What Child is This?

In the BYU Choirs' concert, Celebrations of Christmas, Women's Chorus sang a familiar Christmas song: What Child is This? The third verse in particular is very poignant. It goes as follows:

So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh

Come peasant, king, to own Him

The King of Kings salvation brings

Let loving hearts enthrone Him

For me, to "bring him incense, gold, and myrrh" is less about bringing Christ gifts, and more about showing our love for him by serving Him, and the way we do that is by serving others. When we love each other and share His light, we "enthrone him" and place Him at our head as our guide and leader. Everyone has the opportunity to gain salvation through Him, and when we share that beautiful, joyous message, we truly are giving Him the greatest gift we possibly can. 

Christmas is the season of giving, and as Christ gave us the ultimate gift of the atonement, it is only natural that we celebrate that gift by giving what we can to others with Christlike love and kindness.

2 Nephi 26:30

...wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment

that all men should have charity, which charity is love.

And except they should have charity they were nothing.

Truth Lay Dead

All that I hear from the devil’s mouth

Is never question what I said

Oh, when I try to find

Where I’ve been lead

And the assault won’t stop

Until the truth lay dead

-The Echo Era

This is half of the chorus from one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands, The Echo Era. I love these lyrics a lot, and it's mostly because of how spiritually applicable they are. In 3 Nephi 18:18, it says "ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat."

Satan is bitter and angry, and he will never stop his assault on us, not until "the truth lay dead." He seeks to destroy our happiness and to pervert the simple truths the Lord gives us in the form of scripture and prophetic counsel. We are all trying to find our way, and we can choose whether to follow the Lord or not, and that choice decides what path we are going to allow ourselves to go down. 

Because the assault won't stop, we must defend ourselves. We must protect truth and light, and never, ever let them die in us. 

Ich Liebe Dich, Ti Amo, Je T'aime Cheri, I Love You So

So because of recent developments in certain areas of my life, I found a lovely section of the Topical Guide that makes me very happy: Family, Love within. This section obviously focuses on love between married couples and in the family unit, and I was interested in what the scriptures describe as a healthy, loving relationship. What do the prophets say about "true love?"

In Ecclesiastes 9:9, we find that husband and wife should "live joyfully." Titus 2:4-5 teaches us that women ought to "love their husbands...[and be] keepers at home."
I did notice, however, that when the scriptures talk about love and marriage, it seems to be somewhat of an unequal relationship, where women are nearly always describes as being subservient to their husbands. This never made any sense to me, because I've been taught my whole life that marriage is an equal partnership, a team.

So naturally, I looked deeper and ended up finding small phrases that really change the perspective of all of these seemingly unbalanced relationships. In Titus 2:5, after listing all the things a good wife should be, it is mentioned that all of it is so "that the word of God be not blasphemed." This indicates that it is the wife's job to make sure that in guarding and making her home, she also ensures that her family is aligned with God, and that includes her husband. This idea is further confirmed by D&C 121:41, "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned." After all, "the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and...the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness." (36)

This puts all the other scriptures in a different light. Everything that women and men are counselled to do as husband and wife require the righteousness of the priesthood first and foremost. If the man is unrighteous in his dominion, then the woman has no obligation to follow him because her duty is to the Lord. I love this principle because it affirms the nature of marriage and how husband and wife work as a team. Neither is above the other, and they are one in purpose. It's about accomplishing things together and drawing closer to God, and that is what it should always come down to.

There Is No End to Space

If there's anything cooler than space, I'd sure be hard pressed to find it. Space, astronomy, physics; it's all astounding and I love it because it's such a direct testament of God. This week I had If You Could Hie to Kolob stuck in my head, so I decided to read through Abraham 3, since that's what the hymn is based on.

I love this chapter not only because of how cool it is intellectually, but because it gives me a very strong sense of peace. Oftentimes I get bogged down in the details, wanting to know how everything works, and I get frustrated when it doesn't happen. But this chapter always reminds me of the Lord's power.

"I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all." (Abraham 3:19)

He knows everything, and it's okay that we don't, because He does, and He will reveal to us what we need. It's okay that I have questions and that I don't know how everything works. It's not a sign of weakness in faith, but rather a testament to faith's strength. If we had no questions, there would be no point in faith, and ultimately, faith is what makes us strong.

