It's Puzzling

I love puzzles. I haven't always enjoyed them as I do now. Doing puzzles takes a certain patience and a confidence that with time and effort there is a solution. Ironically, I really began to enjoy doing them when my children were small and my time especially limited. It corresponded to the time in my life when I first really approached the scriptures and God with that admission that I lacked wisdom, and that if He would answer, I would follow his instruction at least as fervently than I had my college professors. So the time I spent on puzzles was often a time for meditating on what I was learning. Puzzles became personal parables for me. For instance, look at these few pieces? Can you discern the picture on the puzzle correctly from just these few pieces? It is near impossible. Likewise, when we shut out the tutelage of the Lord, from our decidedly limited, finite experience, we have so little to go on that what we purpose as the "true" picture of life and its purpose, is no where near the whole picture, the picture our Heavenly Father sees, or real truth,- "things as they are, and as the were, and as they are to come." (Doctrine & Covenants 93:24, Jacob 4:13)

There was one particular puzzling lesson that has had great significance in my life. My sister had come to visit and we did more than one puzzle during her stay. We didn't finish the second one before she had to leave, and I was determined to finish it. There was this one piece I was just sure should fit in a particular part of the emerging picture. The area I thought it went in, when completed, would go along way toward pulling together other completed parts. But it didn't work. I stared, I tried it in a variety of ways, I gave up and went on, but it bugged me so I came back to it. I probably wasted hours of limited puzzle time trying to make that piece fit. As it turned out, I was right about that piece being pivotal in the puzzle coming together, but the piece I was trying didn't fit because it was never apart of that puzzle. It was a piece from the previous puzzle that had somehow been missed. Despite the fact that the pictures on the two puzzles were very different, this one piece looked similar in coloring and form to the piece that did eventually fit and complete the puzzle. A piece that had been lying ignored, in a pile of pieces near my hand, while I wasted time and effort with the wrong piece. It was amazing how quickly it all fell into place when I put aside the wrong piece and began trying the right one. Truly amazing.

That little puzzle adventure became a lasting lesson for me because it corresponded to, and became instrumental in, my considering the idea of putting aside long held assumptions- in the chance that those assumptions might be like the mistaken puzzle piece- looking a lot like the real thing, but, in fact, being only a distraction. A distraction, that, if I continued to concentrate on, would prevent me from finding the real pieces; the ones that would help the puzzling pieces of this mortal experience come together the way our loving Heavenly Father intended.

It was the word "jealous" I was particularly considering, along with sister concepts like "anger" and "wrath." In the American Heritage Dictionary, under the entry for "jealous", it actually uses the Lord's word from Exodus 19:5, "I…am a jealous God" to illustrate what it means to be "intolerant of disloyalty or infidelity; autocratic; fearful or wary of being supplanted; apprehensive of losing affection or position." For years, based on a scriptural commentary I saw as a young adult, I looked at the account of the Tower of Babel as an illustration of God, "autocratically" using his power to punish those who offended Him. I found it a particularly troublesome interpretation because there is such an obvious clear link between God's actions being seen that way, and men justifying truly "autocratic," controlling, cruel, selfish, unChristlike behavior, by quoting such scriptures. Using the English definition of the word just didn't fit with my own recent experiences, and such clear statements as: (John 3:16)

God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life.

Listen to him who is your advocate…pleading your cause…. (Doctrine & Covenants 45:3)

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. That ye may be children of your Father which is in heaven…. (Matthew 5:44-45) 

(God) doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the word; for he loveth the world….(2 Nephi 26:24)

Our use of the word "jealous" really never focuses on the "benefit" of the others involved. It is a selfish emotion. However, being "zealous" is another matter entirely. Did you know that in Hebrew, Greek, and English that the root of both "zealous" and "jealous" is "zeal." In fact the exact same word is translated as both "jealous" and "zealous" in the Old Testment. Zeal is defined as Enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal and tireless diligence in its furtherance. Zeal is not competative, autocratic, or fearful- it indicates devotion. It is not, in and of itself, negative or positive, but can become either depending on the ideal or cause which is so passionately, devotedly, advocated. And the Lord's cause? Us, His children, and His desire to prepare us to receive all that He is and has.

