What does it mean to be chosen? (D&C 29)

29:4-5

We believe that members of the church are “chosen.” But what does that mean? Does “chosen” mean “awesome” or “better than?” It, of course, doesn’t mean that. God loves all of his children the same. The worth of souls, every soul, is great. So, what are the these chosen people chosen to do. Verse four states it plainly: “Verily, I say unto you that ye are chosen out of the world to declare my gospel with the sound of rejoicing, as with the voice of a trump.”

The chosen are chosen to “declare my gospel.” Let’s think about that simply. If you and I are members of the church, we are chosen to declare the Lord’s gospel. How much do we do that? Dang it. We are so distracted by the things of this world, we can go months or even year before we are declaring any part of the gospel to any person. We may not be doing what we are chosen to do. It’s easy to slip into this mode of non-declaring.

Should we be declaring meekly or boldly? From this verse, it sounds like it’s the latter. We are to declare “as with the voice of a trump.” That sounds pretty bold. Does that mean we need to intensely state the truthfulness of the gospel in every social gathering? Maybe? Maybe not? I do know that, when we have the gospel in the forefront of our mind and are looking for opportunities to share the gospel in normal and natural ways, those opportunities seem to show up. There are chances to declare this restored gospel.

I’ll give you a recent example. Last night, I was on the way home from a meeting and Marci texted me and asked if I would be willing to give a blessing to our neighbor (who isn’t a member of the church). I agreed and we did the blessing and it was a great opportunity to teach a little about the priesthood and give a blessing that seemed to affect our friends. The point is that, when Marci heard that he was going in for emergency surgery, she offered a blessing - not knowing if they would accept or reject her. In this case, they did accept and it was a beautiful moment that wouldn’t have happened if Marci wasn’t looking for opportunities to declare the gospel to others.

By the way, our declaring should be “with the sound of rejoicing.” There is such good news associated with the gospel of Jesus Christ! Our messages and example should be joyful. This isn’t a gospel of stress and anxiety and condemnation. It is a gospel where God saves all that he has created. In D&C 76, we read the line about Jesus “who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands.” God intends to save all of us. That’s a joyous thought. Our preaching should sound very much like rejoicing!

He illustrates why we should be rejoicing in verse 5. “Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom.” Jesus is with us! He’s not in some far away place. I don’t know how he’s present in so many places but he is. He is our partner. With Jesus, we do qualify for all that God has. God is not frugal with giving us his kingdom. He wants to give it to us. He’s working hard so that we get it. He’s good at this. This is all really good news and is reason for rejoicing.

29:7

“And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts.” This has been a hard-learned lesson for me over the years. There are those who are ready to hear the truth and want to know more. They can feel the Spirit and are willing to change. They are humble and teachable. They more easily see the big picture of the plan of salvation.

There are those who aren’t ready. They can’t recognize truth. Their minds are darkened and their eyes are blind and their ears cannot hear and understand the truth when it’s spoken to them. Marci and I have attempted to reach those who aren’t ready and it is a frustrating process. With some, it feels like we’re talking to a literal wall. We’ve accepted the fact that some people are simply not ready. Their hearts aren’t prepared. This doesn’t mean that it will always be that way but, for now, it is what it is.

29:8-9

“Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked.” There is a gathering of Israel happening right now all over the world through preaching the gospel.

Someday, there will also be a literal gathering to central locations. There is strength in numbers. There are many, in those days, that will not be able to defend themselves or may not be sufficiently prepared will gather together to support and assist and defend each other.

The last days will be a trial for everyone. There will be many natural disasters and turmoil. The righteous will still be in this environment but will suffer and perish less than the wicked. “For the hour is nigh and the day soon at hand when the earth is ripe; and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that wickedness shall not be upon the earth.” It’s not going to be good for the wicked.

29:17

“And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not.” God’s grace will not save those who don’t want God’s grace. It’s that simple. His grace is sufficient for all of us if we will repent. His grace is a gift. But, like any gift, if we reject the gift - it doesn’t do anything for us. God will not force us to repent and be forgiven. We must accept the gift.

