Sealing

By Larry Doyle Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

Endless is the duration of a divine seal

For Godly bonds extend beyond mortality

Unchanged, eternal, and beyond appeal

But unsealed deeds yield to a finite fatality

 “Nothing lasts forever.”  A statement oft repeated as we experience the demise of things once held dear.  Indeed, everything around us bears witness of things temporary, fleeting, and momentary.  Our very lives seemingly have a beginning and an end.  Shakespeare’s Macbeth, upon hearing the news of his wife’s death mourns, “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.”  Our material possessions, our work, - all that we have seem to have a beginning and an end.

However, we are reminded that there are dimensions beyond what our natural eyes can see.  There is a world that exists whose laws operate on a plane different from our finite earthly dimensions.  The Apostle Paul revealed, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) Hence, if we come to understand and abide the laws of that usually unseen world, we can engage things that are eternal.

This gives rise to the question, “Is there a bridge, a way to be connected to this place where things are eternal?”  We affirm that there is.

The spirit within each of us is separated from Our Heavenly Father at birth as we inhabit a very temporal and imperfect body in a temporal and imperfect world. It is His plan that we do so that we might learn, grow by overcoming obstacles, and take mastery of our soul before returning to Him. Because we are fallen from a divine status to an earthly existence for a finite number of years, there must be a bridge that exists that will allow us to return to Father’s presence.  Believers in Christ attest that His Atonement built that bridge wherein we will all come forth from the finite grave to an infinite existence with an immortal body and spirit.

For many, this glorious doctrine, as wonderful as it is, seems a bit empty, rather incomplete, if we are left eternally without the companionship and relationship of our spouse and our children.  There must be a bridge, a way to eternally connect us to these loved ones beyond the earthly contract of “till death do we part.”  After all, we spend a lifetime learning how to be a better husband or wife, a better son or daughter.  Are we to spend nearly a 100 years learning how to be knit together as a family only to have this divine familial tapestry unravel with death?

We testify that there is a bridge, a divinely ordained connector between earth and heaven.  From ancient times such connectors or bridges were called ordinances and were conveyed by divine covenants. The writer of Ecclesiastes writes, “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever:…” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).  Elsewhere we hear affirmed that, “…neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 11:11)  Yet, the marital ceremony done by man with worldly authority is only for the period of this life.  Is there not a person on earth today with priestly power to say to a man and woman, “You are now married and sealed together for time AND all eternity.”?  No government can do this and only one religious body claims such power and authority.

With authority to seal or bind families together forever, marriage and family relationships can continue into the eternities.  However, it must be done by those who have been given the power to do so.   “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  (Matthew 16:19)  Therefore, we see that the binding together of husband and wife and children to parents is a divine priesthood authorized ordinance given to properly ordained Apostles and Prophets.  Not only are such sealings conducted by proper keys of authority, but must be done in a place designed to connect what happens on earth with what is recognized and certified in heaven. 

The opportunities for such sealings must be done on earth.  Therefore, those who pass on without such ordinances but later accept them with all their hearts, will need to have them done by others by proxy.  If they choose not to do so until “earth is no longer,” then they will remain undone or unclaimed.  Such is the power and the effect of moral agency.

Thus our meditation testifies:

Binding keys were given anciently and now

Divine welds between mortality and life eternal         

Everlasting links that empower and endow

With blessings sanctified, sacred, supernal

And we prayerfully petition:

May we be sealed both body and soul

Called up and anointed by the Lord

Heirs of celestial salvation within His fold

Crowned with life eternal as our reward

Sealing

Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people.

