a gnawing hunger in the human heart that, if not fed by the truths of the gospel, leaves life empty and devoid of peace. The hodgepodge of economic ‘isms’ advocated by so-called wise men of the world has solved few, if any, problems, and has brought no real joy. Such empty nostrums have led mankind to seek worldly goods and symbols of material power, blinding humanity to the truth that only the righteous life firmly established in the daily living of God’s commandments brings true happiness. Anything less leaves the heart unfed, with a yearning inner hunger—a hunger which it is our mission to identify and define and of which we should make the people aware. I have seen in Europe the fulfillment of the words of Amos, that there would be ‘a famine in the land, not a famine of bread . . . but of hearing the words of the Lord.’ ( Amos 8:11 .)” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1975, pp. 154–55.)

Hosea

Hosea is a very interesting book of scripture in the Old Testament. The premise is one of a prophet of God that is told to marry a whore, and then she goes off to her other lovers and finally comes back to him in the end and he forgives and still loves her very much. I like this explanation of what it could mean from of course the Old Testament student manual.

The book of Hosea "present[s] an allegory designed to teach the spiritual consequences of Israel’s unfaithfulness. Sperry felt that Hosea never did actually contract such a marriage. He explains: “The Lord’s call to Hosea to take a harlotrous woman to wife represents the prophet’s call to the ministry—a ministry to an apostate and covenant-breaking people. The . . . children of this apparent union represent the coming of the judgments of the Lord upon Israel, warning of which was to be carried to the people by the prophet. The figure of the harlotrous wife and children would, I believe, be readily understood at the time by the Hebrew people without reflecting on Hosea’s own wife, or, if he was unmarried, on himself.” ( Voice of Israel’s Prophets, p. 281.)

So it can be a metaphor for Hosea as the prophet taking Israel (a very idol ridden and whoring nation) as a marriage covenant. Or actually even one step further, Hosea is representing the Savior, because it is truly with Him whom they covenant and then break that covenant.

Anyway, it really is an incredibly beautiful love story, the husband luring his lost wife back to him and never wavering in his love for her, because that is what the book of Hosea truly is, a love story. The Savior always wants us to come back, no matter where we have been down sin's path, and he wants it because he does love us so purely.

A few final Job thoughts

I have loved studying Job this past week. In our Sunday School discussion on him some of the class members got a little stuck on who Job really was, and if the conversation between God and Satan was real because that doesn't seem like in God's nature in how he deals with people, and the suchlike. Unfortunately, many of the great, inspiring and life changing principles were not talked about because these questions took over the majority of the lesson. Because I think I was changed, again, as I studied Job. I say again, because I seem to learn lessons from the scriptures over and over again. I learn one principle, then another one, then a few more, then learn the first principle and get excited all over again. Can you see why I have scripture cravings often?

Anyway, Job always gives me a clear perspective on my trials. And not just I shouldn't complain about my trials, it really digs into my heart and helps me realize the real God-like perspective of a life. Here are my trials and how Job helped me put them in perspective.

Problem #1 My husband's job. We have been trying to get a job for my husband ever since he got laid of of his job last July and started graduate school. (That's actually why we started graduate school) He has had some temporary jobs with no connection to his field, and even when he did get a job in his field he got fired very unexpectedly, unlawfully and even heartbreakingly for him and our family. However as I do look back on the year, financially we have been very blessed to actually be able to pay for everything, even for the house our renters didn't pay rent for nearly three months. It has tested our faith, but still even one year after being on this unemployment journey we have hope that he will get a job, and God still has a plan and a path for us. Joseph Smith's family moved many many times in his early childhood because of crop failure, sickness, and financial investments that didn't work out. They finally made it to Palmyra where he was able to pray in the Sacred Grove and later be able to dig up the plates that he could translate into the Book of Mormon. I feel his family was helped to make it to Palmyra so all these wonderful events could happen. I feel our family is also being blessed to be where we need to be, which is where God wants us. My husband currently does have a job working 30 hours a week for which we are very grateful, and which was supposed to end one month ago, but keeps getting extended. But we are still hopeful he will receive a job that will give him the experience he needs to get a good one after he's finished with school.

Job's perspective. He lost not just his job, but ALL of his financial assets in one day. One day! The hardest part for me in this whole job situation is what other people will think of us. (I know I still have sins to work on.) But even when Job had lost his family, his job, AND his health, his friends started asking what sins he had need to repent of. Job begged and pleaded with the Lord earlier to tell him what his sin was so he could repent if his suffering was because of sin. He knew he was right with God, and that is all that mattered. Even when his friends started questioning it, he knew he was on God's path for him. We have so many friends and family supporting and loving and caring for us, and not judging our situation, we feel doubly blessed. Although this is a hard trial and I sometimes do fall and want to make sure everyone in the world knows we are doing what we can to get a job, we're not being lazy or even too picky, in the end, their views don't matter. And we feel hope and peace about it because we know we're on God's path and doing everything we can on our end, just like Job.

Problem #2 Our car. It started jolting forward and sounding like we were in third gear when we were going from stop to about 25 mph. We took it in to get fixed and were told it was our transmission, which early estimates have been roughly $1800-$2400. Remember that's us that haven't had a steady income for one year. That is in graduate school with two kids?

Job's perspective. A car problem? A financial problem? I think I have been feeling so much peace about this one because we have again been doing everything we can, and this problem is SOOO small compared to losing a family member, or having ill health. Not that the car is going to miraculously fix itself. But I feel something miraculous will happen to get it fixed. Whether it is Eric will get a job that will pay for his schooling, or we find just enough to fix the car and pay for school in our student loans, it will be taken care of.

Now these are just two of the things we are facing right now, but I am so glad Job could again emphasize the things we need to be doing, and realizing there is so much goodness in life no matter your circumstance. And to end with a quote by Elder Harold B. Lee:

“‘It is not the function of religion to answer all questions about God’s moral government of the universe, but to give courage (through faith) to go on in the face of questions he never finds the answer to in his present status. Therefore, take heed of yourselves, and as a wise world thinker once said, “If the time comes when you feel you can no longer hold to your faith, then hold to it anyway. You cannot go into tomorrow’s uncertainty and dangers without faith”‘ ( Church News, source not quoted).” (Keith H. Meservy, “Job: ‘Yet Will I Trust in Him,’” pp. 139–53.)