Why has Thou forsaken Me?

Was Jesus Christ surprised to feel at the moment when He expected and needed His Father's presence close and abiding, that His Father had withdrawn himself (although, similar or exact working is found in the Old Testament: Palms 22:1 "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" In the canonical Gospels, we find the words in Matthew & Mark: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani [Ἠλί, Ἠλί, λιμὰ σαβαχθανί])?

It could be that He was fulfilling the scripture found in the Old Testament, could be that He was so familiar with the words of the Old Testament (seeing as He is and was the God of the Old Testament; even Jehovah), or could it be that no matter how well He understood and remembered the facts that were in that every moment transpiring, that much like every single human being on this Earth (and elsewhere too?), when in the moment of experiencing something that pushes your limits and shocks you that you couldn't "handle it" or that you're not as able to withstand or endure it as well as you had previously imagined, that you open your mouth and very deliberately cry out to Your Father and Your God--because Jesus Christ said, in John 8:29, "And He that sent Me is with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him."

For a person, let alone a God and an Only born-Son-in-the-flesh, to have always been with His Father, and to have always done only the things that please Him, to have the presence of Him torn-away during Your hour of need, must have been surprising or shocking, no matter what "knowledge" You had of its happening.  Whoa!

These are all hypotheses and wonderments...

JPS

Deserve?

It seems to me that we all hear the word “deserve” way too often.  In fact, the other day, my six-year-old daughter told me that she “deserves that toy”.  What?

Talk about entitlement!  Are we really so full of ourselves that we think we deserve everything?  What would King Benjamin, from the Book of Mormon say?  In fact, let’s see what he says (and he was a king, the son of a king [and the father of the next king—King Mosiah):

Mosiah 2:16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.

&

:18-19 Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another?  And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!

&

:21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another--I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

Is that entitled language?  Just the contrary—meek and humble language, I should say!

Shouldn’t we all be a little more humble in our language?  Shouldn’t we be of more service to others?  Shouldn’t we recognize our place in this world and universe as children of God?

JPS

Talk 2/17/2019 —Ministering support

“Dear brothers and sisters, isn’t it marvelous to receive continuing revelation from heaven through President Russell M. Nelson and our Church leaders that invites us to live in new and holier ways, at home and at church, with all our heart, mind, and strength?”

Those were the opening words of Elder Garrit Walter Gong’s talk, “Our Campfire of Faith” in the October General Conference.

Back in April 2018, President Henry Bitner Eyring said, “President Nelson has announced an inspired step forward in the Lord’s organized plan for His Church. That plan includes a new structure for priesthood quorums in wards and stakes so that we may better fulfill our priesthood responsibilities. Those responsibilities all have to do with our priesthood care of our Father’s children.

And our President and Prophet, President Russell Marion Nelson, said, “Gratefully and prayerfully we open this new chapter in the history of the church.”

I the last year, we’ve had two “game-changing” revelations announced:

***Ministering and ***Come Follow Me teaching in the home and in our meeting houses…

• Why does the Lord want His members to be in each others homes, teaching, supporting, strengthening each other?
  
  
• What blessings come to us when we visit others and when we allow others to visit us, with the purpose of ministering in the Gospel?
  
  

I know that when I need to see what the Lord would have me know about the Priesthood, there are a few select sections that I can read in the Doctrine & Covenants: Section 20 is one of those sections, and verse 38 tells me about some of the duties of the priesthood offices:

D&C 20:38, & 46-55 The duty of the elders, priests, teachers, deacons, and members of the church of Christ… (46) The (teacher’s &) priest’s duty is to preach, teach, expound, exhort… (47) And visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties. (50) But when there is an elder present, he is only to [do the same…] (51) And visit the house of each member, exhorting them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties. (53) The teacher’s duty is to watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them; (54) And see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking; (55) And see that the church meet together often, and also see that all the members do their duty.

In Moroni 6, after members are baptized, their names are taken as members of the Church of Christ, that "they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer..."

