The Triumphal Entry

On the Sunday before his crucifixion Jesus entered Jerusalem.  He entered the city as its King – not riding a white steed with sword and shield as some hoped – but as the King of peace.  Fulfilling ancient prophecy he rode a colt, openly signifying himself as the Messiah and of royal birth, but also meek and submissive to his Father’s will.

The people rejoiced at his coming and spread their clothing and foliage in his path.  For this little while the Lord Jesus was their King and they his people.  Some were his disciples who truly honored him, others thought him a prophet, some had witnessed his miracles and many were simply curious.  It was a peaceful procession that failed to rouse the Romans attention but it did rile the spiritual leaders who had fought Jesus’ every step back to Jerusalem.   The Pharisees demanded that Jesus rebuke his disciples.  One can almost see their sneering lips and jutting chins as well as the malice in their eyes as they confronted the Lord who threatened them in every way.  Jesus answered simply, “…if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”  This statement touches my heart.  Did not his hands span the universe as our God and creator?  If all of his chosen people should fail to recognize their King, yet the voiceless stones would sing out in glory and praise.

Upon entering the city, Jesus went to a high place and looked over the city and wept.  The people wanted Him to give them victory over their enemies, peace and freedom from the Romans.  So few understood the true spiritual peace and freedom he would have granted - and now it was too late.  He saw the destruction and misery that would come to his people.  How bittersweet this must have felt to the Lord as the people shouted his praise and still failed to recognize him as the Son of God.

It’s easy to condemn the blindness of the Jews.  These verses also beg reflection into our own hearts.   Do I truly partake of the Lords offerings of peace and grace and freedom from sin?  Do I fully utilize the gift of the atonement in my life?  Or, do I, like the Jews only see what I want to see?  Do I pick and choose aspects of the Lord’s gospel that are palatable to me and my lifestyle?  Do I push away truth and knowledge and make choices that crucify Christ afresh and in effect reject him as they did?  Have I ever presented the Lord with a face full of defensive anger, pride and arrogance or offended scorn?  And, last, if I had been there, would I have loved him? 

As Jesus spoke to some Greek investigators, he was tormented in his heart and mind.  He felt the foreshadow of sin that would be his to carry.  The scriptures tell us he groaned in anguish.  He was truly caught in that horrible, awful place of anticipating suffering.   There were no surprises to pop out of the shadows – the Lord knew every horrific detail of his required sacrifice.  He also knew that all humanity, our future, our happiness, hinged on his obedience and willingness to accept it.   Then something magnificent happened.  Seeking comfort and reassurance from the only source that could provide it, Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify thy name.”  The Father replied as a voice from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”  This was a statement of reality-a declaration of how things would be- and it brought comfort as nothing else could.  Jesus would be triumphant!  And Jesus joyfully exclaimed, “And I, If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”   

I can think of times in my own life when unexpected challenges arose.  Often the anticipation and fear of the trial was worse than the trial itself.  As I turned to my Father in Heaven for comfort, he granted me the tender mercy of peace and assurance that he cared and loved me and that no trial is in vain.  These tender mercy moments are precious and sacred and to be remembered.  Do you have a tender mercy moment that draws your heart to the Lord? 

The following morning, Jesus was hungry and saw a fig tree with many leaves (this is significant).  The fig tree was barren of fruit and Jesus cursed it, causing it to wither and die.  Being an admitted tree hugger, this has always bothered me.  It seemed unfair to the tree – until I learned that a fig tree puts out its blossoms and fruit before its leaves.  A fig tree with leaves should have had ripe fruit.  This particular tree was truly barren.   The Lord’s cursing is layered in symbolism perhaps representing a people barren of truth or religious leaders who preach the letter (leaves) and deny the spirit (fruit). 

Again, honest reflection is required to see our own personal hypocrisy and our ratio of leaves and fruit.