Listen Enoch is the Best

So for my Comp Lit homework this weekend I had to read Moses 6:26-37. This happens to be one of my favorite sections in the entirety of the Standard Works. Why? Because Enoch is literally the coolest. He's bammin' slammin' spiritualicious, and he was but a wee laddie of ~65 when he became prophet and he STILL managed to create the coolest, most awesome, most spiritual city in the history ever, to the point where the Lord was like, "yep y'all need to come live with me immediately."

Enoch was actually really similar to Moses. They both sucked at the whole talking thing (the poor babs) and no one really liked either them at first. However the difference lies in each of their responses to the Lord promising that He'd help them become great prophets. Moses was very hesitant, but Enoch was more willing to just go with it and trust the Lord. Enoch did voice his concerns, saying,

"Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?" (Moses 6:31)

or in layman's terms,

"Listen, in this cruel world of chicken tenders, I am but a smol chicken nugget, a chicken tenderling, and my speaking is not of the good variety, so pls to explain why you want me to be prophet?????"

The Lord reassured Enoch in these tenderling worries, and promised him that "I will do as seemeth me good." (6:32) Enoch trusted the Lord to help him overcome his weaknesses, and because he did everything he could to be a good servant to the Lord, he ended up being one of the greatest prophets, creating Zion and inspiring countless people to come unto the Lord.

It doesn't matter how weak we are in any aspect of life. We can be deaf, autistic, unathletic, or faint of heart, but not even the worst of these can prevent us from becoming who the Lord wants us to be if we just trust in Him. He loves us and wants us to reach the great heights that are our birthright. This gives me great joy and motivation, for we can become the greatest of chicken tenders even if we, like Enoch or Joseph Smith, begin as the smallest of nuggets.

Monseigneur Bienvenu

President Spencer W. Kimball once said that the most important book other than the Standard Works is Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. This, among many other reasons, has driven me to slowly work my way through the ridiculously long novel. As I've done so, I can concur with President Kimball that there are multitudes of wonderful Christlike wisdom within its pages. There is one in particular that I'd like to discuss.

"Do not ask the name of him who asks you for a bed. It is precisely he whose name is a burden to him who most needs sanctuary."

I love this quote, and it reminds me very much of King Benjamin's admonition in Mosiah 2:17 "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

In Les Miserables, Monseigneur Bienvenu -- the Bishop -- is almost certainly an allegorical parallel to Christ, or at the very least, a representative of the goodness of God. He is the only one who will take in Valjean, and he extends him nothing but kindness. Valjean is struck by this and vows to live a virtuous, Christlike life thereafter. I love this because at once we are all both Bienvenu and Valjean. All those who are tired, poor, and yearning for any sort of kindness deserve that from us. To serve the Lord, we must serve his struggling children. On the other hand, however, we are also His struggling children. We are also beaten down by the endless breakers of life, and we sometimes need the helping hand of a Bienvenu; a servant of the Lord who brings good morning. None of us are exempt from either role, and in embracing both, we become greater, kinder, and more loving individuals who further the work of the Lord.

Walk With Me

One of my favorite scriptures in the entire Standard Works is Moses 6:34:

"Behold, my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me."

I was curious as to what "walking" with God actually meant, so I looked through cross-references to see if there were any other verses that clarified things. I eventually came across Hebrews 11:5, which indicated that walking with God is centering your faith in Christ. I really love this because it really showcases the power of our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We are children of the Almighty God, an infinitely powerful divine being, and through Him, we can do anything. When we walk with God, when we align ourselves with His will, we become a part of His awesome force for good, and to me, that is amazing.

