Come Follow Me: Doctrine and Covenants 58–59 “ANXIOUSLY ENGAGED IN A GOOD CAUSE”
58:2 For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.
3 Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.
4 For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand.
5 Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may lay it to heart, and receive that which is to follow.
During a conversation with Krista Tippett on On Being, theologian and church historian Roberta C. Bondi shared her perspective of how the hope of blessings and prayer helps her get through tribulation:
“One of my favorite images from Scripture… was always Jacob wrestling with the angel…It has all the elements of real prayer: God sneaking up on Jacob…unexpectedly in the night, which is often when God comes to us with the anxiety-producing information about ourselves or about our situation; Jacob’s absolute persistence in saying, “Look, all right, you started this, I’m not letting you go without a blessing”; and…his perseverance and…refusal to let go; and his absolute steadfast commitment to the fact that if he had hung in there, there would be a blessing in it.
“Which is my experience over and over…with working through the hard things in my life…The thing that’s kept me at it so many times is the understanding and…belief that if I really do face these things in God’s presence…and wrestle through them, that this is not because it’s good to face hard things or because there’s something noble and helpful in suffering, but because the promise really is, if I keep on this long enough, there will be the blessing on the other side. There will be the resurrection. I’m doing this for the sake of the blessing, for the resurrection, so that I don’t have to do this anymore…
“I have a friend who plays in the Atlanta Symphony, and someone asked him once what it was like to play piccolo in a great symphony like the Atlanta Symphony. And he said, “Well, it’s actually, long stretches of boredom interspersed with short periods of pure terror.” And I wouldn’t say it quite like that, that prayer is like that. But I would say that prayer is long periods of ordinary shared life, together with intense periods of wrestling with really serious stuff that can scare us to death but can also bring us into real life with God and real life with ourselves in a way that we can’t otherwise have it.”
She also says, “During the difficult times…prayer… is generally difficult because our prayer reflects the rest of our lives. We don’t become different people when we go into our prayer, and if it’s going to be a real relationship, it has to be a truthful relationship.”
And: “[H]owever we think we ought to be in prayer, the fact is we just need to show up and do the best we can do, and that’s what’s called on in our relationship with God is just to show up…It’s like being in a family. We just show up.”
And: “[I]f for whatever reason a person finds it hard to sit down and do any kind of formal prayer, or there’s an inner resistance, which I think a lot of us feel, it’s okay just to invite God to be with you while you read a good novel or eat a meal, right? Which is … but that’s a pretty radical idea.”
Some ideas gleaned from Roberta’s words:Connecting with God/ prayer is meant to be a struggle/ wrestle, and is more challenging when life in general is hard.In the dialogue that comes with prayer, God sometimes surprises us with insights or communes with us unexpectedly.Prayer can be boring and requires discipline, commitment and showing up, much like God being a family member you give time and attention to every day. Lowering our expectations for our prayer performance and thinking out of the box about what prayer can be might help us tap into inviting God into our lives if we’re struggling with this.Expressing our insistent longing for blessings, perhaps specifically resurrection and eternal life, can help us through our most fearful times of life. The hope of unseen resolution and blessings beyond this life, as discussed in D&C 58, can help us persist in our greatest times of tribulation.Questions for consideration/discussion:In what ways has prayer been a struggle for you during hard times? What prompts you to wrestle with God? Do you agree with Bondi that prayer becomes harder when life is harder? If so, why?Has God ever surprised you in the way Bondi suggests, with “anxiety-producing information about ourselves or about our situation” or a joyful sense of being loved and held?What do you think of the idea of treating God like a family member you need to show up for each day? Or inviting God to be present with you while you do ordinary daily activities in place of a conventional prayer?Has hope in the resurrection and eternal life helped you in hard times?What non-material blessings other than those in the next life have you come to count on that come through enduring tribulation? (such as wisdom, experience, perspective, increase capacities to support others, etc.)What strikes you or inspires you most about Bondi’s reflections on tribulations and blessings?How might preparing “a feast of fat things…for the poor” apply to our lives or communities? (Doctrine and Covenants 58:6-11)58:6…[F]or this cause I have sent you…8 that a feast of fat things might be prepared for the poor; yea, a feast of fat things, of wine on the lees well refined, that the earth may know that the mouths of the prophets shall not fail;
9 Yea, a supper of the house of the Lord, well prepared, unto which all nations shall be invited.
10 First, the rich and the learned, the wise and the noble;
11 And after that cometh the day of my power; then shall the poor, the lame, and the blind, and the deaf, come in unto the marriage of the Lamb, and partake of the supper of the Lord, prepared for the great day to come.
Many wards and stakes today are growing increasingly culturally, racially and socio-economically diverse. Perhaps you live in an urban center that has experienced influxes of refugees. Or perhaps your ward today likely has more individuals with mental health disabilities, physical, and other disabilities who need accommodations than in decades past.