Jesus also took this opportunity to teach his disciples about faith.  Faith they would need to do his work.   Faith is a principle of word and power and action.  We have to ask, without doubt, being led by the spirit to ask correctly and being worthy to ask, having forgiven others.  Then, by the Lords admission we can move whatever mountains (obstacles) are set before us. 

Faith is the first principle of the Gospel, yet a principle very difficult to fully utilize and master.  When crisis strikes and faith is needed we often find ourselves vacillating between belief and victory and doubt and fear like sound waves.  Faith and fear cannot coexist.  We deny ourselves the powers of heaven when fear and doubt overwhelm.  One of the greatest struggles of mortality is to become wholly faith filled without doubt or fear of anything.   It’s helpful to have, I think, examples to look to of those who overcame through the power of faith.  My faith heroes are Paul and Nephi.  They provide a pattern of faith and action that I can follow.  Who are your faith heroes?

Jesus makes his way to the temple and sees the filth and desecration in his Father’s house.  The people didn’t learn their lesson the first time and so he clears the temple once again of the animals, money changers and merchants.  This time the Lord stays in the temple teaching and healing despite the anger of the impotent authorities whose stewardship it was to protect the temple from the very things they permitted.

It has always puzzled me why those expelled and rebuked didn’t fight the Lord’s actions in this.  He was one man, they were a potential mob.  Perhaps they were condemned as much by their own guilty conscience as by the Lord.  Sin weakens while power is given to one with righteous authority. 

In a world where purity and obedience to Gods laws are perceived as evil, foolish, and prejudiced it is good to remember that power is given to the righteous individual who will not bend to the world’s shifting morality – especially when standing seemingly alone.  We are never alone.  God is ever faithful.

 

Posted by Sister BJ McCormack 

"What Lack I Yet?"

Jesus’ ministry was drawing to a close. One final journey, a few days in Jerusalem, and it would be finished. The Atonement would be complete. Yet this last journey was to be of great significance. This was a time when very important doctrines of the kingdom were emphasized—the kingdom of God, eternal marriage, the concept of true service. This was a time when Jesus blessed young children, gave instructions to the Twelve, and taught how one attains eminence in the kingdom of God. Then he visited Bethany, where he was anointed by Mary at Simon’s supper.

In our Savior’s life we witness the perfect example of the totally committed life—a life completely disciplined to the will of the Father.

In this lesson you will read the tragic account of one, loved of the Savior, who went away sorrowing because he could not follow his Lord in the way of complete commitment. Surely all must be willing to ask of God, as did the young ruler, “What lack I yet?” But more importantly, we must be prepared to act.

The young ruler was perfectly obedient to all of the basic commandments, but when called upon to live the higher law he just couldn't do it. He could not bring himself to sacrifice his worldly treasures to devote himself 100% to following the Savior. When he was called, he was not prepared to act.

 I love the account in the Book of Mormon of King Lamoni's father. When the time came for him to choose the path he would follow his reply was:

" What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy...... I will give away all my sins to know thee." (Alma 22:15,18)

I want to be like that. 

I would give up all my sins to know him. I was already trying to get rid of those anyway.

The following story was shared by the Apostle Hugh B. Brown:

“We were in Canada. I was … an attorney for an oil company and a manager of it. We were drilling wells and making money. I was at the moment up in the Canadian Rockies, way back from the highways. We were drilling there. Everything looked very prosperous. I woke very early one morning before daylight. I was troubled in my mind, and I didn’t know the source or the reason for the trouble. And I began to pray, but didn’t seem to get an answer. And I remembered that the Savior was wont to go into the mountain tops frequently. You remember, his life was punctuated by mountain peaks. There is the mountain peak of the temptation, there is the mountain peak of the transfiguration, there is the mountain peak of the Beatitudes, there is the mountain peak from which he took flight into heaven. So thinking about this, I arose before daylight and went back up into the hills where I knew no one would be near. And when I got up on an advantageous point, I began to talk out loud. I was talking to God! Now, I do not mean that he was standing there listening to me or replying to me. But I mean from the center of my heart I was calling to him.

