This morning, while the boys were munching on their favorite dried cereal, my mom and I stood in the kitchen and talked. She'd been studying King Benjamin, and Hugh Nibley, naturally. She summed up this quote, to me, that she'd read this morning. (I'll just cheat and write the quote out.)
From Hugh Nibley's Commentary on the Book of Mormon Volume 1:
"The Book of Mormon tells us in Ether, the brother of Jared said, God talked to me in all humility, as one man to another. To be humble is not to bow down to somebody who is above you, not to lick the boss's boots, not to be subservient to higher rank, but to be equal with all. That's to be humble. Our thing is usually to be arrogant to those below you and subservient to those above you. That's the way you get success in this world, but that's not to be humble at all. Remember, the Lord himself is humble, as the brother of Jared said... To be humble is to speak to one as you would to another."
I loved this insight, from my mother (and Hugh Nibley). To me, this was incredibly empowering in a way I'd never thought of humility before. I have never had a hard time understanding humility as not putting yourself above another person. I'd never considered that humility also included not putting another person above yourself.
Another scripture I had heard someone mention, recently, was in Alma 32. Alma is teaching the people who were cast out of the synagogue because of their poverty and coarseness. He tells them:
Alma 32:12:
"It is well that ye are cast out of your synagogues, that ye may be humble, and that ye may learn wisdom; for it is necessary that ye should learn wisdom; for it is because that ye are cast out... that ye are brought to a lowliness of heart; for ye are necessarily brought to be humble."
My friend had been mentioning the scripture as trying to find a bright side to "at home" church. With this key word "humility" on my mind, however, I started to see the scripture a little differently.
Because these people could not practice "church" - aka "Rameumpton," in this case - Alma felt that they would be able to learn humility and wisdom. The wisdom wasn't found at the Rameumpton. That place was full of pride and self-aggrandizing. Being removed from the church allowed these people to be HUMBLE - to see themselves as equal - no better or worse than anyone else, including the people kicking them out. Those Rameumpton snappy dressers were NOT better than them.
It was empowering to me to see it in this light! Again, no surprises, I'm a nuanced Mormon, and have been vocal about my disagreements with culture, etc. Reading this scripture, reading Nibley's thoughts and talking to my mother, reminded me that we, mortals, are incredibly capable. The kingdom of God is within us. We are all capable of finding wisdom on our own. Ideally, should we gather together and help each other out? You betcha. But if we can't, we ARE CAPABLE.
So that was a refreshing thought to start the day out with!
My mom also mentioned another insight she'd gleaned, this morning. So change of topic!
My mom mentioned a thought she'd had on the Three Degrees of Glory, within our faith. Doctrine and Covenants 76 speaks of the Three Degrees of Glory. Verses 81-83 describe that those who go to the Telestial Kingdom (or lowest) are those who DON'T deny the Holy Ghost, but do NOT receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Verse 77 describes that those in the Terrestrial Kingdom "receive the presence of the Son, but not the fulness of the Father." The Celestial Kingdom would be those who accept the fulness of God, then.
My mom was pondering on this, and interpreted it personally.
The Telestial Kingdom is for those who listen to the Spirit - people who want to "be good" but aren't interested in God. They are good, but not interested in being inspired by any particular group or religious figure.
The Terrestrial Kingdom would be for those who accept Christ. They are those who are full of gratitude for Christ. Gratitude for His atonement. Gratitude for the lessons taught.
The Celestial Kingdom takes it a step further and DOES SOMETHING about it. They recognize that the goal isn't about Christ, the means, but about God. It's the people who want not only to be forgiven, but to be creators, possessors of wisdom, and people of actionable good.
I loved this, also.
My mother and I talked about our relationships with Divinity. My mother talked about how she has never had a "relationship" with Jesus - something I feel similarly on. Christ constantly encouraged people to worship God - not Himself. "The glory be Thine" was, in fact, His plan. It was Satan who wanted to be the Savior who received all the glory. Christ did not want it. Christ wanted us to see and focus on God, and God's mercy, love, and glory.
When we pray, we pray to God. It is God who answers our prayers. It is good to have an understanding of Christ's atonement. It is good, indeed, to be grateful for it! It is good to love Christ for performing such an act for us! But this doesn't necessarily mean you have a relationship with Him. It is an experience of understanding and gratitude. Surely we will remember the love our divine elder brother has for us, when we meet Him, because we do love Him, and He us, but we do not presently have a relationship with Him - one of communication and reciprocity. That is with God.
God is my goal. That is who I want to be with most. That is who I want to be like. (Christ too, obviously, but we must recognize where the good comes from, and it comes from one step higher.)
I love living with my mom. We may never leave.
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