Where, When I Languish

 

lan·guish verb

1. 1.

   (of a person or other living thing) lose or lack vitality; grow weak or feeble.
2. 2.

   suffer from being forced to remain in an unpleasant place or situation. (Oxford Dictionary)

Like many people I know, I have been languishing. I have been "lacking vitality, growing weak," and "suffering from being forced to remain in an unpleasant situation."

For the past few weeks I had been coping by finding purpose in one of the few refuges I had left, my garden. Having it all buried in snow, even though not unexpectedly (after all it happens just about every year) feels poetic. Every perennial I have nurtured over the years is left hanging in uncertainty, and now I wonder which ones will withstand the long freeze. I wonder that about other things in my life, as well.

So yeah, this pandemic has got me languishing. It has cancelled many things that made life meaningful for me: family gatherings, making plans for the future, little outings with my kids, vacations. It put a halt to church meetings and forbade me to sit elbow to elbow with people I love and respect, making it hard for me to feel belonging in my community of saints. It even cancelled the temple, which was my monthly lifeline for many years, connecting me to God and my family and giving me perspective and divine strength in my trials. 

For me, isolation is something I don't do well. Every apologetic attempt to gather in order to find strength and connection from loved ones is tainted by guilt, anxiety, and often brings with it less connection and more disconnection—a feeling of division with others who either believe the restrictions are a total conspiracy, or else they are an unbending standard. I have found myself feeling frustrated and angry with people I once respected and loved, both the rigid and the lax, something totally new for me who once saw only good in everyone. It has shone a light on my own surprising lack of charity, and on my own unwillingness to build Zion with people who see things differently from me.

This whole thing—the pandemic, but also the entire political and social landscape of my church and community—has gutted me. Watching setback after setback has filled me with doubt. For my whole life I have been a diehard optimist. I was always cheerful in difficulty. I possessed a curious reserve of faith and hope in even the most difficult situation. I always thought I could do anything. The past few years have tested me in heart wrenching ways, and I have simply come up insufficient. I now have to live with that about myself.

Parenting, of course, has taken me to a new level of Dante's inferno. I don't need to go into details about that, the failures, isolation, and frustrations of parenting in a pandemic. Talk about "being forced to remain in an unpleasant place or situation." My poor kids.

I have learned before about mental illness, specifically depression and anxiety, from close family who battle this kind of thing every day. They are veterans in this feeling of being stuck, this emptiness, this languishing. I feel newfound respect for them. For me, this is a new experience. It sucks.

In the hymn, we sing:

Where, when my aching grows, 

Where when I languish,

Where in my need to know, where can I run?

Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?

Who, who can understand?

He only One.

Lately, I have been wondering what Christ knows about languishing. Does He, a God, really understand about uncertainty, about our mortal limitations and constant "need to know?" Does He understand what it's like to know what you should do, but are unable, for whatever mental and emotional reasons, to actually do it?

I don't know the answer, but I do have enough faith to believe that Christ does understand uncertainty. I believe He faced it in the garden. I believe He continues to languish under the load of our collective uncertainty, as well as our stagnation, sorrow, and sin. I do not believe Christ was an omniscient being when He entered Gethsemane. He does not enter Gethsemane, either His or ours, as the triumphant Son of God, but as a sensitive, anxious, frightened mortal being. The voice I hear as He asked, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me" is not one that knows exactly how His trial will end, or how long it was meant to last, or if He could even perform the task at all. In my mind, it was a voice that trembled with bone breaking doubt. That vision of Christ is relatable to me. The record says He fell on His face under the weight of it all. He knows what it is like to be totally alone in that feeling, to have disciples falling asleep at the crucial moment He needed them. He knows what it is like to feel "exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death." (Matthew 26:38-39)

I don't know how much longer this pandemic will last. I don't know how much longer the other garbage my life is throwing at me will go on. And I have learned a bitter truth that some trials in life do not have a foreseeable mortal end. For all I know, they may go on forever.

However, I believe Christ knows about the trials that feel neverending. Christ continues to suffer with us to this day, 2000 years after His Gethsemane. He has yoked Himself to us, even now, treading the winepress alone until every grape is turned to wine, and every dredge from our bitter cup is drunk. I have to believe He knows how to succor His people in their infirmity. (Alma 7)

As I languish "in my Gethsemane," I want to believe that He knows how to "reach me in my reaching." Looking out my window at the snow falling again, I believe that "spring has to come." I don't know what damage this long freeze, metaphorical and literal, will have on us all when it's all over, but I believe life is always strong enough to heal and prevail. I want to believe God will prevail in my life. I want to believe that this languishing must end.

The Equation of Trees

I have been thinking a lot about trees.

Trees are an important part of regulating the earth's gases. Forests are sometimes referred to as the earth's lungs. The process of photosynthesis uses the energy of the sun to release oxygen back into the atmosphere. While all plants do this, forests do this on a tremendously significant scale. Without trees, our earth would be an uninhabitable place for any kind of life.

But that isn't all they do. Not only do they produce life-giving oxygen, but they also capture carbon released by all living things and store it back in their wood. Trees are basically magicians. They literally make wood out of thin air. The vast boreal forests and rainforests capture a significant amount of the earth's carbon. The majority of the stored carbon of earth was originally put into the ground as oil and peat by ancient forests. See? They’re superstars.

Ever since I had to memorize the equation of photosynthesis in High School biology, I was fascinated by it. It read like a miracle. Carbon dioxide plus water, by the power of the sun, creates oxygen and glucose. The two basic things we need for survival. Air and energy. They are trees of life. It just felt ripe with spiritual application.

In the center of the garden stands the tree of life. Our journey to that tree requires a daily dose of spiritual oxygen, the spiritual breath of life. The Holy Ghost. Our journey also requires creating spiritual glucose by cleaning up the inevitable "carbon emissions" we make along the way.

