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The first key to understanding this oft used phrase in the New Testament is understanding that language has changed over the last few centuries. I remember my sister trying to figure out what was meant by “faith, hope, and charity.” “You should have faith in God,” she said, “love your fellow men…and hope that you’re right!” In general usage, hope seems to mean want, desire, or longing. I hope that you have a nice day. I hope I can go on this vacation. I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow. If you look up the definition of hope (for simplicity’s sake, I used www.dictionary.com), you will find that hope is not just something that you want to come to pass, to hope for something is to expect it to come to pass. When you hope, you have confidence that what you believe in is true.
Based on this, to have a hope in Christ is not just to want the gospel to be true with a hint of uncertainty. Peter said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). We can confidently expect the blessings of immortality and eternal life. This confidence is born of the atonement and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. When He gave us hope, He didn’t just show us that Resurrection was a remote possibility, He showed us what we can expect if we accept Him and do our best to follow Him.
In a recent address entitled “The Infinate Power of Hope,” Dieter F. Uchtdorf defined hope as “the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us.” Speaking to those who are discouraged, worried, or lonely, he said, “Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time.” I took many classes on the subject growing up and I love taking pictures. Some pictures were of the “point and shoot” variety which take a very small fraction of a second and rarely come out blurred. Others, especially in nature or low light conditions, required the shutter to be open for longer and if the camera was moved even in the slightest, they would come out blurry. If I wanted to take a picture like that, I couldn’t just trust my hands to hold still long enough, I had to put my camera on a tripod (which, as the name implies, has three feet, or legs) to stabilize it. On smooth surfaces (like a kitchen floor) this was easy, but it took some precision to make each leg the right height and the picture leveled on uneven ground outside. If even one leg was slightly askew, the picture would (at minimum) be off-balance or the whole contraption could fall over!
Sometimes, when we are discouraged, worried, or lonely, we start to lose hope that things will ever change. Even if our love for our fellow men and our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ remains unaltered, our loss of hope can cause the big picture of life to be distorted. It could seem as if our world were toppling to the ground.Hope is not knowledge, but confidence—confidence that our prayers will be answered. It brings joy, happiness, and patience. Hold tightly to the hope that things will turn out. Uchtdorf quoted Albert Camus, who said, “In the midst of winter, we find within ourselves an invincible summer.” I know this is true. He closed in saying, “And to all who suffer—to all who feel discouraged, worried, or lonely—I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in. Never surrender. Never allow despair to overcome your spirit. Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart.”
There are two answers to this question. This first answer is “Yes.” The second answer is “No.” Unlike modern non-fiction and like so many writings and artifacts ancient of date, we do not have the authors’ ’sources’ for the Apocrypha. Because of this, we each have to answer this question for ourselves.
Understanding the history of the Apocrypha will aid in your decision. When the great library at Alexandria was being assembled, the current ruler of the ‘known’ world heard of an ancient book that the Jews had and felt it deserved a place in his library. Unfortunately, his library was in Greek and the Jews’ book was in Hebrew. He assembled 72 scholars (supposedly six from each of the twelve tribes) to translate this book and the result is what is known as the Septuagint. Several hundred years after the death of Christ, the Jews felt they needed to create a cannon of scripture and what it contained is what is in our current Old Testament. The Apocrypha is a collection of the fifteen books that were not included in the Hebrew Cannon, but which were included in the Septuagint. In Europe, when Protestantism began to take hold, various churches made their own decisions as to the Apocrypha’s validity and whether or not they would teach it.
In the LDS church, Joseph Smith received the following revelation on the Apocrypha:
“Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the Apocrypha—There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly; There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men… Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth; And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom.” (D&C 91:1-2, 4-5)
There is much in the Apocrypha that is useful. For example, have you ever read from some of the prophets of the Old Testament and not really understood what was going on? Some of this is explained in the historical books, such as First and Second Kings and Second Chronicles; however, Ezra, Malachi, Haggai, Nehemiah, and Zechariah have no corresponding history in the Old Testament. The Book of First Esdras in the Apocrypha explains well the time period or Nehemiah and Ezra and deepens understanding of these prophets.
One must continue to read with care–recall that not everything in the Apocrypha is true. I suggest that you read with the Spirit so that you may decide for yourself that which seems right in this interesting work.
The trinity is the belief that the three members of the godhead are in fact, one being. As I have learned about this doctrine, I developed the “ooey gooey mass theory.” The idea of the trinity is that God the Father is some big mass outside of space and time and, for some inexplicable reason, He made the world and all of it’s people. People who were righteous enough in this life can be absorbed into Him. Since no one is sinless, He took a part of Himself and put it into a human body, Jesus Christ, who atoned for us. This way, the righteous can be absorbed (and make God bigger?). Anyway, Christ was resurrected and then went and was absorbed back into God (I’m not sure why He got His body back if He was just going to be absorbed). There are other unanswered questions in this doctrine besides Christ’s being reunited with His body. Why do we need bodies? Why do we need to be resurrected? Why are we even here? It seems to me that we would just be being put through this horrible experience for someone’s amusement.
The word Trinity first appears in 180 AD and is not in the Bible. Some people get confused when they read statements by Christ such as, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). These seem to imply that together they make up one being. This is not the case. The three members of the godhead are one in purpose. They work together in perfect unity. Elder Jeffery R. Holland said, “We believe these three divine persons constituting a single Godhead are united in purpose, in manner, in testimony, in mission. We believe Them to be filled with the same godly sense of mercy and love, justice and grace, patience, forgiveness, and redemption. I think it is accurate to say we believe They are one in every significant and eternal aspect imaginable except believing Them to be three persons combined in one substance.”