Interstingly, the Hebrew word, which is translated as both "zealous" and "jealous" can be literally translated "to gather for the seeds (young)" or "to nest." (Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible, Jeff A. Benner, P.246-247) The word derives its meaning from the tireless, focused work that we see in birds building a nest and then nurturing, protecting, and providing for their young. It idicates something more than devotion to an ideal, but something far more personal and intimate- devotion to those you build for, provide for, protect, teach and enable. Interstingly, while our use of the word "jealous" goes hand in hand with the use of the word "of," indicating a recognition of competition or loss- the word translated "jealous" in the Old Testament is curiously coupled with the word "for" meaning "in behalf of." (Joel 2:18, Zechariah 8:2)

Oh, the pieces, the many, many verbal pieces of scripture that this understanding of "jealous God" begins to bring together. Not only the scriptures on love, but the many times He declares his devotion and desire to enable, strengthen, and provide for us as we grow and gain the experience and knowledge we came here to gain, for example:

For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee…. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. (Isaiah 49:15-16, 1 Nephi 21:16-17)

I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, be strong and of a good courage….This book of law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein…that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make they way prosperous, and then thou shall have good success….Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord They God is with thee withersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:5-9)

Verily, verily, I say unto you ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you; and ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer for I will lead you along...And he that receiveth all thing with thankfulness shall be made glorious. (Doctrine & Covenants 78:17-19)

Did you see the connection between receiving the devoted care of the Lord and willingly taking instruction from Him? This in turn, helps with other terms like anger or wrath. When Lehi is giving his final counsel to his two rebellious sons he explains the anger of the Lord.

(B)ehold, his sharpness was the sharpness of the power of the word of God, which was in him; and that which ye call anger was the truth, according to that which is in God. (2 Nephi 1:26)

There is so much that has been offered and provided for us- so much at stake- that a infinitely wise, loving and devoted Father cannot let us throw it away without doing all that is in his power, while protecting and enabling the gift of agency, to make clear the truth of the situation. Things as they are, as they were, and as they will be.

Essentially this is what the gospel is: counsel from a living Father who says to his children, “You have limitless, everlasting possibilities. You also have your freedom. It’s up to you how you use it. This is what you can become if you take my advice—and this is what will happen if you don’t. The choice is yours.” (Richard L. Evans, “Should the Commandments Be Rewritten?,” Ensign, Dec 1971, 57)

And so we are back to the Tower of Babel, and the very different picture that emerges from the perspective of seeing God, not as our English "jealous" and "angry" would indicate. But as a devoted, loving, respectful Father, who used his inifinite knowledge, wisdom and love in taking action to give His children every opportunity to learn of their endless possiblities, while at the same time diffusing a difficult and spiritually dangerous situation. Despite the flood being a very recent, real event, those who had gained power were using it to encourage, some accounts say force, their society to openingly turn their back on the Father's advice. The story of the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon shows us what a merciful act this was.(See Ether 1) This act of intervention and advocacy from the Lord showed the people of Babel "things as they are." They had a witness that God is real, as well as one of their own limited power. It was mercifully given in a way that gave years of mortal opportunity without war, bloodshed, famine, or floods. Also, the difficulty of the situation encouraged the Jaredites among others, to go to their Father for answers. To begin to receive, piece by piece, a correct understanding of this eternally important and pivitol opportunity we call life.

I can't help but surmise that among the words of the Lord the Jaredites had, were treasures similar to the verses quoted above. And that as they opened their hearts to His words, they had sparkling, vivid, joy infusing moments like the one I had during particular worrisome time a few years ago. I read 1 Nephi 21:16, and felt myself wrapped in feelings of sparkling reassurance as the words became so very personal. They seemed to read:

Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; (the walls of your home) are continually before me. Peace, be still.

The Masterpiece

"It is a masterpiece!" In our culture today, to sincerely voice that sentiment is to give someone's work the highest compliment. With our modern usage of the term it is interesting to consider the source of the word. Prior to the growth of towns in Europe in the late middles ages, most artisans lived and worked within the walls of their lord's keep. When times became less deadly and towns began to thrive, a quality craftsman could no longer depend on his lord to provide materials, protection and stability. But he also had the opportunity to make wealth for himself. Artisan's kept the advantage of obtaining wealth, and helped mitigate the potential damage from expense, competition, and fraud by forming "guilds." Guilds were formed by artisan's who were established as masters of their craft. They banded together, pooled resources which brought down the price of obtaining raw materials, and created a structure for training new artisans that both ensured quality work for the consumer and protected their trade secrets.