Christ is that tree of life. He has the power to clean up our pollution, and He also has the power to provide us with spiritual oxygen by His Spirit. He is the resurrection and the life. He is the light that makes photosynthesis possible in our own lives. He is the living waters in the equation. He is the glucose, the bread of life. He is every part of the equation of spiritual photosynthesis. He is the equation.

The only thing we need to work on having is chlorophyll. We need to make sure our receptors for light are spread as wide as they can be to the heavens. In a darkening world, we need to stand in holy places where the light can reach us.

I believe we can synthesize a new creature as we come to Him and apply His spiritual equations.

"Have I a Mother in Heaven?"

Zina Diantha Huntington

My great great great grandmother, Zina Diantha Huntington, once asked the prophet Joseph Smith a remarkable question: "Have I a Mother in Heaven?" What she learned from the prophet she shared with her close friend, Eliza R. Snow, which may have influenced her hymn "Oh My Father" that we often sing on Mother's Day because of this one line: "In the heav'ns are parents single? No the thought makes reason stare! Truth is reason, truth eternal tells me I've a Mother there." 

And then we go the rest of the year largely ignoring this huge, earth shattering piece of information. (Not a very genuine way to honor mothers on Mother's Day, in my opinion.)

Now, almost 200 years later, I often wonder: Whatever happened to Her in the restoration?

In my searching, I have come to believe we need a new generation of both men and women who are willing to ask the same question my ancestor once asked: "Have I a Mother in Heaven?" 

To obtain spiritual truth, I believe that God does not often give us answers to questions we are not asking. We cannot passively wait for God to tell us more. We are commanded to seek. The restoration is ongoing and unfolds only as fast as we collectively ask the questions. I believe many members do not ask questions about Her because they believe She is somehow taboo.

For personal reasons, I have had to ask the question my ancestor asked, and while I still have much to learn, I have found enough of an answer to believe that I am indeed the son of Heavenly Parents, Father and Mother. I have both their spiritual DNA deep in my soul. This understanding has guided me to define myself not only as their son, but also shaped my decision to become a husband and father in spite of challenges.

I share here some thoughts and ideas I have wrestled with about Heavenly Mother. I recognize that this topic, for whatever reason, makes some people feel uncomfortable, and to be honest, I struggled whether I should share this at all. But because I feel strongly that the doctrine of a Heavenly Mother needs to be brought up and addressed more openly, I have outlined some of my personal beliefs below.

I emphasize that these are my personal beliefs, and some of them may resonate with you while others may contradict your own feelings. That is okay. I believe getting to know God, both Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother, is a process we must each go through for ourselves, but I also believe we can learn from each other as we respectfully share insights along the way.

*******

1. Heavenly Mother is not too sacred to talk about, any more than Heavenly Father is too sacred to talk about. She is not fragile. She is not someone who needs our protection. She has the same might, power, knowledge, involvement, and love that our Father in Heaven does. I believe we can talk about Her as openly and as reverently as we do our Heavenly Father.

2. Worshipping Heavenly Mother is not a sin, and acknowledging that she hears our prayers is not apostasy. I believe Heavenly Mother hears our prayers the same way Heavenly Father does.

3. When we say, "We shouldn't ask about Heavenly Mother because she is not important to our salvation right now," we are also saying that the eternal identity of a woman is not important to us right now. We are saying women's identity is a topic that can only be addressed if it is relational to men. This hurts both men and women.

4. We cannot effectively teach eternal marriage, and then hold up as our celestial model a Single Parent household. We cannot preach equal partnership on earth without preaching equal partnership in heaven.

5. Monogamy is the law of heaven. Polygamy has been authorized on earth at specific, brief times, but only as a test of faith, commanded as an Abrahamic sacrifice to which there is a ram in the thicket. (Even, I believe, for my ancestor Zina.) I do not believe polygamy can be an eternal law because it is harmful to both women and men's development by making a woman's identity secondary to a man's. It makes united, intimate, and creative partnership between husband and wife impossible.

6. Acknowledging Heavenly Mother can help strengthen our doctrine that marriage is between a man and a woman. It also makes us better equipped to battle cultural practices that are misogynist or limiting to women, including ones we have inherited in our own faith tradition, the "wicked traditions of our fathers."

7. Our doctrine is not just that God has a wife. It is that God can't even be God without Her. "Neither is the woman without the man, nor the man without the woman, in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 11:11)

8. Heavenly Mother is not just for girls. Boys need Her, too. Men need to talk about Her as much as women do. We are just as much Her children as women are.

9. Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother work side by side in the garden. Creation brings men and women together, not divides them into separate spheres. I do not believe the economy of heaven is based on gendered divisions of labor, nor on our current understanding of gender roles. These are a result of the Fall. If we try to frame Her using our current gender constructs, we will likely misunderstand Her.

10. I have heard some explain Heavenly Mother might somehow be the earth, or that She might be the Holy Ghost. I believe She is neither. I believe She has a resurrected body "of flesh and bone, tangible as man's." (D&C 130:22) To deny Her a body is to deny women the promise of a resurrection.

11. Heavenly Mother is not unavailable, too busy, or out on a "spa day." Her apparent absence is our own fault, not Hers. I believe She is as involved in our lives as Heavenly Father is.

12. Understanding Heavenly Mother better will help us to heal the earth as we begin to respect creation more deeply, and find balance between "masculine" and "feminine" ways of knowing. It will heal our lopsided, male-oriented systems of power. It will help us to develop male-female balance inside all of us. This will change the way we interact with the planet, and the way we interact with each other. It will help us to be more chaste.

13. The concept of Heavenly Mother is not new. She was not invented by the feminists. She was worshipped anciently in the Old Testament. She has always been there, though She was regrettably expunged from the scriptural record at various times. This has led to some devastating spiritual consequences. We are still dealing with those consequences in our worship today.