On Being Prepared for Going Out into the World

Over the years, I've been pondering deeply about a fundamental worry that surfaces in nearly every youth nearing the end of adolescence: am I really prepared for the adult world?
People constantly talk about how the world is scary and full of wickedness, and for someone who’s just about to plunge headfirst into the deep end of that pool, that’s a really terrifying thought! Pile that on top of the stressors of the present, it’s no wonder that approximately 20 percent of teens experience depression before they reach adulthood. Even for those of us who are lucky enough to not have to deal with depression during adolescence, the stress and worrying about what lies ahead can be anywhere from a gnawing ache to nearly debilitating. It is this feeling, this monster under the bed, that causes much of my grief for those without the truths of this blessed Gospel.
During my research on how the Lord recommends we prepare for the future, I came across a verse that I feel is the keystone to gaining the preparation we need. In Proverbs 4:7 we read, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” But understanding of what? In the September 2007 edition of the New Era, President Gordon B Hinckley answers this, “Understanding of what? Understanding of ourselves, of the purposes of life, of our relationship to God who is our Father, of the great divinely given principles that for centuries have provided the sinew of man’s real progress! As we pursue our secular studies, let us also add to our lives the cultivation of the Spirit. If we do so, God will bless us with that peace and those blessings which come from Him alone.”
So here we have a lovely formula. To be prepared and have peace with our level of preparedness, we must pursue knowledge and wisdom in both temporal and spiritual matters. However, the question still remains: how exactly do we do that? Well, as I was studying this topic, I was reminded of Stephen R Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly People--or more specifically, Sean Covey’s adaptation for teenagers--because these habits are essentially the doctrine of the gospel put into a secular setting and designed to help everyone feel as if they have a better handle on their life. I won’t go into them all, but I feel the first three--the private victory--are key to being prepared for what the world has in store.
Habit 1: Be proactive. This is the ultimate first step. As Sean Covey put it, being proactive is saying, “I am the force. I am the captain of my life. I can choose my attitude. I’m responsible for my own happiness or unhappiness. I am in the driver’s seat of my destiny, not just a passenger.” Proactivity is exactly the same thing as the Young Women’s value of Choice and Accountability. It is not only understanding our gift of agency, it is using it and taking responsibility for using it. We cannot be prepared if we don’t put our own lives in our own hands. It’s difficult, yes, and sometimes all we want to do is scream and hit and cry about all the injustices done to us. Sometimes we need that emotional release. I know I do. But ultimately, the words of Nephi to Jacob in 2 Nephi 2:27 ring true, “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and call things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”
Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind. Whether you’re LDS or not, any journey must be begun with an idea where you want to end up. In my humble opinion, the best way to do that is receiving your patriarchal blessing if you don’t already have it. It’s such a wonderful thing to have and not only does it guide in spiritual matters, it helps so much in the temporal sphere as well. To quote the words of President Monson in the October 1986 General Conference, “Your patriarchal blessing will see you through the darkest night. It will guide you through life’s dangers. Unlike the struggling bomber of yesteryear, lost in the desert wastes, the sands and storms of life will not destroy you on your eternal flight. Your patriarchal blessing is to you a personal Liahona to chart your course and guide your way.” I know mine has helped me get back on the path I need to be whenever I feel lost or confused or even down in the depths of a self-deprecating whirlpool. Understanding where I need to be relative to where I’m at is such a powerful thing, because as the saying goes, “the road to anywhere is really a life to nowhere.” I know so many people who honestly just have no idea who, what, or where they want to be. Expectations from parents, teachers and society weigh upon their shoulders until they feel like Atlas, too busy carrying the world on his back to go anywhere himself. For those who identify with that situation, I call upon the words of Howard Thurman, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” For me, that thing is music and teaching, so I’m pursuing a degree in music education. This path is obvious to me, because music has been such an integral part of me my whole life, but many people aren’t blessed with that. So for you, I say, remember the parable of the gardener and the currant bush. The Lord is the gardener here. He knows you and knows what he wants you to be. He knows what will bring you joy, and He will guide you through answers to your heartfelt prayers and through your patriarchal blessing.
There is so little time in our busy lives, and things seem to be rushing at us at a million miles per minute, especially as a new adult. So much so that it seems as if there is no way we could ever be prepared for what lies ahead. How do we manage to follow President Hinckley’s counsel and become wise both temporally and spiritually, if we can barely even learn what we need for our American Heritage midterm tomorrow? Habit 3: put first things first, is the answer. Procrastinating less, saying no to unimportant activities that feel important but really aren’t, cutting down on excessive relaxation, all these help to place us back in relaxed control of our life, where we really want to be. Comedian Steven Wright summed up this habit amazingly well when he said, “I watched the Indy 500, and I was thinking that if they left earlier they wouldn’t have to go so fast.” By putting the really important things first, we suddenly have time to do the things we really want to do. By doing the things that are necessary, but not necessarily enjoyable, we put ourselves in a place that is far better prepared and infinitely less stressful than had we not. It works the same in all things, be it temporal or spiritual. The Primary answers are the important ones. Reading the scriptures and praying daily, going to church every Sunday, frequently visiting the temple; all these bring us closer to the Lord and as a direct result, bring us greater peace. By putting first things first, we can give ourselves adequate time and means to fulfill our potential and gain as much secular and spiritual learning as we can. Time is precious in in our mortal existence and it must be used so carefully, as this poem illustrates

