Dem Words

There is a story in the Old Testament that most of us have never read, but we know the story well from the old folksong, “Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.” In this story, the prophet Ezekiel is taken by the Spirit and put down in the middle of a valley. As Ezekiel looks around he discovers that the valley is full of bones. The Spirit causes him to walk around and he sees that these bones are very dry. After he’s had a chance to see the devastation and lifelessness, the Spirit asks him, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

Imagine you are Ezekiel. What would you answer? Ezekiel answered, “Oh, Lord God, thou knowest,” (Ezekiel 37:3).

The Lord then commanded Ezekiel to speak to the bones and prophesy that the Lord will “cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live” (Ezekiel 37:4-5). And the bones began to move and to attach to one another, and sinew and flesh was restored to them, and they were covered with skin and filled with the spirit.

Obviously this is a prophecy of restoration, resurrection, and life, but there are other things for us to learn from this story about words and their power. What would have happened if Ezekiel had answered the question “Can these bones live?” by saying, “No way!” That’s the natural response most people would have. But Ezekiel says, “You know they can.”

Likewise when we face difficult life situations such as bad relationships, health impairments, financial woes, or anything that looks as hopeless as a valley full of old, dry bones and the adversary tempts us with thoughts of discouragement and hopelessness, we can say, “But God can fix this.”

The words we choose to speak and say have power over us. Words of faith bring about feelings of faith.

Words of Faith

Tomorrow I am teaching a seminar in Davis County about my research on "Faith Works By Words." I'm excited because the more I study this subject the more amazed I am at the significance of the words we think and speak. Words matter! Words make all the difference in our lives. But their significance often escapes us because using words to exercise faith isn't just a matter of bearing testimony or expressing religious thoughts. It is the daily, hourly, minute by minute use of words that is our faith.

For example: I have a friend who is about ten years older than I am who has never married. Many in her circumstances think thoughts (words) such as "Why has God denied me this blessing?" or "This isn't fair that I don't get a spouse when it is a commandment!" But instead my friend told me she wakes up every morning and exclaims, "Wow, I'm one day closer to the time when I'll find my eternal companion!"

Do you see how the first statements are a denial of faith and the second is a declaration of faith? Faith works by words and so we need to examine the words we use at all times and make sure they are words of faith.

Here are just a few of the scriptures that explain the importance of words.

From the Savior: "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37)

From King Benjamin: "But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.” (Mosiah 4:30)

From the Apostle Paul: "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." (Ephesians 4:29)

Growing Words

Today I am teaching the great speech Alma gives to the Zoramites in Antionum, when he compares the word of God to a seed. I cannot read Alma 32:28 without a feeling of childish delight causing a happy chuckle. In that verse Alma explains that if a word is a good word you will know it because when it is planted in your heart it will begin to swell within you, it will enlarge your soul, it will enlighten your understanding, and it will be delicious to you. In other words, you will feel the goodness of the words and those good words will in turn grow into faith.

But look closely at the first letter of those descriptive words. It will Swell, Enlarge, Enlighten, and be Delicious.The acronym spells SEED. That play on words is repeated in verses 34 and 35 with the words, Sprouted, Enlightened, Expand, and Discernible.

It makes me think that God loves language and words as much as I do!

BYU Education Week Day One

The first day of BYU Education Week has gone well. I taught my class on Faith Works By Words and met some wonderful people. That is what keeps me coming back to teach at Education Week. Just walking around campus with all these amazing people lifts and encourages. I wish I could transmit the feeling to you, but hopefully by talking about it and you reading about it you can feel it. But remember WORDS are powerful.

If you read this and think the words, "Poor me. I can't be there,"then the words will create negative feelings that destroy faith and instill depression and dismay.

But if you read this and think, "At least I get to hear about it, and I can imagine how it is," then you will have almost the same experience I am having. The WORDS you use make all the difference in the world.

So use your imagination and think about what it is like to be among thousands of believing, faith seeking, wonderful people. Feel the aura that exists, the love that emanates from them. Enjoy the sounds of people greeting each other with kindness and every where you go people making new friendships. It is a little taste of heaven.

Words and Faith

I’m working hard preparing for the classes I’ll be teaching next week at BYU Education Week. On Monday I am teaching a two hour class called “Faith Works By Words,” and I am very excited about the things I am learning. The class is based on teachings from Lectures on Faith in which the question is asked, “What are we to understand by a man‘s working by faith?” And the answer is, “We understand that when a man works by faith he works by mental exertion instead of physical force. It is by words, instead of by exerting his physical power, with which every being works when he works by faith” (7:3). After this statement examples are used of how God, using words, created the world by saying, “Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3), etc., and how prophets of God stopped the sun or the rain or in other ways changed the course of events by using words.