“Now my family were all in good health, all quite prosperous, and it looked as for myself that within a few days I would be a multimillionaire. And yet, I was depressed. And up there on that mountain peak I said to him, ‘O God, if what it seems is about to happen will happen, and if it is not to be for the best good of myself and my family and my friends, don’t let it happen. Take it from me.’ I said, ‘Don’t let it happen unless in your wisdom it is good for me.’ Well, I left the mountains and came down to the camp. I got into my car and drove to the city of Edmonton. It was a Friday, and while I was driving I was thinking of what had happened. And I felt that there was something impending that I couldn’t understand. When I arrived home, and after a bite to eat, I said to Sister Brown, ‘I think I’ll occupy the back bedroom because I’m afraid I’m not going to sleep.’ Now I went in the bedroom alone and there, through the night, I had the most terrible battle with the powers of the adversary. I wanted to destroy myself. Not in the sense of suicide; but something within me was impelling me to wish that I could cease to be. … It was terrible. The blackness was so thick you could feel it.

“Sister Brown came in later in the night, toward morning in fact, wanting to know what was the matter. And when she closed the door, she said, ‘What’s in this room?’ And I said, ‘Nothing but the power of the devil is in this room.’ And we knelt together by the bedside and prayed for release. We spent the night together, the balance of it. And in the morning I went down to my office. It was Saturday now and there was no one at the office. And in going into the office, I knelt by a cot and asked God for deliverance from the darkness that had enveloped me. And coming from somewhere there was an element of peace, the kind of peace that rests on the souls of men when they make contact with God. And I called her and said, ‘Everything is all right, or is going to be!’

“That night at 10:00 o’clock, October 1953—the telephone rang. Sister Brown answered. She called me and said, ‘Salt Lake’s calling,’ and I wondered who could be calling me from that far away. I took the phone and said, ‘Hello.’

 ‘This is David O. McKay calling. The Lord wants you to give the balance of your life to Him and His Church. We are in a conference of the Church. The concluding session will be tomorrow afternoon. Can you get here?’

“I told him I couldn’t get there because there were no planes flying, but I would get there as soon as possible. I knew that a call had come. And the call came after this awful conflict with the adversary. And when he said, ‘The Lord wants you to give the balance of your life to the Church,’ I knew that it meant giving up the money; it meant that I’d turn everything over to someone else and go to Salt Lake without monetary remuneration.

“Since that time, I’ve been happier than ever before in my life. The men with whom I was associated have made millions. And yet, when one of them was in my office not long ago in Salt Lake, he said, ‘I am worth at least seven million dollars. I would gladly give every dollar of it to you if you could give me what you have. I can’t buy it with money, but I’d like to have what you have. What you have is peace of soul, and I cannot buy that with money.’” (Hugh B. Brown, “Eternal Progression,” Address to the student body, Church College of Hawaii, 16 Oct. 1964, pp. 8–10.)

Hugh B. Brown was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 24, 1883. In 1953, while working as president of Richland Oil Development Company of Canada, Ltd., he was called to serve as an Assistant to the Twelve Apostles. On April 10, 1958, he was ordained an Apostle, and on June 22, 1961, he was sustained as a counselor to President David O. McKay. He served in the First Presidency until President McKay’s death on January 18, 1970, when he resumed his position in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He died on December 2, 1975.

Temporary worldly happiness or everlasting joy?

There comes a time when we all have to choose what comes first in our lives - us or the Savior. 

Do we have things that hold us back?  

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught:

“It is our privilege to consecrate our time, talents, and means to build up his kingdom. We are called upon to sacrifice, in one degree or another, for the furtherance of his work. Obedience is essential to salvation; so, also, is service; and so, also, are consecration and sacrifice.” (CR, Apr. 1975, p. 76.)

