"To Be Spiritually-Minded is Life Eternal (2 Nephi 9:39)"
Elder Charles Didier
May 7, 2002
Passing through the west entrance to BYU in Provo, you can observe the inscription "ENTER TO LEARN, GO FORTH TO SERVE." It is a unique motto in the general world of universities where their philosophy may still be centered in learning but the expected result be changed in "GO FORTH TO HELP YOURSELF"!
The central part of this particular emphasis on gaining knowledge and then using it to serve means that being part of this campus community, BYU–Idaho, is to use your knowledge and skills not only to enrich your own life but also to prepare you for service in the bonds of eternal marriage and eternal families, to serve and support your community and nation, to serve and bless lives by participating in the ordinances and covenants of the gospel of Jesus Christ in His Church.
Thomas E. Ricks is remembered, on this campus, with the words "The Spirit of Ricks," explicitly meaning service, hard work, friendliness, and compassion. As your president, David A. Bednar, has stated before: "The Spirit of Ricks is not found in a building. It is not in a place. It is found in the people, the students, the teachers." We need more than ever to keep that spiritual perception alive and well all the time. That's how we become spiritually-minded when we transform that perception into learning true knowledge to build a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, live its principles, and serve our neighbor and our God.
"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17).
How do you, as students, as future husbands and wives and parents, as citizens, and as members and future leaders of the Church perceive this responsibility? How do you then respond to your perceptions when you know the value of the word responsible, meaning "able to respond" (reverse of the word).
Too many today, because of a wrong perception of this responsibility, become irresponsible, meaning that they don't respond anymore to the righteous perception of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come. Instead, they respond to their own feelings and inclinations. However, you may remember, from your scriptures, that truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come (D&C 93:24). To have a correct perception of truth, let's read the following verses:
And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.
The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth;
And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things (D&C 93:25-28).
Divine, absolute truth comes only through revelation.
Let's first review the importance of what perception is in reality.
To perceive is defined as "to attain awareness or understanding of; to become aware of through the senses." This term is used quite frequently and most of the time is associated with our physical senses. Other synonyms express a similar meaning: to discern, to have an insight, to observe. You can perceive, or feel, sickness, danger, happiness, anger, or even the weather by using your ears, eyes, or, for older people, arthritic aches. But perception is also used in a spiritual way and is associated with our spiritual senses, using the symbol heart as the center of emotional perceptions. The scriptures abound with such examples:
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring, O ye hypocrites, ye can discern (perceive) the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Matt. 16:1-3).
When the Savior was speaking to the multitudes, he stated: "I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time" (3 Ne. 17:2).
Perception that is based strictly on our human senses can be true or false. What we see may not be the reality but simply an illusion. Perception, using our temporal eyes only, can result too often in what is called an optical illusion. We do not see what is really in front of our eyes, but what we see is an interpretation of it. The act of seeing mainly takes place inside one's head and one's heart, especially when we are looking at someone of the opposite sex! Let me share the following medical experience:
"The physicist Arthur Zajonc reports about a successful operation on an 8-year-old boy who was blind from birth due to grey cataracts. The operation was performed by the surgeons Moreau and LePrince in the year 1910. 'Although the eyes of the boy were completely cured, his visual faculty was practically zero.' Moreau, 'One would be mistaken to believe that a person born blind who regains his eyesight through surgery can see the world around him after the operation. The operation itself is of no other value than to prepare the basis for sight; the main element, however, is education. . . . To teach a person born blind to see is more the task of a teacher than of a medical doctor. There is a difference between the ability to see and to recognize."
When we are using our eyes and see with a spiritual mind and heart, we not only see but also recognize and thus become spiritually-minded. Let us look at what happened to those who became witnesses of Christ:
-- John the Baptist: "And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!" (John 1:36).
-- The two disciples who were with John and followed Christ were invited by Him to "come and see." They came and saw and then testify to others: "We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ" (John 1:41).