• Maybe that’s why we should we be understand priesthood callings and allow ministers into our home—and even encourage them to come!
  
  !!!Reverse home-teaching (now would be called reverse ministering...)!!!
  
  I know that when my family is ministered to, that I am grateful that my children can see the Priesthood in action, and that it’s not something that I and my wife talk to them about; they can actually see that we are loved by the Lord, our Heavenly Father, and by our neighbors and friends in our ward.
  
  My sons feel that love as they accompany me to make ministering visits to those that we’ve been assigned to see and I feel my Heavenly Father’s love come through me as I carry-out my priesthood duties and as those visits turn-into visits because I love those families, pray for them, serve them, and see them grow closer together (in one way or another).
  
  
• Back in April 2018, President Henry Bitner Eyring said told us that in times past, the church was organized into “municipal wards, companies, [blocks], and strengthened quorums [and that] haveall required at least two things to be successful in the Lord’s intent to have His Saints care for each other in the way He cares for them. They succeed when the Saints feel the love of Christ for each other above their self-interest. The scriptures call it “charity … the pure love of Christ” (Moroni 7:47). And they succeed when the Holy Ghost guides the caregiver to know what the Lord knows is best for the person whom He is trying to help.”
• Holders of the Priesthood’s duties are to preach, teach, expound, exhort, nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, to watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them.
• President Eyring reminds Priesthood holders that when we are called to or ordained to a new office, we retain or keep all of the responsibilities that we were given for our last office or calling. Thus, an Apostle is still a High Priest, and still an Elder, a Priest, a Teacher, a Deacon, and every other office he’s held besides. That doesn’t mean that a person has all of the responsibilities and authority of a bishop once he’s called and set-apart as one, but that he grows in power, duty, and maturity as he does in his priesthood.
  Continuing with President Eyring’s talk, “He and a home teaching companion were assigned to serve seven families. Almost all of them did not want visits. When the home teachers went to their apartments, they refused to answer the door. When they telephoned, they did not get an answer. When they left a message, the call was not returned. This senior companion finally resorted to a letter-writing ministry. He even began to use bright yellow envelopes in the hope of getting a response.
  “It seems to me that we receive the Holy Spirit best when we are focused on serving others. That is why we have the priesthood responsibility to serve for the Savior. When we are engaged in service to others, we think less about ourselves, and the Holy Ghost can more readily come to us and help us in our lifelong quest to have the gift of charity bestowed upon us.”
  
  The main focus of the ministering concept, says Elder Holland, was also said of the Nephites during Alma’s time, is: to “watch over their people, and … nourish them with things pertaining to righteousness.” More care and concern is needed, than was given in the era of Home Teaching... We are to make contact with and bless those we minister to and that we bless them in every way that we can.
  
  He continued, “Brothers and sisters, we have a heaven-sent opportunity as an entire Church to demonstrate “pure religion … undefiled before God”--“to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light” and to “comfort those that stand in need of comfort,” to minister to the widows and the fatherless, the married and the single, the strong and the distraught, the downtrodden and the robust, the happy and the sad--in short, all of us, every one of us, because we all need to feel the warm hand of friendship and hear the firm declaration of faith.”
  
  • Sister Jean Barrus Bingham told us, “Sometimes we think we have to do something grand and heroic to “count” as serving our neighbors. Yet simple acts of service can have profound effects on others_--as well as on ourselves.
  “none other has had so profound an influence [on] all who have lived and who will yet live upon the earth as the Savior, who “also smiled at, talked with, walked with, listened to, made time for, encouraged, taught, fed, and forgave. He served family and friends, neighbors and strangers alike, and He invited acquaintances and loved ones to enjoy the rich blessings of His gospel. Those “simple” acts of service and love provide a template for our ministering today.
  “As you have the privilege to represent the Savior in your ministering efforts, ask yourself, “How can I share the light of the gospel with this individual or family? What is the Spirit inspiring me to do?”
  