14. It is significant to me that the restoration of the church began in a sacred grove. Anciently, groves of trees were the standard place to worship the Divine Feminine. I believe She was very involved in the Restoration, which also involved a restoration of Her. I believe if She had appeared to Joseph Smith, She would have also called Joseph by name and pointed him to Her Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the same way Heavenly Father did.

15. Scholars have pointed out that one of the names for Heavenly Mother in the Old Testament is "Wisdom." I find it significant that the restoration began with the scripture "If any of you lack Wisdom, let him ask of God." Today we lack Wisdom. The way to learn more about Her is simply to ask, nothing wavering, and we will receive liberally. (James 1:5)

16. Recognizing Heavenly Mother can help us focus better on the Son, because a son must have two parents. Christ is the only way to the Father, but also to the Mother. We can get to know both the Father and the Mother better by getting to know their Son. In learning about Her, we must never lose focus on Christ.

17. Mary, the mortal mother of Jesus Christ, was the handmaid of Heavenly Mother, not of Heavenly Father. I believe this because scripturally, men don't have handmaids. Their wives do. Mary's role is significant in the plan of redemption, and reminds us of our Mother in Heaven. (See 1 Nephi 11) Christ's commandment on the cross to John to "behold thy mother!" is also for us today.

18. The world is hungry for Her. We should not be ashamed, or hide our unique doctrine about Heavenly Mother in the Church of Jesus Christ. It can, in fact, be a beacon of truth, a bold and refreshing doctrine that could attract many who are earnestly seeking to know more about God.

"Goddess with Short Hair," by J. Kirk Richards

Nephi's Sisters

The Book of Mormon is written for our time. It teaches us about the pride cycle, the Zoramites' contempt for the poor, the Gadianton robbers; it shows us how social divisions, both economic and racial, contributed to a civilization's downfall. All these principles are well taught in our manuals and classes and have been incorporated into our narrative of gospel understanding.

But what if all those things were just symptoms of a much more fundamental problem going on in the Book of Mormon? What if the seeds of the Nephite's downfall were planted much earlier, before Lehi's family even arrived to the promised land? No, I am not referring to the friction and eventual split between Laman and Nephi. I believe the Nephite story is less about the generational effects of quarrelling brothers and more about the long-term social impact of an entire nation that persistently disregarded their sisters.

The Book of Mormon is, at its heart, the story of a family. We are introduced to a prophet named Lehi through his vision of the destruction of Jerusalem and accompanying theophany, but his main function in the narrative is that of father, traveling to the promised land with his wife and bickering sons. It really catches us off guard when we read in 2nd Nephi, long after the dramatic story of the family's journey in the wilderness is told, in some offhand comment nonetheless, that there were sisters.

With ample opportunity to name them, Nephi instead introduces his family this way: "And [Lehi] did travel in the wilderness with his family, which consisted of my mother, Sariah, and my elder brothers, who were Laman, Lemuel, and Sam."

Why does Nephi not think it is any more important to give us the names of Lehi's daughters than to record for us the names of Lehi's camels? What is the lesson for us in the Book of Mormon about women?

Over and over again, Nephite women are conspicuously missing. Overlooked. Forgotten. I mean, Nephi and his family are halfway down the road to the promised land before they suddenly remember that they need wives, the way a person might remember halfway down the highway that they forgot to pack their toothbrush.

I am no expert in ancient civilizations, but I would wager that Nephi was no less thoughtful and inclusive towards women than any other man in 600B.C. Context is everything in this story and, even among God's covenant people, Nephi was just probably functioning in the constructs of his ancient society. It probably does us no good at all to judge him harshly and according to our 21st century sensibilities. But some of us may be left wondering, "If a prophet, the mouthpiece of God, can't be inclusive towards women in the scripture, who on earth can?"

Well in 2021, we all can.

Dr. Joseph Spencer, a professor of philosophy and ancient scripture at BYU, suggests an interpretation from Jacob 2 that turned the Book of Mormon completely on its head for me. I borrow heavily from his presentation here, and from a chapter in his book from Neal A. Maxwell Institute here.

He suggests that we have good reason to believe that Lehi was trying to introduce to his sons a social model of gender that was different from Jerusalem society. It could be that he recognized the injustice and abuse against women in his society, and was inspired of God to create a new society in a new land. Jacob gives us these insights into the teachings of Lehi:

For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things. For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands. And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts. (Jacob 2:30-32)

Behold, the Lamanites your brethren...are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our father—that they should have save it were one wife, and concubines they should have none, and there should not be whoredoms committed among them. And now, this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore, because of this observance, in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will be merciful unto them; and one day they shall become a blessed people. Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children. (Jacob 3:5-7)

And now behold, my brethren, ye know that these commandments were given to our father, Lehi; wherefore, ye have known them before; and ye have come unto great condemnation; for ye have done these things which ye ought not to have done. (Jacob 2:34)

The life of this particular remnant of Israel in the promised land was meant to be apart from the wicked traditions of their fathers, to become a society where women were no longer abused, excluded, or considered property—where husbands loved their wives and where monogamy was the rule. God separated Lehi and his family with a commandment that involved gender equality.

And thus, the rest of the Book of Mormon could be read through the lens of this question: How did they do?

Short answer: not good. Quite terrible, in fact.

Missing Women and the Downfall of the Nephites

Sariah is the only non-Lamanite woman who speaks in the first person, or is even mentioned, in the Book of Mormon. She is the wife of one prophet, and mother of another. She probably felt keenly the restraints put on her in this band of boys who seem to blunder along, forgetting all kinds of things and obviously not including her in the decision making process, having to backtrack needlessly. I am sure she sighed the way a mother does when she is halfway into town and her child suddenly announces he forgot to put on his shoes. In this position, waiting for her sons to return with the brass plates and worried that they might have died, she murmurs against her husband. "Behold, thou hast led us forth from the land of our inheritance, and my sons are no more, and we perish in the wilderness."

