Prove It!

Degrees, certifications, honorary titles and verifications of that nature help us know who we can trust and who we cannot. For example, when I choose a doctor, I make sure he or she has a degree in medicine. I also ask family and friends who have gone to that doctor if they would recommend him/her. I don’t want to be examined and then prescribed medicine, behavioral changes, or surgical procedures by someone who is not well trained and experienced in the medical field as well as having a talent for bedside manner.

But sometimes the system which both trains and bestows degrees can be corrupted. Such was the case during Jesus’ time. The certified Jewish leadership who were supposed to be Holy men of God leading His people in His name had gone astray. They were blinding the people’s eyes to the pure principles of His Gospel. 

“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.” ~Matthew 23:2-7

Sign by the River Jordan where John baptized

“Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.” ~Luke 11:52

“Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.
And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.
And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.
Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.
But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.
So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?” ~Luke 20:9-15

Because of the unreliable nature of man and groups of men, God does not fully rely on the certifications given to men of other men as primary validators. He has set up his own system. I talked about it in the Introduction post to this blog. It is the verification of the Holy Ghost. It testifies of truth. The presence of the Holy Ghost enables us to know who to trust and who not to. It enables us to know which statements and prescribed ways of living are true and which ones are not. But in order to wield this sword, our hearts need to be pure. We need to be true seekers of truth. We can’t seek it or use it in Pride and Envy.

Listen:  Will He Really Answer Me? ~Joy Gardner

Frederic W. Farrar's comments on how he envisioned Nathaniel's experience with having received personal revelation in The Life of Christ (pg 139):
"At such moments we are nearer to God; we seem to know Him and be known of Him...That such solitary musings--such penetrating, even in this life, 'behind the vail'--such raptures into the third heaven during which the soul strives to transcend the limitations of space and time while it communes, face to face, with the Eternal and the Unseen--such sudden kindling of celestial lightning which seem to have fused all that is meanest and basest within us in an instant and for ever--that these supreme crises among the recorded experiences of the Christian life, rests upon indisputable evidence of testimony and of fact.  And if any one of my readers has ever known this spasm of divine change which annihilates the old and in the same moment creates or re-creates a new-born soul, such a one, at least, will understand the thrill of electric sympathy, the arrow-point of intense conviction, that shot that very instant through the heart of Nathanael, and brought him, as it were, at once upon his knees with the exclamation, 'Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel!'"

Jesus was deliberately placed on earth in life conditions that were not traditional validators of power, authority, or success. He was born in a stable. He grew up in a remote village. He was a "blue-collar" worker. People from that town were looked down upon by the upper ruling classes of Jerusalem. Even the people in his town couldn’t see past the carpenter’s son.

“And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.” ~Luke 4:22-24

“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.” ~Mark 6:3

“And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.” ~John 1:46

"For a time they listened to him in awe-struck silence; but soon the old scruples recurred to them. 'He is no authorized Rabbi; He belongs to no recognized school; neither the followers of Hillel nor those of Shammai claim him; He is a Nazarene; He was trained in the shop of the Galilean carpenter...' As though the few who are taught of God--whose learning is the learning of a pure heart and an enlightened eye and a blameless life [or repentant life]--did not unspeakably transcend in wisdom, and therefore also in the best and truest knowledge, those whose learning has but come from other men!" ~Frederic W. Farrar, The Life of Christ (pg 399)

And to top it all off, his life ended in crucifixion, a seeming tragedy and supposed proof that his prescribed doctrine would lead any man to the same final demise. He only showed his resurrected body to the faithful. The happily-ever-after ending to his story that he came to exemplify took place in another kingdom that was not of this world. Success in Christ can only be obtained by faith in the existence of this other kingdom in the face of apparent temporal adversity and failure.

“Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.” ~Matthew 27:41-43

“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” ~John 18:36

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.” ~John 15:18-20

“Jesus, once of humble birth,
Now in glory comes to earth.
Once he suffered grief and pain;
Now he comes on earth to reign.”
~Jesus, Once of Humble Birth by Parley P. Pratt

Jesus went to the scriptures and straight to God for his education. He was taught by his Father in Heaven. In this way, he was able to receive pure truth, instead of the convoluted, adulterated, perverted version that existed among men during that time period. His mission was to restore the pure truth that God prescribed for his Children so that they could see and walk the straight and narrow pathway to obtain Sustainable Joy in their relationships. He needed to illuminate that pathway that had been obscured by deviant men.