Posted by Sister Montgomery

"Rejoice with Me; For I Have Found the.... Lost"

The Other Prodigal

Jeffrey R. Holland  April 2002 General Conference
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Among the most memorable parables the Savior ever told is the story of a foolish younger brother who went to his father, asked for his portion of the estate, and left home to squander his inheritance, the scripture says, in “riotous living.” His money and his friends disappeared sooner than he thought possible—they always do—and a day of terrible reckoning came thereafter—it always does. In the downward course of all this he became a keeper of pigs, one so hungry, so stripped of sustenance and dignity that he “would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat.” But even that consolation was not available to him.

Then the scripture says encouragingly, “He came to himself.” He determined to find his way home, hoping to be accepted at least as a servant in his father’s household. The tender image of this boy’s anxious, faithful father running to meet him and showering him with kisses is one of the most moving and compassionate scenes in all of holy writ. It tells every child of God, wayward or otherwise, how much God wants us back in the protection of His arms.

But being caught up in this younger son’s story, we can miss, if we are not careful, the account of an elder son, for the opening line of the Savior’s account reads, “A certain man had two sons”—and He might have added, “both of whom were lost and both of whom needed to come home.”

The younger son has returned, a robe has been placed on his shoulders and a ring on his finger, when the older son comes on the scene. He has been dutifully, loyally working in the field, and now he is returning. The language of parallel journeys home, though from very different locations, is central to this story.

As he approaches the house, he hears the sounds of music and laughter.

“And he called one of the servants [note that he has servants], and asked what these things meant.

“And [the servant] said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

“And [the older brother] was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.”

You know the conversation they then had. Surely, for this father, the pain over a wayward child who had run from home and wallowed with swine is now compounded with the realization that this older, wiser brother, the younger boy’s childhood hero as older brothers always are, is angry that his brother has come home.

No, I correct myself. This son is not so much angry that the other has come home as he is angry that his parents are so happy about it. Feeling unappreciated and perhaps more than a little self-pity, this dutiful son—and he is wonderfully dutiful—forgets for a moment that he has never had to know filth or despair, fear or self-loathing. He forgets for a moment that every calf on the ranch is already his and so are all the robes in the closet and every ring in the drawer. He forgets for a moment that his faithfulness has been and always will be rewarded.

No, he who has virtually everything, and who has in his hardworking, wonderful way earned it, lacks the one thing that might make him the complete man of the Lord he nearly is. He has yet to come to the compassion and mercy, the charitable breadth of vision to see that this is not a rival returning. It is his brother. As his father pled with him to see, it is one who was dead and now is alive. It is one who was lost and now is found.

Certainly this younger brother had been a prisoner—a prisoner of sin, stupidity, and a pigsty. But the older brother lives in some confinement, too. He has, as yet, been unable to break out of the prison of himself. He is haunted by the green-eyed monster of jealousy.² He feels taken for granted by his father and disenfranchised by his brother, when neither is the case. He has fallen victim to a fictional affront. As such he is like Tantalus of Greek mythology—he is up to his chin in water, but he remains thirsty nevertheless. One who has heretofore presumably been very happy with his life and content with his good fortune suddenly feels very unhappy simply because another has had some good fortune as well.

Who is it that whispers so subtly in our ear that a gift given to another somehow diminishes the blessings we have received? Who makes us feel that if God is smiling on another, then He surely must somehow be frowning on us? You and I both know who does this—it is the father of all lies.³ It is Lucifer, our common enemy, whose cry down through the corridors of time is always and to everyone, “Give me thine honor.”⁴

It has been said that envy is the one sin to which no one readily confesses, but just how widespread that tendency can be is suggested in the old Danish proverb, “If envy were a fever, all the world would be ill.” The parson in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales laments it because it is so far-reaching—it can resent anything, including any virtue and talent, and it can be offended by everything, including every goodness and joy.⁵ As others seem to grow larger in our sight, we think we must therefore be smaller. So, unfortunately, we occasionally act that way.

