Learning in groups vs. individually.....

So my friend Dale asked in the comments a question about whether or not the Spirit can come in the same way when trying to learn on your own. So, here's a few thoughts (not comprehensive as I haven't thought of enough scenarios, but a few thoughts).

Learning from the Spirit in a group situation (2 or more people) is different than learning from the Spirit when studying by yourself.

First, a little more on the group setting. Teaching and learning in a group is so powerful for likely many reasons; I'll just mention two.

1) A group will have people with many different ideas and ways of looking at things which definitely helps learning go on. There's just a lot of power in groups (which is why D.C. 88 talks about the need to have every person speak so that "all may be edified of all") - 122Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let ^anot all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be ^bedifiedof all, and that every man may have an equal privilege.

2) Teaching can be an unselfish thing and can involve lifting others. God's work and glory is accomplished when more of his children come to Him. This happens as one of his children influences other children to choose righteousness. This occurs most often in teaching. This is because words are used to connect ideas and principles that are otherwise shown through example. Teaching is how the gospel is spread. Therefore, the Lord has a lot of incentive to help the teaching process. This is what he promises in D.C. 50:22 as discussed earlier.

But what about the individual learning? This is also very important and can involve the Spirit but this occurs through a different process. The process of learning as on our own includes the Spirit when we try to build our faith and trust in the Lord, which is done through action and thought (when ideas are formed and connected).

Here's a couple brief thoughts on how faith is built: we'll use the example of my previous job (or my current job - really any job where you have a boss with more answers and experience than you that wants you to think, not just follow orders).

1) In my last job, there were a lot of possible answers to the problems we were asked to solve, such as "what should this medical device company's strategy be?" My manager was supposed to come up with the answer, but we were all supposed to contribute analysis to help address smaller questions that could help answer the big question.

2) A lot of times I wouldn't know what to do next or how to approach the answer to a smaller question, such as "which of the main competitors could impact our company the most?"

3) I could go ask my manager how to answer the question and what tasks to do to have good information to answer the question. And, she might even give me the answer. But.... she would prefer that I study out the question in my mind, think about what the answers and tasks might be and then either a) do the ones that make the most sense, or b) ask her what to do after presenting what makes the most sense (or what are good possibilities) and explaining why that's true.

In other words, that process would show that I was learning and exercising effort and then asking my manager to either a) validate my thinking or b) answer the questions I definitely couldn't answer alone. This process helps me grow a lot, but at the same time it shows faith in my manager and respects her time.

As individuals that hope for the Spirit, God wants us to go through new processes and show faith in him. This faith is shown by thinking and giving effort and then asking him to help on the few things we really can't answer alone. This really does show a more active faith than simply saying, "God - how about you just give me the answers." Going through this process and recognizing there are certain answers that just can't be known without God's help shows much more faith than asking for help on every question because this might just be done out of laziness or routine or without recognizing how great a Being it would take to find the answer.

Also, I must note that this process is different for people at different stages in life. For instance, when I was a kid, my dad told me I could read the Book of Mormon, pray about it, and then I'd know the Book of Mormon was true. In this case he gave me the process, but it still worked. Now I need to follow different processes though.

Scriptural example: Even in Oliver Cowdery's case of translating the Book of Mormon (which God clearly had an interest in having Oliver do well at), Oliver still had to "study it out in his mind." Isn't that amazing? I think it means that he was supposed to come up with some translation (or have one come to his mind) and then think about it and consider if that made sense. Or perhaps, he had to consider the process by which the translation came and see if that made sense. Then, once he concluded something he had to ask God if it was right. If the translation was right, he'd get an immediate confirmation or he would forget the translation that he had thought of. (This is a potentially poor scripture to bring up because few instances require immediate feedback on whether or not something is correct. When you're translating scripture, it's important to immediately know if what you thought was the correct translation actually is. I personally have never had a "stupor of thought" and forgot what I was previously thinking.)

Oliver's experience shows that going through a process is vital and shows the right way to show trust in the Lord and then receive the Spirit in your learning/action process.

It's also interesting how often that people acknowledge the Lord and his mercy or their weakness or their inadequacy before getting answers or spiritual experiences. See Mosiah 4 and 5 (the first couple of verses of each chapter) and Alma 22 (pasted below)

15And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: ^aWhat shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be ^bborn of God, having this wicked spirit ^crooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up^dall that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.

16But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt^abow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the ^bhope which thou desirest.

17And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did ^abow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried ^bmightily, saying:

18O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck ^aas if he were dead.

