Choose Your Parent

My brothers and sisters, the longer I examine the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more I understand that the Lord’s commitment to free agency is very, very deep! So much deeper than is our own. The more I live, the more I also sense how exquisite is his perfect love for us! (Neal A. Maxwell, “Patience,” Ensign, Oct 1980, 28)

This quote keeps running through my mind as I am considering what it means that the Lord addresses both Moses and Abraham as "my son." (Moses1:6, Abraham 3:12) It is not the first time I have considered and studied within the scriptures how the Lord addresses his children and tries to teach them of their Heavenly Parentage. The list of scriptures is extensive: (Psalms 82:6, John 10:33-36, Hosea 1:10, Romans 8:16-17, Acts 17:29, Galatians 4:6-7, Hebrews 12:9 for starters.) One thing that is very much a pattern in these scriptures is that the ability to recognize our true spiritual heritage is dependant upon a desire to learn and willingness to be taught by the spirit.

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God. (Romans 8:16)

And because ye are sons, god hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (Galatians 4:6)

The natural man is an enemy to God, and has been since the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy spirit… and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ and becometh as a child…willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. (Mosiah 3:19)

But there are also several scriptures which affirm that if we choose, we can use this mortal opportunity to sever our paternal tie to our Heavenly Father and literally choose a different father- we can forgoe His plan for our eternal welfare. Seeing the sorrow giving us agency has brought to the Lord, we begin to understand the importance being able to choose plays in the opportunity to become like our Father. It is breathtaking to think of the depth of love and sacrifice involved in giving us this mortal opportunity. For instance, as part of the vision shown to Moses, the Lord showed Enoch, Noah, and the flood. Moses witnesses Enoch's conversing with the Lord, and the Lord weeping over the choices his children have made.

Behold these they brethren…,I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency; And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment that they should love one another and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection…. There has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren….Satan shall be their father. (Moses7:32-37)

What does that mean- "Satan shall be their father?" What do we know about Satan and about what, through his choices he has become? In Revelations 12:10, he is identified as the "accuser of our bretheren." So it was no surprise to discover that is exactly what the title "el satan" means in Hebrew- "the accuser." It indicates a person who accuses as an adversary, with an eye, not towards justice, but towards the destruction of the person they are accusing, so slandering and lying are perfectly acceptable to bring about the desired end. The word "devil" has a similar meaning. In fact, the same Greek word can be translated "slander." No wonder he is identified as the "father of lies" and the "father of contention." (Moses 4:4, 3 Nephi 11:29)

Now lets look at what we learn of how Satan became who and what he is from the accounts of the council in Heaven we received as part of the restoration.(Moses 4:1-4, Abraham 3:27-28) In them the key difference between the Savior's response to the Father's plan and Satan's is a pretty heavy accusation. Satan accused the Father of making a plan that was not the best for His children. Satan claimed his plan was better. In making that accusation Satan is literally claiming that the knowledge, perspective, and wisdom he has is sufficient for him to consider himself equal to the Father. His definition of the word "son" seems to be that the Father should use His power according to Satan's self proclaimed knowledge and wisdom. He claims that he has no room for growth.

But the Savior, with perfect faith in the Father, said, "Father they will be done, and the glory be thine forever." (Moses 4:2) The Savior led out in showing what it truly means to be a "son of God" and "submit in all things, even as a child doth submit to his father." He was the creator, under the direction of the Father, of heaven and earth, and yet he came to earth in very humble circumstances, and "he received not fullness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fullness. And thus he was called a son of God, because he received not a fullness at first." (Doctrine & Covenants 93:13-14)

So he not only is our advocate, pleading our cause and paying the debt for this mortal opportunity we do not have capacity to pay; but he, himself obediently submitted to the Father's plan for celestial growth. "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all that obey him." (Hebrews 5:8-9) He was the first to fully become what the Lord wants for each of us to become through consistently affirming (never accusing- in full faith- even in the midst of bruising opposition) the Father's perfect knowledge, wisdom, love, and plan. He was the first, in the words of Elder Oaks', to accept the "Challenge to Become:"

In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something…. We are challenged to move through a process of conversion toward that status and condition called eternal life. This is achieved not just by doing what is right, but by doing it for the right reason—for the pure love of Christ. (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Challenge to Become,” Ensign, Nov 2000, 32–34)

So, when Jehovah talked with Moses and Abraham, and called both "my son," it was not only an affirmation that they (and we) are literal spiritual children of our Heavenly Father, but more specifically it was an affirmation of what Moses and Abraham have desired to gain through this mortal experience. That they have chosen to do things the Lord's way, be born again through Jesus Christ, follow his commandments, and "pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that (they) may be filled with his love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are the true follower of his Son, Jesus Christ; that (they) may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him." (Moroni 7:48)

Incredible what this means for each of us! One of beauties of studying the Old Testament is the opportunity to see how this promise was fulfilled in the lives of many of the people we will study. Over and over, not only do they testify of God with their words, but their stories and life experiences themselves become types and similitudes that testify of Christ and his mission. We literally see "his image in (their) countenances." (Alma 5:12) They did become "windows to his love." That is what being born again through Christ, and choosing our Heavenly Father means.