To realize the value of one year, 
 Ask a student who has failed a final exam. 
To realize the value of one month, 
 Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby. 
To realize the value of one week, 
 Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper. 
To realize the value of one hour, 
 Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. 
To realize the value of one minute; 
 Ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane. 
To realize the value of one second, 
 Ask a person who has survived an accident. 
To realize the value of one millisecond,

Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

How do we prepare ourselves for what lies ahead? The answer is by learning, gaining experience and bettering ourselves in every aspect both temporal and spiritual. If we can strengthen ourselves and our relationship with the Lord, no obstacle nor trial nor confusing tax form can stand in our way and impede us from becoming the shining individual he knows we can become. 

Elohim, Gods on High

On Wednesday, Professor Griffin mentioned that the Hebrew word "Elohim" is plural, thus denoting a plurality of Gods, or in other words, Heavenly Father and Mother our Queen. This, as usual, got Kathryn and me thinking. How much of the references to God in the scriptures also include the Mother as well as the Father? So, we came up with a hypothesis: perhaps when the scriptures say "God" they mean both Mother and Father, and when they say "Lord God" they solely mean the Father.

This hypothesis seemed to hold up, but then we decided to look at the Hebrew version of the creation of the Earth in Genesis 2. Where it says "Lord God," there's two Hebrew words that's translated from: "Jehovah Elohim." We know that Jehovah is Christ, and Elohim is the Mother and Father, so this could imply a couple things. It could either be that  "Lord God" is Christ and Elohim (the Father and Mother) in unity, or it could be Christ, one of the Elohim. Kathryn and I feel it depends on the context.

Throughout Genesis 1 during the creation of the universe, Elohim is used exclusively. This and the fact  leads us to believe that Elohim may be a general term for supernatural spirits as well as being the term for the Father and Mother. If this is true, then it coincides with the doctrine that Christ was the primary creator, but we also know he did it under the direction of God and with the help from Michael. In other words, "In the beginning, [the Elohim] created the heaven and the earth" (Gen 1:1) together, led by Christ (the Elohim), directed by Heavenly Father and Mother our Queen (the Elohim), with help from the Heavenly Host (the Elohim). A family project, if you will. It wasn't just the Father and Christ as we typically think of it -- though they were the leaders of the project -- others were involved, most importantly our Mother the Queen.

However, when researching the thoughts on this from Hebrew linguists, it appears that the pluralizing of Elo'ah denotes more of an honorific, i.e. "God of gods," rather than there literally being plural gods. Nevertheless, since the Bible is, in fact, divinely inspired, it is incredibly likely that the Lord intended the secondary meaning of plurality to remain. Therefore, even though the writers of the Bible may not have intended it to denote both Father and Mother as the one true Elohim together, we all know God works in mysterious ways and will use His prophets to further His work and truth despite their limited mortal understanding. (Read: He loves puns. Fight me.)

The doctrine of the Mother our Queen is critical, though it isn't widely talked about. It's central to understanding the place of women in the Church and their relation to men. Men and women together are equals, for "neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord," (1 Cor 11:11) and we can see that in the Father and Mother ruling side by side.

Hello, My Name Is: Bitter About October 27, 1838

So this week I was having Emotions™ about injustices in Church history and how they're never discussed in American history classes. Because of this I felt the need to write a song about some of those injustices done to the early Saints. Much of the content was taken from first-hand accounts of the incidents, and the final verse is based upon Joseph's account of the First Vision in Joseph Smith -- History. I call it "Hear Him."

