"Some Latter-day Saints may feel that modesty is a tradition of the Church or that it has evolved from conservative, puritanical behavior. Modesty is not just cultural. Modesty is a gospel principle that applies to people of all cultures and ages. In fact, modesty is fundamental to being worthy of the Spirit." (Elder Robert D. Hales)
As I read Elder Hales' article on modesty in the August 2008 Ensign there were a couple of things that hit me. Modesty is something that most people can easily justify and rationalize themselves away from. Most of the world glamorizes less-modest and immodest clothing and it is becoming increasing difficult to find modest clothing is the common retail outlets. Regardless of the wordly trend as Latter-day Saints we need to be more concerned with our relationship to God than with each other.
What constitutes immodest clothing? According to Elder Hales, "clothing such as short shorts, miniskirts, tight clothing, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and other revealing attire are not appropriate." He continues, "Men and women...should wear clothing that covers the shoulder and avoid clothing that is low cut in the front or back or revealing in any other manner. Tight pants, tight shirts, excessively baggy clothing, wrinkled apparel, and unkempt hair are not appropriate. All should avoid extremes in clothing, hairstyle, and other aspects of appearance. We should always be neat and clean, avoiding sloppiness or inappropriate casualness."
Why should we care about modesty? Again, Elder Hales says, "Modesty is at the center of being pure and chaste, both in thought and deed. Thus, because it guides and influences our thoughts, behavior, and decisions, modesty is at the core of our character. Our clothing is more than just a covering for our bodies; it reflects who we are and what we want to be, both here in mortality and in the eternities that will follow." Everything we do and say is a reflection of the person we are inside; correspondingly, what we wear is also an expression of our true self, who we are and what we think of ourselves.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Grace or Works?
There has been a battle among Christian religions regarding the place of grace and works as they relate to salvation. I have heard extreme explanations regarding both. One denomination believes that with a simple declaration of faith that the grace of God will save a person, nothing else. One the other extreme there are some that say that you need to doing all manner of good works in an effort to earn your salvation, somehow working your way to heaven. I feel that any extreme takes you away from the truth.
I believe that both grace and works are necessary in our Heavenly Father's great Plan of Salvation. That is why both grace and works are discussed through out the scriptures. But what do we mean by grace and what do we mean by works?
Grace in this context refers to a gift from God through no merit of our own. Works refers to the deeds done by people while living their lives. So how does this fit together? If you have to do good deeds then there would seem to be some form of merit earned but Grace is a gift through no merit of our own. Here is how is works in my mind...
Jesus died so that we could live again (resurrection). Every person born into this work will die and every person, whether good or evil, male or female, old or young, etc., will be resurrected. It is a free gift to every member of Adam's family, a gift from God through no merit of our own. Therefore it is through the Grace of Jesus that we are saved from death through the miracle of resurrection. It turns out that those who believe this are absolutely right but they generally forget to explain what we are saved from and mistaken think that we are saved from hell (a hot place of fire and brimstone, or something like that).
After we are resurrected we will stand before God to be judged for our works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. Those who have done what Jesus asked of them, repented of their sins and strived to live a "Christian" life will be rewarded with a place at the right hand of God and will gain entrance to "heaven." Those who have rejected the teaching of Jesus and been evil will be rewarded for their deeds with a place on the left hand of God; these people will realize too late that they could have been blessed by following Jesus and will be in a state of anguish which can be termed a "hell."
This is the part that most people don't fully understand, the reward system relating to your works and deeds in life. Obviously no one has ever been perfect except Jesus so no one can qualify for the right hand of God on their own. But because Jesus suffered the atonement for our sins, those who accept Jesus can be forgiven and have their sins washed away. This is done when one declares their faith in Jesus, are baptized for the remission of their sins, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (which will tell them all things that they should do), and exercise their faith in Jesus by trying their best to live their lives as Jesus would have them do (good deed and works). These people receive the highest reward and will be with people like Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Those who live okay or mediocre lives also are reward for the good that they did do but they don't deserve to be rewarded the same as the great prophets of old; these people are already going to be resurrected and they will be blessed in heaven but not to the same degree and those who completely followed Jesus. Finally, those who might be termed evil have done some good in their lives and deserve some measure of blessing however small that may be.
There are a relatively few that will truly deserve "hell" and have disqualified themselves for any blessing at all. This group is so small compared to the rest of humanity that I won't spend time discussing it now.