On the contrary, using only the eyes without the spiritual mind will lead to doubt and hesitation:
"Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted" (Matt. 28:16-17).
It applies also to visions recorded by others:
"Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen" (Mark 16:9-14).
Usually we do not see things as they are but as we are! True perception is, in reality, a spiritual process starting with a correct spiritual analysis and resulting in a spiritual decision affecting our temporal and spiritual life. If based on false assumptions, it may affect us negatively and even destroy us. Here is an interesting example:
A speaker was trying to demonstrate the evils of alcohol. On a table in front of him were two glasses full of clear liquid. He explained that one of the glasses was full of water and the other full of pure alcohol. He put a worm in the glass of water, and it swam happily. Then he put the same worm in the alcohol, and it died.
"What conclusion do you reach?" he asked.
A voice from the back of the room replied, "I perceive, sir, that if you drink alcohol, you'll never get worms. (New Era, February 1989, 4-6.)
Obviously, it is not only important to get the right perception but to also conclude correctly. The scriptures help us to understand this principle:
"And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my gospel;
But they receive it not; for they perceive not the light, and they turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men" (D&C 45:28-29).
Let's see how it may affect us with this scripture: "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body" (1 Cor. 11:29).
This great spiritual principle, to perceive with your spiritual senses and to listen to and act on the promptings of the Spirit, should be applied in all aspects of our lives if we are to achieve the true purpose of life, which is eternal life.
I would like to direct my remarks to one particular aspect of this principle to those who, at some time in their life, may have had an incorrect perception of themselves and their divine identity. Remember that an incorrect perception always leads to an incorrect conclusion.
Some months ago I had a conversation with a young father. He was desperately trying to meet his financial obligations and at the same time graduate from college, work, support his young family, attend church, read the scriptures, and do everything that was expected of him. He seemed like a boxer--half groggy, half conscious--listening to the countdown by the referee. He seemed almost relieved with the thought that, with the sound of the bell, it would all be over.
With a note of desperation in his voice, he said, "What's the use of continuing this crazy kind of life, disciplining, working, sacrificing? Anyway, I'm a failure at what I have been doing." His perception was wrong. Again, the adversary was using his favorite weapon: to distort the perception of our spiritual identity and potential and to transform us from agents to victims of the system. How can we face this constant challenge? How could this young man come out of this depression? The answer is relatively simple. Perceive correctly the Spirit of the Lord and feel the companionship and influence of the Holy Ghost. Do not turn your heart from the Lord because of the precepts of man. There is the power, the strength, the will to overcome despair about one's responsibilities and role in this life.
This is not an isolated or unusual case. Most of us experience this race for time in our lives and constantly feel the pressures of unrelenting demands and expectations. It is easier to give up than to persevere. It is easier to think of ourselves as a failure rather than a success. It is easier to avoid covenants than to receive them.
But was the Master a failure because he uttered these words of despair: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46). Was Peter a failure because he denied Christ in a time of crisis? Was Joseph Smith a failure because he sought divine help in praying "O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?"
Failure is not the purpose of life. Failure may be a perception, but it should always be temporary. Failure can be cured if we apply the correct medicine.
So is there a major problem affecting our spiritual perceptions today? There is. It is a change in the perception of what is right and what is wrong. It is perceiving righteousness (OE right wise) as acting in accord with divine and moral law and not acting in accord with human and immoral law. It is keeping the commandments to receive truth and light to please the Lord and not disobeying the law of God to please the world.
Let me use some quotes to illustrate what has happened to our society and continues to happen. John Howard, World Congress of Families:
"For thirty-five years, the New Morality has been tearing down and replacing the accumulated wisdom of Western Civilization. The cherished ideals and standards of proper behavior were, it was said, outmoded nuisances that had to go. Previously, just as Americans would learn the language as an automatic part of growing up, they also learned how to behave responsibly, living by standards of right and wrong woven into the culture and taken for granted by the citizens. Now those standards have been so thoroughly trashed that many, many Americans live their lives deciding for themselves how to live and behave, oblivious to any sense of community responsibility.