  
• — Elder Dieter Friderich Ucutdorf in 10/2018 said, “The healing hands of Jesus Christ reach out to all who seek Him. I have come to know without a doubt that believing and loving God and striving to follow Christ can change our hearts, soften our pain, and fill our souls with “exceedingly great joy.
  “Of course, we must do more than merely have an intellectual understanding of the gospel for it to have this healing influence in our lives. We must incorporate it into our lives—make it a part of who we are and what we do.
  *** In my experience, belief is not so much like a painting we look at and admire and about which we discuss and theorize. It is more like a plow that we take into the fields and, by the sweat of our brow, create furrows in the earth that accept seeds and bear fruit that shall remain.***
  
  
• Sister Bonnie H. Cordon of the Young Woman’s Presidency said, “Sisters and brothers, each of you matter. … the Savior knows you and loves you. If you wonder if that is true, you need only contemplate that He has “graven [you] upon the palms of [His] hands.”
  Knowing that the Savior loves us, we might then wonder, how can we best show our love for Him?
  The Savior asked Peter, “Lovest thou me … ?”
  Peter answered, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my [sheep].”
  When asked this question both a second and a third time, “Lovest thou me?” Peter was grieved yet confirmed his love: “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep [feed my lambs].”
  
  *** The first two times, the Savior asks Peter the seemingly (when read in an English translation from the original Greek), he uses a casual, PHILIA ME, “brotherly love”, as in Philadelphia, but the third time, the question that makes Peter sorrowful to be questioned, Christ asks, the true charity, AGAPE ME. Peter could easily tell Christ that He loved Him like he would a brother, but now He was being asked, as has been said in conference, ‘a higher and holier’ love—“do you love me as I love you”. When we can answer Christ that we love Him as He loves us, Christ responds, “Feed my lambs” or take that love and share it with my other disciples!
  
  Sister Cordon continues:
  “Last April, President Russell M. Nelson extended a similar invitation to us to feed our Father’s sheep in a holier way and to do so through ministering.
  To effectively accept this invitation, we must develop a shepherd’s heart and understand the needs of the Lord’s sheep. So how do we become the shepherds the Lord needs us to become?
• “As with all questions, we can look to our Savior, Jesus Christ--the Good Shepherd—for all answers. The Savior’s sheep were known and numbered, they were watched over, and they were gathered into the fold of God.
  
  “As we strive to follow the Savior’s example, we must first know and number His sheep… Numbering, however, is not really about numbers; it is about making certain each person feels the love of the Savior through someone who serves for Him. In that way, all can recognize that they are known by a loving Father in Heaven.
  “As you pray, you will feel the love of Jesus Christ for those to whom you minister. Share that love with them. What better way is there to feed His sheep than to help them feel His love--through you?”
  
  The second of the greatest commandments, like the first, was given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: is to “Love one another as I have loved you!”
  
  Elder David Allan Bednar said, “The healing hands of Jesus Christ reach out to all who seek Him. I have come to know without a doubt that believing and loving God and striving to follow Christ can change our hearts, soften our pain, and fill our souls with exceedingly great joy.”
  
  One quote that I loved from President Dallin Harris Oaks, that I know has motivated me to choose to act and be more diligent in my work is: “Therefore, brethren, if the Lord Himself were to ask you to help one of His sons or daughters—which He has done through His servants—would you do it? And if you did, would you act as His agent, “on the Lord’s errand,” relying on His promised help?”
  
  Isn’t magnifying your priesthood, like President Oaks refers to, helping your families that you’ve been assigned to, to receive their ministering visit, and likewise, when you have (maybe with your help in asking them to you minister to you and your family) your ministering brothers or sisters minister to you, you are also helping “bring to pass the ... Eternal Life” of our Heavenly Father’s children? 

JPS

Jehovah -- Pre-Earth Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ was known in the pre-mortal world as Jehovah (Exodus 6:3; Psalms 83:18; Isaiah 12:2, and 26:4).  