So we can discover that neither the grace only group nor the works are necessary groups are absolutely correct. We can only be saved by the grace of Jesus. And if we truly have faith then our works and our deeds will be manifested through out our lives.
I believe that both grace and works are necessary in our Heavenly Father's great Plan of Salvation. That is why both grace and works are discussed through out the scriptures. But what do we mean by grace and what do we mean by works?
Grace in this context refers to a gift from God through no merit of our own. Works refers to the deeds done by people while living their lives. So how does this fit together? If you have to do good deeds then there would seem to be some form of merit earned but Grace is a gift through no merit of our own. Here is how is works in my mind...
Jesus died so that we could live again (resurrection). Every person born into this work will die and every person, whether good or evil, male or female, old or young, etc., will be resurrected. It is a free gift to every member of Adam's family, a gift from God through no merit of our own. Therefore it is through the Grace of Jesus that we are saved from death through the miracle of resurrection. It turns out that those who believe this are absolutely right but they generally forget to explain what we are saved from and mistaken think that we are saved from hell (a hot place of fire and brimstone, or something like that).
After we are resurrected we will stand before God to be judged for our works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. Those who have done what Jesus asked of them, repented of their sins and strived to live a "Christian" life will be rewarded with a place at the right hand of God and will gain entrance to "heaven." Those who have rejected the teaching of Jesus and been evil will be rewarded for their deeds with a place on the left hand of God; these people will realize too late that they could have been blessed by following Jesus and will be in a state of anguish which can be termed a "hell."
This is the part that most people don't fully understand, the reward system relating to your works and deeds in life. Obviously no one has ever been perfect except Jesus so no one can qualify for the right hand of God on their own. But because Jesus suffered the atonement for our sins, those who accept Jesus can be forgiven and have their sins washed away. This is done when one declares their faith in Jesus, are baptized for the remission of their sins, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (which will tell them all things that they should do), and exercise their faith in Jesus by trying their best to live their lives as Jesus would have them do (good deed and works). These people receive the highest reward and will be with people like Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Those who live okay or mediocre lives also are reward for the good that they did do but they don't deserve to be rewarded the same as the great prophets of old; these people are already going to be resurrected and they will be blessed in heaven but not to the same degree and those who completely followed Jesus. Finally, those who might be termed evil have done some good in their lives and deserve some measure of blessing however small that may be.
There are a relatively few that will truly deserve "hell" and have disqualified themselves for any blessing at all. This group is so small compared to the rest of humanity that I won't spend time discussing it now.
So we can discover that neither the grace only group nor the works are necessary groups are absolutely correct. We can only be saved by the grace of Jesus. And if we truly have faith then our works and our deeds will be manifested through out our lives.
Purpose and Intent
It would be wonderful if there was one place we could look for pure truth, pure religion. And we are fortunate to have such a source...God! If you ask God any question He will always answer you completely truthful. The catch is that you need to speak to God and you need to be able to understand His answers.
Most people don't speak to God face to face on a daily basis (or any regular basis for that matter). Most religions teach some form of communication, prayer, mediation, etc., but even with those methods in use the answers from God aren't always interpreted exactly correct. The result is that we continue to gather partial truths here and there. And we somehow feel that with these partial truths we can make definite statements of fact. In reality we mix truth and religion with the philosophies of men. We use the partial truths to get started and then we mixed in our improvised theories to fill in the gaps of knowledge and truth that we don't know or understand.
This blog is for me to share my truths as purely as possible, leaving as many philosophies of men on the sidelines. But as a disclaimer, I have not reached all knowing status and so I may be prone to some error in exact truth or religion. Therefore, these ideas are my own, these beliefs are my own and you (as a reader) should do all you can to research out the truths and then go directly to God and ask Him for the ultimate answers regarding truth and religion.
Most people don't speak to God face to face on a daily basis (or any regular basis for that matter). Most religions teach some form of communication, prayer, mediation, etc., but even with those methods in use the answers from God aren't always interpreted exactly correct. The result is that we continue to gather partial truths here and there. And we somehow feel that with these partial truths we can make definite statements of fact. In reality we mix truth and religion with the philosophies of men. We use the partial truths to get started and then we mixed in our improvised theories to fill in the gaps of knowledge and truth that we don't know or understand.