Book of Mormon, Helaman 10:7  & New Testament, Matthew 16:19

Endless is the duration of a divine seal

For Godly bonds extend beyond mortality

Unchanged, eternal, and beyond appeal

But unsealed deeds yield to a finite fatality

For mortal deeds that remain unsealed

By the Spirit of Promise will be broken

When our earthly probation is repealed

And our final mortal words are spoken

Binding keys were given anciently and now

Divine welds between mortality and life eternal        

Everlasting links that empower and endow

With blessings sanctified, sacred, supernal

For sealing ordinances bind God and man

With covenant bonds that cannot be broken

Faithfully obeying God’s every command

Striving to be worthy of the sealing token

May we be sealed both body and soul

Called up and anointed by the Lord

Heirs of celestial salvation within His fold

Crowned with life eternal as our reward

Larry Doyle Crenshaw

Reflections

By Larry Doyle Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

The science of reflection teaches us of bended light

Refracted upon a surface that diffuses its prism rays

As to give a distorted and skewed signal to our sight

And twist our vision and bias our constricted gaze

You remember the “good ole’ days,” right?  You know the ones - the days long ago when life was sweeter, more relaxed, and more easy-going.  Not like today’s hustle and bustle, deadlines, so many tasks to accomplish, and errands to run.  Certainly, the published events of those days were not like the headlines of today - so full of tragedy and horror.  At least that’s often the way some of us remember the past.  Often, as we look back, those days appear to have been more peaceful, less threatening, and less burdensome than perhaps they really were.

There is an inherent human tendency to apply what may be called “selective memory” to our past.  We retain the good and “sweep under the rug” that which we would rather not recall.  This tendency to deny remembrance of not-so-good past things can be a reasonable thing in some cases, where were we to dwell on past miseries would bring them to life again – only to mire us down in things that cannot be changed. 

However, to look upon the past and only reflect on the good denies the truth and can distort our present thinking, feeling, and doing.  In many cases these seemingly purposeful lapses of memory disavow us the opportunity to learn from past mistakes, to waste time and energy taking paths already taken and that previously led to nowhere significant.  To deny the truth of such memories is an exercise in self-deception at best.  At worse, it is an exercise in denying the truth of things as they really were.  Anytime we deny the truth, we are held in bondage by the lie. 

Hence, our meditation suggests:

May we look upon the past with the lamp of truth and light

Less contaminated, less blemished by our reflections

And with careful judgment, improve our historical sight

Of past days with purer perceptions and fewer deceptions

  

Reflections

Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have joyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord— Yea, if my days could have been in those days, then would my soul have had joy in the righteousness of my brethren.  But behold, I am consigned that these are my days, and that my soul shall be filled with sorrow because of this the wickedness of my brethren.

Book of Mormon   Helaman 7:7-9

The science of reflection teaches us of bended light

Refracted upon a surface that diffuses its prism rays

As to give a distorted and skewed signal to our sight

And twist our vision and bias our constricted gaze

Such is the glimpse into past days of grandeur and glory

When the world appears more perfect than really existed

For the passage of time oft shades the actual story

By obscuring the narrative as it originally consisted

When we are tempted to reflect on apparent better days

When our battles, it seems, were easily won and fought

Memory is oft vetted thru a flawed and filtered haze

Where the glorified past is revered more than it ought

Like many who engage this error-prone passion

Past light glows softer from an earlier time and season

For each era is filled with tribulations after a fashion

That later betray and accuse the memory of treason

May we look upon the past with the lamp of truth and light

Less contaminated, less blemished by our reflections

And with careful judgment, improve our historical sight

Of past days with purer perceptions and fewer deceptions

Larry Doyle Crenshaw

Secret Oaths and Combinations

By Larry Doyle Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

There are secret oaths and evil combinations

Of such we are reluctant to write or offer exposition

But think it wise to warn against such vile associations

That we be not blind to their evil design and disposition

To speak or write of dark things is not something one should do casually.   But from time to time, it is important to turn a spotlight on such things – to raise a warning voice.  Such was the case when an ancient prophet looked at our day and said, "The Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you.... For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries." (Book of Mormon, Ether 8:14-26.)

Many of us are beginning to feel a sense of being in an “awful situation” as we look for principled people to take key leadership roles in our countries around the world.   Regardless of country or nationality, we look about us today and watch as the apparent majorities seem to love assertive, even abusive power more than principle, and the promise of not just something for nothing, but nearly everything for nothing.  Once value-based societies are voting, legislating, and by judicial decree creating valueless societies.

In some countries dishonest, deceitful, power-hungry and narcissistic personalities seem to be “the people’s choice” for ministerial, parliamentary, and democratic legislative and executive positions.  Reasonable public discourse is descending into political pundancy and weightier matters go wanting.  

