My Sunday School Lesson Recap: Baptismal Covenants; or, Serving Only "Our Own" Is Not Following Jesus

Last Sunday, we talked about only one aspect of ordinances and covenants: the baptismal covenant to bear one another's burdens, mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need to comfort.

We spent the entire lesson talking about: 1) the fact that the Gospels detail a LOT more time spent serving people than time spent preaching; 2) exactly whom Jesus served during his mortal ministry (lepers, the sick and afflicted, the unclean, the despised, the poor, the powerless, etc. - his "kingdom of nobodies", as a friend of mine once wrote) and whom he did NOT serve (the religious leadership, the rich and famous and influential, etc.); 3) whom he might serve if he was born and ministered now; 4) how all of that relates to our own baptismal commitment to bear, mourn and comfort and, overall, to take Jesus' name upon us and become more Christ-like.

The list of whom he might serve now was created by the students and included: the sick, the poor, unwed teenage mothers, alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, the homeless (especially those who are mentally disabled). I pressed them to keep adding to the list, asking them to consider those who are marginalized specifically by our current Mormon culture and not already on the list, and they added homosexuals and the divorced. I personally added church members who see things differently than a locally dominant culture, struggle with aspects of faith and remain silent in order not to feel rejected in their congregations.

We talked about how natural it is to try to avoid becoming unclean or hurt (and how, in some cases, that is an unfortunate necessity) and how that translates inter-personally and socially into avoiding people who we see as unclean and/or dangerous - either physically or spiritually. We talked about how doing so is diametrically opposed to becoming Christ-like (except in the extreme cases when it is necessary), since he spent his entire ministry interacting with, serving and physically touching the people whom everyone else labeled as unclean and avoided in order to remain clean.

To end the lesson, I quoted my oldest daughter after she went through the temple for the first time. She said:

Dad, we spend so much time trying to build up the kingdom of God on earth that we forget to establish Zion.

I told them that we aren't really fulfilling our baptismal covenants if we aren't serving people who live outside our comfort zone - if we aren't helping people in a deeply personal, individual way who are rejected by other people, even people within our own church circles. I mentioned how much we construct our service projects around helping "our own" and too often ignore the people around us who are carrying the heaviest burdens, mourning alone and need comfort the most desperately. I asked them to think about the people on the list we created and look for ways to reach out to SOMEONE - actively and directly - who would be on that list. I told them that such an effort was vital to being a true disciple ("follower") of Christ - since, to do so, we have to be willing to go where he went and serve whom he served.

Sunday School Lesson Recap: Becoming Like Jesus: Lesson 1

The lessons this month are about "Becoming Like Christ".

We started our class by talking about effective ways to teach. They listed parables, example, object lessons, speaking at the level of the students and discussion. (Last week while I was gone, they talked about parables - using specific examples from the Gospels to show how Jesus taught.) I then told them those were important things and that learning how to teach more effectively using Jesus as an example is important, but I explained that we were going to focus on Jesus himself and becoming like him in a more literal sense.

I asked them how we can learn about someone. After some discussion, we narrowed it down to three things: what is written or said about the person (a description of some sort by others), characteristics or attributes they model and/or teach, and what they do (their actions). I told them we would focus on learning how to become like Jesus by focusing on each of those "study methods", in that order.

I asked them what we know about Jesus, in broad terms - like a timeline:

He was born in Bethlehem. Probably around the age of 12-24 months, his family fled Bethlehem and moved to Egypt. A few years later, after Herod's death, they moved to Nazareth. At the age of 12, his family traveled to Jerusalem, where he surprised educated people at the temple. (Note: There is no indication that Jesus was "teaching" anyone, as is commonly believed. The verses say he was "hearing them and asking them questions" and that they were "astonished at his understanding and answers".) The next 18 years are summed up in Luke 2:51, which says:

Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

We broke that verse down word-by-word, since I believe it is one of the least understood Biblical verses in all of Christianity.

"Increased" means he "gained or acquired more", and what he gained or acquired was "wisdom" (learning, understanding, ability to apply) and "stature" (size). Thus, Jesus learned things (just like we all learn things) and grew up. He also increased in "favor" (standing, rank, acceptance - especially compared to others) - and that increase was with both God and other people. We talked about what it means to be a "favorite" and how "favor" in this usage implies comparison to others. We then talked about how Jesus could increase in favor with God, especially if he was God's only begotten son AND if he was the God of the Old Testament before he was born.

We talked about the common misunderstanding of what it means to be "sinless" - and I mentioned again my dislike of the following song lines:

"The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes, but little Lord, Jesus, no crying he makes."

"He never got vexed when the game went wrong, and he always told the truth."