As Jehovah, Jesus Christ became the first-born of the Father (of us all) in the spirit, just as He was the first-born of the Father (and the only-born of the Father in the flesh)!  

As a spirit child, Jehovah learned all from the Father (His character, perfections, attributes, "merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth" (Exodus 34:6), "The Lord executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed...  slow to anger and plenteous in mercy" (Psalms 103:6-8),  "the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children, to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them" (Psalms 103:17-18), "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God" (Psalms 90:2), "And you, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of your hands: they shall perish, but you shall remain; and they shall wax old as a garment; and as a vesture shall you fold them up, and they shall be changed: but you are the same, and your years shall not fail" (Hebrews 1:10-12), "Every good gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights; with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17), "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Malachi 3:6).

From Joseph Smith revealed, in the Lectures on Faith, "First, That he was God before the world was created, and the same God that he was, after it was created.  Secondly, That he is merciful, and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in goodness, and that he was so from everlasting, and will be to everlasting.  Thirdly, That he changes not, neither is there variableness with him; but that he is the same from everlasting to everlasting, being the same yesterday to-day and forever; and that his course is one eternal round, without variation.  Fourthly, That he is a God of truth and cannot lie.  Fifthly, That he is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of him.  Sixthly, That he is love."

[Doctrine and Covenants, section 3], commencing in the [second verse]: "For God does not walk in crooked paths, neither does he turn to the right hand or the left, or vary from that which he has said, therefore his paths are strait, and his course is one eternal round:" [Doctrine and Covenants, section] 35:1: "Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same yesterday to-day and forever."

Numbers 23:19: "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man that he should repent." 1 John 4:8: "He that loves not, knows not God; for God is love." Acts 10:34: "Then Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted with him."

JPS

True test of Divine Qualities

Think about the life of Jesus and what might have been the most physically arduous things that He chose to pass through, and you might conclude that (besides His Atonement) that it was His forty-day fast of both food and water.  Besides being an impossible feat for a human (what can human beings survive, but only 21 days [Gandhi did it!] without food) as water is a different story--every cell that's alive in a human body can survive only with water and 60% of the body is made-up of water!

I know that when I or my wife are fasting (not eating or drinking anything for 24 hours), we have less control over our actions, words, and thoughts--I can say that I know that about my wife's thoughts because of her words and actions, which follow from our thoughts.  Therefore, I conclude that as we weaken our body (which is the point of fasting--deprive our physical body so we can allow our spirit control our body and draw closer to God), as "fasting has always been practiced by true believers".

"In the Church today, one Sabbath day each month is set aside for the purpose of fasting. During this time, Church members go without food and water for a period of time. They then contribute to the Church the money that they would have spent on food for those meals. This money is called a fast offering. The Church uses the fast offerings to assist the poor and needy."

My point, as I've alluded to earlier, is that we do not have total control over our body and have not (yet) overcome our fleshy bodies with our spirits.  When we strive to gain control over our bodies by submitting to a fast of water and food, we tend (I tend) to become irritable and not behave in the way that I otherwise would hope to be able to act.  

Thinking of Christ or reading scriptures, paying, having-a-solid-purpose-in-mind are the ways that I have found to be able to fast.  If you want to "try" your charity, do it while fasting.  If you want to "try" your charity, that it "suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things" (Mosiah 7:45), each and every day, then you are becoming like Christ!

Evan Jesus fasted before He began His earthly ministry (right after His baptism by John the Baptist).  He, however, used His godlike powers to be able to go without food for 40 days and 40 nights (Luke 4:2 says that He ate nothing... He may may have also gone without water or wine, but the record says only that He ate nothing...).

He was showing to His Father and to Himself that His spirit was stronger or that His will was to do as He knew His spirit wanted, and not His body (His flesh...).

So, my proposal to everyone is to try or test their divine qualities through a true 24-hour-fast while doing all in your power to act charitably in every situation, every conversation, every thought!

JPS