According to the ancient philosopher Aristotle, “Nature abhors a vacuum.”  In the space where legislative, executive, and judicial discourse, decision, and leadership should abound, we sense a void, a vacuum.  History has taught us that such a vacuum is a most dangerous situation.  When national leaders are bereft of leadership, principle, and basic goodness, then we make room for what the Apostle Paul called, “… principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness … and spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)  When hate and fear become part of a political platform, the masses are ripe for recruitment into various forms of radicalism.

Hence, we cautiously write of dark things, but do so in the hope of alerting us to “awful things” that may come.

Whispering in gullible ears and hearts by designing men

In every generation, scheming how to control our soul

Through plots of intimidation with no limits as to sin

Covenanted combinations of evil luring us into their fold

But with these warnings we plead and pray for spiritual strength and resolve:

May our covenants be with He who reigns above

And forswear the secrets of him who reigns below

Living in obedience, righteousness, and Godly love

Secure through Him from whom all blessings flow

Secret Oaths and Combinations

But behold, Satan did stir up the hearts …, insomuch that they did unite with those bands of robbers, and did enter into their covenants and their oaths, that they would protect and preserve one another in whatsoever difficult circumstances they should be placed, ….  And it came to pass that they did have their signs, yea, their secret signs, and their secret words; ….And behold, it is he who is the author of all sin. And behold, he doth carry on his works of darkness … and doth hand down their plots, and their oaths, and their covenants, and their plans of awful wickedness, from generation to generation according as he can get hold upon the hearts of the children of men.

Book of Mormon   Helaman 6:21-22, 25-26, 30

There are secret oaths and evil combinations

Of such we are reluctant to write or offer exposition

But think it wise to warn against such vile associations

That we be not blind to their evil design and disposition

Founded by the author of sin and wicked abomination

Promoted by him who seeks our ultimate destruction

He seeks recruits for his band and brand of alienation

With secret oaths and signs, and other evil instruction

Whispering in gullible ears and hearts by designing men

In every generation, scheming how to control our soul

Through plots of intimidation with no limits as to sin

Covenanted combinations of evil luring us into their fold

Let us avoid such wicked combinations and turn away

Protected by the armor of light and the Spirit’s sword

Let us defend our liberties and all God’s covenants obey

Until Satan is bound and perpetual peace is restored

May our covenants be with He who reigns above

And forswear the secrets of him who reigns below

Living in obedience, righteousness, and Godly love

Secure through Him from whom all blessings flow

Larry Doyle Crenshaw 

The Voice

By Larry Doyle Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

There is a voice that shakes the earth asunder

Not loud, but mild, whispering in the ear

One that pierces the soul like thunder

When God speaks and we inwardly hear

We are designed such that our eyes and ears are formed and positioned that we may see and hear what is in front of us.  We oft must turn our head and attention to see and hear what is spoken or sounded behind us.  Not so with the eyes and ears of our spirit.  It seems that our spiritual senses of seeing and hearing are able to envision things in every direction and to hear intonations forward, backward, upward, downward, and when we are properly attuned…………inward.

To hear things spoken to our soul often requires some filtering of the worldly din and strife.  Such temporal noise often has the effect of blocking that which would be heard or felt in our soul.  That which speaks to us temporally is usually loud, brash, garish, and intent on engaging our worldly passions.  But that which would speak to our soul, often, at least at first, comes softly, quietly, mildly, yet powerfully enough to shake our very being.

When the Spirit first speaks to us, our attention may be elsewhere; for there are indeed, so many distractions in the world, causing the Apostle Paul to say, “There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.” (1 Corinthians 14:10) But as the voice continues to seek audience with our higher selves, and as we open ourselves to give it place in us, its warmth begins to fill us with its powerful presence.  We are grateful to a loving Father in Heaven who understands our mortal limitations and, up to a point, continues to speak to us until a connection is finally made.  However, if He continues to speak and we refuse to hear or, having heard, refuse to act, He will usually allow us to withdraw from Him – such are the rules of agency.

Paul continues his thought in the next verse, “Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.”  In other words, it is like trying to interpret a foreign language that we do not know. 