In the Primary Sacrament Meeting program, one of the children gave a short talk in which he said that Jesus never made any mistakes. I told the students that I understand the need to teach very young children in simplistic terms, but that being sinless does NOT mean never making mistakes. We talked about transgressions being mistakes made in ignorance - things we do that are wrong but not against our understanding or conscience, then we talked about sins being things we do in opposition to our own consciences. Thus, a sin for one person isn't necessarily a sin for someone else. One person's sin often is another person's transgression. If, therefore, Jesus increased in wisdom AND in favor with God and man, he could have made mistakes and "transgressed" some element of eternal law (like lying as a young child) without "sinning" (violating his conscience and understanding).

With this as the baseline, becoming like Jesus does NOT mean never making mistakes (even transgressions) but rather trying not to act in opposition to one's conscience - which, instructively, we call "the light of Christ".

We then moved to what he is said to have taught - focusing on the Gospels (since they are all we have of his purported words during mortality) and, particularly, the Sermon on the Mount - in order to see what he identified as the characteristics and attributes of godliness (or "blessedness", to use the exact word). I told them again about my three-year focus on understanding and living better the characteristics and attributes listed in the Sermon on the Mount and how badly I wished I had started that focus when I was their age rather than when I was in my 40's.

We talked about being "poor in spirit" - and we focused on the need to "value" each person as an equal spirit child of God. Being "rich in spirit" is a negative in that context, so it can't mean "spiritual" in the sense we normally apply. Being poor in spirit has to mean not valuing one's self above others, at the most fundamental spiritual level. I pointed out that one of the students is more valuable as a singer and actor than many others at their school, while another student is more valuable as a mathematician, and another one is more valuable as an athlete. There is something about each of the students that makes them more valuable than others in some "natural" way. However, there also are others who are more valuable in those ways than each of them. The tendency is to see differing value in objective ways and miss the equal value of each spirit child in God's eyes.

We talked about being able to mourn - and I asked them how mourning could be a condition of blessedness. That stumped them at first, but we had a good conversation about how we mourn only for the loss of that which we value highly and those we truly love. People who mourn are blessed for two reasons: they have something / someone in their lives of great value, and they have hearts that can feel deep love. Conversely, the inability to mourn is a sign of lack of value in one's life and an inability to love. We also talked about how much we can gain and give in the process of mourning with those who mourn and comforting those who stand in need of comfort.

We talked about meekness as a blessing. I asked them what they envision when they think of someone who is meek. It was interesting that their immediate pictures were of someone cowering in timidity and fear - or someone who was extremely submissive and weak. I asked them if that picture fit their understanding of Jesus, and they immediately realized it didn't. I said something like, "Dude was a carpenter, and he chased people out of the temple grounds with a whip!" We then talked about meek meaning "gentle, forgiving, benevolent" - which are VERY different attributes than weakness, timidity and fearfulness. We finished by talking about what that means in practical terms in their lives - how they can be more meek in the reality of their own situations without being weak, timid or fearful.

The Command to Mourn with and Comfort Others Has No Disclaimers or Limitations

I watched General Conference this past weekend and was uplifted and edified by many of the talks I heard.  Pres. Uchtdorf's message of understanding and love Saturday morning and Elder Holland's treatment of depression Saturday afternoon were especially powerful for me.  However, I also have friends I love and respect who were hurt, in real and deep ways, by some of the other things that were said last weekend. 

In the aftermath of those statements, I witnessed faithful members with differing perspectives arguing with each other and, in some cases, even ridiculing each other - specifically because they disagreed about the statements being discussed. 

This post intentionally does NOT take any position with regard to any statement or talk during General Conference last weekend.  Rather, it is nothing more than a re-post of something I wrote at a couple of locations as I was observing the bickering and, in two cases, attacking statements - by members on both sides of the discussion.  What I want to share is short, but I believe it is a core element of charity and the Gospel of Jesus Christ - and I also believe it is one of the hardest aspects of divinity we are asked to internalize.  If we could master only this principle, I believe we would draw nearer to the creation of Zion than nearly all other principles - since I see it as fundamental to true charity, the pure love of Christ. 

I am going to set it off in quotes, just to highlight it apart from this introduction:

Mourning with those who mourn and comforting those who stand in need of comfort have no disclaimers or limitations. They are important even when the cause of the mourning and need of comfort aren’t understood or shared. In fact, I believe one of the truest measures of charity is how we act toward those who mourn and need comfort for reasons that we don’t understand or share.

