Power Under Control

Marianne Williamson in her book Return to Love, says, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.” I love this quote and what it teaches me.

For one thing, it is about humility. Too often we have a false notion that humility is putting ourselves down—being small. Jesus Christ is the perfection of all good traits and he never put himself down. Instead He proclaimed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). What this teaches us is that an essential ingredient in humility is honesty.

One of my favorite definitions of humility is “Power under control.” What that means to me is that we acknowledge the power we have but we don’t misuse or abuse that power. If we have the power to play beautiful music we acknowledge that gift and use it whenever appropriate to bless the lives of others and to make ourselves happy, but we never flaunt it or put others down because they can’t make the same music we can make. Especially we don’t go around saying we don’t make beautiful music just because we think that is being humble.

If we are going to become heavenly beings, we need to recognize the powers that are ours and use them, share them, and thank God for them, but never diminish or deny them.

Fleeing Darkness

I don’t remember ever being afraid of the dark, but several of my children were. I think one of the reasons I wasn’t afraid of the dark is that I was seldom in total darkness. Total darkness may have scared me, but when I was in darkness there was always a sliver of light coming under the door or wisps of light floating in through a window or some light, however vague, was somewhere. And as long as there was some light, I wasn’t frightened.

I’ve been thinking about this light and dark thing a lot lately and it dawned on me (I love puns!) that darkness isn’t really anything. It isn’t an entity in and of itself at all. Instead it is the absence of something—the absence of light. When you want to get rid of darkness you don’t attack it, or destroy it, instead you add light and the darkness flees.

By the same token, fear isn’t something. Instead it occurs when faith is lacking and when we shine faith onto the fear the fear flees. When we Live in Truth, therefore, it isn’t a matter of chasing away the darkness or even avoiding darkness. Instead Living in Truth means shining light on every aspect of our lives. When we do that the darkness flees.

Afraid of the Light

Marianne Williamson in her book Return to Love, says, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.” I love this quote and what it teaches us about ourselves. 

I once heard a student say, “I don't want to get A’s because then the only place to go is down.” That philosophy is flawed. I like the thought that if you shoot for the stars and fall short and hit the moon, you are still far above earth where you started. 

But this attitude of mediocrity is being fueled by something besides our attitudes about ourselves. Sometimes it is other people’s light and not their darkness that we fear.

The self-esteem movement led us into the “everyone gets a trophy” era, and that way of thinking has become detrimental. We have stopped giving children and ourselves models of what light is. Therefore, mediocrity has become the standard. We have stopped praising and acknowledging the light of others. Thus in subtle ways we have stopped encouraging our children and each other to shoot for the stars. We avoid touting other people’s accomplishments because it might make someone else feel bad. We cringe at the very thought that laying out several people’s accomplishments side by side might make one of them feel bad. But while this may sound like it is a Christian, charitable thing to do, it contributes to the problem of no one understanding what constitutes lights or having models of what can be accomplished or what possibilities of achievement are out there.

When we live in Truth, instead of avoiding any mention of a person’s “brightness” or their accomplishments, we recognize the truth that we aren’t going to reach every star every time. But we also realize that by studying, learning from, defining the “stars” and seeing how others have reached those stars we are all helped to grow closer to them. No one is helped by hiding other people’s light or pretending it isn’t there. Everyone is illuminated when we not only allow others to shine, but we acknowledge and help share their light.Playing others as small or all alike does not serve the world.

Down With Negative Emotions!

I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but the word emotions never appears in scripture. Instead the word spirit is used. For example in 1 Timothy 3:7 we read: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” The 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster gives this as two of the definitions of the word spirit: “Powers of mind distinct from the body,” and “That which hath power or energy; the quality of any substance which manifests life, activity, or the power of strongly affecting other bodies.”

The Random House Webster's College Dictionary of 1996 gives 24 definitions of the word spirit. The ones that best capture the King James usage of the word are “an attitude or principle that pervades thought, stirs one to action, etc.,” and “feelings or mood with regard to exaltation or depression.” The definition of the Greek word for spirit is “the vital principal by which the body is animated; the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides; the soul.”

What all this helps me understand is that the negative emotions that send us into the Pit of Illusion are not part of God’s plan for us. That is why when the Savior encountered these bad “spirits” in people, He healed them. And He will heal us as we turn to Him and let Him do His work.

Do Not Fear

In Luke chapter 21 we find the disciples asking the Savior about what will happen when Jerusalem is destroyed. Jesus tells them to beware of impostors because others will come professing to be Christ. Then he tells them that they will hear of “wars and commotions” but adds, “be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass” (Luke 21:9).

