The Windows of Heaven

For a season, I have felt like the windows of heaven have been shut. My whole life I have always received tender mercies that have helped me to know that God knows what is going on. It has been a while since that has happened. Whenever I am doing something or going toward something, God has showed me that it is good. Things just sort of work out and people "just pop up" to help me get to where I should be going. I did not feel this for quite a while actually and I started to wonder why. But the windows opened back up...after a long night of darkness.

My whole life I have been blessed and prospered and the Lord has truly given me strength beyond my own. Not only that, but he has also given me little whisperings of His love and approval and has helped me along with encouragement. Sometimes through other people, sometimes through the scriptures, sometimes through the Spirit while listening to inspiring music, sometimes while I am praying, often through his servants in my wards and stakes, and (very rarely) directly through one of his special witnesses to me.

"Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" (D&C 6:23).

Satan can't fake peace. Neither can he provide inspiration that is like pure intelligence flowing unto you. Nor can he orchestrate events like the one that happened today - to let you know that God still cares about you and what you are up to, and He is VERY intent on you succeeding and being aggressive about something He wants you to do to bless more of His children. I absolutely know this. I already knew it, but today it was as if He was saying "Um, Andy, it's time to stop letting false voices influence your life and it is time to use the gifts and talents I have blessed you with. I have prepared you for this. No matter may be going on right now, it is time for this to happen. Do it now. Stop worrying about what other people may or may not think about you because all that matters is what I think about you. No matter how much others may want you to fail, I want you to succeed. Here is how..."

Perfection doesn't come in this life

Be Patient with yourself, perfection comes--not in this life--but in the next...demand of yourself improvement...not perfection. That is our purpose, and our joy.

Jesus Wept, but not forever.

Recently, I watched a very moving and impressive documentary in a series called "The 5000 Days Project." In this film, the director follows the lives of 2 brothers from when they are very young until they both are of missionary age. It was 80 minutes, but I couldn't stop watching it until the end. I really connected with both of the young men. One of the things that it really points out is that they actually have emotions. Most boys and men are expected to just be tough and just "suck it up...like a man." However, this film shows how these two brothers are completely normal and "everyday people." High school football stars, student body presidents, BYU football team members, and missionaries - who have deep emotions and who express it openly.

Sam, the older brother, went to Chile on his mission (like I did) and went through all sorts of experiences that really brought me back to the mission days. He went through some pretty crazy experiences (including the difficult struggle of learning Spanish from knowing nothing as well as living through the 8.8 magnitude earthquake). It is amazing. One thing that stood out to me was when he spoke of how he always thought that he was weak because of his emotions. But as he learned more, he was more able to accept himself and love himself and others as Jesus does.

In one of the videos from his mission, he said: "Loving people kind of hurts..." But it is okay to feel that hurt sometimes because "Jesus wept. The perfect example of self mastery, wept."

I love that. It is okay to weep sometimes. I was reminded of this as I listened this morning to Jesus the Christ and ran. James E. Talmage says:

His mood was adapted to the conditions to which He addressed Himself; tender words of encouragement or burning expletives of righteous indignation issued with equal fluency from His lips. His nature was no poetic conception of cherubic sweetness ever present, but that of a Man, with the emotions and passions essential to manhood and manliness. He, who often wept with compassion, at other times evinced in word and action the righteous anger of a God. But of all His passions, however gently they rippled or strongly surged, He was ever master. (Jesus the Christ, p. 158).

It's okay to weep sometimes. Not prolonging it longer than it should be. But it is okay. He did it, and I can do it too. I am no less manly because of it. No matter what anyone thinks, I did love. I gave love from deep within me. And when you truly love, I think it always will hurt at some point.

That said, I have another deep belief. That even though I feel to weep, "it is better to look up" (Thomas S. Monson). No matter what mistakes may have been made or hearts broken or messes made, it can all be made up with the atonement. The atonement is infinite and continuous.

