I wrote this a few years ago and have used it occasionally to try to explain how the atonement of Jesus Christ works in our life. I titled it, "The Atonement". It is not a dissertation as such, but just some thoughts. It is rather long, but I thought it was appropriate for the time we live in.
There has been a lot of discussion about the oxymoron "Gay Marriage". This is neither gay nor a marriage, but a deception of Satan to prostitute or adulterate the plan of our Father in Heaven.
This was written as a letter to one of my children. I share it with you for your edification.
I sensed that the suicide of one of
the elders from your mission who was having an identity problem may have troubled
you and I have tried to write down some of my thoughts about this with perhaps
a different sort of approach that is usually taken. We were over in the Czech republic visiting with the mission
president and his wife and the subject somehow turned to a mutual acquaintance
who also happened to be a physician. He
had recently been to visit the mission president and had told the sad story of
how he decided that he was gay and couldn’t help it. He lost his family and membership in the church and although he
had been a stake president, he failed to understand fully the plan of the Lord
and the simple truths taught in the Book of Mormon. The mission president was also a bit confused and upset about the
state of his friend.
There are two scriptures in the Book
of Mormon that come to mind that are worthwhile examining in depth. The first is found in Mosiah and is well
known and quoted often.
|v18 For behold he judgeth, and his
judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but
men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become
as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in
and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.
|v19 For the natural man is an enemy
to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever,
unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth
off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the
Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love,
willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him,
even as a child doth submit to his father.
|v20 And moreover, I say unto you,
that the time shall come when the knowledge of the Savior shall spread
throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
|v21 And behold, when that time
cometh, none shall be found blameless before God, except it be little children,
only through repentance and faith on the name of the Lord God Omnipotent.
(BofM:Mosiah
3:18-21)
I have some thoughts on the
scripture; a natural man is an enemy to God.
The main points are that since the fall of Adam a change came over man
and he will be cut off unless he putteth off the natural man and becometh a
saint and yield to the enticings of the spirit. He will be estranged from God
The combination of mortality and a
spirit allow men to be able to experience and then to choose. In 2 Nephi, Lehi explains that in order to
be able to choose that we must be enticed by the one or the other.
Mortal bodies are not all the
same. Some are more responsive to
certain stimuli than others. Examples
of the differences in response to stimuli are; pain tolerance, ticklishness and
hunger. There are also different tastes
and different appetites. Some like
asparagus and some cannot abide it. The
human nervous system is made to respond to stimuli. Therefore some are pleased and enjoy tennis and some do not find
it enjoyable at all. Each one is
different in his response to that which is enticing.
The statement that some people make,
“That is the way I am.” is a rationalization or excuse for unacceptable
behaviour and it is to a certain extent true.
The natural man or mortal man is carnal, sensual and inclined to do
evil. He must learn to rely on the Lord
for instruction and guidance. Those are
His commandments, which will point man the way to happiness. (Man is that he might have joy). If left to his own desires without the
guidance by the spirit from God, man will seek to satisfy the mortal body and
its urges and desires. Thus we have all
manner of transgressors of the law who yield not to the enticings of the
spirit, but to their own mortal nature.
They become confused because they seek the answer to their problems
outside the framework of the gospel and its principles. They fail to ponder and thus are as Laman
and Lemuel and say, “The Lord revealeth no such things unto us.”
They then cannot understand their
own natures or the nature of the atonement.
They then become disillusioned with life and with their state. They cannot understand that without the
strength given by the Lord they remain a captive or in a bondage state or in
other words in the bondage of sin.
Captivity seems to be a theme in the scriptures. Thus the numerous
references to the captivity in Egypt and also the various times the Nephites
were held captive. Without the Lord
and the atonement we remain held captive and it is only the Lord that can break
those bonds. It is only the Lord who
can plant in us the desire never to do evil and to look upon sin with
abhorrence. We are not able to do it alone.
