Last updated on December 9th, 2024 at 10:33 pm
December 1, 2024
Here is the best thing I heard (What?), saw (Eye.), and read (Read.) this week, as well as the best idea (💡) I developed.
What?
- “What verse from the Book of Mormon do you think was most frequently quoted in the 50 years between 1965 and 2014? Some scholars investigated this question and learned that the top quoted verse was Mosiah 3:19 (“For the natural man is an enemy to God”) and number two was 3 Nephi 27:27 (“Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”).
“Now, those are great verses, and I’m guessing that you’re not surprised that those are among the most frequently quoted verses. But try this question. What verse from the Book of Mormon do you think was most frequently quoted by the early Latter-day Saints?
“The answer to that question is Ether chapter 13 verses 4 through 8. And it’s interesting because these verses are rarely quoted today, but they were of intense interest to early Latter-day Saints. As we read these verses, think carefully about them. Why do you think early Latter-day Saints were so interested in them? We read:
“‘[4] Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land. [5] And he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence Lehi should come—after it should be destroyed it should be built up again, a holy city unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a new Jerusalem for it had been in a time of old; but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel— [6] And that a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type. [7] For as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died there; wherefore, the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph that they should perish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph that he should perish not. [8] Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded, until the end come when the earth shall pass away.’
“Early church members wondered if the new Jerusalem would be built in their day. We don’t talk about that as much in our time, but I feel confident that at one point, the new Jerusalem will be built. And I love how it’s described as a holy city. I don’t have a lot of control over when the new Jerusalem will be built, but thinking about it as a holy city makes me wonder what could I be doing right now to help my home become a holy home and my life a holy life.”
Eye.
- The University of Utah Utes football team ended their 7-game losing streak, thanks to two pick-sixes!
Read.
“An Early Resurrection: Life in Christ before You Die” by Adam Miller:
- “Without love, the law comes unplugged from Christ. It stops functioning as a type and leaves me hopeless. When, instead of love, the law generates fear, anger, guilt, envy, and frustration, then the law is broken. A loveless law is a broken law. A loveless law is a law incapable of mercy or justice. A loveless law is an occasion for selfishness, pride, and hypocrisy.
“Love is the key to life in Christ because love is itself a certain way of handling time. Love is a certain way of looking forward, a way of looking at the world, right now, as already redeemed. Love is a way of looking at this fragile world as already beset, on a global scale, by an early resurrection.
“Full of love, I die while I’m still alive. I lose my life before I’m dead, and, then, in Christ, I find it. Love works just as Christ said: ‘He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it’ (Matthew 10:39). Love is hard because it’s a kind of death. To love, I have to be willing to die. I have to be willing to let go of my life and give myself to caring for the lives of others. And, then, to continually live in love, I have to be willing to die every day, every hour, in ways that are big and small, again and again. I yield on the freeway. I bite my tongue when I want to criticize. I put down what I’m doing and read to my kids. I stay up late and finish the dishes. I get up early and drive my daughter to seminary. I grade the next paper. I put on my running shoes. I exhale. I surrender my life. Crucified with Christ, I practice surrendering all day long until my days are filled with the rest of the Lord. I practice dying as a way of life. And I keep practicing until I find the kind of rest that comes only from living my life in the form of a thousand daily deaths.
“Paul is uncompromising on this point. There are many spiritual gifts. And there are many laws that promise blessings. But without love, they’re all empty.”
💡
Set December 2024 goals in six important areas of life (Financial, Intellectual, Physical, Professional, Social, and Spiritual) and commit to sharing how I did with those goals in a December 2024 1-page report.