Unprofitable Servants

“If ye should serve [God] with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.”

I started thinking about this in terms of a business. When you hire an employee and pay him a salary, you are expecting to make a profit as a result. If you didn’t expect a profit from the employee, why would you add the expense of paying his salary?

This scripture is saying that God has paid us infinitely through the Atonement of Jesus Christ – and none of our finite efforts can make us profitable.

This doesn’t mean it’s not worth it to the Lord to pay us all this spiritual wealth. It just means that if it were not for His Sacrifice, we would all be poor – none would return to live with God.

Learning from Mormon’s first thought

In Mormon 1:1, Mormon wasted no time in talking about “almost all the destruction of my people, the Nephites.”

This is the first thing Mormon mentions. You might ask, “Why?” I asked. I think it has to do with what Mormon was going through.

If you had just seen a bloody war (think the bloodiest street gangs in the inner-city multiplied by 1,000) which killed tens of millions of people – and you were making an entry into an account that would be read by future generations – would you mention it?

I think it’s interesting to notice some of these small details because it points to the truth of the book. Its authors were real men, and many times wrote what we would have written had we lived. The book is true.

Perfect Brightness of Hope

This language is beautiful. It points to the poetic sentiments of the prophet of Nephi. When describing what man must do to return to God’s presence, Nephi says he must have a “perfect brightness of hope.”

I thought of those people in my life who always seem to be bright. They always seem to be alive and excited and hopeful – and just like that heavenly body that brightens up the world, they warm up and give life to everybody they see. President Hinckley comes to mind. Others come to mind. All these have helped to energize and excite me.

I believe this is why Nephi used the word “brightness” in connection with “hope.” They should fit together perfectly.

Wrestling before the Lord

I’m in Enos today, and I couldn’t be happier. This is one of my favorite accounts in the Book of Mormon. I love the simplicity of the experience – and the absolute faith he had that Heavenly Father would answer his prayers.

Enos went on a little weekend getaway to hunt for food. As he was out – alone in nature – he began thinking about his the conversations he had enjoyed with his dad (who was Nephi’s brother Jacob) over the years. He remembered hearing about “eternal life, and the joy of the saints.” The words of his father “sunk deep into his heart.”

I know from experience how strong those feelings can be – when words sink deep into your heart. It’s like you can’t stop thinking about it – or better said – you can’t stop feeling it.

Enos prayed for many hours. Joseph Smith comes to mind. He wasn’t sure exactly how long he prayed before Moroni visited him in 1823, but he told Oliver Cowdery “maybe 12 or 13 hours.”

My guess is that Enos prayed for a similar period of time, “All the day long did I cry unto him, in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; … and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.”

Both Joseph and Enos were praying to find out their standing before the Lord. Both were answered.

Enos must have been thrilled to hear, “Thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.”

He says of that moment, “My guilt was swept away.”

I believe that we all must have experiences like this – feeling the peace of knowing that the Lord has forgiven us.

Receiving power

“When they taught, they taught with power…”

These were the sons of Mosiah and Alma the younger.

How did they receive this power?

This power came, as the record shows, after they “waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth… [gave] themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore, they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.” Alma 17:2-3

Mike Wallace Interviews Gordon B. Hinckley

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/31/60minutes/main3775068.shtml

One small action to increase the likelihood of receiving light from Heaven

“Knowledge carefully recorded is knowledge available in time of need. Spiritually sensitive information should be kept in a sacred place that communicated to the Lord how you treasure it. This practice enhances the likelihood of your receiving further light.” Richard G. Scott, Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge, Ensign, Nov. 1993, 86

This principle is so simple that it is sometimes forgotten.

Little known quotation from Brigham Young on “Sons of Ephraim”

“The sons of Ephraim are wild and uncultivated, unruly, ungovernable. The spirit in them is turbulent and resolute… and they are upon the face of the whole earth, bearing the spirit of rule and dictation, to go from from conquering to conquer. They search wide creation and scan every nook and corner of this earth to find out what is upon and within it. I see a congregation of them before me today. No hardship will discourage these men; they will penetrate the deepest wilds and overcome almost insurmountable difficulties to develop the treasures of the earth, to further their indomitable spirit for adventure.”

I think I know what Isaiah meant, but I could still use your help

My wife and I were reading in 2 Nephi 6 – Jacob is quoting Isaiah. Usually it is very difficult to understand, but I understood at least a few parts.

One was when it says, “They that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet…”

Back in Isaiah’s day, everybody wore sandals – and they lived in a very dusty, dirty, sandy environment. So everybody’s feet were dirty, dusty and sandy. It was seen as a very humble and submissive act to clean somebody else’s feet – this was an act left only to servants and slaves.

For somebody to clean your feet with their hands – and wash off the dust – was an act below most people.

But to lick dust off your feet – this was taking humility to an entirely new low – it almost seems like you can no longer be respected if you are licking the dust off somebody’s dirty feet.

The latter-day gentiles that fight against Zion will “lick up the dust of their feet,” or will be brought so low that nobody will respect them.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Click the “no comment” button below to make a comment.