Paradoxically, it is when we are more thoughtful and trying harder and going through a process and then ask the Lord for help that he teaches us and blesses us with his Spirit. It's because when we're more aware and asking Him it shows more trust and faith than when we're less aware and thoughtful.

I must also say that interestingly, as we experience this more and more often, we trust more and more just like a little child trusts. We become smarter and more humble, all at the same time.

So, can we feel the Spirit on our own? Yes, but it's a different process and just as God blesses teachers and students with the Spirit because it furthers his plan as the student learns more about coming to Christ, he's only interested in blessing someone studying on their own with the Spirit if they're learning and growing by showing faith and trust in him.

Hopefully this was somewhat clear.

Have a great night.

LaDon

Slightly different post - Watch this video

This is one of those mormon videos. It's really good. I admire these kind of people that give up what's important for what matters most. I hope to be like them someday, but I'm still a fair distance from that.

http://www.youtube.com/mormon#p/u/7/48njTrFpUZM

Keys of the Aaronic Priesthood

So my uncle is speaking on the Aaronic Priesthood Keys on Sunday and was kind enough to ask if I had any thoughts. So, I put this together in about 30 minutes right now. It's not terrible well formatted, but here's what I think about Aaronic Priesthood Keys.

Also, Dale asked a great question in my comments two days ago. I'll give an answer (not the answer, just an answer - hopefully there'll be some good thoughts) tomorrow or Saturday. Thanks Dale.

Keys of the Aaronic Priesthood:

D.C. 13 says what the keys are - so does D.C. 107:

Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I ^aconferthe ^bPriesthood of Aaron, which holds the ^ckeys of the ministering of ^dangels, and of the gospel of ^erepentance, and of ^fbaptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of ^gLevi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in ^hrighteousness.

So the Aaronic Priesthood has the keys for these main areas:

Ministering of Angels – I believe in this a lot. My patriarchal blessing actually mentions using this. I believe angels have a much larger role in this life than we realize. For example, Elder Hafen mentions them in the last chapter of his book, “Believing Christ”. He says that they help and provide support in numerous situations. Also, Elder Holland gave a talk about angels and their role.

http://lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/the-ministry-of-angels?lang=eng

Also, Elder Hales.

Elder Hales spoke of his health problems as the first speaker in the Saturday morning session of the 170th Semi-annual General Conference held October 7, 2000.

After recovering from three major surgeries which have prevented me from speaking in the past two general conferences, what a joy it is to be able to stand in this beautiful Conference Center today to teach and bear testimony to those who desire to hear the word of the Lord.

In the past two years, I have waited upon the Lord for mortal lessons to be taught me through periods of physical pain, mental anguish, and pondering. I learned that constant, intense pain is a great consecrating purifier that humbles us and draws us closer to God's Spirit. If we listen and obey, we will be guided by His Spirit and do His will in our daily endeavors.

There were times when I have asked a few direct questions in my prayers, such as, "What lessons dost Thou want me to learn from these experiences?"

As I studied the scriptures during this critical period of my life, the veil was thin and answers were given to me as they were recorded in lives of others who had gone through even more severe trials.

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

"And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high" (D&C 121:7-8).

Dark moments of depression were quickly dispelled by the light of the gospel as the Spirit brought peace and comfort with assurances that all would be well.

On a few occasions, I told the Lord that I had surely learned the lessons to be taught and that it wouldn't be necessary for me to endure any more suffering. Such entreaties seemed to be of no avail, for it was made clear to me that this purifying process of testing was to be endured in the Lord's time and in the Lord's own way. It is one thing to teach, "Thy will be done" (Matt. 26:42). It is another to live it. I also learned that I would not be left alone to meet these trials and tribulations but that guardian angels would attend me. There were some that were near angels in the form of doctors, nurses, and most of all my sweet companion, Mary. And on occasion, when the Lord so desired, I was to be comforted with visitations of heavenly hosts that brought comfort and eternal reassurances in my time of need.

There’s the Elisha scripture that mentions, “more be with us than be with them.” 2 Kings 6:16-17

16And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his ^aeyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and^bchariots of fire round about Elisha.

Finally, my own thoughts – when my companions were sick on the mission and we wouldn’t go out and work, I thought that nothing would get done and the progress of the work would slow down. However, that wasn’t my experience. Things still moved along. I got the idea in my mind that it must be because there’s other people besides those here on earth working in my areas, helping with the work. It’s the most reasonable explanation I could come up with. I believe that. Also, there have been a couple of times in life that I have asked for the help of angels with specific things, and I believe it is well within my rights to do so based on the above scriptures. I also believe those requests have been honored.

