Enduring to the End and Power Stance

For the newcomers, I wrestled in high school. I still think it is one of the great contests of skill and strength, even after the intervening time that I've been able to play basketball and other popular sports with fellow missionaries. I also still think it has some of the greatest teaching opportunities. I remember one wrestling match I had, against another team with a history of winning and the specific guy I was against was ranked much higher than I was. This story will involve some terms specific to wrestling, and to save space here I will direct you to an article on the rules.

Amazingly, I was able to get ahead during the first two (of three) periods and most of the third. Not only was I ahead, but I had three points on this guy and I was feeling good. There was only 30 seconds left, and we were both on our feet. Since the guy I was wrestling had much more experience than I did (I had at most one year and he surely had three or four years, if not more, under his belt), winning by a small margin would be all I could hope for. I didn't need any more points, and if I got too adventurous I could easily have put myself in disadvantageous position and maybe even have gotten pinned. All I needed to do was endure without making a mistake, but also not retreat (that's called stalling and costs points). I needed to "power stance."

A standard wrestling match for me

Power Stance is what my coaches would tell us to keep pushing, be aggressive and make your foe understand that you aren't done, but don't do anything that might compromise your win. It takes power and endurance in the last period, and is not easy. You are tired, you've just used all of your strength and agility to get ahead, and after everything is left on the mat you need to leave a bit more. It might be the hardest thing you've ever done, yet it is essential to keep going in order to win.

Unfortunately for my record, I did not power stance properly. I was overconfident and my foe took advantage of a foot that slipped too far and I was too weak in bringing it back. He took me down, and even got near to pinning me, and in those last 30 seconds I gave up 5 points and lost the match. I now look back, and though I know that that one match wouldn't have changed too much of my life I still wish I could have endured a little bit better.

All of us have the opportunity every day to endure, be it well or not. Our life is much like a wrestling match, one where we are ahead at the start and as we apply Christ's grace into our lives. However, we are still constantly under attack, and if we slip up we are always in danger of falling under the influence of Satan. We too need to use a "power stance," or a certain method of aggressively protecting ourselves from his attacks. As we listen to the words of God, found in scripture or the words of His prophets, we will be educating ourselves as to how to power stance. As we apply the things we learn, we'll be properly holding the power stance. And as we execute the power stance all the way to the end of our life, we will hear those blessed words: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21).

What Am I Grateful For?

In a few days I (and many others) will be celebrating Thanksgiving, a time of family, food, and festivities. It is also a time that can be used for what its name sounds like: giving thanks. This idea is nothing new, but I'd like to embrace it for this week (and perhaps longer).

To kick off this week of thanks, I'd like to share a talk by President Eyring. Found in the embedded video, he talks about taking time to be grateful, and how the simple act of trying to find something to be grateful for allowed him to see blessings that he had already received. I know I especially like the idea of writing down the blessings he noticed; I am not great at remembering specifics. I can only imagine what things I might realize have been happening to me if I simply started writing them down. Now, this week I will be writing down those blessings, counting what I can find, and sharing with the Internet.

 

Now here's one thing I'm grateful for; an Internet that allows me and many others to interact so quickly, and currently share my testimony across the world! Think a little about what you are grateful for.

Optimism

Nathan Fillion, actor
that plays Mal

One of my favorite TV series is Firefly, a sci-fi series that has been called a "space western" quite accurately. The captain of the titular ship, Malcolm Reynolds, is an interesting guy, somewhere between a scoundrel, a noble, an idealist, and an I-don't-care-anymore type of guy. One of the things he says, though, really got me thinking just recently. He states "It's a real burden being right so often." Out of context, it is a good description of his character; bold, self-absorbed, and rather humorous. However, in context it comes right after his doom-filled prediction comes true, and he is instead talking about how he doesn't want to be right like that all the time.

As I thought about it more, I realized that it really is a burden, being like Captain Mal. Instead of seeing the day as an opportunity to grow, hoping for the best, and being optimistic, he has the burden of expecting bad things to happen and then seeing them happen. I do not mean by saying this that it is better to always expect the good, because then unexpected trouble can really mess up a day, but I do mean that having an optimistic outlook on life brings quicker joy, longer mirth, and better happiness.

One of my favorite people, President Gordan B. Hinckley, had it right. He was described as optimistically realistic, or that he would see what is happening and find the reason to be happy and hopeful. This world is full of events that can cause real worry, but if we instead remember Christ and the amazing Atonement he has accomplished for us we can be hopeful of the future and ready to do work to make it happen. I hope you can remember the goodness that you've received, and if you're having a hard time, I'd suggest a classic hymn, Count Your Many Blessings.