Questions for Consideration/Discussion:What does the “supper of the Lord” mentioned in D&C 58 that is “prepared for the poor,” others in need, and those who have been treated/perceived as outsiders mean to you at this point in your experience?From your perspective, does this concept apply to temporal needs, spiritual needs, or both? Does it apply to the Church’s past (such as the early gathering of immigrant converts), the present ways the Church helps the poor, future events when the Savior comes or all of the above?Many new members and migrants are looking for connection, belonging, community, support, and personal growth. How can we do a better job in our wards and stake at preparing the Lord’s supper for the poor– helping meet their needs, being socially inclusive, and helping them develop and thrive in the ways they desire to do as people?How can we do a better job at including refugees, immigrants, and culturally and racially diverse members at Church who might feel like outsiders at times?What do you feel inspired to do to help prepare the supper of the Lamb for those in need?When is obedience a virtue and when is it an obstacle or a vice?58: 27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.
29 But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.
There are some core commandments or boundaries that stand as basic guideposts for life. The ten commandments are valuable when it comes to this. And sometimes we benefit from revelation and direction from God, ideas that aren’t fully our own. The early saints worked on projects God inspired to take up. But it’s also clear in these verses that it’s not right for us to have all our actions, learning, and projects spoon-fed to us by God or by our religious institutions. We should be actively engaged in thinking through problems, questions, and the pursuit of goodness, truth, and virtue of our own accord. It is more of a creative partnership we have with God in pursuit of creating a better world, both of us acting as agents. C.S. Lewis sometimes discussed the idea that virtues are in danger of becoming harmful idols or vices in our lives if we make them all-important. For example in The Four Loves, he wrote, “When love itself becomes a god, it becomes demonic.” As we see in these verses in D&C, obedience like other virtues needs to be balanced with other principles and should not be all-encompassing. There are contexts in which obedience is helpful, but it should not dominate our spiritual engagement.
Questions for Consideration/Discussion:Inspired by the verses above as well as your own experience, what are some examples of when fixation on obedience/ not acting until directed by others serves as a stumbling block or detriment?How has your own perspective of obedience changed as you’ve gone through different periods of development (such as childhood, teen years, young adulthood, middle age etc.)What are some actions/projects you’ve had the desire to do of your own accord, that have nothing to do with valuing obedience, but have brought joy/goodness into your life?Obedience to leaders, even sometimes at the cost of cognitive dissonance and distrust of self, is sometimes emphasized at church. In your mind, when is the principle of obedience helpful in the Church, and when might it hinder “much righteousness” that could be possible by making space for members’ personal wisdom, experience, differentiation from one another and autonomy?How would you like the discourse about obedience in the Church to evolve to be more supportive of members and their desires to do good “of their own free will”? What Could Make Sunday More Restful and Delightful for you? (Doctrine and Covenants 59)Whether you’re a parent, sometimes required to work on Sunday, overwhelmed or stressed by crowds at church, or struggle to unplug from the online world like so many of us, it can be an immense challenge to access rest and enjoyment on the Sabbath, or to feel that this day is different any others. The situation is a bit different today than they were in 1831 when this revelation was recorded, and when it might have been a little clearer what it meant to lay work aside and enjoy physical rest/ a break from certain responsibilities.
Questions for Consideration/Discussion:What obstacles have you faced in tapping into rest, peace, and joy on the Sabbath?What strategies have you tried for dealing with this?In seeking to make the Sabbath more rejuvenating and holy, it might be helpful to expand our definitions of what sacred/spiritual experience can be. D&C 59 ties keeping blessings of the Sabbath to our stewardship over nature/the earth. While the revelation doesn’t suggest taking nature walks or meditating in the woods, spending time in nature is one legitimate way to seek more peace on Sunday.
According to research done by the Springtide Institute, GenZ young adults and teens consider engaging both nature and the arts as vital spiritual practices; 20% of them spend time in nature to connect with the sacred, and 29% create and engage art (singing, painting, listening to music, etc.) to get in touch with their spirituality. These are among their top three spiritual practices, the third being prayer (20%). We might learn something from how definitions of spiritual practices are expanding and evolving to meet the needs of our time!
Spiritual experiences, including deep feelings of peace and connection, can happen in many more contexts than prayer, scripture study, or singing hymns. Reading novels or poems that speaks to your heart and mind, playing an instrument, writing, drawing, observing wildlife and fauna on a hike, spending time with other people, and even focused, fun activities such as board game can all produce moments of peace, insight, and sacred connectedness. Maybe we need to give ourselves more spiritual credit for some of the efforts we make to tend to our needs on the Sabbath, and more permission to enjoy these things as part of what nurtures our spirituality.
Questions for Consideration/Discussion:Are there any activities in the natural world or in the arts that bring you solace/delight/a sense of enlightenment or connection with God? What other activities would you add to this list that might provide a sense of flow/ connection/ peace/ communion with God and attunement to spiritual light?Do you think an expanded definition of spiritual practices and/or spiritual experiences might help you to find more rest and delight in the Sabbath? Why or why not?Photo by peter bucks on Unsplash
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