The only identity afforded her in Jewish society, that of a mother, is at stake with the possible death of her sons, and her entire hope for a new life for her and her daughters is threatened. The most comforting words mustered by a prophet and compassionate husband do nothing for her. She is inconsolable, temporarily robbed of any sense of self on their journey to the promised land.

But there is a turnaround to her justified murmuring. With her sons' return, she emerges no longer just as Lehi's wife, and not just as Nephi's mother, but as a person with her own voice and her own testimony. She is her own witness. Sariah's reconciliation is given to us with her own words: 

"Now I know of a surety that he Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them. And after this manner of language did she speak."

Though she is testifying of her husband's calling as prophet, Sariah is nonetheless liberated by a faith that is at last independent of her husband, and she is given space on the gold plates to carve out her own witness. From there, she is provided the strength necessary to continue on her difficult journey to the promised land, even though she was soon after nearly brought to the grave on the ship by the men and their "exceeding rudeness."

Alas, there is no "Book of Sariah." She may not have even been literate, (though I like to believe she was.) But despite having only one verse to speak, one would at least hope that Sariah's would begin a legacy of incorporating women's voice and testimony into the Nephite record, engraving their words in gold alongside their husbands, brothers, and sons. But this did not happen. The nameless sisters in that first generation in the Americas, from the daughters of Lehi to the daughters of Ishmael, and continuing on in a long and tragic line of male-only generations all the way to a motherless, wifeless Moroni, prove that the Nephite's did not continue with Sariah's example if including women in the record.

From there on out, the only named women, the only women who ever speak in the record, or are mentioned by name, are Lamanite women. Abish. The mothers of the army of Helaman. King Lamoni's wife. The Lamanite Queen. All of these have a poignant place in the narrative. But if we try to find the same in the Nephites, we come up empty handed.

Without hyperbole, this eventually led to the Nephite's total destruction. It was their failure to "love their wives" that set them apart from the Lamanites and, as prophesied by Jacob, led to their downfall. However the Lamanites, who according to Jacob valued women at least more than the Nephites did, were spared to be redeemed in the last days.

One is left wondering that if women were treated differently in this ancient society, would the storyline be different? Would we still have to grapple with the tedious war chapters—the endless battles, the violence, the depravity—if women were valued the same as men in their society?

One BYU researcher I admire very much, Dr. Valerie Hudson, has studied and measured extensively different variables of how women are treated in nations around the world, and convincingly argues that "the fate of nations is integrally tied to the status of women in society." 

This can certainly be true of the Nephites. If we are looking to the Nephites as a model we should emulate, I believe we are reading it wrong.

So where do go from here?

Mormon and Moroni write to us on the hill as they witness the utter downfall of their patriarchal society, documenting in painful detail the cruelty and depravity, especially towards women, as outlined in Moroni 9. Moroni implores: 

"Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been."

O Ye Fair Ones: Mormon and Moroni witness the destruction of their people.

Without condemning, is it presumptuous to believe we can be "more wise" than the Nephites? If every attempt to create a Zion society in the scriptures has ended in disaster, what makes the restored Church any different? What do we have that they did not?

Well, for one thing, we have our unprecedented fight for global women's rights.

Moving Forward: Nephi's Sisters in Zion

When we look back on the progress that women have made in society over the past two hundred years since the Nephite record was extracted from the hill Cumorah—since heavenly messengers have turned their heavenly keys and Moroni has come to announce the Lord's coming with a trump—it has been very heartening. Women have gone from silent property to citizens with a voice in only a few short years. 

But how much more needs to be done? Well if the status of women is a temperature check on how well a nation is doing, I would say that given the state of things and the struggles we face worldwide, that the answer is "plenty of work."

Talking with the women in my life, some tell me they do not resonate with the claim that women struggle at church. Some say that they already do feel heard and involved at every level. Like Sariah, they have already made it onto the plates. I do not want to minimize their voice or their experience in any way. I am aware that many women already do speak in church, teach lessons, plan activities, participate in decision making, work in leadership positions, and some already feel like their voice is valued equally alongside the witness of their brothers and their husbands as they counsel and receive revelation together. I am truly happy for them.

But I also know that many women in this church do not feel included. Without changing any doctrine, there are some policies and church culture that could be changed to afford a space for some women to better reach their potential, especially if their spiritual gifts are not in the traditional sphere of caregiving and nurturing. Are women who feel excluded wrong in how they feel? Are they deceived by the feminists? Lost to the deceptive voices of the world? Is "all well in Zion, yea, Zion prospereth?" Are we pacified with the status quo of women at church? Do we spend more time decrying "radical feminism" and not enough time repenting and changing the ways we might be marginalizing women? In other words, if Nephi's sisters were to ask to write something to their posterity on our modern day golden plates, would we give them room to do so? Or would we just continue to let the men do the talking?

Last week at General Conference, I heard the voice of the Lord in the words of our prophet and apostles, and I felt the guidance and strength I needed. I was filled. But with only three women who made it to the pulpit, including the closing prayer, out of all 10 hours of the broadcast, I thought about how we can better fulfill President Nelson's plea for more women to step up and share their voices with us.

Of course, the Holy Ghost can teach us regardless of the gender of the messenger, and I do not mean to sow seeds of discontent in an otherwise marvelous conference. I sustain those who are specially set apart as special witnesses of Christ, and respect that they may be given priority in their messages. I do not claim insight into how speakers are chosen, but I do wonder: if there is no precedent for how women can speak up and share their voice at the highest levels, how can this happen on the ground? As one blogger writes, "You can't listen to women if they aren't invited to speak."