We live in a similar time when floods, earthquakes, wars, and all manner of adversity afflicts and torments. But if we trust in the Savior and simply do what He has instructed us to do we need not be terrified. There is no need to fear. Even in trying times if we live in Truth we can live in peace and joy.

Mouse or Shadow?

When I was very young my dad was finishing the basement of our home one room at a time. The first room he finished was my bedroom and so I slept down there alone. I never remember it bothering me except one morning when I awoke to go upstairs and as I left my bedroom and looked toward the door that led upstairs I could see through the dusky morning light a mouse on the door. I screamed for my father to come and he ran down the stairs to save me. But as he pushed open the door, I could see that what I thought was a mouse was only a shadow on the door. I felt very foolish, but Dad lovingly took my hand and led me upstairs.

 I’ve thought of that experience often over my life, and when fear assails me I ask myself if this is really something to be afraid of or is it a “shadow.” Surprisingly I’ve discovered that there are many more shadows than there are actual things to fear.  More than that I’ve discovered that even when something is  fearful, fear exaggerates the problem. There is an old German proverb that expresses this well. It says, “Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.”

Fear is the opposite of faith and when we see fear for what it is and recognize that most the things we fear aren’t real at all and the other things we fear are made worse because of our fear, it is easier to let go of the fear and have faith that all will be well.

As the Lord said, "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not" (D&C 6:36).

Joy and Truth

I have been amazed at how people who haven’t seen me since the surgery, and don’t know I’ve had a craniotomy, react when they see my new hairdo. I’ve heard everything from, “You’ve had a make-over!” to “I like how brave you are to cut your hair so short.” But most of all I have been surprised at the remark, “You look so good, but there is no way I could wear my hair that short.” About 70% of the people who see me say that. But how do they know unless they’ve tried it? I didn’t know until the surgery forced me to shave my head.

The interesting thing is that most of the people who say this have the same hairdo they had in high school, and they have never tried anything else. Why is it that so many of us are so afraid of trying something new—afraid of change? If a person absolutely loves the hairdo she has, that is a different story. By all means keep it. But if a person doesn’t change because they are afraid to try something different then that is a problem. Life is meant to be explored and discovered. That is part of the joy—discovering all there is to find. Trying, tasting, experiencing all the good life has to offer.

Exploring life means being brave. It means opening yourself up which sometimes makes you vulnerable. It means taking risks and chances—and that also means being willing to make a mistake. The opposite is being stagnant and full of fear. It means living in a shell of timidity.

Living in Truth allows a person to break out of the shell. It allows a person to embrace life and all the joy it offers. It allows people to rejoice in each new day. Living in Truth is living in joy, and fear is never the pathway to joy.

Charity and Fear

Mormon says something very interesting in one of his letters to his son Moroni. He says, “Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear” (Moroni 8:16).

Mormon is at war and has watched his people being slaughtered by the hundreds. He knows the torture, the cruelty, the horrors that wicked men can inflict on others. And yet he says he is not afraid because perfect love casts out fear. I pondered on this a long time trying to understand. Does he mean that because he loves those inflicting the cruelty with a perfect love, he isn’t afraid of what they will do? Or does he mean that loving God with a perfect love, which we call charity, casts away fear so much that no matter what they do to us, we aren’t afraid?

I think the meaning lies within the latter. Having perfect love isn’t about forcing ourselves to love our enemies. It is about loving God and receiving the gift of charity from Him so that love fills us and expels all negative feelings and thoughts. It is so contrary to the natural man that it is difficult to image. But to a man like Mormon, it comes naturally. Perfect love fills him so that he cannot feel fear.

Perfect love or charity is God’s love—a love he shares with us when we seek it with all our heart, might, mind, and soul. And because it is His, it never fails us even in the face of grave danger.

Follow Your Heart

One of the reasons we don’t acknowledge truth and live with it is because we are afraid. But fear is the opposite of faith. When we refuse to Live in Truth because we are afraid, we are refusing to live in faith.

We can see this exemplified in simple things in our relationships. Let’s pretend that Zelda says to her husband Ralph, “You don’t spend enough time with me.” At this point Ralph has a choice to make as to how he will react to his wife. Some of the choices that might occur to him are: to ask for more information to better understand what Zelda wants and needs. To acknowledge that he doesn’t spend enough time and work to solve the problem. To decide that it is Zelda’s problem and ignore what she is saying. To ask if he could have a little time to think about what she has told him, and then they will discuss it some more. Obviously these are just a few of the possibilities. The important thing, however, is not the possibilities, but to realize that when a problem occurs our hearts will tell us which of these possibilities is right for us at that time.