It is easy to read that and think it has nothing to do with us. That is how God and prophets work, but I can’t make the sun stop in its course so the instruction has nothing to do with me. But creation accounts are all symbolic of what you and I need to do to become new creatures or in other words to be born again. This second birth happens only if we create it and how do we bring it about? By using words.

Words have power and when we use them correctly we increase in faith and gain the power to overcome the adversary. In the book of Revelation we are told that in the pre-mortal life Lucifer was cast out of the presence of God and came to earth where he tempts mankind to fall as he did. But some people triumph and those who do we are told, “Overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11). The power to triumph over evil is available to all of us through the Atonement and is made operative in our lives by the words we use.

I’m giving you a whole hour long lecture in a few paragraphs, but the gist of this is that words have power and whenever we use good words we build our faith and whenever we use negative words we eat away at our faith. When we start our day thinking, “This is going to be a good day!” we grow in faith and when we start our day thinking, “Another day of dreadful work which I hate” we decrease in faith. Faith isn’t a matter of what words we use to think about religion. Faith is a matter of what words we use when we think and speak.

I know a woman in her late 60s who has never been married. Instead of becoming bitter or self-pitying over that fact she rejoices each morning when she wakes up by saying, “Wow, I’m one day closer to the day when I find my eternal companion.” She is using words to build and sustain and create faith. She, in essence, is saying, “Let there be light.” And by her words she is creating a life of faith, and it is good!

The Power of Imagination

In speaking to some people in Zarahemla (Alma 5) who have strayed from the gospel, Alma encourages them to use the three powers of the mind that create faith. One of these powers of the mind we don’t talk about much, and yet it can be so powerful in helping us live what we believe; that is the power we have to imagine. 

Alma encourages the people to imagine themselves standing before God and asks them to imagine how they will feel and what they will do. Will they try to lie to God and claim they are innocent? Or will they stand before Him confident in their righteousness? 

As I imagine myself in that position, I feel a determination to do better. It makes what I have been taught seem more real. It then gives me a memory instead of just a few words that I can recall anytime I need strength. But there are other ways we can use imagination to help us. One is to think of situations and circumstances when we fall short or make mistakes and use our imagination to determine a better response the next time we find ourselves in that situation. We can plan new behavior to break old habits, and plan for new responses to people who “push our buttons.”

Imagination is a powerful tool that we have been given to help us grow closer to our Father in Heaven and Savior, a tool we don’t use nearly enough.

My Mom

 I went up to the Bountiful hospital to see my mother yesterday and just have to tell you what a spunky woman she is. While I was there the doctor came in and said that the C-scan showed that she has nine broken ribs and a cracked collar bone.  Of the nine broken ribs there are only two that are broken in one place; the other seven are broken in two or three places each and I mean broken not cracked. They are floating! All nine are on the right side so it means that she has almost nothing (there are only 12 ribs on a side) to hold her organs inside her body. She is going to be in a care center for at least two months and that didn’t set well with her. As soon as the doctor left she said to me, “I think it will only take a month.”

After she fell she said she couldn’t breathe and as she lay there the thought came to her, “I think I’m dead.” And then she thought, “Oh no, I’m not dead. I’m in too much pain to be dead.” That’s my mom! Pain is proof of life! If you ask her how she is she answers, "I'm doing fine." And she sounds like she really means it.

She is a spunky woman who is enduring the pain without complaining, and maintaining her sense of humor through the whole thing. When I grow up I want to be like her.

Words Grow Faith

In the Book of Mormon the great prophet, Alma, compares a seed to the word of God (Alma 32:28). For some reason most people read that and think Alma is comparing the seed to faith, but you lose the whole meaning if you do that. He explains that if you plant the seed (the word) it will grow into faith so faith is the fruit not the seed.

A seed is a source of something, but it is something specific. The source of a carrot is not a radish seed. A seed is potential for something else; something bigger and better than the seed itself. For the seed to grow it needs to be nourished and cared for. If that happens, it achieves its potential and brings forth fruit. With that in mind let your imagination soar to make associations. 

A word is a source of something specific. A word is potential for something else. But for the word to grow into faith it needs to be nourished and cared for.

And how do you know if that word is growing into faith? Alma explains that you will feel it swell within you, enlarge your soul, enlighten your mind, and be delicious. (See Alma 32:28).

Take the first letter of those descriptive words to make an acronym and see what you get. Swell. Enlarge. Enlighten. Delicious. Then in verses 34 and 35 Alma explains that the word will Sprout, Enlighten, Expand and be Discernible. Alma uses words in very clever ways to teach us about words and how they become faith. I love it!

Prosperity

When I was growing up it seemed to me that nothing went right. It seemed that trials and tribulations were all my family encountered at every turn. My mother had undulant fever. My father contracted encephalitis from a mosquito bite and almost died. Our house burned down. Dad started several businesses and serious problems plagued every one of them. Dad had blood clots in his lungs. Financial problems hung over us like a storm that wouldn't abate. I could go on, but this is enough to give you a feel for the things that plagued us.