“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.” ~Luke 2:40

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” ~Luke 2:52

“And he served under his father, and he spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that any man should teach him.” Matthew 3:25 JST

“And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.” ~John 7:15-16

But deviant men certified by other deviant men didn’t want the pathway illuminated. They criticized, disregarded, and persecuted him. Yet, he just kept on steadfastly walking, healing, teaching, loving, illuminating. His mission was not to rely on the worldly honors of men as the proof of his Messiahship. He didn’t want his Children to only believe because everyone else did. He still doesn’t want us—his Children—to follow the crowd or determine truth by the evidence of fame, wealth, worldly success, and popularity. The crowd that we belong to may indeed be following a true leadership who stand for Christ. They may be a prosperous society. Their testimonies will assist us in developing our faith. But if we rely on the popularity-wealth measures for verification, our faith will not be sustained when the going gets tough.

Relying solely on the testimonies of others will not help us to become like our Savior and our Heavenly Father. It will not help us understand why God is God. It will not help us know why we should follow certain people but not others. When we are required to assess truth by faith, two measures rise to the surface of importance. The first is: Does this prescribed doctrine return Sustainable Results in my relationships with others—with God, with my spouse, with my family, with my community, and with the earth? We can reasonably evaluate the answer to that question by putting the prescribed doctrine to the test. We do that first in our minds and on paper. We write it out, ponder it to view it as best we can, making hypotheses and drawing possible conclusions. If it passes that test, we can put it into action. This is using our noggin. It’s using the intelligence and knowledge we have been given.

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:"  ~Isaiah 1:18

“But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong;” ~D&C 9:8-9

"Sometimes we can learn, study, and know, and sometimes we have to believe, trust, and hope." ~Elder M. Russell Ballard

The second measure of truth is used simultaneously with the first:  When we ponder and then put this prescribed doctrine into action, we assess how we are feeling. Do we feel Joy? Do we feel Peace in our hearts confirming it’s truth? Are we motivated to go out and put it to the test, to continue in it, and to share it with others? Does it cause a Desire to uplift others to arise in our hearts? (#Charity) Does it make us feel good about ourselves, even if it requires our personal correction?

“The Lord taught us that when we are truly converted to His gospel, our hearts will be turned from selfish concerns and turned toward service to lift others as they move upward to eternal life. To obtain that conversion, we can pray and work in faith to become the new creature made possible by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” ~President Henry B. Eyring

Or when we implement the prescribed doctrine into our system of values, do we want to criticize and hurt other people or ourselves? Measuring truth like this is exercising our Faith. Joy is of God. We cannot obtain it sustainably in any other way. We may be able to obtain pseudo pleasure and adulterated excitement but those feelings always end in Sorrow. If the prescribed doctrine we are hearing is not truth and if we are not implementing truth into our lives we can’t obtain Joy. That is why this is such a reliable source of validation.

We will feel his Peace when we hear his Word:  “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” ~John 14:27

We will feel his delight when we obey his word:  “And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” ~1 Samuel 15:22

“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” ~John 7:17

From what I can see, the intent of Jesus Christ was to provide real love, real healing, real help for his Children and then to teach them how to keep these things sustainable through his prescribed doctrine.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” ~John 8:32

If the people of Jesus' time were looking to wealth, power, dominance, status, or worldly degrees for verification, they would miss their Savior entirely. In fact, he taught that wealth, power, dominance, status, and degrees were all supposed to be used as tools to facilitate temporal forms of love, healing, and help for others, not to become the object of our Desires themselves.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” ~Matthew 6:33

“But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.” ~2 Nephi 9:29

If they put this doctrine to the test, they would have PROOF that it was true. His challenge to them and to us is to walk by faith. Those who have ears to hear can clearly identify the pathway that leads to Sustainable Results, including Sustainable Joy. Thus we are really the ones who are challenged to "Prove it!" Our ears, our faith. Are we able to identify truth when we hear it? Do we keep ourselves clean so we can? Do we keep our motives pure so that we can discern what is true and what is false, regardless of who is saying it? Would we recognize Jesus as our Savior if we had lived in his day? Or would we have disregarded him because of his lack of worldly degrees, certifications, and honorary titles? Whether or not we develop the skill to identify the pathway to obtain Sustainable Joy is dependent upon our answer to those questions. And in pondering these questions and their answers, we shouldn't be blaming or shaming others or ourselves. The goal is not to one-up or put down. It's not about Pride and Envy. It's about identifying TRUTH--the pathway we need to take to obtain Sustainable Joy in our relationships with others.

“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” ~Mark 4:9