There are many ways to sin. The scriptures tell us that we cannot tell
how many ways there are. The reason for
this is that man and his weaknesses are so varied. Let us here mention a few that come immediately to my mind. The
following are things that all play upon the stimulation of the sensations of
the mortal body and have been proscribed by the Lord; The word of wisdom,
(alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea), drugs, pornography, adultery, fornication,
violence, masturbation, and homosexuality.
We are to learn to control these feelings and to make our body
responsive to the spirit who takes its strength and guidance from the
Lord. For some people these may not
even be a temptation, but they have other weaknesses.
The following scripture is
interesting in that it tells us first what kind of sins and transgressions
there are in the world and then uses the same word enticings to relate the fact
that not only can the Lord through his spirit entice us to do good, Satan can
also entice us to do evil and prey on the weakness of the flesh.
|v23 And he commandeth all men that
they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect1
faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.
|v24 And if they will not repent and
believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they
must be damned2; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken
it.
|v25 Wherefore, he has given a law;
and where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no
punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the
mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement;
for they are delivered by the power of him.3
|v26 For the atonement satisfieth
the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them,
that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil,
and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are
restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel.
|v27 But wo unto him that has the
law given4,
yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us5, and that transgresseth
them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state!
|v28 O that cunning plan of the evil
one! O the vainness, and the frailties,
and the foolishness of men! When they
are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of
God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their
wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.6
|v29 But to be learned is good if
they hearken unto the counsels of God.
|v30 But wo unto the rich, who are
rich as to the things of the world. For
because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the meek, and
their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their
God. And behold, their treasure shall
perish with them also.
|v31 And wo unto the deaf that will7
not hear; for they shall perish.
|v32 Wo unto the blind that will not
see; for they shall perish also.
|v33 Wo unto the uncircumcised of
heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day.
|v34 Wo unto the liar, for he shall
be thrust down to hell.
|v35 Wo unto the murderer who
deliberately killeth, for he shall die.8
|v36 Wo unto them who commit
whoredoms, for they shall be thrust down to hell.
|v37 Yea, wo unto those that worship
idols, for the devil of all devils delighteth in them.
|v38 And, in fine, wo unto all those
who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and
remain in their sins.9
|v39 O, my beloved brethren,
remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the
awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death,
and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.
|v40 O, my beloved brethren, give
ear to my words. Remember the greatness
of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say
that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile
against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard
against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the
truth and are not shaken.
|v41 O then, my beloved brethren,
come unto the Lord, the Holy One.
Remember that his paths are righteous.
Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course
before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he
employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate;
for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.
|v42 And whoso knocketh, to him will
he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed
up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches--yea, they are
they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and
consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility,
he will not open unto them.
|v43 But the things of the wise and
the prudent shall be hid from them forever--yea, that happiness which is
prepared for the saints.
(BofM:2
Nephi 9:23-43)
The Lord gives men weaknesses:
We really should understand that we
came into this world mortal and we will go out mortal. The Lord has so decreed it, but we were
commanded to come unto him so that our mortality could put on immortality and
in addition eternal life.
|v27 And if men come unto me I will
show unto them their weakness. I give
unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all
men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me,
and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
|v28 Behold, I will show unto the
Gentiles their weakness and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity
bringeth unto me--the fountain of all righteousness.
(BofM:Ether
12:27-28)
We often look at this scripture as
an explanation of our minor imperfections and to give us a hope that the Lord
will strengthen us and nothing more. It
means much, much more. It is an explanation
of the basic doctrine set forth in Mosiah.
We are imperfect (mortal) and were meant to be after the fall. We have to understand that a combination of
a mortal body and an immortal spirit requires a refinement, which can only be
accomplished by the Lord. We can try,
but we cannot succeed without the atonement of Christ. Too often we leave this important element
out of the equation.
Why do some respond to homosexual
exposures and others not. The sexual
desire is one of the strongest in man.
