Look out! Here Comes a Spiderman!

Spiderman, spiderman, does whatever a spider can...Look out, here comes a Spiderman!
Spiderman is my all time favorite super-hero. Why? Basically because he has the coolest powers. Admitedly, were he to move to say, Ohio or Montana, his web-slinging capabilities would be significantly less impressive and useful. But as it stands he lives in New York City, and there his ability shines... What I also respect and admire about Spiderman is that even though he loves Mary Jane a whole lot, he never lets her in on his secret identity (ok or at least for a really long time). Why? Because he doesn't want to put her in danger. Even if it makes him look like a jerk and even if it means he can never be with her he cares more about her than himself.
So what does any of this have to do with the gospel? Well
two things.


1-The Lord knows us individually. My companion pointed out to me the other day an account in the Book of Mormon where a father is giving advice to his two sons. Both are very wicked and as such they usually get lumped together in people's mind. Their names were Laman and Lamuel. Lehi their father though, does not lump them together. As they are traveling through the wilderness they stop in a valley. Lehi names two things there after each son; Laman becomes the name of the river, Lamuel the name of the valley itself. (1 Nephi 2:8-10) Why? As we read on we learn about Laman and Lamuel. In chapter 3 of 1 Nephi we read that Lamuel "hearkened unto the words of Laman" (1 Nephi 3:28). Lehi knew his sons perfectly well, he knew that what Laman needed was different from what Lamuel needed. Laman, the oldest and leader, needed to point his path towards righteousness. Lamuel, the youngest, needed to find faith in himself and the Lord strong enough to not just be swayed by whatever his elder brother did. Just as Lehi knew what his sons needed the Lord knows exactly what each of us need. Perfectly. We all have individual strenghts and weaknesses, and because of this, the Lord places us in specefic situations, trials, families, and events that He knows will best build us. Sometimes we may be confused by where God wants us but I know that if we seek our own paths instead of God's we will end up like Aquaman out of water or Spiderman in Ohio; we will never reach our divine potential.

2-Often in life we regard not knowing things as a bad thing. I for one find it frustrating when I know what the Lord wants me to do but I don't know why or worse yet, I know that I want to do what the Lord wants me to do but I'm not currently sure what it is He wants me to be doing. Equally as frustrating is trying to learn things within the gospel that I just can't wrap my head around and I'm not getting more information. There have also been times in my life when I know I have to wait for more information or more knowledge. I think the biggest one was growing up and just wanting to go to the Temple. I knew what happened there was sacred, but I didn't understand why the sacred seemed sometimes to mean "secret". I think many people in and out of the Church have felt this way about the Temple and other things. But what I am realizing now is sacred does not mean secret in the way the world views it. Secret in the world can mean witholding information from others because we it is hurtful to them, we don't like them, or we don't trust them. The Lord's "secrets" are not the same at all. Just as Spiderman wears a mask to keep his identity from people to protect them, the Lord often keeps things masked for a time from us to protect us. Were Spiderman to go around without a mask everyone would know who he was and not only would that give evil people power over him it would put good people in danger and give them great responsibility they may not be ready to have yet. Really Spiderman wears a mask to keep his identity "sacred", and it was all out of love for those close to him and all others that might not be ready to know who he was yet.  To me, this is how the Lord works in our lives. He keeps things "masked" for a time until we are truly ready to see them, act on them, and be responsible with that knowledge. He also keeps things sacred from the world to protect these sacred things from being mocked, mistreated, and demeaned.  (3 Nephi 14:6). So really, whether it is personal revelation, gospel study, or other sacred dealings or covenants, the Lord only keeps things masked for a time from us out of love for us and love of the world and love of the sacred. Because I know God knows me far better than I know myself, then I know God will always know when the right time for things to become unmasked to me. I also know He knows best what things need to be kept sacred, and what things are to be public and what things are to be known with time.

So, how is the gospel like Spiderman? Because God knows us perfectly and loves us perfectly, therefore we can perfectly trust and love where God puts us and what God keeps masked to us-He will never let us down!

Iocane poison and boiling frogs...

