The Right Hand

In the church the use of the right hand has been used in many different ordinances. Understanding why we use the right hand was best explained by President Joseph Fielding Smith:

The performing of ordinances with the right hand in preference to the left is a well-established custom universally and is not confined to the Church. In various governments where oaths are administered, the candidate for office is asked to raise his right hand. There are occasions when he is sworn to give truthful testimony by placing his right hand on a copy of the Bible. This custom has come down from the beginning, and from many scriptural passages we gather that it has always received divine sanction. When Abraham sent his servant to his kindred to find a wife for Isaac, he had the servant place his right hand under Abraham's thigh and swear to him that he would accomplish this mission.(Genesis 24:2. ) There are other occasions of similar import. One of the earliest incidents recorded is the blessing Jacob gave his grandsons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh was the elder, and as Joseph presented his sons to their grandfather, he presented Manasseh towards Jacob's right hand and Ephraim towards his left hand. The record states that Jacob "guiding his hands wittingly" placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim and his left hand on the head of Manasseh. Joseph protested, saying, "Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head." "I know it, my son, I know it:" said Jacob, "he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations."(Ibid., 48:13-19. )

When the Egyptians were destroyed in the Red Sea, Israel sang: "Thy right hand, O Lord, is becoming glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy . . .";(Exodus 15:6.) and when Israel entered the land of their inheritance, the Lord instructed Moses in offering sacrifice to take the blood of the ram, "and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about." With this ordinance and the sprinkling of the blood and anointing oil upon the altar, Aaron and his sons were "hallowed before the Lord."(See Ibid., 29:20-21.)

REVEALED FROM HEAVEN

The showing favor to the right hand or side is not something invented by man but was revealed from the heavens in the beginning. To Isaiah the Lord said:

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee: yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. . . .

For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.(Isaiah 41:10, 13.)

Again:

Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am the first, I am also the last.

Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.(Ibid., 48: 12-13.)

In the Psalms we read:

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.(Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:44.)

The Lord, in speaking to his disciples, shortly before his death, said unto them:

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.(Matthew 25:31-46.)

A SYMBOL OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

There are numerous passages in the scriptures referring to the right hand, indicating that it is a symbol of righteousness and was used in the making of covenants. When the Savior was taken before the high priest, scribes, and elders, the high priest said unto him: "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God." In reply to this edict, Jesus said to him:

Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.(Ibid., 26:63-64.)

When Stephen was slain, he looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.(Acts 7:55.)

The right hand or side is called the dexter and the left the sinister. Dexter connotes something favorable; sinister, something unfavorable or unfortunate. It is a well-established practice in the Church to partake of the sacrament with the right hand and also to anoint with the right hand, according to the custom which the scriptures indicate is, and always was, approved by divine injunction.

Love, Dad

"Promises Made to the Fathers"

On the night of Sept 21st, 1823, while a 17 year old Joseph Smith was praying to his Heavenly Father, the angel Moroni appeared to him, and delivered a message from God and gave him counsel and warning. Among the many things he told Joseph, he quoted the Prophet Malachi saying, "Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the Prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord... And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."

To me, there are several interesting aspects of this scripture. First, the "revealing" of the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the Prophet. What is really being said here, since the Priesthood was restored under the hands of John the Baptist (Aaronic), and then later Peter, James and John (Melchizedek). If the Priesthood was already restored, then what was Elijah to "reveal?"

He was revealing the Priesthood keys to seal and bind. Up until this time, the Priesthood that was conferred on Joseph and Oliver had the power to baptize and to ordain and heal the sick, but they did not have the sealing keys to make things permanent, especially the sealing and endowing of couples for eternity.

Elder Boyd K Packer said, "Thirteen years after Moroni appeared, a temple had been built adequate for the purpose, and the Lord again appeared and Elijah came with Him and bestowed the keys of the sealing power. Thereafter ordinances were not tentative, but permanent. The sealing power was with us. No authorization transcends it in value. That power gives substance and eternal permanence to all ordinances performed with proper authority for both the living and the dead."

The second aspect of Elijah's visit I find very interesting, is the union or relationship that he refers to with "plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers." What promises is he referring to, and what significance is there with the hearts of the children turning to their fathers?