Sacrifice Brings Forth the Blessings of Heaven

Have you ever seen or heard of somebody doing something ridiculously difficult, weird, or otherwise some kind of sacrifice? For instance, as a missionary I am basically sacrificing two years of my life, and two years that are normally highly productive for today's youth. However, there is also a saying that serving a mission is not a sacrifice because of the bountiful blessings received because of my service. Today I want to share my opinion on sacrifice and what it really means.

Painting of Joseph Smith Jr.

First, I'd like to talk about Joseph Smith the prophet. He went through many trials, and he undoubtedly sacrificed many things, from comfort to safety. The church he helped found, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now honors him for the work he did and his worthiness to be the first prophet of this dispensation. One of the ways we do this is through the hymn Praise to the Man, from which this post gets its title. I feel that what Joseph Smith did was a great sacrifice, and because of his courage and call as a prophet we are all able to partake of the "blessings of heaven." I also feel that the idea of sacrifice can extend into our lives so much farther.

We gain nothing on this earth without some element of sacrifice. When we earn something, we sacrifice time, money, and sometimes more to receive that something. I know that many people that view things differently, preferring to view earning something as just that. In this regard, I disagree with them without wanting to change their point of view. Instead, I think that realizing everything we do is a sacrifice of some sort, either through lost time if we choose to relax or lost energy if we choose to work or some similar sacrifice, will help us make better decisions as we look forward at the consequences. We need to choose consequences, not actions, and we have been given advice on what actions have the best consequences through the prophets and the scriptures. I encourage you to seriously consider learning what they have to say and applying their teachings to your life. Ask me a question, or ask missionaries to visit you.

Constant Communication

The top line is the transmitter, bottom the receiver. Despite
knowing this, it took me forever to even transmit numbers.

In the field of remote controls, I know very little. However, I have taken a class where one of the projects was to use an infrared (IR) transmitter and receiver that taught me a little bit about how it could work. The IR light source blinks at a certain frequency for certain amounts of time, with the time the frequency was active determining what is being transmitted. After the information was transmitted, I had a few options: keep transmitting, stop and hope the message got through the first time, or throw your hands up in frustration because the microchip instructions weren't clear enough to understand the first twelve times you read it. I eventually got that project done, but another activity I took a part of was a FIRST Robotics competition that taught me a bit more about electronic communication. In each match, there were two periods, one where the competitors could use a remote control similar to what I'd already done and another where competitors could use wireless to directly control a robot. The differences between these two periods and what happened was stark.

When a remote control was used, because it was not constant communication, weak, or poorly designed the robot often would start doing what the driver wanted it to do and then either stop or do something completely wrong. Meanwhile, when the second period of play was active the robot did almost exactly what the driver expected due to the much higher quality of communication. In our lives, we also have a driver of sorts and lines of communication between us and Him. Instead of the communication always being started by the driver, however, in our lives we are the controllers of how we communicate, and (because we can't choose consequences) also how we fair on the playing field of life.

If we only communicate with God occasionally, waiting for when his prophets speak to us or when we feel like it, we will likely find ourselves going an entirely different direction then the one that is best for us. Likewise, if we exercise constant prayer we will be much more sensitive to the instructions we receive, either through personal revelation or a more general message. In the end we always have a choice in the matter, just as the robot is still programmed a certain way and acts according to how the program directs before the driver does, but if our hearts are correctly tuned we will find ourselves on the correct path that our Driver knows will best help us. We have just taken part in General Conference, a wonderful opportunity to receive concentrated revelation from the prophets, but we still need to keep listening, and continue to pray and read. Just as constant communication helps robots work and fulfill their goals, so will it bless our lives with clarity and ability.

Prophets and Scriptures

First, a quote from Joseph Smith. "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe The Book of Mormon to be the word of God" (Articles of Faith, number 8). I understand that for many people, the Bible is the greatest book on the earth, filled with God's revealed words to his prophets. I, and all of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, consider the Bible to hold the gospel of Jesus Christ and an accurate rendering of history. However, we also know that it is imperfect. One religious scholar wrote on the history of the Bible as we know it today, and any historian can tell you that the Bible has been translated many times. One example of a famous mistranslated line is in the Latin Vulgate version, which says that Moses grew horns while on Sinai (further reading). While scholars are certainly going to do their best to fix mistakes, the wear of time makes it more and more difficult to know what the Bible originally said.