This blog is for me to share my truths as purely as possible, leaving as many philosophies of men on the sidelines. But as a disclaimer, I have not reached all knowing status and so I may be prone to some error in exact truth or religion. Therefore, these ideas are my own, these beliefs are my own and you (as a reader) should do all you can to research out the truths and then go directly to God and ask Him for the ultimate answers regarding truth and religion.
Testimony
I know that God (our Heavenly Father) lives, that Jesus is the Christ (the promised Messiah), that Joseph Smith is/was a prophet of God in our dispensation and that President Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet today.
I know that our Heavenly Father has a plan for us called the Plan of Salvation. That plan started before we were born when all of us lived as spirit children with our Heavenly Father. Every one born into this world accepted this plan, that we would come to earth to receive our physical bodies, learn through experience to control these bodies and follow the teachings of our Heavenly Father, eventually die and be able to return to live with Him again.
I know that Jesus is the Christ, our promised Messiah. Every person will eventually die and every person will sin (make mistakes). Jesus Christ was born of his mortal mother (the virgin) Mary but his father is our Heavenly Father. From his mother Jesus inherited the ability to die; from his Father he inherited the power over death. As the only sinless man to ever walk this earth He was the only person who could perform the atonement, a payment for the sins of all men and women who will believe and accept him as their savior. Jesus was then taken by wicked men and crucified on Calvary's Hill; 3 days later He rose from the dead and broke the bands of death for all mankind. Because of His supreme sacrifice every man, woman and child will be resurrected and live again. Salvation comes to everyone because "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ." However, the condition forgiveness of sins depends on our own willingness to accept the teachings of Christ and the plan of salvation.
I know that our Heavenly Father has a plan for us called the Plan of Salvation. That plan started before we were born when all of us lived as spirit children with our Heavenly Father. Every one born into this world accepted this plan, that we would come to earth to receive our physical bodies, learn through experience to control these bodies and follow the teachings of our Heavenly Father, eventually die and be able to return to live with Him again.
I know that Jesus is the Christ, our promised Messiah. Every person will eventually die and every person will sin (make mistakes). Jesus Christ was born of his mortal mother (the virgin) Mary but his father is our Heavenly Father. From his mother Jesus inherited the ability to die; from his Father he inherited the power over death. As the only sinless man to ever walk this earth He was the only person who could perform the atonement, a payment for the sins of all men and women who will believe and accept him as their savior. Jesus was then taken by wicked men and crucified on Calvary's Hill; 3 days later He rose from the dead and broke the bands of death for all mankind. Because of His supreme sacrifice every man, woman and child will be resurrected and live again. Salvation comes to everyone because "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ." However, the condition forgiveness of sins depends on our own willingness to accept the teachings of Christ and the plan of salvation.
Joseph Smith, as a boy of 14 years, was called to be a prophet of God in our day. God has always had prophets through which He gives inspiration and guidance. In the old days some of these prophet's words were written down and preserved from generation to generation. We have a small collection of these writting in our book known as the Holy Bible. However, each generation faces different challenges and a loving Heavenly Father would not abandon His children so He calls new prophets to lead and guide His people. It is no more difficult for you and I to believe that God talks to people today as it was in the times of Moses, Abraham or even in Jesus' day. The message always sounds fantastic to the people who first receive it. But those who accept it find their lives are blessed out of proportion to their ability to give heed to the words of the Lord's chosen leader. Joseph Smith is such a man, such a prophet. He saw God (our Heavenly Father) and Jesus Christ and was chosen to do a very important work - to restore the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
That prophetic mantel has been passed to other righteous men and now rests on the shoulders of our current prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. Jesus said that "by their fruits ye shall know them" and we can see the fruits of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints through out the world. While any individual member will still make mistakes, the church is seen helping people change their lives, become better people, and make a difference in communities around the world.
This blog has been established so that I can share my thoughts, feelings, ideas and testimony. I can make no claim the absolute knowledge and truth but I can share the things that I know to be true. Just as any true religious leader will tell you, find out for yourself if these things are true. God is no respecter of persons and He wants everyone to return to Him. He will answer your prayers if you are sincere in your desire to know AND you are willing to accept what He tells you in your heart (through changing your life, thoughts and ideas).
I have not seen God nor have I seen any of His angels. However, I have felt His undeniable witness that these things are true. The Holy Ghost was whispered to my heart that these things are true: God lives, Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith is/was a prophet of God, and Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today.
(Pictures courtesy of LDS.org)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