This promise goes back to the promise God made with Abraham, "...In thee shall all nations be blessed. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3:8, 18, 29)

This promise ties into the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. As the Lord "reveals" the great promises we receive from the Priesthood covenants we make in the temple:

33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the  magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.
34 They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the  elect of God.
35 And also all they who receive this priesthood  receive me, saith the Lord;
36 For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;
37 And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;
38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore  all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. (D&C 84:33-38)

So all that the Father hath (Kingdoms, thrones, principalities, domains, power), shall be ours (Husband and wife), through our faithfulness, throughout the eternities. It is hard to comprehend.

Another statement of this promise and its great blessings is found in D&C 132:19, 20:

 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and thee keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.

Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.

Is it any wonder that this was the most important message that Moroni could deliver to Joseph Smith that night? In fact it was so important that it was repeated four times within a 24 hour period. This sealing power, along with the promise, was necessary to fulfill God's plan "...to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39)

His whole goal is for us to become like Him and have what He has. The "promises made to the fathers" is that of a life like God. And the only way we can receive this is through the "revealed" sealing powers of the Priesthood that Elijah restored to this earth.

For me, it is hard to imagine that 10,000 years, a million years, or even a billion years from now, your Mom and I will be ruling a kingdom with billions of spirit children, preparing a way for them to receive bodies and become like us. So I have to ask myself this question,  "Am I doing all in my power to live a life so that I can become like God?" Some sobering thoughts.

Some sobering thoughts for you as well.

Love, Dad

Enjoy the Journey - The Good Things of Life

I recently came across this story that teaches an important lesson:

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Take time to enjoy life. Slow down and enjoy the journey.

Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows. -- Thomas S. Monson

Love, Dad

Opposition in all Things

"Opposition in all things," is an interesting, and yet hard to understand, doctrine of the gospel which has caused members of the Church to search for understanding.

Many questions have been raised related to this doctrine, such as; Why do bad things happen to good people? I have paid my tithing faithfully all my life, why do I struggle financially? I have been nice to others, why are they mean to me? Why doesn't Heavenly Father protect me from evil?

To understand this doctrine lets look in the scriptures and quotes from General Authorities:

2 Nephi 2:11 - For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

President Joseph Fielding Smith - It is not opposition that is so dreadful. The dreadful thing is yielding to it; but the opposition to righteousness helps to make us strong. Every time you resist temptation you are building up your strength. When the Lord sent man into this world, what else did he do? He let Satan come here Did you think of that? Satan came with the determination on his part of destroying the sons and daughters of God, to lead them away to everlasting destruction. So we have to resist him. That is what makes us strong. So I repeat, the Lord says there must needs be opposition in all things. We would not accomplish anything if we did not have opposition, and that is what makes us strong and gives us power to overcome.

3 Nephi 12: 10-12 - Blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake; for ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you.

President Wilford Woodruff - There are two powers on the earth and in the midst of the inhabitants of the earth—the power of God and the power of the devil. In our history we have had some very peculiar experiences. When God has had a people on the earth, it matters not in what age, Lucifer, the son of the morning, and the millions of fallen spirits that were cast out of heaven have warred against God, against Christ, against the work of God, and against the people of God. And they are not backward in doing it in our day and generation. Whenever the Lord set His hand to perform any work, those powers labored to overthrow it. 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - We must not give up, "for [we] are laying the foundation of a great work." That "great work" is ourselves—our lives, our future, the very fulfillment of our dreams. That "great work" is what, with effort and patience and God's help, we can become. When days are difficult or problems seem unending, we must stay in the harness and keep pulling. We are all entitled to "eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days," but it will require our heart and a willing mind. It will require that we stay at our post and keep trying.

Personally, I don't know all of the answers as to why we have to suffer much, while others seem to have an easier road. This I do know, the trials and challenges I have had in my life have molded me and helped me to grow. For me, this growth has been necessary to push me along the path of learning patience, love, faith and long suffering.

We are told in Moroni 7:46 we are told, "...if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail." The characteristics of charity reflect the the action verbs of overcoming opposition.

"And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." (Moroni 7:45)

To summarize, opposition is part of God's plan for us which helps us to grow and become more God-like, so that we some day may become as God is. As we encounter more challenges, trials and opposition in our lives, know that God is working to mold and shape us. Each trial should be seen as a blessing and not a punishment.

Heavenly Father molded one of the greatest prophets in the history of the world when he put Joseph Smith through intense trials and challenges. The Lord said to him "... all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." (D&C 122:7)

So when you are in the middle of challenges and trials, as you may be now, know that the Lord loves you and wants you to be like him. He wants you to have all that He has. This is the road, and the only way for you to achieve this promise He has made to you.

Love, Dad