Elder Wells of the seventy spoke in an address to the women's facility at a prison. He spoke of a grave mistake that he made that took the life of not only his two best friends, but also his own wife. He said that he lived in guilt and pain and what he called a "black and white life" for about a year. Then, one night when he was weeping in prayer, he felt, as it were, the Savior at his side. As he prayed, he said that he felt the Savior say to him: "Robert, my atoning sacrifice paid for your sins and your mistakes. Your wife forgives you. Your friends forgive you. I will lift your burden. Serve me, serve your family and all will go well with you."

Really? Even the mistakes that change your whole life? What about ones that hurt other people? What about ones that cause pain? What about ones that affect the lives of others forever? What about........(and the doubts go on)....

YES! ALL of them! ALL of them are covered. All of them. No matter what people think or say. They are not Jesus Christ. And He ONLY can judge. He only can tell you whether or not what you have done or not done has created any sort of road-block in your eternal progression (as well as the eternal progression of others). And in all cases but VERY FEW, there are no roadblocks that can not be completely removed by Jesus Christ. He actually will use what seems like a roadblock to create a bridge and a fortification for the next step in your progress.

Elder Packer said in the last CES fireside:

Save for those few—those very few—who defect to perdition after having known a fulness, there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no offense small or large which is exempt from the promise of complete forgiveness. No matter what has happened in your life, the Lord has prepared a way for you to come back if you will heed the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

No matter what I have done, I know that I am going to be fine. And though I have made mistakes (see John 8:7), I know that God is a forgiving Father, who understands my heart's intentions and has known me for MUCH longer than any person who may judge me after knowing me for a mere few months (or even years). Randy Bott said that 99% of everything that we will ultimately be judged by, we have already done before we came to this life. When I read my patriarchal blessing, I know that is true. I'm not going to let what anyone thinks of me (or what I think they think) make me give up all I have worked for in my pre-mortal existence.

One of the greatest influences on us is not what we think of ourselves. Nor is it what others ACTUALLY think of us. What influences our thinking most is what we THINK others think of us. And most of the time it's incorrect.

This may seem like a dark time, but I know that it will be temporary for all parties involved. Jesus did weep, but He did not weep forever, and though hard times happen, He does not want anyone to dwell in pain forever.

And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land, and the earth did cease to tremble, and the rocks did cease to rend, and the dreadful groanings did cease, and all the tumultuous noises did pass away. And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer. (3 Nephi 10:9-10)

Just Try

Courtesy of DallasClayton.com

The Earth is the center of the solar system, right?

I know, you probably look at this and say, "This is wrong." The sun is in the center. Well, you are right.

Ptolemy came up with this model actually and he was wrong. We all know this. But I was reading about this guy and he did some great things too. I think this is really interesting and it has really made me think. Maybe you have heard of this guy before. If you ever took physical science or astronomy, you surely have heard of him. But you probably only heard about him being wrong. As you see the image above, you know that geocentrism is wrong. Yep. Copernicus proved him wrong back in 1514. The Earth revolves around the sun. Okay Ptolemy was wrong about a couple of things...

What I think is interesting is that most people only remember him for having gotten it wrong and having come out with a bunk theory. And most textbooks really don't go into much more depth about all the amazing discoveries and breakthroughs that he DID make. For example, his principle works were used for over a thousand years and some still hold strong today! His discoveries blew peoples' minds and he was one of the first documented mathematicians who was impressively accurate in much of what he calculated.

It just makes me think about how many times we see someone and make snap judgements of them based off of one thing that happened or some thing that they may have done wrong. We might just overlook a thousand years of why they deserve a little more credit and why they might just be an amazing person.

As Clive Staples Lewis said:

It is a serious thing, to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations.

President Hinckley also said:

Sir Walter Scott was a trouble to all his teachers and so was Lord Byron. Thomas Edison, as everyone knows, was considered a dullard in school. Pestalozzi, who later became Italy's foremost educator, was regarded as wild and foolish by his school authorities.