Growing up there was a tradition I had; fake sick and watch the Princess Bride. OK, so maybe some of the time I really was sick but regardless anytime I stayed home due to illness I would watch the Princess Bride. Maybe it was because the kid in it was also sick as he heard the story, or maybe I just really like pirates and Medieval Times, but either way it was tradition. I watched it over and over and over again til to this day most of it is still quotable almost as second nature. One part that I loved to watch was when our hero, Wesley, plays the game of wits with the villinous kidnapper Vizzini. In this game (sorry if I spoil the movie for you) the two players sit with goblets of wine. One goblet has poison in it that is tasteless and ordorless. Both players talk with eachother long enough for the one that did not put the poison in the cups to decide which cup he wants to drink from. Then they drink and the winner lives and the loser...not so much. And so Wesley and Viccini go back and forth, back and forth, until Vizzini distracts Wesley, then switches the cups. He then has them drink the cup in front of them. Wesley announces that Vizzini chose wrong, all the while Vizzini laughs at Wesley, telling him he switched the cups. Admist his laughter he dies... Why? Wesley poisoned both cups! And why didn't Wesley die? Because slowly over years he'd taken small amounts of the iocane poison and worked up to the point where he was immune to it; hence he just poisoned both cups knowing he could not lose.

The reason I love this part was because it amazed me how Wesley had the patience to work up that immunity slowly over time. Because he did so he was able to be prepared for that event; if he hadn't prepared that would've been a terrifying conversation with a 50-50 chance of success. Yet, because he was prepared he could sit back, relax, and be confident he would come out on top. My companion pointed out to me a few days ago that Wesley's experience can be applied to the gospel.

Often we hope to have "instant" faith or to take a "leap" of faith. But she pointed out to me a leap of faith is not really taking some hair-raising jump off of a cliff; what it really is taking a step or jump from one rock to another accross a river or gap. Its really a bunch of little leaps to get us to where God wants us to be. Just like Wesley had to slowly little by little increase his iocane intake to eventually be prepared for his "game of wits" we too must learn the gospel little by little (except the cool part is the gospel isn't poisonous like iocane) so that we can be ready for our tests of faith or "game of wits". When we do this we won't have to worry about making it through them or not; we like Wesley, can sit back and relax and let our preparation do all the work for us. We can learn the gospel "line upon line, precept upon precept" (Isaiah 28:10 or 2 Nephi 28:30) until we can know "the truth of all things by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Moroni 10:5). When we realize this we learn to be more patient as we strive to build our faith and testimony because we realize it is a process and not an event.

Now this analogy could very well go the other way. The problem with Satan is he likes to mimic all that God does. Just as we can learn the gospel little by little, we can also lose our faith in it little by little. The counterfit to Wesley's experience could be likened to boiling a frog. I think most of us have heard about how you can throw a frog into boiling water and he'll jump right out BUT if you put him in cool water and let it heat gradually he'll stay in there even as it reaches a boiling point and the frog will eventually be cooked. Satan often works the same way with us. He gets us to take tiny but calculated steps away from God. He starts small, smaller than I think any of us can imagine, because he knows the second he heats the water too fast we will jump out and he'll lose us. That is why we must be constantly watchful and mindful of our lives (Mosiah 4:30), otherwise we will risk being bound by "flaxen cords" over and over again until Satan has us "bound forever" (2 Nephi 28:22).

So let us be Wesleys not frogs as we change ourselves little by little and slowly work up to become all that we can become! Because remember, "by small and simple things (good or bad) great things come to pass" (Alma 36:7).
For more about gaining a knowledge and faith read Elder Bednar's talk on recieving revelation. Or just watch the clip below:

Made in....Zion?



Will our stamps say "made in Zion" or "made in Babylon"?

So I read something in Nephi chapter 18 that stood out to me. My old companion had pointed it out to me weeks ago but this time it hit me again really hard. Nephi has been asked by God to build a boat. He's never in his life built so much as a raft and yet he gets to work. His brothers mock him and refuse to help but after some help from the Lord and by bearing testimony to his brothers they decide to help him. What I love though is how Nephi begins to build. It says in 1 Nephi 18:2-3 " Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men. And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things."
What stood out to me in this was that Nephi did not build the boat "after the manner of men" but in the way the Lord showed him. How did he do this? By frequently praying to God for guidance. In our own lives we are not asked to build boats, but we are asked to build our lives. Today there are so many "manuals" available to us on how we can build our lives. Self-help books, T.V. shows from Oprah to Doctor Phil, examples from celebrities, expectations of the world, and so many other sources. The question is who will we look to build our lives after?