No Mountains Required

I have a very poor sense of direction. I think it's safe to say I'm directionally challenged. I can't tell you how many times, as we moved from place to place, I've told my kids we were exploring, when in fact (and they knew it) we were lost. I didn't realize exactly how challenged I was until we moved away from the mountains. You see, if I could see the mountains I could get my bearings- the mountains are to the west, or that mountain is to the west and that one to the North West. And then at least I knew the direction to go to find my way back to familiar territory.

When we moved to Ohio there were no mountains. It was a horrifying sensation- like vertigo- I had no way to get my bearings. I did a lot more "exploring," learned to carry a map, a cell phone, and a well marked map. (Thank goodness it was Dayton, Ohio and not, say, New York, New York!) When it came time to get a new car, we got one with a compass. Yes I found a way to find my bearings, but I missed the mountains. It is really so much less work to find your way when there is a huge, beautiful rock standing sentinel and giving clear direction.

Perhaps I was a little imaginative, but I felt the direction the mountains gave me was very personal. Like they were truly kind hearted giants who wished we would pay a bit more attention to what they have to say. As a teenager, one mountain was a particular source of perspective. When school, friends and family pressure seemed too much, I had only to walk out my back door and I could climb to a higher, peaceful place. The climb took effort and time. First I would go through fields and farmland, up the side until I reached a maple grove about 2/3 the way up the mountain. There was a large half exposed rock perfect for sitting on and enjoying the view. There was something amazing about seeing the house I lived in, my family, our farm, and most of the surrounding community from that exalted view.

In a field near my home was a ruin of an old homestead. From my seat in the maples, they seemed almost side by side- the living farm and ruined homestead. Those people who built it were not, at first glance, a part of my life, but the mountains had seen them come, had seen them go, had seen the house they built fall into ruin. Had seen new homes built, new families come and go. It was as if for a moment I was given insight into what really matters. That homestead family didn't take their home with them. They didn't take any money with them. What they had left behind had fallen into decay and all but disappeared- but they did leave something behind in settling the valley. Because they were among those who came and settled a community was made- a community which included my great grandparents and led, eventually to my life. What mattered most was that they built and how what they built rippled through the lives of others. It was almost as if, while I was up there the mountains shared their perspective, and when I went back home I took that with me, for at least a little while, a more clear understanding about what really matters and what really lasts in life and beyond.

And so it was that one day, in my late-twenties, I found myself staring out my living room window at the flat landscape. I had a lesson to prepare, a disaster of a house to clean, a baby soon to wake up, and two children soon home from school. I couldn't see beyond the trees and houses on the other side of the street. As much as I found the verdant green of Ohio enchanting, I also found it claustrophobic. How I longed to be able to walk out my door and climb to a place of peace and perspective. How tired I was of feeling disoriented and confused about which way was north. I wanted mountains and I was stuck in the flat, flat Midwest. I was on the verge of a really, really great pity party, but then a question crossed my mind that made me stop and reconsider.

Who made the mountains? I thought of how, in the Old Testament block we were studying the Lord was likened to a rock and a fortress. We had just finished He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved (Psalm 62:2). Did you know that the word used for "rock" has a cultural meaning beyond just rock? It was used to indicate a high place, easily visible, so it served as a beacon and gathering point in times of trouble. It was a place that would give safety, peace, protection, not only because it was made of hard enduring stone, was high up and hard for the enemy to reach, but because it provided and uncluttered view.

What those mountains meant to me, what I was really missing and wanting was the feeling of peace and increased perspective I had perched on my rock in the maple grove. I needed to know that the endless diapers, lessons, cleaning, homework, etc., where building something of value and it was hard to see that from my current perspective. Then I remembered the wonderful word's of Isaiah 40, where he paints how clear is the Lord's perspective; how complete, as compared to how limited ours is. Who hath measured the water in the hollow of his hand…and the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighted the mountains in scales…it is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the in habitants there of are as grasshoppers…but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles." (Isaiah 4:15,22,31)

Clearly, my experiences with mountains were not given to me by the mountains, but were given through the mountains by their creator and my loving Heavenly Father. He sent my Savior and teacher to be that place of refuge, peace and perspective. The peace, the increased perspective, were gifts from Him, and so not dependant on my having access to the mountains themselves. If I live my life with Him as my point of orientation, I will be able to find direction. If I turn to Him to find increased perspective and peace, He can grant it. It is a climb that takes more than a bit of effort on my part, but whether I am in Ohio or Timbuktu, the "mountain of the Lord" is always available to me.