How does this happen, especially when we wish so much that it would not? I think one of the reasons is that every day we see allurements of one kind or another that tell us what we have is not enough. Someone or something is forever telling us we need to be more handsome or more wealthy, more applauded or more admired than we see ourselves as being. We are told we haven’t collected enough possessions or gone to enough fun places. We are bombarded with the message that on the world’s scale of things we have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.⁶ Some days it is as if we have been locked in a cubicle of a great and spacious building where the only thing on the TV is a never-ending soap opera entitled Vain Imaginations.⁷

But God does not work this way. The father in this story does not tantalize his children. He does not mercilessly measure them against their neighbors. He doesn’t even compare them with each other. His gestures of compassion toward one do not require a withdrawal or denial of love for the other. He is divinely generous to both of these sons. Toward both of his children he extends charity. I believe God is with us the way my precious wife, Pat, is with my singing. She is a gifted musician, something of a musical genius, but I couldn’t capture a musical note with Velcro. And yet I know she loves me in a very special way when I try to sing. I know that because I can see it in her eyes. They are the eyes of love.

One observer has written: “In a world that constantly compares people, ranking them as more or less intelligent, more or less attractive, more or less successful, it is not easy to really believe in a [divine] love that does not do the same. When I hear someone praised,” he says, “it is hard not to think of myself as less praiseworthy; when I read about the goodness and kindness of other people, it is hard not to wonder whether I myself am as good and kind as they; and when I see trophies, rewards, and prizes being handed out to special people, I cannot avoid asking myself why that didn’t happen to me.”⁸ If left unresisted, we can see how this inclination so embellished by the world will ultimately bring a resentful, demeaning view of God and a terribly destructive view of ourselves. Most “thou shalt not” commandments are meant to keep us from hurting others, but I am convinced the commandment not to covet is meant to keep us from hurting ourselves.

How can we overcome such a tendency so common in almost everyone? For one thing, we can do as these two sons did and start making our way back to the Father. We should do so with as much haste and humility as we can summon. Along the way we can count our many blessings and we can applaud the accomplishments of others. Best of all, we can serve others, the finest exercise for the heart ever prescribed. But finally these will not be enough. When we are lost, we can “come to ourselves,” but we may not always be able to “find ourselves,” and, worlds without end, we cannot “save ourselves.” Only the Father and His Only Begotten Son can do that. Salvation is in Them only. So we pray that They will help us, that They will “come out” to meet and embrace us and bring us into the feast They have prepared.

They will do this! The scriptures are replete with the promise that God’s grace is sufficient.⁹ This is one arena where no one has to claw or compete. Nephi declares that the Lord “loveth the [whole] world” and has given salvation freely.

“Hath [He] commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness?” Nephi asks. No! “All … are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden [at His hand].”

“Come unto me all ye ends of the earth,” He pleads, and buy milk without money and honey without price.¹⁰All are privileged, the one like unto the other. Walk peacefully. Walk confidently. Walk without fear and without envy. Be reassured of Heavenly Father’s abundance to you always.

As we do this, we can help others, calling down blessings on them even as they make supplication for us. We can cheer every talent and ability, wherever it is bestowed, thus making life here more nearly what it will be like in heaven.

It will help us always to remember Paul’s succinct prioritizing of virtues—“Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”¹¹ He reminds us we are all of the body of Christ, and that all members, whether comely or feeble, are adored, essential, and important. We feel the depth of his plea that there be “no schism in the body, but that the members … have the same care one for another. And [when] one member suffer[s], all the members suffer with it; or [when] one member [is] honoured, all the members rejoice.”¹² That incomparable counsel helps us remember that the word generosity has the same derivation as the word genealogy, both coming from the Latin genus, meaning of the same birth or kind, the same family or gender.¹³ We will always find it easier to be generous when we remember that this person being favored is truly one of our own.