I do not know how much more needs to be done to give Nephi's sisters a voice and an identity today, but I am certain we can improve. I believe the first step to progress is to listen to our sisters, both those who are happy with the status quo and those who are not. I am not always the best at this, as my wife will hasten to tell you, but I am trying. Some of the necessary changes will come quietly, through the gentle voice of revelation. Others will require courage and a struggle. All will come from asking the Lord as we go to Him over and over again for guidance. Some of those changes to give women a voice will require official channels, but most, I think, are simply cultural attitudes that will fall away as everyday members persistently seek and ask how to include our sisters in the church. Regardless, it is going to take a lot of work. I do not believe God wants us to wait around for instructions on how to do this.

Unfortunately, many women are feeling more out of place in a church that is designed for Nephi. Young women in particular, I believe, are hungry for a church that is better suited to their needs. We have a rising generation of youth that is very comfortable asking questions and expecting cultural and official teachings that promote gender equality. We have young women who want to serve, but don't know how in a church designed by, and for, their brothers. 

And for the men, it will require active listening without assuming that we have already achieved equality in the church. Not yet, my brothers. Gender inequality is the most persistent, lingering result of the Fall of Adam and Eve. It is the foundation of the lone and dreary world. We will stay lone and dreary until we are side by side with our sisters as equal partners. The bride is not ready for the bridegroom. Bringing men and women together is the only thing that will bring us back into Eden's paradisiacal glory. At least, that is the symbolism I feel in the temple.

As contention increases inside and out of the church, we need more than ever a church designed by and for women as well as the men. We need the witness of Nephi's sisters to stabilize us, and while I might emphasize they are not responsible to "fix" the men, adding their voice alongside ours will stop us from falling into the same male-dominated patterns of contention like the Nephites did. Their voices are greatly needed.

Stay with Nephi

In the end, in spite of his weaknesses, Nephi's unnamed sisters remained with him. Nephi records, 

"Wherefore, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and also Zoram and his family, and Sam, mine elder brother and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all those who would go with me. And all those who would go with me were those who believed in the warnings and the revelations of God; wherefore, they did hearken unto my words."

Today, I pray for the same. That our sisters will stay with us in Christ in spite of our shortcomings. That they will stay with me in spite of my numerous blunders. The only thing that will make this happen is mine and our repentance.

I know we have a prophet who guides us to safety in the wilderness towards Jesus Christ. I believe a large part of the ongoing restoration is the restoration of truths about gender equality. Just as the early saints kept their faith in Zion in spite of the failures of their leaders, in spite of the times when reality did not match with the ideal, we can forgive each other, bear with each other, and listen to each other.

For that to happen, we need Nephi's sisters to have a name. We need them to have an independent identity, and to speak and lead us on our journey. We need men to be proactive in allowing space for women to lead. We need both Lehi and Sariah's faith to be given equal weight on the record as we flee the wickedness of gender inequality at Jerusalem, making our way slowly, painfully, toward the promised land.

We need Nephi's sisters now more than ever as we continue to build our eternal families in the wilderness.

Beholding the Wind, the Earthquake, and the Fire

Tomorrow is General Conference.

It has got me thinking this week about how the Lord speaks to me, and how I can prepare myself to hear the voice of the Lord.

In the Book of Mormon, before the resurrected Lord appeared to the Nephites, there were some dramatic geological changes. Earthquakes, mighty winds, and fires broke up the rocks, buried their loved ones, and devastated their communities. In their disrupted state, it says "they heard a voice...and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center." (3 Nephi 11:3)

We have had some significant shifts in our socio-political landscape recently. I think I have more respect for the earthquake, the wind, and the fire than I ever used to. Most importantly, I appreciate the way this pandemic and the turmoil of 2020 has prepared my heart to hear the voice of the Lord.

Revelation Can Come from the Bottom

I used to believe that all revelation for the world must come from the top-down, from the prophet. I still believe that when it comes to official policies and changes to the church structure, this is true. I leave that to them. But I do not believe that the work of seeking and preparing for those policy changes leading up to those answers is up to them. It is my job to be a seeker, to ask my questions and engage with difficult issues until my heart breaks wide open and the Lord can speak with a whisper to my heart. If we just passively wait for God to speak to us by semiannual announcement over the pulpit, it removes our responsibility in the process of revelation. It would disengage us from the process, and not to mention make us very angsty and powerless. We might find ourselves wringing our hands when our leaders aren't saying the things we want them to say. We might wonder why our prophets act more like administrators, or like custodians of the church in Zarahemla, instead of crying repentance on the wall like Samuel the Lamanite.

The teachings of prophets at conference and throughout the year have stayed relatively constant: a pleading for faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and covenant making and keeping. The announcement of temples adds a bit of zing semiannually, but it is still a predictable part of the conference. Even the recent changes from our current prophet President Nelson that we breathlessly talk about, not to minimize their significance, are really more like "small and simple" policy changes, things like moving church services from 3 hours to 2, a new ministering program, young women can now hand out a towel at the baptismal font, older and younger men are realigned into a single Elders Quorum, women can give their nod as witnesses when a person goes all the way under the water, and single men can now serve in bishoprics. All these changes are just small shifts that reflect greater, much more miraculous trends in a changing world. If all we see are these policy changes, we might miss the "marvelous work and a wonder" part that the Lord is doing in the world.

When it comes to the social change that is required to make space for the restoration, it is a collaboration of many. Revelation of this kind is more likely to be bottom-up. Grassroots movements lead out to address major problems in our society, and we now have the technology to make these conversations go even farther, faster. Not all of these movements are good or inspired, of course, and some are downright dangerous spiritually, but when a group of people seek for something good, either within or without of the church, and as we seek the will of the Lord as these things flash across our news pages, it can open the doors for further revelations from God. 

