Jesus Points out Two Ways

Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

There are some amazing lessons in this parable. I am not going to write too much about it because I don't want to detract from the simplicity and beauty of these scriptures.

I think the concept of working for our "exaltation" is a dangerous one.

One of these men was seeking to be justified by the law. The other was justified by the mercy of the Lord. Jesus called the sinner justified for his confession and humility. The man who obeyed the law did not go home justified.

We also have this beautiful account of the woman, a sinner, who washed the Savior's feet with her tears.

Luke 7:36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.
37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Mercy
Forgiveness
Love
Humility
Charity
Faith
Hope

These are the keys to salvation. It is by faith that we are made whole. Faith in what? The Atonement of Jesus Christ. If we rely upon the merits of he who is mighty to save.

2 Nephi 31:19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

Alma 22:14 And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king.

Moroni 6:4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.


I hope we all will feel the love of our Savior and learn to rely on him. If you want to listen to one of my favorite Christian worship songs on youtube click here. It is called "Mighty to Save" by Hillsong United.

Pure Love of Christ

Charity is pretty much my favorite gospel topic right now. That and mercy. I love it! I want to talk about it all the time and read about it and learn more about how to have it.

Charity is so important that Joseph Smith talked about it in every Relief Society meeting he spoke at. He was urging the saints towards charity.

1 Cor. 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, • • •
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

Moroni 7: 44 If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.
45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Col. 3:14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

1 Tim. 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

D&C 88:125 And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.

“It is one evidence that men are unacquainted with the principles of godliness to behold the contraction of affectionate feelings and lack of charity in the world. The power and glory of godliness is spread out on a broad principle to throw out the mantle of [b]charity[/b]. God does not look on sin with allowance, but when men have sinned, there must be allowance made for them. … The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls; we feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders, and cast their sins behind our backs. …" Joseph Smith

I am especially struck by the verse in 1 Peter. Do you believe we could cover the multitude of sins if we have fervent charity among us? Is it possible for us to love our family, friends and neighbors so much that we want to lift them up and put their sins behind us?

We are nothing without charity. We can do great things, but without charity it does nothing for us. We cannot be saved in the kingdom of God without it. Charity never fails even when other things fail. Have you noticed the connection between charity and the Atonement?

I love the images of "cleave to charity" and "clothe yourself in charity" and the "mantle of charity." It makes me feel like it is something to fill or encompass my entire being. Cleave to charity like you cleave to your beloved spouse. It is the bond of perfectness and peace!

When we see someone perishing, how does our heart tell us to treat them? Do we desire to inflict further harm and pain or do we desire to "put them on our shoulders" and relieve their burden? Charity suffers long and is kind. How do we suffer long? How might this relate to the suffering of Christ? Is this how we "take up his cross" and follow him?

Charity is the most glorious gift we can give or receive. It is a power can change the world.

The Woman taken in Adultery

John 8:3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
12 ¶ Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Jesus Christ is my hero. My soul sings at the tender mercy he offers all mankind.

John is the only gospel that contains the story of the woman taken in adultery. It is such a beautiful story, I am grateful we have it. I know this God, he is my Eternal God and Savior.

This woman was taken in the very act of adultery. There are some disturbing things about this. First, where is the man she was with? He, too, is guilty. Second, this is daytime, I smell a set-up. Those are the results of the law.

According to Jewish law (which was a curse) she was to be stoned. Jesus says that he who is without sin should cast the first stone. Being under the law, they were all sinners and could not do it.

Then, in the most beautiful act of mercy, Jesus condemns her not and tells her to go and sin no more. Perfect! The only way she could sin no more is if she is no longer under the law. I believe that her trust in Jesus Christ released her from the bondage of the law (sin) and made her free.

I find it so confusing that Jesus would deal so mercifully with this woman and have so much wrath towards Emma and the early female saints. It just doesn't make sense. It doesn't even sound like the same God. The confusion melts away when I come to the knowledge that D&C 132 is a cursing, just like the law of the Old Testament.

There is a choice to be made. We can live the law of justice, carnal commandments and cursings OR we can be claimed by mercy, walk in the light and be free in Christ.

The Law

During this marvelous spiritual journey I find myself on I have thought a lot about The Law part of the gospel.

The scriptures are full of references to laws. There are laws for different kingdoms, the Law of Moses, fulfilled laws, etc. Some of these laws are in opposition to each other!

As I've been striving to learn what law God wants me to live, I feel I have learned something very profound. So simple.

Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

LOVE.

Now, before you comment that it isn't that simple and we have a billion other rules to follow, just stop and let this truth flow over you. Love. Love fulfills ALL the laws.

Now, you can go to dictionary.com and see the different definitions of the word "fulfilled." It means to complete, finish, to satisfy or to bring to realization. All that can be done by LOVING our neighbor as ourselves. This is such an amazing thing!

I used to think that by loving God and neighbor I would automatically live (works) all the other laws, rules and commandments. Now my understanding has shifted. It is the love of God and neighbor (and self) that FULFILLS all the law.

In this way, the laws that do not really come from our Father will naturally fall away. For example, we can easily see that how many steps we take on Sunday or what color shirt we wear to pass the Sacrament in doesn't matter to God.

Just to be completely heretical, I believe that according to scripture there are those who are NOT under the law. They are not bound to it and do not have to abide by it. Shocking, I know!

Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

And if you are not under the law, you are FREE. No longer a prisoner of sin.

But, how do we know if we are walking in the Spirit?

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

You will exhibit the fruits of the Spirit! The Light of Christ will shine for all to see. God will work through you.

Those who are not under the law are claimed by Mercy on the day of judgement. This is something that makes my heart sing, but makes many others cringe. Yes, I believe that there are scriptures to support this idea that those claimed by mercy will escape judgement of their own works. I don't pretend to fully comprehend this wonderful promise of God, but I do put my faith in it.

I don't think a person claimed by mercy will be judged by their own works because they will not be doing their own works!

Going back to the law for a minute:

Alma 42:17 Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?

It is because there is a law that there is sin! If there was no law, there would be no sin. So, if one has fulfilled the law through love (charity) he can no longer sin. Why? Because he is not under the law.

Joseph Smith taught a sermon in 1843 about the priesthood and talked about how the Levitical priesthood was only able to administer cursings and the carnal commandments! I highly recommend reading the notes on this because it contains several amazing tidbits of information about the law and the priesthood.

I interpret what I read in that sermon to mean that the carnal commandments ARE a curse. However, I believe that they serve a purpose. They frustrate and humble us enough that we come unto Christ for release.

Our works can NEVER save us. We cannot earn our salvation.

The Toscano's say it perfectly in their book Strangers in Paradox:
"Jesus brought closure to salvation by law and initiated salvation by love."