When I was in middle school I had a class project. We were put in groups of five or so students and given a certain number of toothpicks. We were asked to build a bridge 6 inches long by tomorrow using just those toothpicks and some glue. Tomorrow the teacher would rest 5 pounds on the bridge and if it held we would pass, if not; we would fail. He then showed us a little video clip of bridges that have been built around the world. The video highlighted the triangle and how it was used often in architecture because it was one of the strongest formations out there. After the video we were set to work. As you can guess pretty much every group began to madly cut up their toothpicks and make them into triangles. Soon there were elaborate schemes and structures being sketched and discussed all about the room. I sat there looking at the scene and wondered; how was our group going to build our bridge. Grades have always been important to me and so I looked around confused and scared-how was I to build my bridge? I quickly said a silent prayer and waited. Suddenly a voice in my head said "don't use the triangle. Set a layer down horizontal then a layer on top going vertical. Do as many layers as you can this way". Immediately I knew that was how to build the bridge. I asked my group for their OK and although a little nervous, they agreed. We were done in minutes and we then had all class period to look out over the rest of the groups. Being finished so soon made us all nervous and as more and more groups finished their bridges we realized how different and odd our bridge looked. We were all nervous, and we all went home wondering; would our bridge hold?
The next day my stomach was in knots. Naturally, our bridge was tested last. We saw some bridges hold and others break and as the hour went on I was sure our bridge would fail. I could imagine how everyone would laugh at our bridge and how mad my group would be for my hair brain idea. Finally the big moment came. Our teacher placed our bridge across a gap made by two textbooks and placed the five pound weight on the bridge. I closed my eyes waiting for the sound of a snap. When I heard none I opened my eyes and saw that our bridge was in tact; strong, firm, and erect. Our teacher smiled and grabbed another weight. Time after time he piled more and more weight on that bridge and it never broke. It got to the point that the surface area was too small to add any more weight and he declared our bridge "unbreakable".

That experience has stood out to me since then. I realized then how God works in our lives. We, like Nephi, have a choice. We can build our lives after the manner of the world or after the manner of God; it just depends on where we go to get our advice and direction. Will we turn to the world or will we turn to God in prayer and study of His word? I often think of toys and how they have stamps on them "made in USA" or "made in Taiwan" or "made in India". The principle is the same in our lives. Every day we make choices that will determine our stamp, and when we are finished will ours say "made in Babylon" or "made in Zion"? It just all depends on who we let manufacture our lives.

Weeds and the Brass Plates

So Saturday mornings at the Green household meant work. Nearly every Saturday we would either wake up to my Father repeatedly using the high pitch call button on our intercome or, even worse, the silent call of his work list on the table waiting patiently for us to discover it. I remember one particular morning we came down and discovered one of these said lists. There was a column for each child with a bullet list of chores. Some chores were to be shared by more than one child, and some chores were for all of us to conquer. The only good thing about it was, if all of us finished our Dad would take us to dinner and the movies. Because of this we usually tried to work together anyways so that all of us would be done in time to enjoy the evening with the family. On that fateful day we all had one shared chore; weed the gap between our yard and the dirt horse road behind our yard. The dirt there was hard as rock and the weeds tall and daunting. We decided to tackle that chore last. Working with speed and frenzy through the rest of the list, we quickly reconvened to tackle the chore of the day; weeding.

I remember getting a good grip on one of the weeds and pulling with all my might near the base of it; my reward was that my hand slid all the way up the weed and took off all of its branches yet, the weed hadn't moved from the dirt an inch. After several attempts of this from all of us we had roughly two of two thousand weeds pulled. Needless to say I was discouraged, and I began to "murmer".