"This transformation reflects the twilight of Christianity that has descended on America. The individual of deep religious faith begins with a fundamental subordination of his desires to what the deity requires of him. For that individual, the subordination of his preferences to the well-being of the family and the community is a natural and readily acceptable aspect of living. Santayana wrote that Americans had developed a comfortable Christianity without thorns. As churches have downgraded an individual's obligations within his faith, parishioners tend to become indifferent to the obligations of family and community." What a contrast with the mind of the pioneers: "The pioneers who settled and brought civilization to a continental wilderness had no illusions about the dangers they faced and ordeals they must endure. They knew they faced a life of toil and hardship, but they were fortified for these rigors by their determination to procure a better life for themselves and their families, by a solid sense of community and mutual support with their neighbors, and for a large majority of the populace, by a religious faith which provided the fortitude to stand up to whatever came their way." (Ibid.)
From a teen-age girl: "I am not religious, but I am spiritual."
From a young woman answering a journalist asking why she committed abortion: "I felt morally right to do it."
From a Belgian sociologist, Ron Lesthage:
"Can the Family Survive in the 21st Century? "No," unless friends of the family can unite in defense of the home. A revolution-in-values shook the Western world, starting near 1965. Its primary characteristic was a militant secularism, not a benign agnosticism, but a hostile rejection of religious faith. This revolution can be defined as a retreat from the values affirmed by Christian teaching (such as 'responsibility, sacrifice, altruism, and sanctity of long-term commitments' such as marriage and childbearing) toward an all-pervasive individualistic secularism centered on the desires of the self."
From an American author, James Hitchcock:
"While the United States is recognized as one of the few industrialized countries here religion is still strong, its culture often seems at odds with traditional religious values. In a recent editorial, he discussed this apparent paradox and concluded: '. . . Americans tend to value religion insofar as they regard it as supportive of their personal lives but not when it seems to interfere in their lives or make demands on them. They are deeply religious in a sense, but their commitment proves fragile when it fails to provide the emotional support they seek.'
"In support of his argument, Hitchcock cites evidence from a number of recent studies. In one survey of Christian teens, Jesus ranked fifth on their list of most admired persons (after Lincoln, Washington, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.). A detailed survey of Christians in Minnesota found that 90 percent believed in life after death, but only 69 percent believed that Jesus actually rose from the dead. National surveys have found that 71 percent of adults believe in heaven, but only 53 percent believe in hell. Hitchcock comments, 'The orthodox belief that human beings survive after death is warmly accepted by believers primarily insofar as it promises personal happiness, not insofar as it threatens punishment.' Three-fourths of all Christians think that people should determine their own beliefs independent of any organized religion.
"The area in which traditional teachings diverge most from the beliefs of many of the people in the pews is sexual morality. In contrast to Christianity's traditional teachings on the critical importance of chastity, the Minnesota study of practicing Christians found that 85 percent of them accepted divorce, 60 percent abortion, 36 percent premarital sexual relations, and 39 percent homosexuality.
"In his concern over what he perceived as the growing gap between traditional Christian teachings and personal beliefs, Hitchcock averred:
The very religiosity of American culture is often turned against Christianity, in that the entire world has not been made to seem like a spiritual garden in which people can browse as they see fit, plucking the flowers that smell fragrant. Plucking them does not require accepting the church's discipline--literally becoming a disciple--but merely savoring the scent and leaving the rest. The ultimate test of religious authenticity is now thought to be personal feelings, which are among the few things the culture still regards as sacred. Religion has value insofar as it makes the individual feel good."
To better live his life is the new motto of the modern world of the 21st century. In the words of a French philosopher: "We are leaving 2000 years of Christian terrorism. We don't have duties, we owe nothing to ourselves."
Do you see and recognize the new image of the world? Do you listen to Isaiah when he said, "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion" (Isa. 30:1-3).
