Finding Joy in God's Great Work
Faith Matters resources to accompany your Come Follow Me study: July 13 - 19
The Lord inspires people to accomplish His purposes.
On the other hand in the Bible and Book of Mormon human beings are presented in the ways that most of us feel, day to day: struggling, frustrated, well-intentioned but flawed, determined but acutely aware of our own frailties. Moses protests that he cannot possibly do what God asks of him. Nephi obsesses about his failures. Mary confesses she cannot possibly imagine how God’s promise to save humanity is possible.
But in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon what we might call “religion” is something that God instigates. In scripture, religion is something that God does rather than something human beings do. Instead, God reaches out. God seeks humanity. The main character of the Bible is not Adam or Moses or Paul; the main character is God. The main character of the Book of Mormon is not Nephi or Alma or Mormon; it is God. The main character in Christianity is not us; it is God. And the point for human beings is not that we need to work harder on personal self-improvement; it is that we need to understand the world of justice and mercy that God is creating around us.
—Matthew Bowman, “Fruit on a Barren Tree”
Sometimes in the Church we like to think of ourselves as special or different. I remember learning very early that we are a peculiar people. We are blessed with knowledge, while “the World” sits in darkness. They need us to bring them the truth, to help them change their ways. We are the ones who have something to offer Them. But when I read Christ’s story of the Good Samaritan, I see something different. I see the importance of an outsider perspective. I see an other who has something to give. Maybe we aren’t the only peculiar people. Maybe heaven and earth are both populated by scores of peculiar peoples, each treasured by God, each with special callings that have been informed by their talents, skills, and cultures.
—Jeanine Bee, “Peculiar Peoples”
The house of the Lord is a place of joy.
Find everything we’ve published in Wayfare on the temple experience here.
In this reading, as we attend the temple, we are positioned as travelers. The Lord of the house welcomes us in and offers us a bath not because he is put off by our dirtiness but because he wants us to rest and refresh ourselves after a tiring journey. The dust on our feet is not a sign of failure; it is an inevitable part of travel by foot. Keeping the house clean may be a byproduct of the bath, but its primary purpose is to make us feel welcome. The Lord’s concern is our comfort, not the cleanliness of his house.
After a refreshing bath, the Lord honors us by anointing our heads with precious oil. He wants to make it abundantly clear that we are welcome, that our presence in his house brings him joy. This contextualized reading invites us to see ourselves not merely as passers-by whom the Lord deigns to temporarily shelter because he feels duty-bound to take care of us, but rather as inheriting children, royalty, returning to the place of our upbringing. There will be feasting and rejoicing to celebrate our return.
—David Sabey, “The Lord’s Welcome”
Modern-day temples serve tiny fractions of the world’s population, yet cost billions of dollars to build and maintain. And the service the temples provide is spiritual—not temporal—in nature. Many of the places where the Church has announced new temples have high rates of poverty, famine, and instability. Shouldn’t Church funds go toward food and shelter for all, before going to granite and stained glass for a few?
These questions are warranted. They’re urgent.
In the wrestle that must accompany questions about the worth of temple-building, I believe it is critical to incorporate global perspectives.
—Greer Bates Cordner, “Deliverance”
Follow the new Faith Matters podcast about the temple, Sanctuary:
God has an important work for me to do.
But there are not two Churches and I am not divided. There is one Church, and I claim it as my own, ashamed of what is shameful and proud of what is praiseworthy. My loyalty does not arise out of a calculation that the pros outweigh the cons, but out of reciprocity. In addition to the gift of Christ’s atonement, which he gives freely to all, I owe a debt to my sisters and brothers. Fellow Latter-day Saints have taught me to want to be good, protected me from danger, and helped make real the things I wanted to be true but could not see.
—Melissa Inouye, “A Church That Is Real”
While it is not our place to determine the revelatory direction the Church will take, it is our place to hope, and it is our place to make those hopes known—especially to our priesthood leaders. We can look forward to a day when women and men more completely and effectively partner in the work of salvation. Even without knowing precisely how we will arrive at this better place, I believe that longing, hoping, and praying for such a day—and being candid about those hopes, especially in consecrated conversations with our priesthood leaders—is a powerful way that those of us who serve “out in the periphery” of the body of Christ can hasten the day when women are more fully empowered to fully partner in bringing about the Lord’s vision of Zion.
—Tyler Johnson, “A Church for All of Us”
I am blessed when I study the scriptures.