A little boy asleep in bed
Dreams of summer in his head
But the peace of the night is broken in attack
Fire sears and screams are heard
His mother weeps, his father's burned
By the heat of the tar and mockery on his back

Listen to his story
Listen to his tears
Listen to the song that history forgot to carry through the years
Hear him

A quiet eve, a flag of truce
Weary from the year's abuse
But the foreheads of brass spilt innocence that night
Sanguine mist in autumn skies
Mangled men in blood baptized
While their wives turned to God, hearts broken and contrite

Listen to their story
Listen to their tears
Listen to the song that history forgot to carry through the years
Hear them

Our blood and tears cry to the Lord
We're slaughtered by sweet Freedom's sword
With the pains of Hell we've been pursued
And though we freeze and weep and die
Our faith's a candle burning bright
The story that we share, we know is true

A little boy awake in bed
Questions running through his head
So he prays in the grove for wisdom and a guide
A pillar shines with heavenly light
Two persons there adorned in white
And one said, pointing to the other by His side,

"Listen to His mercy
Listen to His love
Listen to the song the angels sing of my Only Begotten Son
Hear Him!"

Six Metric Tonnes of NaCl

Not gonna lie, I get extremely salty extremely easily when people spit nasty words at each other in the name of righteousness. I look around me and see so many good people, those who want to bring joy to others and continue to live up to the measure of light they've been given. Still, there are those who cross my path that seem to forget the verse I came across this week, 2 Nephi 31:20, which reads:

"Wherefore ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

In my experience, many seem to focus on the first part of this verse, the part about pressing forward. I mean, it is the youth theme this year. However, to me, what's equally important, if not more, is what follows. Pressing forward in your own faith isn't enough. A "perfect brightness of hope" is required, as is having a "love of God and of all men." I feel like people forget that loving all men is the second great commandment under heaven sometimes. I constantly see people looking at others with distaste, and sometimes even verbally expressing that distaste, simply because they have differing beliefs. I'm not completely innocent of this, but I'm cognizant of that, and I'm working to be better, to be more Christlike in my dealings with people who believe differently from me.

Christ never treated others with disrespect and venom. He was always kind, always understanding, and though he didn't go around telling people that their sins were okay, he never condemned them. He offered a hand, offered a way to repentance, expressed what he knew to be true, and then let them decide what to do, whether that be changing or continuing down the path they were on.

I think that in order to truly be Christlike and to return to the Father, we must remember the principle of agency and the principle of unconditional love. People can choose what they do with their lives, and as a result, there will be those who choose to do things that we disagree with or consider sinful. We can express our views, offer our light, and extend a helping hand, but if they choose not to accept, that's okay. Everyone receives light at a different pace. If we try to force our beliefs on people, regardless of how true we know them to be, we are subscribing to Satan's plan. Love and understanding of people must come before we try to educate and bring them closer to God, else they push back harder and we lose them for even longer.

I Promise I'm Not a Satanist

So fun tidbit: there’s this crime show on Fox called Lucifer, and as its name suggests, the main character is Satan. However, it’s not a typical representation of him. He’s depicted more as a punisher of the wicked than an unrelenting force for evil, which is a really interesting perspective. The show focuses on the fact that though Satan can tempt and make wickedness seem attractive, and the Lord can guide and inspire righteousness, everyone ultimately has their agency. (It’s a good show. I recommend it.) This, however, is not my focus, though discovering the show did lead to a discussion with my friend, Kathryn, that inspired a handful of questions.

If Lucifer was one of God’s most elect, one of the best and brightest, what happened that led him to pride?

Does Lucifer regret rebelling against God?

Is or was there any way for him to repent and be redeemed, provided that he genuinely wanted to?

Obviously there’s no way for us to answer the first two questions since he’s the only one who could ever properly answer them, but the last one really piqued our interest. Kathryn and I immediately dove into the scriptures to find anything and everything about Lucifer, the Sons of Perdition, and the premortal life.

In D&C 76:25-27 we get an account of the fall of Lucifer:
“And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning. And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning!”

From this we can see that Lucifer was a beloved son of God, one who the entirety of heaven wept for. One who we wept for. This account doesn’t convey hatred for our fallen brother, it begs for pity and grief. Kathryn pointed out that the sorrow in the account is reminiscent of the sorrow of the father in the parable of the prodigal son, and it got us thinking. Could Lucifer be like the prodigal son, but where the son in the parable humbles himself and returns home, Lucifer is still too bitter and stubborn to do the same? But what if he did humble himself someday and desire to repent? Is the infinite Atonement infinite enough to offer redemption to the Father of Lies himself?