Brothers and sisters, I testify that no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves each of us—insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all. He doesn’t measure our talents or our looks; He doesn’t measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other. I know that if we will be faithful, there is a perfectly tailored robe of righteousness ready and waiting for everyone,¹⁴ “robes … made … white in the blood of the Lamb.”¹⁵ May we encourage each other in our effort to win that prize is my earnest prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Posted by Sister Montgomery

Where Much is Given, Much is Required

 This week’s reading is Luke 12-13 and a few verses from a chapter in John, which I admit I did not have time to read—mostly because I was totally engrossed in Luke 12-13. I’ve given my blog entry the official- sounding title of: The Birds, or How to Overcome Obstacles to Your Faith on Your Journey of Discipleship, as Taught by the Savior Jesus Christ in Luke 12-13.

I’d like to begin with an overview of the content and context. Let’s first look at these chapters as a whole. Chapters 12-13 of Luke, as well as the verses in John, were taught by the Savior near the end of the third year of his ministry. This was Christ’s “wrapping-things-up” period, a time when He was sharing principle after principle, selecting the most important things He wanted His followers to know before He undertook the terrible task of Gethsemane and Golgotha.  Every word He spoke during this time period carried layers of meaning, and right here, in Luke 12 and 13, we receive a beautiful discourse on true discipleship and faith. Here we come to realize that the road to true discipleship, or becoming a true follower and a witness of Jesus Christ (which is the only way to gain exaltation), has some major potential pitfalls and obstacles along the way. Yet, in the loving, careful way of our Savior, we also learn His powerful teachings on how to avoid and overcome these pitfalls to our faith by overcoming the natural man/woman and thus becoming the kind of disciples we need to be to gain exaltation.

Jesus Christ chooses a variety of methods to teach this kind of discipleship here, however, one metaphor that stood out to me this week was BIRDS.  In fact, while you study these chapters, you might even find yourself humming the Primary hymn, “Whenever I hear the song of a bird or look at the blue, blue sky….”  I discovered also that just as the world is too big to write about in one go, so are these chapters too much to completely analyze in one setting. So, rather than try to completely analyze every word, I’m choosing to pull  out the “birds”  in these chapters and share how these fowl-feathered friends have taught me this week.  (And thus, the title of this blog entry!)

1.  The sparrow.

      One major obstacle to our faith is fear. We can fear others, we can fear circumstances, we can fear our own weakness, we can fear truth, we can fear death, we can fear Satan, and so on. . . There is no end to what we could fear.  But Christ says this in Luke 12:4-5: “…Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” In other words, don’t fear offending men, but DO fear to offend God. Fear sin. Fear any actions that work contrary to His commandments.And if this isn’t antidote enough, then consider the tiny sparrow! Verse 6 begins, “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”We are His children. The sparrow, of little worth to men, is known of God. He is always watching over us. He knows our every sorrow. We are so valuable to Him. When you are fearful, remember your worth, remember how He loves you, and seek to feel that love. This can be accomplished as we “confess His name before men,”  thus we overcome the natural man/woman tendency to fear men—and we earn the confidence of having stood with Him.

     
2.  The raven.

Another major obstacle to our faith and discipleship is sin. The natural man/woman is an enemy to God, and putting off that tendency is the work of our lives. Jesus knows the kinds of sins that His disciples will be most prone to fall prey to—and He warns us carefully in the following verses:

*Verses 1-2:  “Beware ye the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Pride and pretense/pretending won’t earn us a place with Him.

*Verses 9-12 : Be careful not to deny me, but if you do, you can be forgiven. If you blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, however, it shall not be forgiven you.

*Verses 13-21: “Take heed, and beware covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Covetousness is akin to idolatry, in other words, lay up treasure to God and not to yourself, do not “eat, drink and be merry.”

*Verses 31-35: Sins of omission. Be found seeking to bring forth the kingdom of God.

Why a raven, you ask? Check out verse 24: “Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than fowls?”  In other words, when you are tempted to covetousness, when you are tempted to lay up treasure unto yourself—to claim your own barns, your own stuff—and forget the God who gave you these, consider the raven. He doesn’t have a storehouse. He doesn’t stockpile. He doesn’t even plant a crop. He is not preoccupied with acquiring stuff, but God provides for him.

