Sabbath Musings

“It is true that I do not speak as well as I can think.

 But that is true of most people, as nearly as I can tell.”

from: The Poisonwood Bible

by:  Barbara Kingsolver

(Last week I had to speak in Church..along with my whole Relief Society Presidency. This is what I said. Its a little out in left field..but I guess thats nothing new.)

In 2009 a new element was added to our church’s mission statement.   And I have now also learned that it is now no longer called the mission statement but rather its now referred to as our 4 “purposes.”

This fourth component is :  to help the poor and the needy

There are times in our life when helping others looks different than at other times… Sometimes our circumstances make us feel less able to help others  or to help in  ways we are accustomed.  Lately I personally take comfort in the scripture found in Mosiah 4:24

 And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have
sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who
deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your
hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would
give.

But as I began preparing for this talk I immediately I came across another lovely scripture.  Mostly this scripture is used when talking about fasting…but I have found it most helpful in thinking about helping others in addition to fasting …which I believe are two practices that are tightly knit together.

So here is Isaiah…which of course I have completely  overlooked all these years..for in the past it has been easy to just skip over these difficult chapters.

  Isaiah 58:6-11  It reads like this:

6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

 8 ¶Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.

 9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am

 10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

 11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

Look at that…I must be becoming a grown – up…I understood a lot of this!

And even though it  sound like its all about the blessings of fasting ….  I just haven’t been able to let it go.  All I heard are the  blessing and promises for us,  if we fast and make fast offerings to the Lord. 

We all have heard it once if not a million times that we should lift our fellow man.  Just the other day at a RS training meeting we heard it again from our dear Stake President that our main duty in this life is to lift one anothers burdens and to help those whose arms hang down. We know that that was Jesus’s main ministry while on earth…He mainly went about helping the downtrodden and the lowly at heart. We know what is expected of us.  But here are some vrs of scripture that sound new and fresh and full of promises.

Here is what I heard in my head when I read these verses:

In verse 6-7 6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Here are four clear actions ; (1) giving bread to the hungry, where bread represents food in a general sense of course; (2nd) assisting the poor is always a  good thing; (3rd) would be covering the naked, meaning providing the destitute with clothing; and (4th) helping family members in need, or in Isaiah's words, "[hiding] not thyself from thine own flesh." These are four actions which also happen to be the essence of pure religion..or as I’ve read Pres McKay words, these are acts of a spiritual person. Those who do these things will receive God's blessings. Isaiah lists some of those blessings. For example, our fasting  (or helping others) will be recognized and our prayers will be heard for doing so.

In verse:11 we read:

And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

This verse describes four blessings to those who live this true law before the Lord:,

The Lord will guide us, he will satisfy our souls in drought, he will make fat our bones, and he will make us like a watered garden or spring of water. The Lord can and does provide living water in times of spiritual drought if we help others.  And did you know that bones were and are considered the gauge of the body's vitality—they become dry and brittle with age and illness but are moist and supple with youth, health, and vigor.  My bones seem to creak now…a sensation I suppose I need to get used to.  So I wouldn’t mind some fat bones at this point in my life, some vigor and suppleness would be a great blessing. Bones that are made fat are renewed .("Make fat thy bones" might also refer to the resurrection, when dead bones will be renewed with life.) I would certainly appreciate these blessings! And if lifting others burdens is the requirement for such blessing…Im happy to do my part!!

The metaphor that Isaiah uses also says the righteous-or the givers of help- will be like a "watered garden" and a "spring." In a garden, water, the source of life, often comes from the outside. This can also be said for the righteous, who receive sustenance from the Lord or give service for the Lords sake. Jesus said, in John 7:38 "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water"  It is my desire to be an instrument of  the Lord and share what I have been blessed with to help our Savior….to try and be His hands.

So,,, if caring for and about  the poor and the needy first begins in our hearts…even if starts with just having a desire to help…then I hope to take the next  leap of faith and find solace in the idea that paying ones fast offerings and tithes, which might be the only thing we can do at some  points in our lives…. If we do this  with our hearts set on helping instead of just ‘going without food’…then we are truly helping and lifting others.  We will indeed truly help. ..with the added benefit that we cant help but grow spiritually ourselves for acting with such faith.  Thus we will, in part, be fulfilling the 4th purpose of the church. …Lifting others and helping the poor and needy…Acting in this way will plant us firmly on the path to what Pres McKay taught ….-when he said…

“The development of our spiritual nature should concern us most. Spirituality is the highest acquisition of the soul, the divine in man….There is more spirituality expressed in giving than in receiving. The greatest spiritual blessing comes from helping another” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1936). 

What a blessing it is to be able to help and fulfill our baptismal covenants by mourning with those that mourn and to comfort those that stand in need of comfort.

President Uckdorf said:

“As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit.”  

Jesus didnt just speak about love; He showed it every day of His life. He did not remove Himself from the crowd. Being amidst the people, Jesus reached out to the one. He rescued the lost. He didn’t just teach a class about reaching out in love and then delegate the actual work to others. He not only taught but also showed us how to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”

It is my prayer that we can all find our own individual ways to reach out and help the poor and the needy.  There are as many ways to help as there are needs and individuals to help.  May we look to our talents and abilities and magnify them in ways that will help others and in turn our acts of service will help us develop our own spirituality.  Truly that is one of our main purposes for life here on earth…to lift others and to learn to be more selfless