So, lets suppose you were interested in becoming a master weaver. You would first have to apprentice out to a master weaver. During your time as an apprentice you would be taught the most basic skills. If the master weaver felt you showed promise you would be recommended as a journeyman. During this time you would learn more advanced skills, but "trade secrets," would be kept from you. Before you could complete you training and be considered a "master," you would be given a challenging work assignment from the master craftsmen who headed the guild. This piece of work was called "the masterpiece." If the masterpiece was completed to the guilds satisfaction, a new master was born! With the passage of time, the word "masterpiece" was also used by the general public to mean the best of the best produced by the masters of a craft. But whether you consider the origin of the phrase of its modern usage it refers to a unique and enduring work of craftsmanship.

Which brings me to Zion- the word the Lord uses to name those who decide they want to accept the "challenge to become," enter into His apprenticeship, and "with the help of their Heavenly Father, create a masterpiece of their lives." (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Abundant Life,” Ensign, May 2006, 99–102)

Zion is what we create both individually (Zion is the pure in heart), and collectively (the Lord called his people Zion), as we move through the process to become. (Doctrine & Covenant 97:21, Moses 7:18) Because it is a creative process, and we are the apprentices, it is imperative that we learn from the oft repeated accounts of the Master Himself creating. Have you ever wondered why the Lord lists out what he created day by day, piece by piece. There is more than one reason, I know, but today lets focus on just one lesson- one very important to building Zion- the importance of variety working together in unity.

Look at this picture of Mirror Lake. What gives it its beauty? Is it the mountains? The lake? The fluffy white clouds? The deep blue sky? The little flowers on the bushes in the foreground? The pine trees? Each does have a beauty of its own, but what makes the overall breathtaking scene is the way the very different parts work together.

Or consider music. A good friend of mine is currently serving as choir director in her ward. She told me of a wonderful spiritual moment when she viewed the very different people of various shapes, sizes, careers, and talents, all joining their voices together in a common goal. It is the very differences in the ranges and tones of the choir member's voices that make the music of a choir such a thing of beauty. She said she had an impression that one of the reasons the Lord's prophets have encouraged wards to have a ward choirs is because it is a perfect example and type of what the Lord means when he "called his people Zion because they were of one heart and one mind" or "if you are not one you are not mine." (Moses 7:18, Doctrine & Covenants 38:27)

Her comments rang true. Although I love music, I do not have great talent. In fact, for me to survive in a choir I need a strong soprano who can pick out the notes next to me. I have discovered that I can learn from those with more talent and training, and with their support I can sing with them and enjoy it, too. Imagine how ridiculous it would be of me, a mediocre soprano who struggles to follow the music, to judge everyone else in the choir whose voice and expression were not like mine as doing it all wrong. Not only would it disrupt the choir and cause contention, but I would rob myself of the opportunity to learn, grow, and rejoice in song.  I would, in that hypothetical choir, be doing exactly what James was trying to get the early Christians to see they were doing within their congregations.

Speak not evil (his problem is…; I thing what he is doing is not nearly as functional as me) one of another brethren. He that speaketh evil (I can judge that he is falling short- I am in a superior enough position to point out his dysfunction) of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law(God really doesn't do enough to correct the situation so I must; God really does allow others- not me, but others- too much freedom to make mistakes): but if thou judge the law, thou are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy; who are thou that judgest another. ((James 4:11-12)Italics are completely my own work! Remember the origin of the word "evil!" See "Powerful Good")

In the last conference President Uctdorf talked of a this same phenomenon creeping into our lives today:

Sometimes, well-meaning amplifications of divine principles—many coming from uninspired sources—complicate matters further, diluting the purity of divine truth with man-made addenda. One person’s good idea—something that may work for him or her—takes root and becomes an expectation. And gradually, eternal principles can get lost within the labyrinth of “good ideas.”

