Accountability

As I read in Ether recently, in the Book of Mormon, I noticed something I hadn't before. After Ether builds the barges that are "tight like unto a dish," he does something very responsible: "And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, I have performed the work which thou hast commanded me, and I have made the barges according as thou hast directed me" Ether 2:18. Now that is accountability. It made me wonder, do I account for the things I do that the Lord has commanded me to do? As I think about the scriptures, I realize that this is a principle many understand. Christ Himself, in His Intercessory prayer, reports back to the Father, "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do" (John 17:4). It seems to indicate a reliance on the Father, that even though the assignment is accomplished, no time is wasted; it's right back to the Father for the next instructions. I realize that I should be "anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness" (see D&C 58:26-7), but since all good comes from God, whenever I do good, I should report that to the Lord, and then I'll be ready for more instructions, whenever they come.

The Love of a Black Hole

Black holes are really interesting. In my astronomy class, I learned about how they're really strong, keeping even light within its grasp--but only if you get too close. Now, I could make a spiritual application to this, and say that this means we should stay as far away from the edge as possible, and look for ways to be obedient, but I think there's something else there, too, that can be applied. A black hole is so strong, that it creates a bottomless pit out of the spacetime continuum. Essentially, it puts a whole in the fabric of space. Einstein's special theory of relativity describes this in great detail, but essentially, I see it as a scientific allegory of celestial love. True love. The love that God has for us, the love that parents have for their children, and even the love between spouses. Once a certain threshold has been passed, which is represented in black holes by the event horizon, the Holy Spirit of Promise seals, or calling and election are made sure, then love becomes infinite. Space and time are no longer barriers to it. Just imagine life without time. Just imagine life without space, or distance. Pretty tricky, right? Because that's infinite. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" John 15:13. That is the love Jesus Christ has. Maybe the analogy isn't perfect, but I am constantly amazed at how much the scientific community, within astronomy at least, accepts the idea of infinity. Science and religion really do meet, which can be a hard fact for some to escape.

Princes

In John 14:30, Jesus references the devil as the "prince of darkness." At this Christmas season, my mind was quickly turned to Isaiah 9:6, where Jesus is prophesied to be the "Prince of peace." What a contrast. Although the original words for "prince" may have been different, the Vulgate Latin word for both is "princeps", which, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is the origin of our modern word, "prince." The older, Latin sense carried the meaning "instigator, founder, person who is pre-eminent in a particular sphere, leader, chief, ruler." I like that better. Prince has ameliorated in meaning such that today, it seems like a good thing, whereas in the past, in may have been more neutral. I think it's interesting to think of the devil as the " 'instigator' of darkness," and Jesus as the " 'Founder' of peace." He, our Savior, is pre-eminent in our salvation, the true source of peace in our lives; He provides the peace we cannot do without. He will lead us to eternal peace. Christ is our Prince--even our King. If the devil is ruler of the darkness, those who follow him are being led through the dark, ruled by gloom, and chief among shadowy deceit. The next time I read "prince" in the scriptures, I will mentally try retranslating it as "chief" or "ruler" or "one who is pre-eminent" in the particular context, and hopefully, as in this case, it will make more sense to me.

Sheepness

The Savior was the greatest Example of consideration any of us could ever have. One of my favorite hymns has this line: "The very foes that slay thee Have access to thy grace" (Hymns, no. 197). John's Gospel quotes Jesus as saying, "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: And I lay down my life for my sheep" (John 10:14-15). Jesus had such a connection with people that He described Himself as the Shepherd of all of them. None was outside of His sphere of love. Some days I feel down, insignificant, and tired, but the things that help me feel better, I eventually realize, are those things the Savior was best at: service and charity. Service. Smiling in the face of adversity. That's following the Savior and being considerate. That's being protected, led, and guided by the Good Shepherd. That's optimism and faith. My philosophy is, if your socks are dirty because you forgot to do your laundry yet again, be grateful you have shoes, so no one can tell this is the third time you've worn this pair of socks since you've washed them.