The next step, it seems, is for the church to then quietly adjust its policies to reflect the revelatory changes that are already happening in the world. It is a much more inclusive, collaborative approach, with many good people outside the church being recruited by the Lord in the process of preparing the world for Christ. This can be frustrating to some who believe that the church isn't leading out more on serious issues, but I believe it is more in line with way God works. He doesn't do a job with one servant when he can use a million, so that more people, both inside the church and out, can receive the blessings of their service.

In short, we need to get over the idea that we are the only heroes preparing the world for the Second Coming. 

Too often we disparage the work that goes on outside of the church. The protests, the marches, the battles for a cause. Yes, sometimes it is loud. Sometimes it is messy. Sometimes it is complicated. It is always done by imperfect people, and we always need the spirit to know which political storms are bringing us closer to Zion, and which ones are taking us further away. And yes, we do need to be careful that we are not so caught up in the earthquake that we miss the still small voice that comes after. But the work of preparing the world for the second coming must first be loud, messy, and complicated. Slavery didn't end without a fight. Women's suffrage wasn't handed out without making some noise. Civil rights don't happen without a protest. With todays numerous issues, it is obvious that corrupt power will not relent to our demands quietly. Instead of turning our back on that work of preparation for God's Kingdom to expand, we can stand on the mount with Elijah and behold it. Be grateful for it. Feel the way the Lord comes quietly to His people after every noisy political storm. 

Beholding the Earthquake, Wind, and Fire

My mind keeps going back to Elijah's vision on the mount. Elijah had been called of God and retired to a cave, feeling completely overwhelmed and frustrated in his responsibility as prophet. It says, "he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers." The Lord continued to feed Elijah in his dejected state for forty days by ravens. After that, the Lord asked, "What doest thou here, Elijah?"

In that moment, Elijah stood upon the mountain, 

"And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." (1 Kings 19:9-12)

Like the case of the Nephites, it feels like there is a preparatory role that the wind, earthquake, and fire must play before Elijah can receive the quiet voice of the Lord. These forces rend mountains, break in pieces the rocks, and make room for something else to move in. As we look around the world and see the political movements, the social change, the upheavals, the social media comment threads and arguments, the loud clamor of the world, we can see how it provides needed change and also the catalyst for our own quiet moments with the Lord. Joseph Smith would never have retired to a grove of trees without the "war of words and tumult of opinions" that prepared his mind to seek for the Lord. 

We cannot receive difficult answers without asking difficult questions.

Before the Restoration, there was the Reformation. Noisy men and women who broke up the rocks of religious persecution for us and were martyrs to make God's word available to the boy who drives the plow. Today, the work of breaking up the social and political landscape to make space for the still small voice is ongoing. The work of the noisy laborers goes forward in tandem with the stillness of the restoration. We may not like the sounds of jackhammers and bulldozers and nail guns outside our window, but we had better get used to it, because they are busy building our house. And maybe we should get out there and help throw a hammer, too.

From our messy efforts in whatever cause we feel inspired to enlist in, I believe that the Kingdom of God will always move forward quietly behind us, filling in carefully the spaces carved out for it by the winds and earthquakes and fires we make.

"But the Lord was not in the earthquake." The role of the church never was to be a major player on the stage of politics. That is a role given to regular, ordinary people, like you and me, regardless of our religion or lack thereof. By in large, it is up to us to do the work of asking and seeking for greater knowledge, not to wait idly by for Elijah, or President Nelson, or God's representative to mandate social justice from the mount.

"If you have desires to serve, ye are called to the work."

To Whom Shall We Go?

At the end of a pandemic year, and after a year of disappointments, disillusionment, and frustrations, perhaps feeling our spiritual hopes crash against the harshness of reality, some of us may be questioning our faith. We might see the failures of our own church to measure up to our ideals. Others may just feel underwhelmed. After so long being fed on pathetic morsels of nourishment brought to us by the ravens in a cave of pandemic isolation, we might feel the Lord asking us, as I have felt Him ask to me, "What doest thou here, Christopher?"

Or, as Christ asked Peter after so many left Him when He failed to live up to their expectations as a mover and a shaker in the political issues of their day, "Will you also go away?"

Last Sunday as I looked at the tokens of Christ's body and blood up there on the stand, and looking around the chapel at the good "small and simple" people gathered around me, I felt, as Peter did, the words in my heart, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." (John 6:68)

What the church does is different from the earthquake, or the wind, or the fire. It is quiet. It is small and simple. It is "peace, not as the world giveth." It is the church of the same man who was found quietly doing good away from the power structures that existed in His day. His work takes place in the souls of men and women, filling the emptiness left by the storms, and healing the unseen woundedness of our hearts. He is the God of lepers, of blind men, and of the woman at the well. It was Calvary that defined His life the most. He was a great big giant letdown to those who wanted Him to skip the small stuff and overthrow the Roman Empire already and stop wasting time with simple sermons about faith and repentance and baptism, and then just up and die on a hill.

Whatever keys were turned at the start of this dispensation, whatever messengers are being sent today, whatever heavenly seals are being opened in preparation for the Second Coming, they are going to come from God to the whole world, and involve not just a few. I hope to be involved when I can. And always, like Elijah, I will stand on my mount and behold it all with wonder and thanksgiving, recognizing the hand of the Lord when I see it.

And after the earthquake and fire and wind that passes by in my newsfeed each week, I will make sure that I spend time with that still small voice, and return to Christ's sacrament table every Sunday, "that I may always have His [still, small] spirit to be with me."

So, considering all that has happened in the last six months, I will be looking for a still small voice, not an earthquake, tomorrow at General Conference.

The Fall of the Gentiles and the Gathering of Israel

So long, 2020. It's good to have you in my rearview mirror.

There were a lot of things that made me feel frustrated last year. Like, a lot frustrated. However, one of the things that really helped me put perspective on things was that old faithful book, the Book of Mormon. Studying it this year was good therapy. It calmed me down. It gave me peace. It helped me forgive. It helped me see that the political and social shifts going on around me fit into a larger prophetic narrative.

