Monday Musings:Do I have to wear a white shirt?

Yesterday at church was an excellent day! The youth in our ward were attending church at the Developmental Center and helping with the handicapped individuals there. What this means for me is that right after I got myself settled in the pew with the kids and the wife, suddenly I am asked to pass the sacrament. I actually love doing this! It's fun to get all nostalgic about my days as a 12 year old deacon. I recall when I was was the President of the Deacon's quorum, we had an elaborate system for describing where a specific Deacon was to begin passing the sacrament. FAR SIDE, MIDDLE BACK was one of the secret plays. Our Deacon's quorum had a play book as elaborate as any college football team. When I sat down in the pew for the deacons, I could vizualize the upcoming play in my mind with the best of modern quarterbacks.

Yesterday, it was not quite the choreographed elegance that we see when the Young Men in the ward fulfill their duties. But we absolutely fulfilled the principle of passing the sacrament with dignity, respect and reverence. It made me think, that we often get caught up in the minutia, and ritual without the spirit behind it. I have watched Young Men pass the sacrament to exactly the spot they are supposed to but...without any more concern for the person they are passing the sacrament too than if the were slopping hogs. My personal pet peeve. The boys that offer the sacrament two inches in front of my chin. I have to employ yoga, pilates, and several froms of Far Eastern contortionism in order to reach up and get the sacrament. A few weeks ago, in a fit of common sense I politely reached up and pushed the tray down before partaking.

Maybe part of my problem is that I honestly believe that I should partake of the sacrament. My view is that it should be passed to me. I shouldn't take the tray and then take the sacrament. I was taught that it is appropriate to take the sacrament only with the right hand and to pass it only with the right hand.

Which brings me to my title. After this very enjoyable experience of passing the sacrament, during Elder's quorum, we were discussing Elder Dallin H. Oakes Conference address:

Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament

Elder Oakes quotes Elder Holland from a 1995 address:

“May I suggest that wherever possible a white shirt be worn by the deacons, teachers, and priests who handle the sacrament. For sacred ordinances in the Church we often use ceremonial clothing, and a white shirt could be seen as a gentle reminder of the white clothing you wore in the baptismal font and an anticipation of the white shirt you will soon wear into the temple and onto your missions” (“This Do in Remembrance of Me,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 68).

Maybe, I am the only one, but notwithstanding the role both of these men have as prophets of God and Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ do I really have to wear a white shirt? I find myself wondering sometimes, are we getting to caught up in outward ritual and not enough on the inward heart. The Pharisees were all for enforcing detailed rules about these kinds of things. Two Apostles have said it! It is good counsel! But we spent almost 15 minutes in Elder's quorum discussing how we enforce this on others. Again, maybe I am the minority in this, but I find myself torn between two extremes: Why does it matter? and Why would anyone not obey in so small a thing. Some may argue, well, what if they can't afford a white shirt, my argument is if they can afford any shirt at all they should choose a white shirt so they can follow this counsel from the apostles.

Without a doubt the Gospel is true! I just like wrestling with these ideas because we (the LDS church) were once the rebellious upstarts trying to break the back of burdensome, and foolish traditions, and I worry that we ourselves are heaping on the burden of too much tradition.

Monday Musings: A lesson about prayer!

Elder Boyd K. Packer shared a story about a lesson he learned about prayer in his book Teach Ye Diligently His son prayed that their young calf would live. Elder Packer then went off to a meeting where he shared his son's prayer and the lesson that his son would learn: Sometimes God answers prayers with a No. He then humbly recounts that when he returned to find the calf healthy and alive. It was he who learned the lesson.

I have wanted to record this story for some time because it was so important to my son and to me. When we had just moved into our current home, my nephew who is in the military asked us to watch his dog for about 9 months while he was involved in a training in Georgia. I love Naya and so I immediately accepted. We had her with us for about two weeks when tragedy struck. She got out. She ran off and the one neighbor kid who had seen her streaking off the property failed to mention it until about an hour later when we noticed she was missing. Needless to say, I did what any good husband and father would do. I shouted!! A lot. I blamed everyone but myself and then went out looking for the AWOL canine. We looked for about 2 hours and found neither hide nor hair of the beast.

As I was starting to move into the next phase in the Dad response cycle, I went to my older son, who was 5 and I asked him if he would like to pray with me. Now, the whole time I had been out looking for Naya, I was thinking about the fact that there may be no way I could find this dog and I was going to have to tell my nephew who was serving me and our whole country in Iraq that I had lost his dog. I realized that I may not be able to find the dog, but God could guide it back. I discussed this with my son and he offered a sincere, heartfelt and spiritually powerful prayer. As powerful as any I have ever heard. I felt the spirit very strongly and my 5 year old son wept openly not out of fear, but he truly felt the spirit. Within moments, my wife felt she should go open the door and in ran Naya.