To me this is a perfect comparison. The raven still must eat. The raven still must live. So must we—so we can’t altogether forget about providing our livelihood. But the acquiring of it must not become the focus. Furthermore, so much of sin is founded as we try to fill personal appetites that cannot and do not satisfy! Thus, the more we try to fill them, the emptier we become. Even the birds know this!

 As it says in Mosiah, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.”  We need faith and trust to overcome personal sins and temptations. Only He knows what we really need to satisfy longings. Only He knows how to school us in our journey to overcome sin. We must walk/fly with humility, i.e. obedience and trust.

3.The fowls of the air.

The final obstacle to our faith which I noticed mentioned throughout this reading has two parts: Doubt and unbelief.  The warnings here are associated with specific counsel, including a specific parable regarding the 2^nd Coming. These verses contain the “official, official” (as opposed to my unofficial, but official-sounding title), of this week’s reading: “Where much is given, much is required.”

And that is that! What is required, then, in order to be given much? Much FAITH is required. If you will but plant a seed the size of a mustard seed, it will grow so the fowls of the air will come and lodge in the branches (Luke 13:19). If you will but trust that I, the Savior will come again—and if you will keep working and waiting for that day—you will be blessed.

And then He warns those of us especially, who know and have access to this testimony daily through a parable: the servant who knew of the Lord’s coming and did not prepare was beaten with many stripes, while he who knew not and was unfaithful was beaten with few stripes. Where much is given—much is REQUIRED.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “Any serious disciple yearns to go home to Heavenly Father and to be welcomed there by Jesus. But the Prophet Joseph Smith declared we cannot go where They are unless we become more like Them in the principles and attributes and character They possess (see Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 216).

Of the many restored truths, God has surely given us enough and to spare. Soberingly, however, we have been told that “unto whom much is given much is required.” I hope we feel the cutting edge of the word required. It is used instead of the milder expected. Neither does the Lord say, “It would be nice if…” The word is required, bringing us back again to the need for submissiveness in discipleship (Ensign,  “The Road of Discipleship,” 1996).”

The antidote to unbelief and doubt? Believe. Act. Bear that testimony, share that truth, warn those neighbors, teach those children, obey, do not doubt—even when everything looks like you should. Believe and act in that belief. Stay away from the edge! Dress modestly. Watch wholesome television and movies. Love the scriptures! Believe. Love. Serve. Remember you are of noble birthright and live up to the virtue inside you! Never stop believing in Jesus Christ. He will come again. And that leads to my last and favorite bird.

4. The Hen

Luke 13: 34-35—“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”

As disciples, we must gather to the Savior. Why would we want to disappoint Him?

I read a story recently of a man who was walking through a forested area where a fire had just ravaged the landscape. Up ahead of him in the ruin, he noticed a group of baby chicks—wild birds—suddenly coming up from a hole in the ground, quite alive and well. He was astounded and curious! It had been an enormous fire, yet these chicks had survived. He walked over to the hole and examined it. To his shock, he found a hole dug out just for those chicks—and a mother bird, her wings outstretched to cover and protect the hole, charred and dead from the flames. She had sacrificed herself so the chicks would be safe beneath her wings.

Our Savior is indeed as this mother. He has already suffered the fire for us, and He will gather us if we will be gathered. Will we be His disciples? Will we love Him enough to stay under His wings?

I share one last metaphor, and with last thought, I testify of Christ’s love for each of us.

 Luke 12:32, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Here the word “flock” usually refers to sheep.  Christ was preparing His little band of followers for His departure.  Today, in honor of birds, though, I’m thinking of the little flock as a flock of birds. Join the flock!

My love to you all as you spread your wings of faith, as you overcome fear, sin, and unbelief, and follow in our Savior’s footsteps.  

What have birds taught you?

  

 Posted by Sister Laura Clark