Perhaps one of the greatest skills to learn in life is to acquire the language of the Spirit.  Then the next greatest skill might be to learn to listen for its quite voice and nuances.  And then, just perhaps, the greatest of all would be the skill, the attribute, the disciplined ability to act according to the instruction or message the Spirit whispers.

Such is the discussion in our meditative verse entitled, “The Voice” which prays that . .  .

May we have ears to hear the divine intonation

Echoing in the plain road and the low valley of life

Heeding its whisper in our mortal probation

And be deafened to the worldly din and strife.

The Voice

And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings.  And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul— 

Book of Mormon   Helaman 5:29-33

There is a voice that shakes the earth asunder

Not loud, but mild, whispering in the ear

One that pierces the soul like thunder

When God speaks and we inwardly hear

This is a voice that will be heard

That speaks to our soul to its core

Spoken by God to declare His word

Of faith, hope and truth evermore

Once, twice it speaks again and again

Words that inspire, instruct, and plea

Too sacred for public expression or pen

But soulfully inscribed where none can see

This very voice speaks to us today

Not loud, but a whisper in the heart

A voice that keeps darkness at bay

A voice to inspire and set us apart

May we have ears to hear the divine intonation

Echoing in the plain road and the low valley of life

Heeding its whisper in our mortal probation

And be deafened to the worldly din and strife.

Larry Doyle Crenshaw

The Rock of Our Redeemer

By Larry Doyle Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

Is the Redeemer‘s rock our sure foundation

Or have we built on soft and shifting sand

This question begs reply and illumination

For it governs our place in God’s eternal plan

Ever been in an earthquake, tornado, or hurricane?  Unsettling, doesn’t quite cover the range of emotions you feel as either the ground moves beneath your feet, or whirlwinds easily pick up and blow away anything not secured or anchored sufficiently.  Fortunately, the ability to predict tornadoes and to know that a hurricane is coming are now a part of our technology – less so with earthquakes.  Like so many of life’s tribulations and trials, for some we can be forewarned while others strike without notice.

As we observe today’s headlines, it seems that not only the number of tragedies is increasing, but also their intensity.  Around us each day are not only whirlwinds of environmental catastrophe, but terrorism, political and legislative failure, and an epidemic of moral decay.  As debris swirls around the vortex of these tribulations, we can easily be affected – damaged and hurt by these shafts in the whirlwind.

In such circumstances we ask, “Where do we stand?”  In a society that seems to meet crises by abandoning time-honored values and principles, we are left to be tossed about by every wind of so-called politically correct doctrine.  History records many groups, nations, and societies that have faced similar circumstances – we are not the first.  The Bible is just such a history.  When rocked by war or famine, or disaster, there always emerged a prophet to declare the mind and the will of God.  Receptive societies embraced the words of the prophets - rebellious societies would often suffer calamitous results.

God’s will for us as declared in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, provides an anchor in the storms of life.  The rock of our Redeemer is the sure foundation upon which we stand to battle the elements – whatever they may be. 

Our meditation encourages us to build on the sure and safe foundation of the Savior, the Redeemer of all.

Let us build a firm foundation for our life

And hold the iron rod firmly in our hand

Facing trials, troubles, turmoil and strife

On the rock of our Redeemer let us stand

The Rock of Our Redeemer

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Book of Mormon   Helaman 5:10-12

The foundation on which we build is of concern

As the devil sends sharp shafts in the whirlwind

As all his hail and mighty storms around us churn

Only the Rock of our Redeemer keeps us safe from sin

Is the Redeemer‘s rock our sure foundation

Or have we built on soft and shifting sand

 This question begs reply and illumination

For it governs our place in God’s eternal plan

Only upon the rock of our Redeemer are we secure

Only with obedience to the covenant and principle

Only on His rock are we safe from Lucifer’s allure

Only by trusting God can we become invincible

Let us build a firm foundation for our life

And hold the iron rod firmly in our hand

Facing trials, troubles, turmoil and strife

On the rock of our Redeemer let us stand

Larry Doyle Crenshaw

Withholding

By Larry Doyle Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

There is something sad about withholding

Begrudging of ourselves and possessions

Which God finds prideful and revolting

Because the poor reap more oppressions

We seem to have some ambivalence – a degree of uncertainty in our public dialogue about how to respond to the poor and needy. Perhaps this is due in large part to the politicization and legislation of poverty over the last 400 years.  Whether it was Elizabethan Poor Laws in the 1600’s to Obamacare today; from the Charity Societies in early America to the United Way today, there appears to be no consensus – no method or principles of care upon which we can agree.

