The 10 Lepers - Go to, thy faith hath made thee whole!

After reading the story of the 10 lepers in the Book of Luke, I was amazed at the deep wisdom and symbology in that story.  I'll share just a few insights that came while reading it, first though, let's read the whole story (Luke 17:11-19)

11 ¶And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Now, let's apply this story to our individual lives:

vs 12-13. Credit to the ten lepers who at least acknowledged Christ as the Savior and someone who could heal them. There's a good chance there were more lepers, some who didn't have enough faith to even beckon to Christ. When the ten called on Christ, that was good, but not sufficient for true healing (healing beyond the leprosy). 

 - How many of us realize that we're lepers in a sense and need his help to heal us? Have we seen ourselves in that light and truly acknowledge that we alone are nothing?

vs 14. After the 10 were healed, they ran to the priests, except for one. I imagine these other nine lepers were good people. They probably acknowledged that Christ was responsible for their healing. They were probably elated to be able to see their families again. They were probably GOOD people. However, in their excitement, they went their way and didn't take time to go back and express their gratitude.

- How many of us, when we experience a blessing from heaven or an answer to prayer, simply go our way like the nine lepers? How many times has he healed us and we simply run away?

vs 15-16. The ONE leper turned around, came back, fell at Christ's feet, and gave him the glory. ONE leper returned to express his gratitude, love, and acknowledgement of his appreciation. Interestingly, this was also a Samaritan, who would have been an enemy of Christ's people (the Jews). This is the real crux of the story, Christ responded to this one with the poignant words, "Go to, thy faith hath made thee whole!". These are the same words Christ utters to Ether in Ether 1:8. This isn't just a physical cleansing, he's telling the leper that he will have a place and an inheritance with the Lord. The Lord can't lie and when a person hears those words, they KNOW they are clean from the blood and sins of this generation.

The nine experienced a wonderful and miraculous healing, but they forfeited a much greater blessing when they ran their way. The ONE who returned to acknowledge and thank the Savior was offered a healing many times greater than the other nine. He was healed physically and spiritually with the powerful words that the other nine didn't get to hear, "Go to, thy faith hath made thee whole!"

My big lessons learned are:

1. Do I (you) at least acknowledge the Lord like the 10 lepers and call out to him to be healed?

2. Do I (you) return to him to express a deep gratitude and truly realize that we are dependent on him to be healed, spiritually and physically?

3. What ACTIONS do I (you) need to take to physically go to him and kneel at his feet? Is there a habit we need to change or some behavior that I've justified that I need to adjust to physically MOVE towards him.

This is a powerful and life-changing story if we see ourselves as the lepers and try to be like the ONE.

Harden Not Your Heart

We can't control others, yet often times we are so concerned about others that we don't examine our own lives and our own heart which causes us to miss the meaning of the scriptures. What I'm sharing right now is a short and simple invitation to look in the mirror, to examine our own heart, to assess our own standing before the Lord.

In Jacob 5:3-8, he teaches:
"3 And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard (this should be all of us, the invitation is extended to us all to labor in his vineyard); and how cursed are they who shall be cast out into their own place! And the world shall be burned with fire.

 4 And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long (to you and I and anyone else who will come); and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people (who? Could this be you? What about me? Do we take offense at what others say if it doesn't align perfectly with our understanding? Are we open to be taught and repent quickly or is it more like trying to convince a mother hen to get off her eggs?) ; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

 5 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you (How often do you and I sincerely pray, when we would "cry unto the Lord"? What does it mean to you and I to "repent" and "come with full purpose of heart"? What does it mean to "cleave"?. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts.

 6 Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die? (This is the FOURTH time Jacob has talked about "hardening your heart", seriously look into your own heart, is it soft or hard? Could and does the Lord instruct you and I? If so, can he trust us to respond to and do what he asks us to do? Are we moldable like soft clay or are we more like hardened clay that breaks and becomes brittle when handled?

 7 For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire?

 8 Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him (Will we? It's so easy to apply this invitation and counsel to others, what if we apply it to ourselves? Where are we still following short of the glory of God? The question is how can you and I receive his words and stop rejecting them? Do we pick and choose the commandments or resist the feelings in our heart?; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you?

This is great counsel from Jacob, he asks important questions that we shouldn't be applying to others, but that we should be asking ourselves.

Nephi also saw our day and said something similar about those people who feel they can justify away their actions. As you read this, don't apply this teaching to anyone else but yourself, it changes the entire meaning, doesn't it?:

2 Nephi 28:7-9,  

"7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us (How many times have we heard this from both members of the Church and those outside the Church?).

 8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

 9 Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.

Let us not harden our hearts, but inwardly search our hearts and souls. Let us repent and cry unto the Lord that we may experience His joy and His rest. This life is the time to prepare and soften our hearts that we might learn to be firm in our testimony, yet gentle and meek. 

Be Happy!

Tonya and I attended the Provo temple last night and participated in a beautiful endowment session. There were four key points that stood out to me, I'll only discuss one of them here.

When the Father came down to help in the creation, he helped plant the garden and then they formed man and ultimately the crowning creation, woman. The earth was now ready and Adam and Eve condescended to introduce humanity to the earth.

As the Father introduced Adam and Eve into the garden, he instructed them by saying, "Be happy. Go to, dress this garden, take good care of it." Isn't that interesting?

Two things stand out from this direction:
1. One of the first things he tells them is to be happy! He wants us to be happy, to have joy on this earth. However, He also knows that as Alma stated in Alma 41:10 that, "wickedness never was happiness". If we repent, choose the better course, it will lead to happiness. Any type of sin will lead to sorrow and misery. If we are to have true happiness, we need to repent, pray to the Father in the name of His Son, and go out and DO (serve).

2. When he said dress this garden, take good care of it, I see in that instruction a clear direction for us to take care of our homes, dress them, and make them a refuge from the world. If we're to be like Adam and Eve in our sphere, then our homes should be clean, we should take care of them, we should have a place that is inviting to the spirit and angels. I also believe there is a deep satisfaction that comes from taking care of our homes and yard, there is something rewarding about dressing a garden (home and yard). It's one of the things that leads to happiness and puts us in an environment to be happy.