Not everyone has the same level of sexual desire, just as some have
larger physical frames than others.
Like any appetite it can be stimulated by reinforcement. If the repetitive reinforcement is not there
then it will be dormant and diminish.
We could use the same argument to explain the chronic liar, the thief,
the adulterer, the murderer, and any other person who is at odds with the
commandments of God. At first we are
given light and truth and we have the words of the prophets. Then when we disobey. Satan commeth and taketh away the light and
truth. We are then left to respond to
the enticings, which come over our mortal body. We can respond to the enticings of the spirit, who leads us to
the Lord through the atonement, or we can respond to the enticings of the devil
and respond to the mortal body and its desire for stimulation and deny the
atonement.
There is no middle ground in
this battle. A Lamanite king who was
responsible for the murders of many of his servants and perhaps many other
people put it better than I can express it.
“I will give up all my sins to know thee.” And the great thing was that it happened. He did give up all his sins and he knew the
Lord. We also have to give up our sins.
When we teach in the church all the wonderful doctrine and the history
and try to convince people to live in a certain way, if we do not teach them
that without the cleansing power of the atonement we cannot overcome mortality
and its attendant tendency to make us less than we would like to be or less
than we are capable of becoming, then we have failed and people like your missionary
lose hope and do not see a way out of their dilemma. And thus he (Satan) binds them with his awful chains and leads
them carefully down to hell.
The model, which is portrayed by the
children of Israel out in the wilderness, is a type and shadow of our
relationship with the Father. Jehovah
came down and offered to be their God and to sustain them in a spiritual
sense. As it were they would have died
in the wilderness had he not provided nourishment (Manna) and water. That many people out in the Sinai desert
without food or water was a travesty.
The Lord provided for them and they had to rely totally upon Him.
We are also, as it were, in a
desert. The Lord provides us living
water and the bread of life. We have to
learn to put our total trust in Him and listen to his counsel.. The manna that he gives to us is the gospel
to nourish our souls. Without that we
die spiritually because we are enticed to do evil rather than good.
Nourish your souls with the Gospel Of Jesus Christ and live.
Love,
Grandpa
1 Note the word perfect. The faith has to be more than just a lick and
a promise type faith
2Or in other words go into captivity. A captivity of the Devil, or they are then
in captivity to their own desires and
passions. These are the awful chains
that Nephi refers to. Instead of being
free to act they are then acted upon by the addiction to their own lusts.
3This is why little children require no baptism
4People will be judged by as much of the law as
they have received.
5And especially us as Latter-Day-Saints. We have the fullness of the gospel and
should not be the ones who will fall into the trap. In Joseph Smith’s
translation of the 24th chapter of Matthew he refers to the elect according to
the covenant. He says at the time,
which we are in now that if it were possible even the elect would be
deceived. We see then that my
acquaintance who is a doctor and your former missionary who are the elect
according to the new and everlasting covenant have been led astray and deceived
by the philosophies of men.
6These are the people who rely upon the
philosophies of men. The members of the
church who buy into the thought that because a man or woman has enticings
toward members of the same sex that they can do nothing but give into the
enticings and continue to believe that this is “normal behaviour” because some
learned man has thus declared it. This
is as idiotic as saying that the kleptomaniac cannot do anything about his
desire to steal and therefore should not need to bother his conscience and
continue in his ways. The same argument
can apply to the bank robber, the con man, deceiver or the adulterer. This is a lie and deception of Satan who
seeks to destroy men and lead them captive because he understands all too well
the fallen nature of man. The nature of
the fall is such that a perfect immortal person becomes mortal and imperfect.
7Notice the will not, it does not say
cannot.
8As pertaining to the things of
righteousness. There is also a very
real possibility that they can die physically.
We only have to look around the world where secret murders go on to
realize that there are retaliation murders and the murderers are in their turn
murdered.
9Because they did not repent and take upon
themselves the redeeming blood of Christ.