Even now the poor and needy, in massive numbers, wander through much of Europe in search of shelter and security.  They are joined by 60 million internally displaced people across the globe.

As we study poverty, we find marked extremes and contrasts.  Governments do fail their citizens, economies rise and fall in cycles, supply and demand are each driven by a myriad of influences – and we are all affected.  In the dark side of capitalism, unscrupulous and greedy people do manipulate markets and banks without regard to others.  There are undeserving, selfish, and conniving people that lie, cheat, and fake their way through a well-meaning but deeply flawed welfare system.  Yet, there are genuine, humble poor individuals needing and receiving assistance, and there are also generous, charitable people of wealth who give of themselves and their means.

There will come a day when we are worthy and prepared enough to live the Lord’s economic plan. Until then there is one common denominator.  Whether rich or poor, we are all God’s children, and He is concerned for both our spiritual and temporal welfare.  There is ample evidence from God’s word that He reserves His strongest, most vindictive judgements against those who withhold themselves and their goods from the poor.  Our meditative verse, “Withholding” addresses these concerns and suggests:

For are we not all beggars by every method of calculation

Who must not withhold ourselves, our goods or treasure

But be generous with our means in this mortal probation

Consecrating and blessing without reserve or measure

Withholding

And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, …. And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands.

Book of Mormon   Helaman 4:12-13

There is something sad about withholding

Begrudging of ourselves and possessions

Which God finds prideful and revolting

Because the poor reap more oppressions

Self-centered and selfish souls

Withhold and the poor go without

And are smitten with empty doles

By legions of the greedy and undevout

May we be more like Christ’s exemplary life

Generous disciples of charitable deeds

Who strengthen feeble knees in their strife

And bless the poor in their conditions and needs

For are we not all beggars by every method of calculation

Who must not withhold ourselves, our goods or treasure

But be generous with our means in this mortal probation

Consecrating and blessing without reserve or measure

Larry Doyle Crenshaw

The Quick and Powerful Word

By Larry Doyle Crenshaw

MeditationsInLight.Blogspot.com

More than text upon a hallowed page

More than a linguistic expression

Articulated for an ancient or future age

God’s Word chisels an enduring impression

There is something about divine language that is different from other communication.  The writer of Hebrews describes it this way, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12).  

Thus, God’s word is a living, potent force which conveys supernal powers.

For the person who has learned to read and love God’s message, His word has the power to save, to heal, to lift up, and to exalt.  To others, who have taken a lower, downward path, God’s language cuts deeply into the conscience and down into a guilty soul.  Hence, the reading and application of God’s word becomes a barometer by which the weather of the soul is measured – sunny and bright, or cloudy, dark and overcast.

We pray that the Word of God may be a quick and powerful lighting the way for each of us in an ever-darkening world.

May the Word save us from undue misery and pain

And land our souls in the straight and narrow route

Where the road is found well-lit, and true and plain

Leading to God’s kingdom, from which we go no more out

 The Quick and Powerful Word

Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—  And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.

Book of Mormon  Helaman 3:29-30

More than text upon a hallowed page

More than a linguistic expression

Articulated for an ancient or future age

God’s Word chisels an enduring impression

Like a powerful sword whose sharp edges

Rift the devil’s cunning snares and wiles

God’s Word quickly removes the devil’s wedges

That inflict tribulation, troubles, and trials

As we apply the Word, line upon line in stages

We become a child of Christ - a sanctified soul

To enjoy the company of saints and ancient sages

From Adam to Abraham and all the prophets of old

May the Word save us from undue misery and pain

And land our souls in the straight and narrow route

Where the road is found well-lit, and true and plain

Leading to God’s kingdom, from which we go no more out

Larry Doyle Crenshaw