Now I would like to pause here because this story came to mind as I read the account of Nephi and his brothers going back to Jerusalem to get the brass plates. This was a far more daunting and "unreasonable" task and yet it was required of the Lord. When asked to accomplish the task Nephi's brothers Lamen and Lamuel murmered saying it was "a hard thing" (1 Nephi 3:5). Nephi on the other hand had responded "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7). He led his brothers back to Jerusalem where they drew lots to see who would go and ask Laban, the owner of the plates, if they could have them. The lot fell on Lamen who went as asked and was chased out by guards. Essentially, he ran for his life back to his brothers. Like Lamen we had tried one way to get our job done that was asked of us by our Father, and it had failed miserably. At this point of our journey I, like Lamen and Lamuel, began to murmer. And yet I too had a brother to lead and help me to accomplish my goals and tasks. When Nephi's brothers were upset this is what he told them "As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down...until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us." (1 Nephi 3:15). He then suggested they go and get all their money to trade Laban for the plates.

As Nephi sought new ways to accomplish, so did my brother Jared. He suggested we water the dirt until it was moist enough to get the roots of the weeds out. Re-energized we went right to work. Soon the whole area was watered down and excitedly I reached to pull out a weed. To my extreme disapointment I discovered that the weeds still wouldn't budge, and now I was all wet and muddy. Just as Nephi's plan to bring their money for trading failed and caused Nephi and his brothers to again run for their lives, this time leaving behind all their possesions, my brother's idea had backfired too. It seemed we were going backwards... At this point in the Nephi account Lamen/Lamuel began to beat him with a rod. Now I didn't go that far, especially since my brother was a lot older than I, but I did start to wonder if we would ever get done. Exasperated I began again to murmer. But my brother did not. He called my Dad to ask for his advice. Luckily my Dad was on his way home and was able to come out and see our progress and provide council. This is exactly what Nephi did, he sought the Lord's council and left for the city being led by the Holy Ghost, "not knowing beforehand what he would do" (1 Nephi 4:6). But he was led, and he was finally able to get the plates because of his Heavenly Father's guidance...

Now if you are wondering if my own weed story has a happy I'm here to tell you it did. After my Dad poked at some weeds for a bit he got the weed wacker and demolished them all in under an hour. We all showered and were able to go to dinner that night with our job completed. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father in my life that works with us in the same way. We are all asked to do hard things. Sometimes we try and we try and we try and things just get worse. But just like Nephi and his brothers, I know if we do all we know how to do and give the job our best effort, the Lord will ALWAYS step in and provide a way for us to finish it. So, let us like Nephi of old and my brother today, stand up and say in our lives "As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us." (1 Nephi 3:15). I know if we do we will always finish all that is asked of us, and we will in turn recieve the blessings that come with faith, diligence, and accomplishing all we are asked to accomplish.

No Decision is a Decision

My Grandfather has two twin brothers, Tom and Jerry. According to my Grandpa they were the "cat's meow" and frankly I believe him when I see pictures. They look like James Dean to me and I enjoyed hearing stories about them. My favorite by far is a story about when they were young and were riding a tandem bike together. The two were having a good time and soon started down a big hill. This hill descended into a wide open field with just one tree standing errect, right in the middle. Down they went, speeding directly into the path of the tree. Now I admit I can't remember which was driving but to save confusion lets say it was Jerry. All the time that bike was speeding towards that tree poor Tom was thinking "he's gonna turn any minute now, he's just fooling with me". He thought this right up until the minute that bike hit right smack dab in the middle of that tree's trunk and they went sailing into the dirt. Thankfully, neither one was too badly injured, but of course Tom turned to the Jerry and cried out in disbelief "why didn't you turn away from that tree?" Jerry's reply is something that I"ll never forget, he told Tom "I couldn't decide if I should turn to the right or to the left".

Now although the story is humorous, my Grandfather made sure he let us know what the moral of that story was; no decision is a decision. Now I am the kind of person that struggles deciding which glove to put on first as I leave for the day. Decisions are a hard thing because often we fear of making the wrong one. God has given us the divine gift of agency-the power and ability to choose for ourselves. Often the Advesary attacks us not only by trying to make us decide the wrong choice, but often he gets us by making sure we make no decision at all. By keeping us on the "fence" in life we get out of making a choice, but we also forfit God's blessings and personal growth. It is only when we realize that no decision IS a decision that we can free ourselves from this trap and avoid running spiritually into trees. We can choose with confidence knowing that not only can we be guided in our choices by the Spirit, but should we fall down a forbiden path, the Atonement is always available to bring us back. And this Faith in Jesus Christ is what gives us the power and confidence to decide today to follow Him; even if it costs us the painful process of making a choice and a change.