This was one of the Savior’s criticisms of the religious “experts” of His day, whom He chastised for attending to the hundreds of minor details of the law while neglecting the weightier matters.( President Dieter F. Uchtdorf Second Counselor in the First Presidency)

To help further visualize what the prophets are teaching, consider the metaphor used above of us being apprentices, the Lord being the master craftsmen, and our lives being the "masterpiece" we've each be given to work on. Our current task is to concentrate on making our masterpiece, so that we can qualify to become a master craftsmen. We do have to make judgments, to be sure- we must choose the right materials and employ them in our masterpiece according to all we have learned from the master craftsman. This includes interacting with, helping, and receiving help from other apprentices. We must also learn to discern and turn away from fraudulent or poorly made materials that would prevent us from weaving a masterpiece. In the things we must judge, the master craftsmen has given us volumes of instruction on and we are expected to, under his tutelage, to utilize that knowledge. But, we do not yet have the skills or knowledge to make an accurate evaluation of another apprentices work. Moreover, if we take it upon ourselves to use our very limited time and knowledge to make the judgments only the master can make, we neglect our own given task. We simply cannot do both. In the words of Isaiah, "all that watch for iniquity are cut off." (Isaiah 29:19)

That scripture is especially poignant when you take it in context with the whole of Isaiah 28 and 29. Isaiah 28 is the Lord correcting his "apprentices" for believing they are full fledged master craftsmen, yet rejecting the foundation and cornerstone (Jesus Christ), who is both the very best of materials and the best master craftsman. Isaiah 29 turns to our day, and the restoration of the gospel, and how the same approach will prevent many from receiving all the Lord has prepared. Verse 19 is saying that if we approach this life with our perspective being that we are in an elevated enough position to judge others standing with the Lord, and then we use our limited time and energy to do just that- "watch for iniquity-" we are in essence cutting ourselves off from being the Lord's apprentice and being able to hear his instruction.(Also see 1 Samuel 16:7) It is like we leave working on our own masterpiece to, well, waste our precious mortal apprenticeship pretending we are something we just aren’t. I believe this very human, universal tendency is "the beam" spoken of by Christ. (Matthew 7:3)

Whenever I think of "the beam," I think of one of the most tragic scriptural accounts of what can happen when we put aside our God given assignment to work on our own beam, in favor of evaluating another's iniquity. I speak of the tragedy of Judas Iscariot. Remember the Lord is the master teacher- he never gives us assignments for which, if we turn to his grace, we are not adequately prepared. Thus Judas' call as and apostle indicates he was a very capable and talented apprentice. But some of the things Jesus said and did surprised him- they didn't fit with how he'd imagined he'd be instructed. Because of his approach, his feeling he had sufficiently mastered life enough to "watch for iniquity," he saw it in Christ- the one being who was completely free from iniquity. Not only did he use his erroneous assessment to justify his own iniquity in betraying the Savior, but in his self proclaimed judge, accusatory, state of mind, he left the last supper, and so missed some of the very important instructions for completing our mortal masterpiece.

Interestingly, as I pointed out in "Moses1-Patterns", Peter faced many of the same surprises, but he approached it differently. He truly saw himself as the Lord's apprentice- "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the word of eternal life." (John 6:68, Matthew 16:15-16) And because of that he was there, after Judas had gone his own way, to hear the Savior teach:

A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that yea also love one another. By this shall men know that ye are my disciples (apprentices), if ye have love one to another….

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he it is that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him….the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things…(John 14:34,15:21,26)

That same command and promise is given to us today. We have the Holy Ghost, the spirit of the Lord, to help us apply the information in the scriptures and teach us about the love of the Lord, so that we don't follow the path Judas did and lose the opportunity to "create a masterpiece of our lives." One scripture I have found very helpful in this quest is Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.

In those moments when something someone does or says hits me with surprise, causes irritation or discomfort, if I manage to call that scripture to mind, it serves as a great barometer to measure whether I am being guided by the spirit. If I am not feeling love (do I want what is best for the other person involved), peace (do I trust the Savior and the atonement), longsuffering (patient in the interest of another's growth even if it causes you some discomfort), goodness (facilitating the use of the Lord's gifts for his plan-like that strong soprano who helped me sing), and so on- well I am probably in danger of plunking down in my self proclaimed, master craftsmen, judgment seat, and spending precious time and energy on something that will only prevent me from working on the masterpiece I've been given.

And a few times when that scripture has come to mind, and I've taken the Lord up on his promise to bestow charity on all who pray for it (Moroni 7:48), something extraordinary has happened. My surprise, possibly even irritation, turns to understanding that I am in the presence of a beloved child of God who is earnestly trying to love and serve him, and whose life and circumstances so vary from my own that they have so much to share with me and teach me. Through our association the master craftsman broadens my lens, gives me insight into how to better craft my own life, and how limited and poor my life would be without the infinite variety found among His children. And I think I begin to know the beauty and wonder of Zion. And that beginning- well it is so more than I could've ever imagined.