To Act or Be Acted Upon

Elder Bednar explains in a talk called Seek Learning by Faith, the difference between things to act and things to be acted upon (2 Nephi 2:15).  He says that we have the freedom to act, to choose, to be proactive and to cause good things to happen.  Satan would have us be acted upon, to be passive, to be pushed and tossed by outside forces without exerting our will.

". . . In the grand division of all of God’s creations, there are things to act and things to be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:13–14). As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of agency—the capacity and power of independent action. Endowed with agency, we are agents, and we primarily are to act and not only to be acted upon—especially as we seek to obtain and apply spiritual knowledge.

Learning by faith and from experience are two of the central features of the Father’s plan of happiness. The Savior preserved moral agency through the Atonement and made it possible for us to act and to learn by faith. Lucifer’s rebellion against the plan sought to destroy the agency of man, and his intent was that we as learners would only be acted upon. . ."

When Joseph Smith sought inspiration in a grove of trees, he was motivated by his scripture study and his prayers.  " . . . Note the questions Joseph had formulated in his mind and felt in his heart—and which he took into the grove. He clearly had prepared himself to “ask in faith” (James 1:6) and to act."

" . . . Notice that Joseph’s questions focused not just on what he needed to know but also on what he needed to do."

He points out that we learn not only by hearing, but by doing, and quotes this from Brigham Young, "More people have obtained a testimony while standing up trying to bear it than down on their knees praying for it.” ⁶ 

Ponder this scripture from D&C 93:30 :  All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.

But we need to be inspired in where to put our efforts and time.  Note this quote from Elder Nelson:

One can be anxiously engaged in a meaningless cause. Or one can do something wrong a hundred times and call it experience! Some would avoid labor while pursuing the goals of wealth without working for it, or an honored position without preparing for it.  Russell M. Nelson

So if I seek the Lord's will, armed with the power of scripture study and righteous desires, He will show me where and how I need to act.  Then I need to do those things I was inspired to do and report back.  Note these instructions from President Eyring, "Ponder deeply and diligently in the scriptures and in the words of living prophets. Persist in prayer for the Holy Ghost to reveal to you the nature of God the Father and His Beloved Son. Plead that the Spirit will show you what the Lord wants you to do. Plan to do it. Promise Him to obey. Act with determination until you have done what He asked. And then pray to give thanks for the opportunity to serve and to know what you might do next."

If I neglect to do these things, I will drift along, being acted upon, and watch T.V. and spend my precious hours browsing Pinterest or FaceBook, and Satan will be very happy.

The Need for Opposition

So many people of the world pine and whine for a world where there is only sunshine.  They dream of a place where only good, beauty, happiness, light and knowledge exist.  They would banish all evil, ugliness, sorrow, darkness and ignorance.  They don't see that one cannot exist without the other.  If we are to have choices, it must be between light and dark; between good and evil.

It's a popular theme in fiction to depict a society where the authorities have taken away choices, and everyone is forced to do things in a certain way.  A Wrinkle in Time is one example.  Choice is taken away, using the rationale that if people are allowed to choose, they will be foolish or evil and the ideal society will cease to exist.

Satan's proposition in the war in heaven was that we have a world without choice.  H would eliminate the opportunity to sin by eliminating evil.  But Lehi teaches us that without choice, without evil opposite the good, dark opposite the light, there could be no good, no light.  Even God could not exist.  (2 Nephi 2:11-13)  Did Satan realize that such a world would destroy God?  His attempts to eliminate our agency, to defeat God, to bring misery to all mankind would seem to coincide with the destruction that Lehi describes.

Sometimes in our church classes, people describe Satan's plan as one which would force evil upon us.  That was not his plan at all.  His plan was enforcing GOOD.  If we look for examples of that plan in today's world, we can see attempts by governments to legislate goodness.  They think that people are too selfish or too lazy or too dumb to do all the good things that need to be done, so we need to be forced to do those things.  But the role of government is to protect us from evil and pass laws against evil, but it should not try to enforce goodness.  It may pass laws against alcohol and drugs, but not try to force us to exercise and eat tofu.  It may prohibit slavery, but not try to legislate love for fellowmen.  It may make theft illegal, but not try to force us to give our money to those in need.  Giving to our brothers in need is a wonderful thing, but when we do it without choice, we are robbed of the opportunity to learn to "bear one another's burdens."  When we are forced to do good, our agency is taken away.  That was Satan's plan.

He Shall Consecrate Thine Afflictions for Thy Gain

2 Nephi 2:2  "... he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain."

Sometimes our afflictions and trials seem more than we can bear.  We think about our mistakes and all the insults and slights and mean and demeaning and rude things said to and about us.  Have these awful things been chiseled upon our souls?  Have they become part of our DNA, always to remain with us?

If we believe the words of Lehi, that is not the case.  Lehi is talking to his son, Jacob, who became a great prophet to succeed Nephi.  Lehi tells us that Jacob had a hard time as a child, because of his older brothers, suffering "afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy brethren."  We don't know more details than that, although we know that Nephi received a lot of persecution and even attempts on his life from Laman and Lemuel.  They probably weren't any more kind to a small boy who idolized Nephi.  If anything could scar a child, you'd think these experiences would.

However, Lehi doesn't indicate that this is the case.  He tells the young Jacob that the Lord would consecrate those afflictions to bless Jacob's life.  They would make him a stronger person, perhaps one who had more empathy for others.  He would be a better person BECAUSE of his afflictions than he would have been without them.

From the perspective of experience, we can look back on past trials and problems and see how they have blessed our lives.  Especially when we take into account the Savior's Atonement, we find that His healing balm has not only healed our wounds but given us a strength and peace we never before thought possible. 

Howard W. Hunter gave a talk in General Conference in 1987, in which he said this:

I share the view expressed by Orson F. Whitney in these words:

“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God … and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven” (as quoted in Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 98).

At various times in our lives, probably at repeated times in our lives, we do have to acknowledge that God knows what we do not know and sees what we do not see. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” ( Isa. 55:8).

If you have troubles at home with children who stray, if you suffer financial reverses and emotional strain that threaten your homes and your happiness, if you must face the loss of life or health, may peace be unto your soul. We will not be tempted beyond our ability to withstand. Our detours and disappointments are the straight and narrow path to Him, as we sing in one of our favorite hymns:

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

My Scripture Study

I haven't posted much lately because I'm using a slightly different approach to my scripture study.  I started again at the beginning of the Book of Mormon when the Relief Society finished with the 100 day challenge, which I think was about September of last year.  I'm reading and marking my quad, of which only the last 2/3s or so have been marked.  Concurrently with that, I read the same chapter at lds.org and do the same highlighting system, but here I make comments and write ideas.  I'm trying to take more time and really go in depth.  I keep a window open for gospeldoctrine.com and read the comments there that pertain to what I'm reading, especially when I'm not clear on the meaning of a verse or phrase.  For example, the scripture says that the righteous will grow up like lambs in the stall, which is implied to be a good, safe thing, but I had to do quite a bit of research to find out what that meant.

This is working well for me, but I realize that I need to post my thoughts and ideas on this blog more often, if they're good enough to share.