Oliver Goldsmith was considered almost an imbecile. The Duke of Wellington failed in many of his classes. Among famous writers, Burns, Balzac, Boccaccio, and Dumas made poor academic records. Flaubert, who went on to become France's most impeccable writer, found it extremely difficult to learn to read. Thomas Aquinas, who had the finest scholastic mind of all Catholic thinkers, was actually dubbed "the dumb ox" at school. Linnaeus and Volta did badly in their studies. Newton was last in his class. Sheridan, the English playwright, wasn't able to stay in one school more than a year.

All of this seems to say to me that each of these men, every one of whom later become great, might have done much better in his studies had he received less of criticism and more of encouragement.

Who can you encourage today? Are you encouraging those around you toward becoming a worshippable being or pushing them down to becoming a horror and corruption from a nightmare? Think of the Ptolemies out there.

There have been many who have lifted me helped me during difficulties. They encouraged and loved and reminded me who I am and inspired me to become better and instilled a warmth of spirit with a hope-filled twinkle in their eyes. I love them all for it. Thank you.

Discoverers

I sold pest control for a few summers when I was in college. I spoke with thousands of people. I mostly spoke with them about class-five spider infestations. I loved to find out about people's lives and loved to learn things from them. One house that I got into was a man who was very well-educated and had an AMAZING library. I asked him if I could just look at his books. I started to spot some that I had read and many that I had not. He recognized my love of books and learning and he said: "I'll tell you what, if you want to read great book, read this one..." (and he pulled out a thick black book called The Discoverers. "This book changed the way that I saw everything in life and gave me a completely new set of glasses by which I see the world." I promptly bought the book and years later, I am finally reading it! In the intro I found this:

"Nay the same Solomon the king, although he excelled in the treasure and magnificent buildings, of shipping and navigation, of service and attendance, of renown and the like, yet he maketh no claim to any of those glories, but only the glory of inquisition of truth; for so he saith expressly, 'The glory of God is to conceal a thing, but the glory of the king is to find it out,' as if, according to the innocent play of children, the Divine Majesty took delight to hide His works, to the end to have them found out; and as if kings could not obtain a greater honour than to be God's play-fellows in that game."

- Francis Bacon (The Advancement of Learning, 1605)

I can't seem to get away from reading it. I love it. Every spare moment I try to get a section out of it and I find that when I can't sleep at night, I am lost in its pages.

I will most likely post about it again because most of my posts are because of things that I have been thinking or learning and that floating around in my mind.

This book walks you through the history of human discovery, highlighting the many "coincidences" that preceded them. It is interesting because it is as if providence led humans to discover certain things in the precise moment that God desired.

I believe that God finds pleasure in His children who search and seek to discover the world around them, and in so doing discover Him.

Silver Candlesticks

I was reading about the character - Jean Valjean - from Victor Hugo's classic Les Miserables. There is a story in that book has consistently brought me so much peace. I love it. It is the interaction between Valjean and Bishop Beauvian. He just escaped from 19 years of being in the galleys for having stolen a loaf of bread to feed his mother's starving family. During this whole time his view of himself had changed. In his own mind, he had become a monster, an ex-convict capable of the worst imaginable.

When this bishop takes in Valjean, he treats Valjean with complete respect and absolute trust. So much so that Valjean is confused and even warns the bishop what kind of person he is. Being consumed by a wicked impulse, Valjean "repays" the bishop's kindness by stealing all his silver in his home, (almost). He then absconds before any in the household find what he has done.

Soon after, he is caught by the police and taken back to the bishop. When the two meet, the bishop frankly forgives Valjean and instead of casting him back into prison, he instantly says to him, "You forgot the candlesticks," saying that they were silver too. What an amazing scene. Valjean was once again free. But this time he was even more free than before. And the bishop told him: "Valjean, my brother, you belong no longer to evil but to good..."

This act of forgiveness not only provided a small monetary start to this despicable man's life, but more importantly, a new view of himself. The character of the bishop is, in my opinion, one of the best-depicted types of Jesus Christ that exists in world literature.

I have drawn so much peace from this story. I hope you can too.