For everyone who listened to and loved Pres. Uchtdorf's message, please:

Stop the arguing and bickering with each other and strive to incorporate what he preached, no matter how much you disagree with each other.   Mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort - even if you don't share their sorrow, and even if you think that sorrow is misplaced.  Ultimately, the most important thing is not your view; the most important thing is that someone else needs to mourn and be comforted.  So, mourn with them and comfort them, despite your differences. 

It is what He asks of those who desire to follow Him, as difficult as it is initially. 

A Compilation of Posts about How to Mourn with Those Who Mourn

Mourning with Those that Mourn: A How-To - Kyle M (By Common Consent)

My Sunday School Lesson Recap: Jesus' Life As Part of the Atonement

I am going to try to post a summary of the Sunday School lessons I teach each Sunday, but, due to the timing of those lessons, the posts will publish on Saturday and be about the lessons from the previous Sunday.  This was my intent at the beginning of the year, but I am recommitting to try to make it happen, starting today.  I also am going back and posting summaries of some of our former lessons.  They will be dated according to when the lessons were taught.

Thus, the following is a summary of the lesson from last week:

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We talked today about the part Jesus' life played in the Atonement.

1) We read Luke 2:52: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

I pointed out that in order to "increase" in something, someone has to start at a level less than complete - less than "perfect", in the Biblical sense of being "complete, whole, fully developed"). Thus, the Bible says that Jesus developed over time and gained favor with God as a result. 

2) We read Luke 2:41-50 - the account of Jesus at the temple at the age of 12. We read the entire account, and I pointed out that we always focus on the "good" part - that he was a precocious young man who could astound the church leaders of the time. What we overlook is that he put his parents through Hell for almost a week, not knowing where he was and searching frantically for him. They traveled a full day toward home, then a full day back, then three days searching for him. The mortal young man probably was enjoying himself and didn't stop and think about what he was doing to others.

Literally, he caused pain and suffering - so the Atonement included paying for that instance of him being the one who hurt others - paying for the pain and suffering they felt because of him. We talk about how he suffered to pay for the actions of people, but we never talk about how HE was one of those people whose actions caused that for which he paid.

3) We listed on the board all of the "major" events we know about his life outside his actual ministry: He was born in Bethlehem; he lived there (in a house) until the wise men visited (probably about 18 months, give or take a few - but I emphasized that we don't know and only can estimate based on clues in the story); he moved to Egypt for a while (duration unknown); he was raised in Nazareth; he was in Jerusalem at the age of 12; he started his ministry at age 30; he died at age 33. I pointed out that the experience in the temple at age 12 is the only specific thing we know about his life from an early age until he turned 30.  There are huge gaps in our record of the actual life of Jesus, the "man" - the son of Mary and Joseph. 

4) We read John 15:13 ("Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."), and I pointed out that "laying down one's life" doesn't have to refer to dying. We talked about the fact that Jesus, of Nazareth, had a life of his own - and the only details we have of his life are AFTER he laid down his own life and started his "mission" life. I mentioned that we don't know one way or the other, but he might or might not have left a wife - and kids - and a career - and friends in order to serve others. He was a man, and he had a man's life - whatever that was in his case.

5) We talked about what his mission was - what he did and for whom he did it. We mentioned publicans, sinners, tax collectors, Samaritans, lepers - and I then back to the word "atonement" (at-one-ment) and talked about how that word can refer to more than just an individual's unity with God. We talked about the Intercessory Prayer, especially John 17:21, in which Jesus used the words "they", "we" and "us" - all plural forms - and prayed for collective unity like the unity he shared with his Father. We talked about the difference between "individual atonement" and "communal atonement" - and how Jesus' mortal ministry was focused on taking a broken society (one that was made up of distinct "parts") and working to make it united ("at one"). He served those who were cast off, ignored, marginalized, condemned, etc. - the outsiders. We talked about Zion and what keeps that from happening - that can be the accepted ones - the "in crowd" - the "faithful" who reject others and destroy unity, not just those they reject or who reject them.

6) We talked about how we can "apply the atonement in our own lives" - and I pointed out that we can't suffer FOR the sins, pains, afflictions, sicknesses, temptations, etc. of others, but we can suffer WITH others (for example, mourning with those who mourn and comforting those who stand in need of comfort) - especially those who are not supported by most people. I mentioned that I can't lay down my life in the same way Jesus did, since I have to continue to support my family, but we can give up some of our time and money and other resources to help others. I asked them to consider who the people are that they tend to avoid - who are considered "unclean" in our current society. I told them that if they want to apply the atonement in their own lives, they need to be willing to build Zion to whatever extent possible in order to take our own broken and fragmented society and help make it "at one" - to really love (through active service) those who constitute now what a friend of mine once called "Christ's kingdom of nobodies".