I learned two things. My son's feelings, emotions and spirituality were as deep as anyones, and that though I may not be able to solve a problem God can cause things to happen that bring about our relief !

Monday Musings: God's Economy

I haven't done a Monday Musing post for a while. I have been busy and tired and worried about my job situation. I recently found that I have a pretty stable position for another year. There are some advantages to contracts and annual budgets. I am actually glad. I had applied for a job as an Educational Technology Specialist Team Lead and although I didn't get the position, I was asked to re-apply fur the position just one step down: Education Technology Specialist. I really love the job I have and the fact that I can commute on public transit, so I doubt I will be trying for a move.

With all the thoughts about jobs, economy and the recent election and President Obama's attempts to rejuvenate the economy I have given a lot of thought to what God's economy is? I took a little heat a while back for posting about Tithing. Despite that, I feel that tithing and fast offerings are a good way to provide for the churches needs and the needs of the poor among us, but what happens when we are all poor?

I have a recurring argument with my Dad. Dad regularly tells me that when Christ comes again there won't be anymore Cadillacs. We'll all be driving Ford Focus'. My argument is that I don't believe God intends us to all be poor together, but all rich together. In the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Section 82 we read :

15 Therefore, I give unto you this commandment, that ye bind yourselves by this covenant, and it shall be done according to the laws of the Lord.

16 Behold, here is ^awisdom also in me for your good.

17 And you are to be ^aequal, or in other words, you are to have equal ^bclaims on the ^cproperties, for the benefit of ^dmanaging the concerns of your stewardships, every man according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his wants are just—

18 And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may ^aimprove upon his ^btalent, that every man may ^cgain other ^dtalents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s ^estorehouse, to become the common ^fproperty of the whole church—

19 ^aEvery man seeking the interest of his ^bneighbor, and doing all things with an ^ceye single to the glory of God.

Emphasis added

This refers to the United Order or Law of Consecration and implies that under this covenant all people would have equal claim on the resources available based on their wants. Not only the minimum needs for keeping body and spirit together, but just or fair wants. For example I want a TV for myself, it would probably not be just for me to want a 57 inch Plasma TV if my neighbors are in need of food, but if they can have their food and I can get a 32 inch CRT that may be just.

As I have been listening to some of the pundits discuss the reason Capitalism will work and how it will solve our problems, I have to agree there is a certain logic. Everyone should prosper according to their own work and effort. Those who are unwilling to work will fail. This doctrine was also taught in the scriptures Alma 30:17 :

17 And many more such things did he say unto them, telling them that there could be no atonement made for the sins of men, but every man ^afared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength; ......

The trouble with this is it was taught by an Anti-Christ, Korihor, who had been decieved and was teaching false doctrine. Alma the prophet refuted this and the other false doctrines that Korihor taught.

In contrast to this false doctrine, the People of Enoch became so righteous and so unified that they were taken directly to heaven without having tasted death. Enoch and his people are only briefly mentioned in the Bible, but in modern revelation we learn that at least one thing that made them pure enough for this:

Moses 7:18

And the Lord called his people ^aZion, because they were of ^bone heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

They had no poor among them. In God's economy all have enough. As long as our economy is one based on scarcity, and selfishness instead of abundance and altruism it is not God's economy.

The Second Sabbath

In Luke 6:1 Reference is made to the second sabbath after the first I was taught that during this time, the Jews would count seven sabbaths and on the seventh sabbath it was a double sabbath. This reference to the second sabbath after the first was a referring to this practice.

Now, today as I was looking for references to this, I will be honest, I couldn't find it. I will look some more, but the reference has always stuck in my mind especially the first week in April and the first week in October. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints schedules their annual and semi-annual conference during these times. It gives me two days, a second sabbath after the first to reflect on who I am, what my purpose in this world is and what I can do to help others. I love this conference time and am grateful that there is a loving God who has provided for us a wonderful world for us and our Savior that helps us return to him if we will but trust in him.

This conference was particularly fun and I enjoyed it very much.

President Dieter Uchtdorf spoke a few times, I love listening to him speak, not only because he really teaches good principles to live by but because of he German accent it feels like the Terminator is teaching the gospel. "The Apostlenator" Sorry, is that bad

I also really enjoy hearing President Henry B. Eyring. If it is ok to have a favorite Apostle, then he would be mine.

If you want to know more you can check out the archives:
http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,49-1-1032,00.html

I'm related

Funny though, he hasn't been at any family reunions.