The answer to most of the questions posed above is that we do need bodies. We had a pre-mortal existence. There, we were spirits–and not just any spirits, but the children of a loving Heavenly Father. Haven’t you ever wondered why we refer to God as our Father and why He calls us His children? It is because it is literally true! We needed to gain bodies and experience to become more like our Father, so He created a plan for us to accomplish this. The story in the book of Revelation in the New Testament is not just about dragons and stars. It tells of one of Heavenly Father’s children, Lucifer, who did not want to follow this plan. He convinced two-thirds of the spirits that it was not a good plan. Others fought against him. They knew that Heavenly Father’s plan was necessary for them to progress. They won the battle and were able to participate in the plan. Those spirits are anyone who has had, currently has, or ever will have a body. This is the purpose of earth life. Christ took back His body because he needed it. I am grateful for a true understanding of the godhead and the purpose that it gives me.
It has been believed for centuries that every person born is born unclean and full of sin. As it says in Ephesians 5:5, “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” and again in Alma 11:47, “no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven,” no matter God’s infinite mercy, no unclean thing (including infants, according to original sin) can enter into heaven. Again, I reiterate, no unclean thing can be in the presence of God. This belief leaves those who have no opportunity to accept the atonement of Christ (through early death or unfortunate location) in Hell. Yet, in the face of this logic, I know that it is not true. I know that beautiful, innocent babies are brought home to that God who game them life.
Earliest records of the doctrine of “original sin” are from the Catholic Church. The support of this doctrine can be found on newadvent.org (the online Catholic Encyclopedia). The scriptures that are used to confirm the doctrine of “original sin” are found in Romans 5. I do not quote it here in its entirety, not to deceive or confuse its meaning, but to keep from making this entry seem too overwhelming in length. I encourage all to read this chapter in order to come to a better personal understanding of its significance. In reading this passage, I saw how some could interpret it to mean that all men are born sinful and unclean, but this is not what it says. This chapter begins by discussing the atonement of Christ; how, though we were sinners, Christ died for us to justify us and bring us back into the presence of God. Then, in verse 12, Paul explains, “as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Adam was brought sin into the world by his sin, and sin brought with it death. Now all men die and all sin. Let me continue in a verse by verse explanation.
Verse 14: “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.” [After death came into the world, all men are subject to death; see also 1 Corinthians 15:22]
Verse 15: “But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.” [The offense, or Adam’s transgression, is not like the free gift of Christ (His atonement that cleanses man from sin). His gift is free to all men (see 2 Nephi 27). In contrast, Adam’s sin is not inherited.
Paul continues this line of thought until verse 19, where he records, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Paul does not say that Adam’s transgression makes all unclean or sinful (full of sin), but that many were made sinners, or people who sin.
Yes, the original, or first, sin was Adam’s and brought sin into the world making is possible for man to commit sin. Yes, there is only one man in the history of the world who did not commit any sin, and that is Jesus Christ. But, no where does it say that we are held accountable for Adam’s sin. We inherit Adam’s mortality, we inherit his ability to sin, but we do not inherit his sins–aren’t our own sins enough?
My mother is known at her work as the “go to” person for religious questions. A while ago, a coworker lost an infant daughter. In her grief, she asked my mother what would happen to her little girl. My mother felt awful. “I couldn’t tell her that her baby would go to hell,” she later confided in me. “What does your church believe?”
I explained to my mother (and I am sure that she passed this information on) that children are not accountable until age eight. This means that young children have not learned to choose and are not accountable for choices before the Lord until that time. It is written, in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 137, verses 7-10, “Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom; For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts. And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.” Not only do babies go to heaven, but they are brought straight into the presence of God. It is said that babies and those who have handicaps that prevent them from mentally reaching the age of accountability were so righteous in their pre-existance that they have no need to be tempted and tried here on earth, they need only to gain a body.
While the death of a child is the cause of great grief and despair, it is comforting to know that a loving Heavenly Father would not condemn those who had no opportunity to prove themselves to hell; that He would bring them straightway into the bosom of His grace and love.
While many believe that they are the same thing, angels and cherubim do not appear to be synonymous. Within the same books in the Bible both beings are referred to with specific purpose. Angels, on the one hand, are spirits, just as you and I are spirits. These spirits have either not yet received a body (such as Michael, the archangel who later became the first man, Adam) or have already lived and passed on to the next life. Some examples of this are Noah, who was later the angel Gabriel, and Moroni, who ushered in the restoration of the gospel with the Book of Mormon. Angels are also referred to as “men of God” in the Old Testament, such as the angels who saved Lot in Sodom and the angels who informed Abraham of his upcoming parenthood. Contrary to popular believe, angels do not have wings. These beings could not have been mistaken by some as men had they large feathery wings protruding from their shoulder blades.
On the other hand, we have cherubim. Each time they are mentioned, so are their one or more sets of wings. Cherubim were sculpted on the arc of the covenant (with wings) at the direction of the Lord. Cherubim appear in the book of Revelation, singing praises to the Lord (also with wings). It was cherubim who were placed to guard the tree of life in the Garden of Eden with a flaming sword. These beings appear to be separate entities.
One final note on angels. Some might ask where all this information leaves us on the subject of guardian angels. While there is no scriptural mention that individuals have specific angels assigned to them to watch over and protect them, the scriptures do tell us that God’s angels will bear us up, lest we dash our foot against a stone. It is a belief among some, including myself, that our guardian angels are the spirits of our deceased loved ones or our future descendants. There is not much officially written by any church on this subject. You must look into your own heart and discover what is true.