It was quite a ride reading the Book of Mormon alongside the news in 2020. The Book of Mormon reads like the fieldnotes of a civilization that fell apart, which is kind of what this year has felt like to me. Through it all, though, there is one insight that has really struck me this year, and it coincides perfectly with the message of our current prophet:

"There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than [the gathering of Israel.] There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing." (Russell M. Nelson, Hope of Israel, March 2019.)

Yes, even more important than a pandemic. Even more important than a tumultuous American election year. More important than any headline making waves today. Compared to the gathering of Israel, all the rest is just "fake news" in comparison.

The Book of Mormon says a lot of different things, but it seems to weave it all into one central narrative: there is a literal gathering of Israel. I have always been struck by the role that the Gentiles play in the gathering of Israel, but most interesting to me this year was how the scriptures explain that the Gentiles place in the spotlight would inevitably come to an end.

"These sayings which ye shall write [the Book of Mormon] shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of [Israel's] seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer. And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and then will I fulfil the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel.  

"And blessed are the Gentiles, because of their belief in me, in and of the Holy Ghost, which witnesses unto them of me and of the Father. Behold, because of their belief in me, saith the Father, and because of the unbelief of you, O house of Israel, in the latter days shall the truth come unto the Gentiles, that the fulness of these things shall be made known unto them." (3 Nephi 16)

Who are the Gentiles, and what makes them so special?

The definition of Gentile varies in scripture, but it is clear enough in the Book of Mormon that in the last days, the Gentiles would arrive on the scene to possess the land of the Americas, and that through them the restoration would begin and the Book of Mormon would come forth. Based on the outline of history, the Gentiles in the Book of Mormon could refer mainly to those of European descent. 

Racial identity is always a tricky and problematic social construct to define today, but if you celebrate the Mayflower somewhere in your family tree, it is probably you. It is me. It is Europeans. It is, generally, white America. It is those who have held power in this country for the last 200+ years.

To understand the plot of this story, one has to understand the covenant that God made to Israel. To the descendants of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, God promised, among other things, land and power over their enemies. They were God's chosen people to receive the priesthood, and that the Messiah would come through them. But the Israelites were more than a little bit rebellious, they sought after other gods, and over time they were scattered. But the covenant still stands, and in the last days it is prophesied that they would be gathered back together like the branches of the olive tree, that "the last shall be first and the first shall be last." In other words, the gospel would be taken from them and given to the Gentiles. Thus Europe, not Israel, became the capital of Christianity.

However, the Gentiles are not the focus of the covenant. They are a means to an end in fulfilling the covenant. They are, in a way, dispensable. Mormon writes:

"I have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of probation." (2 Nephi 33:9)

Christ explains this further:

"But wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles—for notwithstanding they have come forth upon the face of this land, and have scattered my people who are of the house of Israel; and my people who are of the house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have been trodden under feet by them;

"And because of the mercies of the Father unto the Gentiles, and also the judgments of the Father upon my people who are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after all this, I have caused my people who are of the house of Israel to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast out from among them, and to become hated by them, and to become a hiss and a byword among them." (3 Nephi 16:8-9)

It is a horrible matter of historical record that Europeans have been anything but kind to the nations where Israel is most likely to be represented. The Native Americans in both the north and south were smitten and massacred and dehumanized; colonialism and greed desolated nation after nation; and racism has ever been an integral part of our history. Alongside our pious desire to spread the word of God through Christian missionary work, we simultaneously were also caught pillaging the resources and disrupting the political and social order of the nations where we were supposedly spreading a message of peace and love. As Europeans dominated the world, so did our abuse against Israel, particularly against people of color. It is precisely as prophesied, but justice for their wrongs is always a key part of God's promise to His people.

The great dramatic irony is that those same Gentile nations who scattered them would also be responsible for gathering them back again.

"Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

"And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me." (Isaiah 49 as quoted in 1 Nephi 21:22-23)

All this is common BOM Sunday School talk. Christopher Columbus, Europeans discovering America, the scattering of the descendants of Lehi on the American continent, Joseph Smith's role as a descendant of Joseph, and Ephraim's role in gathering Israel, grafting them one by one back into the tree through family history and missionary work.

But something that became more and more apparent to me in 2020, and something which is prophesied in the Book of Mormon, was how terribly white America would eventually flunk out of the gospel program, speaking generally.

After the injustice of the Gentiles towards Israel, the day comes when a centuries old power dynamic is to be absolutely reversed. The day of the Gentile is prophesied to have an end, and scattered Israel throughout the world will begin to take back their place as God's chosen people.

[Jesus says] And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them.

And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them. And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fulness of my gospel.

Only after the Gentiles reject the gospel, then will God remember His covenant to gather up His people. The gathering is only just starting. If this description of the falling away of the old power structure to make way for the new one reads like the newsreel of today, you might be right.

If ever there were a time when, speaking generally, white America has turned away from the gospel of Jesus Christ, it may be now. Not only do we have the slow decay of godless secularism and general hedonism always growing in our society, but we also see moral decay from those who should know better---the Christian right. It feels like, more than ever, white Christians have lost their way. 

Even more troubling, antagonism towards those who have been scattered and oppressed---the literal House of Israel---is growing in America. Those in power are less and less interested in protecting the vulnerable, which was once the defining hallmark of American greatness. We are becoming less and less interested in "carrying Israel on our shoulders" and more interested in pursuing our own selfish interests. 

As Israel is gathered and grows in power and influence, so does the threat to old hierarchies. It is small wonder that white nationalists have started rallying in full force to protest the shifting power dynamic that moves decidedly towards the oppressed: blacks, Native Americans, and other people of color---basically any who were once marginalized, abused, and scattered. In other words, Israel. Tellingly, some even going so far as to chant angrily at pro-Trump rallies, "Jews will not replace us!" Unaware of Book of Mormon prophesy, the irony is certainly lost on them. Though this is admittedly a small minority, the feeling of being replaced or left out of society is the absolute fuel for the alt-right movement, and is widespread.