As members of the LDS Church, we know that there is a prophet on the earth today. We do not need to rely solely on a Bible that was written thousands of years ago when we have a prophet speaking to God today and telling us what we need to hear, just as prophets did while the Bible was first written. The idea of prophets is not a new one, and it confuses me that people will be reluctant to accept our message as true just because we say that Jesus Christ has called a prophet on the earth again. Not only does God not change (2 Nephi 29:9), but humankind does change. Just as there was a prophet after Abraham (Isaac), Moses (Joshua), and so many others, we need a prophet to help us deal with credit cards, computers, universities and other things that are unique to our day (3 topics I chose and then searched for relevant talks. You can do it too at lds.org).

These are 12 of the 15 men that lead this Church through divine guidance

There are so many instances in the Old Testament of prophets because it covers such a large period of time. However, even the New Testament has examples of prophets in the form of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. Peter, the primary Apostle, filled a similar if not the same role as Thomas S. Monson does today. When there was an issue that individuals couldn't solve for the early church (gentiles and more), they appealed to Peter and he answered their questions. Apostles helped the church grow and taught true doctrine. This pattern has returned to the earth today, and is ready to bless your life. You don't even have to take my word for it. Just start with The Book of Mormon and meeting with missionaries.

Grace and Works

A previous post I mentioned a topic that I've heard much discussion about, grace vs works. Often, somebody will complain (erroneously) about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as requiring its members to work for their salvation. This idea comes from a misunderstanding of a verse in The Book of Mormon, which states that "we know it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23). I know that it is through grace that we are saved, and that it is only through the infinite atonement that we can experience exaltation, resurrection, or even joy. I also know that many people misunderstand the idea of grace, and I hope to eliminate that misunderstanding today.

Joule, namesake for joules, SI unit
 for a different type of work.

First: what are works, and what is grace? Works (in this instance) are the actions we take in this life, and grace is the "help or strength given through the Atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ" (source). The entire disagreement can be solved by realizing that grace is not a magic moment that makes us perfect, but is instead a constant companion that helps us become better or strengthens us during trials. Since this is the case, of course we are going to do "works" in this life because we are applying the grace of Christ throughout our lives. It is not the grace that comes from works, but the works that comes from grace. It is not through donating a certain amount of time or money, nor is it only breaking a few commandments. It is through having enough faith to repent and apply grace to our lives that we receive exaltation. Does that make enough sense?

However, it is only sometimes that naysayers of works simply mean that all our sins are covered by grace. Other times what they are really attacking is the doctrine of baptism. This is a complex topic that can involve priesthood authority, modern day revelation, and a discussion of the Godhead; instead, I will deal with it simply and direct you to more devoted sources. Baptism is a commandment and an essential ordinance, and so just as with other commandments we won't be truly repentant until we follow it. This reason is good enough for me because of a simple word: testimony. I know through personal revelation that Jesus Christ restored his true church through Joseph Smith, so I know that our modern prophet is also the mouthpiece of God and only tells us the truth. I know this from my experience with The Book of Mormon. I know the true way to be happy.

Feedback Loops and Repentance

Simple diagram of a loop. A is the action, B is the change.

This requires two definitions, the first of which is a feedback loop. This is a system that takes action based on what its previous action's result was. So, if there's a spring and a motor, and the motor wants to be a specific place but the spring is resisting, a feedback loop would have the motor push until it is at its destination. They are used extensively in many environments, as instead of programming something to go exactly so far (and potentially falling victim to error of various kinds) the designer just needs to program something to go until it gets there. All that is required is action, measuring the result, comparing it to a goal, and taking action to get closer to the goal.

The second definition for today is what repentance is. Repentance is the faith driven change of heart that results in a change of actions from sins to acts of righteousness. There is a debate concerning grace in relation to works, but that is a thought for another day. Instead, suffice to say that having faith causes us to change who we are and obey the commandments, eventually becoming like Christ.

And now to combine definitions! The ultimate goal of repentance is to become perfect, something that is no easy goal to achieve. If we were required to become perfect in one day, that would be like the non-feedback loop program. Not only is it difficult to reach the goal, but it would be difficult to make sure you got there in the end. Instead, we go through repentance, changing each day a little bit and progressing towards perfection. The reason feedback is important is so that we know if we are heading in the right direction and feel the joy of success. All that's needed is to have somebody else to report to, and we achieve goals because of the small steps we take and we receive the recognition of those we hold dear. President Thomas S. Monson says that "When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates." These two principles, measuring our performance (and making changes to improve the performance) and claiming responsibility for the performance (by telling somebody about our changes) will help us improve our lives, whatever the field we apply it to.