Let’s pretend again, that in our example here, when Zelda accuses Ralph of not spending enough time with her, Ralph immediately knows in his heart that what she is saying is true. But at that realization fear kicks in. He begins to think, “I’m going to have to give up my golf game on Saturday morning!” or “This is going to mean no more watching football.” So his heart is telling him Zelda is right, but his head is telling him he is going to have to suffer if he admits it. At this point he has two more choices. He can move into the realm of Illusion and will then need to counteract the negative feelings of anger that Illusion always brings with it. Most often that is done by sulking, blaming, demeaning, or accusing Zelda—anything to make it seem like it is her fault instead of his. Or Ralph can go with his heart and admit that she is right. At this point he is Living in Truth and acting in faith.He doesn’t want to suffer, but he is willing to accept the Truth and by moving forward in truth he is trusting that the Savior will show him how deal with the problem with the least amount of suffering and pain. That is an act of faith.

Living in Truth also means living in faith

Picture: http://emilymphotography.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/follow-your-heart.jpg

No Worries!

At one point during the Sermon on the Mount the Savior tells the people, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (Matthew 6:25). At first reading this seems strange. Aren’t we supposed to plan ahead? What about storing food in case of emergency? How does what the Savior say go with that?

The answer is once more found in the Greek. The word translated thought in this verse is merimnao which means, “to be anxious; to be troubled with cares.” The Savior isn’t instructing us not to plan. Instead the Savior is teaching us not to worry. If we are keeping the commandments and doing what we are instructed to do, we have no need to worry or fret about the future.

That is part of what it means to live in Truth. We don’t have to worry or fear. When we live in Truth, we deal with what is presently in front of us and leave the rest in God’s hands. We aren’t anxious. We aren’t troubled with cares. Instead we trust that God will lead us to the things we need to do and the experiences we need to have when they are supposed to happen.

More Words of Isaiah

My students often complain that Isaiah is too difficult to read. I agree that certain passages are difficult. I don’t understand it all, but there are so many wonderful things hidden away in Isaiah that it is worth plowing through it to find them. For example, In Isaiah 41:10 it says, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

The right hand is the covenant hand and so the Lord is telling us that when we are keeping the covenants He sustains us. The covenants we make with Him are binding and powerful! Because of those covenants, we don’t need to fear. We don’t need to get discouraged. We have a covenant with God, and therefore He is with us and will take care of us.

Finding passages such as these help us understand what the Lord meant when he said, “Search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah” (3 Nephi 23:1).

Fear vs. Faith

I’ve been a little slow today. I think I stayed up too late last night to celebrate with the kids. I’ve missed out on so much that I pushed myself to stay awake and welcome in the New Year. But overall things are still going well. Our children are starting to go home. It makes it empty here, but I think the quiet will be nice. As much as I loved having everyone here, 32 to 37 people in the house at once makes for a lot of noise and confusion! But I am thankful they could come. They were a strength and help.

One of the things I’ve learned through this experience is about the strength the gospel brings to us. President Monson once said, “In finding and trailing this spiritual contact with the infinite, we will feel the touch of inspiration and know that God will guide us as we put in Him our trust. That wise and righteous man, Job, declared the profound truth: ‘There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth understanding’ (Job 32:8). It is this inspiration which we at times allow to grow dim, causing us to wander far below the level of our possibilities” (President Thomas S. Monson, The Will Within, Ensign, May 1987, p.67).

After my tumor was diagnosed, I was a little surprised at the reaction of friends that stopped by. After talking with me for a few moments, several friends said something about how I didn’t seem to be afraid. When I told them I wasn’t, they responded with things like, “But it’s all right to be afraid.” I agreed. This is a telestial world and fear is prevalent. But why would I want to be fearful if I didn’t have to be? Why take on all that pain when the Savior has promised that if I will just turn to Him, he will take care of me? Why trade in the peace I was experiencing for fear? It didn’t make any sense and I have pondered it a lot since then.

I think this is what the Savior spoke about when He said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This also takes us back to what Pres. Monson said, “It is this inspiration which we at times allow to grow dim, causing us to wander far below the level of our possibilities.” There are so many things the Lord wants to give us and would give us if we turned to Him in faith instead of spending our time comforting ourselves that it is all right to be afraid. It is a choice each of us daily makes. We can wallow in telestial fear or reach out and partake of celestial peace. The choice is ours. The power, however, resides only in faith.