As a society, never before has our fall from Christian principles been as obvious as it has been in 2020. The cozy relationship that white America has made with some decidedly un-Christlike politicians, for example, and most notably the current American president, demonstrates (to me anyway) that the fall of the Gentile is well underway. White Christian men applaud politely while the ultimate metaphor for the collapse of Christian decency and moral authority, as embodied in the persona of Donald Trump, blusters on about immigrants and refugees, disregards the oppressed, spreads a steady stream of lies and mischief, protects the interests of the crooked and the shamefully wealthy, and acts with complete disregard, contempt even, for the vulnerable to whom he has responsibility, particularly in this pandemic, and all this with a Christian church as backdrop and an unread bible as prop. 

The current presidency gained momentum from the start by focusing on the fear of Latinos and other ethnic minorities, trying to halt as much as possible the gathering of Israel in the United States of America. All this, to me, has a parallel to the prophesies in the Book of Mormon, that literal Israel would grow in power and authority on the American continent, and that they would be seen as a threat to the unbelieving Gentiles. 

People have seen the changing face of America, perhaps even more so after seeing a person of color as president. Alarmed, they work desperately to bring back a time when God's chosen people were still white. Sensing their fall from power, there are many people who would like to "Make America great again," (white America, it wasn't so great for people of color) and do so without their arms open to the vulnerable, the downtrodden, and the stranger--to scattered Israel--which is a definite requirement of this land. 

Nevertheless, churches are filling up more and more with immigrants and ethnic minorities, and the gathering of Israel is taking place beneath our very noses. Meanwhile, white America is found less interested in ancient promises and more interested in defending their political and economic advantage. In this they will fail.

This tumultuous year may well mark the end of an era of Gentile spiritual stewardship and moral authority. The Christianity of the new predominately white alt-right movement has departed so drastically from the teachings of Christ as to be almost entirely unrecognizable. We can't undo what has been done.

And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face of the poor. (2 Nephi 26:20)

And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood. (1 Nephi 22:13) 

I can't think of a more dramatic demise to white America's place as moral authority than what has just transpired in 2020, as the great and abominable churches of political conservatism and liberalism tear each other apart, "drunken with their own blood." I fear it is far from over yet. And unfortunately, many latter-day saints are far too eager to be a part of it.

But the good news is, it gets better. Those willing to be a part of the gathering, no matter how little Israel blood they have in their veins, have great blessings in store for them. The gathering has less to do with race or any other category as it does with "healing the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty to the captive, and opening the prison to those who are bound." (Isaiah 61:1)

Whoever they are, those who have been oppressed and abused (Israel) will be passed the baton of power in this nation as it passes out of the hand of the Gentiles. All the injustice, abuse, and pain of the centuries shall be made right, and the power and authority of Israel will be restored to them at last, both temporally and spiritually.

"And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver."

In other words, white America is going to get a thrashing if they don't get on board to help with God's covenant to the oppressed.

Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles except they repent, for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots; And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds. 

And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.  

But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance. (3 Nephi 21) 

And there's the rub: This land is not ours. It is on loan to us, and only so far as we are willing to do the work in redeeming captive Israel can we be numbered as heirs with Israel to dwell in it. If we want to have a place in this land, we certainly can, but it's not going to happen while moaning about the immigrants, whether they come legally or not; nor by shutting our doors to the refugees, fretting about the Muslims, or denying that the face of America is changing. We can't chant "All Lives Matter" at God's covenant people. We can't build a wall to stop the gathering of Israel.

If we want to be a part of this land, we need to repent. 

Behold I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel. (2 Nephi 30:2)

As outlined in the Book of Mormon, we need to do our part to gather downtrodden Israel. This is not necessarily a specific race, or one specific group, though we do have some clues. Israel is simply whoever we can find who has been downtrodden, marginalized, left out of the power structure, and abused. It is the ultimate affirmative action program. We need to be willing to carry Israel on our shoulders. We need to be their nursing fathers and nursing mothers.

One of the ways we carry Israel on our shoulders is to fight against racism. There are many ways to do this. We might support the influx of Syrian refugee families seeking asylum. We might work to help distressed families at the Mexican border, or speak out against deplorable human rights violations by the US government there. We may feel a desire to support our black brothers and sisters and march with them when they seek justice for centuries of abuse and ongoing racism. We might protest with Native Americans as they demand their rights to their land. Or, more simply, we might help whatever person we see who needs to be gathered, regardless of their nationality.

Gathering takes many forms, but refusing to be a part of the process may mean risking being torn to pieces spiritually by the emerging young lion of Israel among our flock of sheep.

But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel. And I will not suffer my people, who are of the house of Israel, to go through among them, and tread them down, saith the Father. (3 Nephi 16:13)

It's the only way to inherit this land. 

In conclusion, the Book of Mormon is not just a book about our individual relationship to Jesus Christ, but it is also about our relationship to each other. It is an instruction manual on how to crash a big ginormous family reunion that we are invited to, even if we are only very distantly related, even if we hail from the most far-flung, furthest remote islands from Jerusalem, even as far as the British Isles.

The Book of Mormon is both radical and progressive. It demands a new world order. It is a book that calls upon us to fight for equality and social justice. It invites us each to be individually grafted into the tree of Christ, and to help gather the original branches that have been scattered around the vineyard. It is a guidebook for peace and charity.

It is a book we need a lot more of today.

1 Nephi 22

2 Nephi 6

2 Nephi 26

2 Nephi 30

2 Nephi 33

Jacob 5

3 Nephi 16

3 Nephi 21