Despite all of this, my parents were always faithful in the Church. They paid a full tithe. They studied the scriptures. They attended the temple often. They taught us. They served in the Church and were always very active. The problem with all of this is that I kept hearing and reading verses of scriptures such as that found in 2 Nephi 1:20; "Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land." I saw that my parents were diligently trying to keep the commandments, but they weren't prospering. This bothered me a lot and challenged my testimony.

It took years of study and gospel scrutiny for me to finally realize what the Lord means when he says "prosper in the land." I should have caught on from the very verse I just quoted. The rest of that verse says, "But inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence." I was always so caught up in the "prosper" part that I didn't see that the opposite of prospering has nothing to do with wealth. The opposite is to be cut off from the Lord. This led me to the realization that this earth is one day going to be the celestial kingdom. So to prosper in the land means to stay here—to be part of the celestial kingdom. This is explained in Proverbs 2:21-22, "For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it."

While it is true that righteous people often acquire more earthly prosperity, it doesn't always happen. There are many righteous people who struggle financially and many wicked people who don't. But righteous people will always acquire faith and will "prosper in the land" in that they will receive a celestial inheritance in this land.

Now when I think back on my growing up years I realize that everything went exactly as it was supposed to. My parents had faith. What more could I ask for?

Remembering Grizelda

As the month of December approaches my mind is full of Christmas and the birth of my Savior, but it is also full of the miracle I received three years ago this December—a blessing provided by  that Savior. With the marvel of that miracle filling my heart I went back and read what I had written here on Good News! the day of my brain surgery to extract Grizelda. I’d forgotten that I finished reading the Old Testament the very day of the surgery, and was struck once again with a verse that stood out to me that day. “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall” (Micah 4:2).

That verse means even more to me now than it did then. He did care for me like a prize calf in a stall. He fed my spirit so that as I walked through the shadows of adversity I was at peace, he protected me, he tended to my every need. But it didn’t end. He continues to do so even though I am so undeserving.

As the anniversary of that event draws near, the memories keep springing to mind and so do all of the wonderful things I learned from the traumatic experience. I am so grateful.

Words Have Power

Words are poweful. I've always known that, but over the past year as I've been researching words, I've had that reinforced to me over and over and over. Just yesterday I was re-reading a book I first read years ago. The book contains interviews by Bill Moyers with poets, and of all people poets know the power of words.

One of the poets interviews is James A. Autry and he stands out from the rest because of his unique situation. A lot of today's poets seem to have come out of the hippie movement--and I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean that in they are concerned and are free-spirited and set themselves apart from modern culture. But Autry is a successful businessman, the "corporate" poet.

In his interview with Moyers Autry condemns the sports and battle metaphors that are used in business language. He explains that when "you think of yourself as a winner, you must think of osmeone else as a loser, and that makes the whole thing a zero sum game."

And then there is the part of the interview I love best. Moyers asks, "So you believe we take on the qualitites of the elanguage we use?" And Autry answers, "Yes."

To that I say a loud, "Amen." The way we speak shapes what we are. You can argue the old chicken and the egg thing here about which comes first--the way we are or the language we use. But at this point it doesn't matter how we got to be the way we are. What matters is how we grow to be something more than what we now are. And changing the way we speak is one of the most powerful ways to change what we are.

Words have power and when we use positive, uplifting, encouraging, kind, loving words we take on thsoe characteristics.

The Test of Faith

When we’re going through it we usually think we are the only ones who’ve experienced it, but we’ve all had times when for some reason God seems to have forgotten us. It’s as if He’s so far away He’s become unreachable. But we aren’t the only ones who have felt this. In Isaiah we find, “Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour” (Isaiah 45:15). But in the Doctrine and Covenants we find an answer, “But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me; But the day soon cometh that ye shall see me, and know that I am; for the veil of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not purified shall not abide the day” (D&C 38:7-8).

Even though we sometimes feel left alone, we never are. His eyes are upon us. But for some reason part of the test of life is to see what we will do if we think we have been forgotten. It is easy to worship God when everything is going well and we constantly experience His tender mercies in our lives. But what will we do if we can’t feel Him near? That is the test. Will we still worship and praise God or will we turn our backs on Him?

Job went through terrible trials. He felt this aloneness and cried out, “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:8-10).

Faith is knowing that God is always near even if you can’t feel His presence. Faith is trusting in Him even if the tender mercies don’t come. Faith is worshiping and loving Him despite what you experience. To expect and always be seeking after a warm, fuzzy feeling is to worship the feeling instead of God.

To worship God, we need to trust, love, and be loyal to Him despite what we experience. That is the test of faith.

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.