Gospel of repentance – Major duty to share the gospel. Jonas remarked that his mission president said the youth are an underutilized resource as far as sharing the gospel. I think this is true for a few reasons.

1) Just as it’s a time when our youth can be influenced in major ways for good and bad because they’re so young, so can other youth be influenced in major positive ways by our youth.

2) Our youth associate with lots of different people. School connects people from all kinds of backgrounds, so it’s a great place to interact constantly with non-members. A lot of non-working moms don’t do this much for instance.

3) God has given them the duty to preach the gospel of repentance – and as Pres. Monson says, “who the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies.” See the following verse in particular:

a. Concerning deacons, the youngest of the Aaronic Priesthood: D.C. 20:59

b. 59They are, however, to warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and invite all to come unto Christ.

c. Preaching the gospel is a duty and a key (i.e., Heavenly help will be given when sought for) deacons receive.

Baptism by immersion –

Short here – priests baptize. Interestingly, they baptize and raise their hand to the square without really knowing why – you don’t know until you get endowed. However, they have the key over this ordinance. It follows that they would since deacons on have the key of preaching the gospel – priests also have the key to baptize (which is the natural result of preaching the gospel). Also, there’s some connection between temple baptisms and the Aaronic Priesthood – explained below.

Temple work – So perhaps not the keys for this, but definitely a stewardship here. The line “offer an offering in righteousness” mentioned in D.C. 13 refers to baptism for the dead, which the youth have a large role in and even a stewardship. Sons of Levi were the Aaronic Priesthood holders. It is not a coincidence that we are first allowed into the temple when we are 12.

Here’s the connection to the above verse: what’s the offering the sons of Levi will offer? See D.C. 128:24:

24Behold, the great ^aday of the Lord is at hand; and who can^babide the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appeareth? For he is like a ^crefiner’s ^dfire, and like fuller’s soap; and he shall sit as a ^erefiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of ^fLevi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an ^goffering in righteousness. Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the ^hrecords of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation.

The church will offer an offering in righteousness, which is doing the work for the dead. And when this offering has been completed (i.e., all temple work done of which the Aaronic Priesthood has a MAJOR role in baptisms for the dead), a book containing the records of the dead will be presented to the Lord. The offering is doing the work. The result of the offering is the book that will be presented. Then, no more need for the Aaronic Priesthood. Everyone will be baptized on earth and in heaven so no more preaching needed, no more support from angels needed, no more baptisms needed, and the keys for those specific things will no longer be necessary. Everyone will just have the Melchizedek Priesthood or nothing. J

Context

I read the D.C. two years ago making sure I looked at the historical context of a section before I read it. Can I just say it made a huge difference! I began to understand how much of a prophet Joseph was and how the words were coming directly from God. The timing and messages were to precise to be from another source.

Here's a couple examples:

D.C. 35:

25And ^aIsrael shall be ^bsaved in mine own due time; and by the^ckeys which I have given shall they be led, and no more be confounded at all.

Why would Sidney Rigdon need to know to follow the keys? Because he would be in the first presidency in the future but not an ordained Apostle, so he wouldn't have them. And, he needed to know that it was important to follow the keys. Instead, he tried to lead the church himself. He was warned almost 13 years ahead of time not to do this.

D.C. 34:

6To lift up your voice as with the sound of a ^atrump, both long and loud, and ^bcry repentance unto a crooked and perverse generation,^cpreparing the way of the Lord for his second ^dcoming.

Orson Pratt was an incredible missionary. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean 16 times doing missionary work. That sounds like being a missionary a long time. He also was a very vocal defender: he debated a minister in the Tabernacle in a very public debate that received national attention.

Perhaps more famously:

D.C. 122:

6 If thou art ^aaccused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can’t you stay with us? O, my father, what are the men going to do with you? and if then he shall be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged to ^bprison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like ^cwolves for the blood of the lamb;

Unfortunately Joseph Smith was taken away from his family and dragged to prison.

Or this one about Joseph - D.C. 24:

17And whosoever shall go to law with thee shall be cursed by the law.

Joseph Smith was tried at law dozens of times and was never found guilty (I'm pretty sure even Carthage wasn't an exception - it was a holding place.). Considering he was a law abiding citizen, this is a pretty inspired prophecy to even know he would be tried so many times.

These are some of the more obvious ones concerning people: more impressive are some of the others that show how well the Lord was listening to his people and how the principles he shares in these verses still apply today. More of that to come.......

Have a good day.

LaDon