These questions plagued us. We had to know. So we scoured the scriptures, hunting through the topical guide and the entirety of the Standard Works, looking for answers. Hours passed, bubble maps were drafted, and we found so many interesting nuggets about Lucifer and his personality—enough for a whole other forum—but none of them really answered our question about whether or not Christ’s Atonement applies to him. But then, I came across the account of Christ’s 40 day fast where Satan tempted him. In Luke 4:6-7, Satan says to Christ,
“All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.”

Now, for the longest time, I had been under the impression that Christ had then told him to go away and leave him alone because God was the only true God, but reading Christ’s response in 4:8 had me see the situation in a whole new light.
“Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
That’s not a dismissal. That’s an invitation. He doesn’t mirror the words of Moses in Moses 1:16, “Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not,” he says “Get thee behind me,” which sounds an awful lot like “Come follow me.” Christ is asking his little brother to repent. He wouldn’t say that unless it were possible for Lucifer to do.

Of course, the doctrine of the eternal fate of the Sons of Perdition still stands, that for them “there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come,” (D&C 76:34), and we’re told that to descend into that state, one would have to have “denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame.” (D&C 76:35) I pondered this for a long time, confused as to how Christ’s Atonement could be infinite and not cover everyone who wanted to use it. However, it occurred to me that perhaps living in that denial would require constantly and actively denying Christ and the Lord without ever seeking absolution. Perhaps the reason the Sons of Perdition never gain forgiveness is because they never seek after it, because if they did seek to accept the Atonement, they wouldn’t be living in that denial anymore. Perhaps Sons of Perdition are doomed because any who genuinely try to change wouldn’t be considered a Son of Perdition any longer. Perhaps a Son of Perdition, by definition, is one who had every opportunity to use the Atonement, knew it could redeem them, but still chose to scorn it and not accept it, thus removing them from the power of the Atonement. So maybe those Sons of Perdition do have an opportunity to cease being a Son of Perdition. Maybe that could be an option for Lucifer if he ever stopped existing in that state of anger and bitterness and denial, but as of yet, it doesn’t appear he ever will.

If this is the case, the implications are incredible. If even Satan himself could be redeemed through the infinite mercy of Christ’s Atonement (provided he ever stopped refusing it), then how much more redeemable are we? It doesn’t matter how black our sins, we can always, always be restored. This whole time spent researching this with Kathryn has really strengthened my testimony in the Atonement and the love that the Lord has for me and all of his children. Not only that, but it’s given me a better perspective on human imperfection. The Lord loves us all so much; we’ve been told this since we were babies. Yet, we look down on others so much for making mistakes or being, quite frankly, terribly wicked and venomous. The whole “he who has no sin, let him cast the first stone” ideal applies once again. While I think it’s important to call people out for their wrongdoings so they know that they need to repent, I think it’s equally vital that we never forget that there is nothing that they can do that will make the Lord stop loving them.

I'm not sure if this is completely doctrinally sound. I know this is a lot of speculation that's very difficult to confirm, but it feels right, and if Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can still love and weep for Lucifer and offer him a way home after all he did and continues to do, there’s no question that he loves the rest of us and will always offer us a helping hand should we choose to accept it. That gives me strength, so I'm sticking to it. There is always another chance. Always.

Darkness. No Parents.

The other day during my daily scripture reading, I came across 2 Nephi 5:21, which discusses the cursing of the Lamanites with a "skin of blackness." This idea of being "cursed" with dark skin has always bothered me, especially because in 2 Nephi 26:33 it's states that "all are alike unto God," whether they be "black [or] white." It didn't sit right with me -- and I know many others that have qualms -- that God would consider darkened skin a curse. I mean, there's been all sorts of extremely kind and wonderful people of color, and Christ himself was Middle Eastern, not "white," so I decided to look in the footnotes to see if I could gain any insight into what the Lord meant by a "skin of blackness." The footnotes took me to 2 Nephi 30:6, which mentions "scales of darkness...[falling] from their eyes." This leads me to believe that the cursing of the "skin of blackness" didn't mean literal dark skin, but rather a shroud of spiritual darkness falling over the people. For me, this insight helped ease my confusion and reaffirmed my testimony of God's love for his children, regardless of what they physically look like, and I feel like others with similar concerns and questions may be able to gain similar comfort from it as well.