You students are entering this institution of learning to receive true knowledge about things as they are, and as they were, and especially as they are to come in order to go forth to serve your fellow men and your God.
One perception of life and how to live a better life leading to eternal life must be based on true knowledge of divine and spiritual things, which is absolutely essential for one's salvation. The scriptures and the living prophets are given so that the people might have knowledge of things of God and "know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness" (D&C 93:19). In modern language, the gospel is not a salad bar where you can pick and choose what you like to have!
Knowledge is one of the endowments of the Holy Ghost and one of the gifts of the Spirit. That is why spiritual perception becomes vital associated with spiritual knowledge and followed by obedience. That is why temporal knowledge always needs to be associated and guided by spiritual knowledge.
The very definition of the spirit of revelation helps us to understand this literal transmission of divine truth: "Oliver Cowdery, verily, verily, I say unto you, that assuredly as the Lord liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely shall you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask in faith, with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive a knowledge concerning the engravings of old records, which are ancient, which contain those parts of my scripture of which has been spoken by the manifestation of my spirit. Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart" (D&C 8:1-2).
But once revelation comes to us, it is to be safeguarded and applied; and it always must be followed by service. "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17).
The Lord has warned us about the calamity that is affecting our world today as He did with Isaiah: "And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people; For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant; They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own God, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall. Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets--The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh--But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; That faith also might increase in the earth" (D&C 1:14-21).
Learning to seek God and to find Him is the beginning of faith and how to endure to the end. Atheists or sinners don't find God for the same reason that bank robbers do not find policemen. They work very hard to avoid Him. If you do not seek by faith, you will likely not find Him by faith either.
Learning how to perceive with a spiritual heart is a result of faith and changes behavior or attitude. Let me illustrate with the following story of a person of a different faith, a rabbi:
A Jewish rabbi . . . was conversing with two of his friends. The rabbi asked one of the men, "How do you know when the night is over and the day has begun?"
His friend replied, "When you look into the distance and can distinguish a sheep from a goat, then you know the night is over and the day has begun."
The second was asked the same question. He replied, "When you look into the distance and can distinguish an olive tree from a fig tree, that is how you know."
They then asked the rabbi how he could tell when the night is over and the day has begun. He thought for a time and then said, "When you look into the distance and see the face of a woman and you can say, 'She is my sister.' And when you look into the distance and see the face of a man and can say, 'He is my brother.' Then you will know the light has come. (Gordon B. Hinckley, "BYU Experience," 64.)
Learning how to speak and act in the name of Christ and to testify of Him is a blessing of faith and transforms us into disciples of Christ. Listen to the words of Christ addressed to Hyrum Smith: "And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good--yea, to do justly, to walk humble, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy; And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive" (D&C 11:12-14).
Learning to love Jesus and His gospel and learning to love our Heavenly Father and our neighbor still represent the first and second greatest commandments: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (D&C 59:5-6).
An Argentine writer embellished this thought the following way:
4 loves to help man to grow and make him noble
Love of God
Love of country
Love of wife
Love of friends
3 loves to embellish life
Love of truth
Love of neighbor
Love of work
(Victor Luis Funes (La Nacion 21 Oct. 1992) Arg., Truths learned from his father, Elogio De La Ejemplaridad.)
The work of the Lord is a work of love and is His power to immortality and eternal life: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the life and the light of the world. I am the same who came unto mine own and mine own received me not; But verily, verily, I say unto you, that as many as receive me, to them will I give power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on my name" (D&C 11:28-30). It is the greatest of all the gifts of God, but it is a result of our obedience to His commandments and to endure to the end" ((D&C 14:7).
May the Lord bless you with the gift of spiritual perception leading to be spiritually-minded and followed by accepting the truth and light given by Christ. Do not revile against the truth even if it is sometimes difficult to admit, defend, or proclaim. Nephi further said, "I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken" (2 Ne. 9:40).
These words are preceded by the warning: "Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal (2 Ne. 9:39).
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