The Benefit and Use of Man

The Thanksgiving season is a good time to think about the great bounty that the Lord has given. It is also the optimal time to think about how we can best take care of this stewardship and show our gratitude for what we have been given, for D&C 59:21 states: "And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things and obey not his commandments".

As a vegetarian, I sometimes face mild persecution from those who believe that to not use animals for sustenance is to be ungrateful by refusing a gift that has been given. Latter-day Saints often will reference scriptures such as D&C 59 for proof of this:

16 ...inasmuch as ye do this, the fullness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;

17 Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;

18 Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

19 Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

20 And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.

There are many important points in these verses for this argument. The most important verse though, in my opinion, is verse 20: "for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion." This states that the reason for the existence of things on the earth is for our use, but there is a corollary attached, saying that we should use good judgment in the way we use the resources we have been given. It is clearly stated in the Doctrine and Covenants that one should not preach vegetarianism, but in an age when for most people, eating plenty of protein and vitamins without eating meat is easy to do, where foods don't really go out of season, do we eat meat "to excess"? It is a much more efficient use of both water and land to grow crops than to raise cows for food. While it is important to remember that the resources are put on the earth for our use, we must be careful to be wise in the way we use them.

The Prodigal Son

This Thursday our D&C class went to an art museum exhibit called “The Image Speaks: Intimations of Divinity”. As a great art aficionado, I really enjoyed this experience. One piece I especially enjoyed was called “The Prodigal Son” by Bruce H. Smith. Unlike any other painting I've seen of this biblical story, this painting was abstract and did not show a son or his father. In fact, the pigs were the only characters in the story accurately represented. The most defining feature of this piece of work is a blue cloth which covers the whole painting. The painting is organized in a triptych to represent three stages in the story: before the son left home, after the son left, and when the son returned. What was interesting to note was that if the first and third sections in the painting were placed together, the combined cloth forms the same shape as the cloth in the middle panel. The cloth represents the love of God, which is over us no matter what our actions are. Another very interesting feature in this piece is that the clarity with which the fruit portrayed under the cloth represents the clarity with which the son understood his situation and place in the world. At the beginning of the story, represented by the left section, the son was naïve, but stayed with and worked for his family. In the middle section, the son had lost all clarity. The painting had the blurriest forms in this section. At the end of the story, the son had his understanding restored and had even more clarity when he realized the error of his ways. Unsurprisingly, the third panel of the painting is clearer than any other parts of the painting. This was a beautiful painting that really touched me.

The Exodus of the Restoration

In the early days of the church, the saints were driven from place to place much like the ancient Israelites of the Old Testament. There are many parallels that can be drawn from these stories, and they are both types of the plan of salvation. In the 1830s, the church was headquartered in New York. To escape persecution, the saints moved to Kirtland. They were then driven from place to place until they eventually were left alone when they arrived in Utah. Similarly, the Israelites wandered for a long time before they reached the promised land. As I commented on in my last post, like the Israelites who received the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai, the saints received "the law" when they reached Kirtland. Many of the miracles that were performed for the Israelites in their exodus were repeated in the 1800's for the Latter-day Saints. For example, when the saints crossed the Mississippi river from Nauvoo, the river froze over, so like the Israelites who passed through the Red Sea on dry ground, the Saints were also allowed to pass over the Mississippi river without getting wet. Later, the Israelites were given food from heaven. The saints in the 1800's were also given quail from God. The saints, like the Israelites, reached their own promised land. Utah is the only other place in the world with the same geography as the Israelites' promised land. A source of freshwater flows into a saltwater lake, and the valley where the saints came to rest has mountains in the east, just like in the promised land. Moses was not blessed to see the promised land. Joshua led the Israelites into their promised land. Joseph was also not able to see the saints reach Utah. Brigham Young led them across the plains. Both of these stories are types of the great plan of happiness. We each have our wilderness of trials to cross. If we follow the prophet, we will reach our own promised land and live in peace with our Father in Heaven.

"The Law"

In section 38 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord promises the saints: "I will give unto you my law" in Ohio. (D&C 38:32) The fulfillment of this promise is seen in section 42. This revelation was originally headed by the words, "The Laws of the Church of Christ". Section 42 gives commandments in response to questions that Joseph Smith asked the Lord. For example, before our verse one was written in the original manuscript: "First shall the church come together into one place or continue in separate establishments?" However, the Lord did not only answer this question. In fact, the Lord did not very clearly answer this question at all. Instead, He gave them information that was more important. God had already told the saints that in the short run they were supposed to gather to Ohio, so God used Joseph's willingness to listen for an answer to his question as an opportunity to give revelation that would best help the kingdom move forward. As part of section 42, the Lord reiterates some of the ten commandments that were given to Moses at Mount Sinai in Exodus. He also gave guidelines for missionaries and about the law of consecration.

Interestingly, this bestowal of the "law" has interesting parallels to the time when the law was given to Moses at Sinai. Like the Israelites fleeing from their captors, the Egyptians, members of the Church were told to leave New York and come to Ohio "because of the enemy". Before reaching the promised land, the Israelites came to a mountain, where the presence of God was strong. Similarly, before going to a "promised land" where they were finally left alone, Latter-day Saints stopped in Ohio. There they built a temple where, like the mountains in the days of old, the presence of the Lord was strong. There, Joseph received the "Law" for the church. This correspondence between Joseph and Moses is illustrated in 2 Nephi 3. In verse 17, this similarity, especially in relation to the "Law" being given is evident: "I will raise up a Moses; and... I will write unto him my law". Like Moses, Joseph led the saints of the Church out of danger to a modern-day Mount Sinai, where the Lord could give them commandments for the increased happiness of the saints.