29:22

“And again, verily, verily, I say unto you that when the thousand years are ended, and men again begin to deny their God, then will I spare the earth but for a little season.” How is this possible?? Christ has reigned in righteousness for 1,000 years. Men and women are walking and talking with him. How could they possibly deny him?

I’m sure that, in the winding up scene, that there will be men who don’t like how it’s going. They see the final judgment about to happen and aren’t excited about it. I think that could be a reason.

Another reason is the familiarity with Jesus. I’ve learned that familiarity breeds disrespect. Consider how:

• Spouses will be more rude with each other than friends or even strangers.

• Children will treat their parents but be completely respectful to other adults.

• Siblings can be cruel to each other.

• Jesus wasn’t respected in his home town.

Think about how 1/3 of the hosts of heaven rejected God’s plan. I think part of it was the familiarity with God. We were with him and heard his voice often. The familiarity perhaps made us feel like we could second-guess him - as strange as that sounds. It makes sense that, perhaps over the course of 1,000 years, men become a little to familiar with the literal Son of God!

29:27-29, 36-38

“And the righteous shall be gathered on my right hand unto eternal life; and the wicked on my left hand will I be ashamed to own before the Father;Wherefore I will say unto them—Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And now, behold, I say unto you, never at any time have I declared from mine own mouth that they should return, for where I am they cannot come, for they have no power.” First, this is an interesting phrase for the Lord to say: “never at any time have I declared…” It’s the equivalent of me saying, “I never said that!” I can’t think of another time that Jesus said this - it adds emphasis to what he’s saying.

First, it’s important that we realize that the Lord is primarily speaking about those who followed Satan in the premortal world. Jesus is not talking about the simply wicked men of the world. Those will have the chance to repent and return to Jesus. Verse 29 can be extended to those who are sons of perdition - since he is also referring to those who are resurrected. The fact that Jesus is talking about the devil and his angels is further clarified later in verses 36-38.

Those who choose to reject the saving grace of Jesus Christ are left to themselves. They do not have the desire to repent. This lack of desire removes any power to progress. As Jesus said, those in this group “have no power.”

Ironically the primary reason that Lucifer was cast down was his thirst for power. “And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil—for, behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency; And they were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels; And, behold, there is a place prepared for them from the beginning, which place is hell.” Lucifer wanted God’s honor and that honor would become his power. Strangely, Lucifer was very confused because honor cannot be given but must be earned. God has honor through his righteousness and glory. His glory was earned through his work to save all of his creation. God did not aspire to power and glory. Rather, it came naturally through his faith, service and selflessness towards others. Lucifer didn’t get that apparently and decided that he didn’t want to take that same road and was cast down.

29:30-32, 33

“But remember that all my judgments are not given unto men; and as the words have gone forth out of my mouth even so shall they be fulfilled, that the first shall be last, and that the last shall be first in all things whatsoever I have created by the word of my power, which is the power of my Spirit.” There are some interesting phrases in this verse.

First, it’s important that we understand that we don’t know what God knows. He hasn’t given us all of the information. We cannot comprehend what he does. Sometimes, we think our intellect and judgment is on par with God and that we’re all operating in the same playbook or set of instructions. This isn’t the case. God is a superior being to us. We cannot understand all of the things of God.

In fact, God is speaking in a way that we can understand. We cannot likely understand the place where God is coming from. He is in a place without time - there is no end or beginning. He says plainly in verse 33, “Speaking unto you that you may naturally understand; but unto myself my works have no end, neither beginning; but it is given unto you that ye may understand, because ye have asked it of me and are agreed.”

Second, the end part of “…all things whatsoever I have created by the word of my power, which is the power of my Spirit” is an interesting way of phrasing. You’d expect God to say that all things were created by the “power of my word.” I think this has a connection to Christ being the Creator and is also considered the Word. He also states that Spirit contains the power of God.  I think the ending of this verse is a compact but profound way to say that Christ is the Creator, the Spirit is the sustaining power, and all creation is spiritually grounded.

“For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and temporal— First spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work.” It’s a principle of the gospel that God created all things spiritually before temporally. We get glimpses of this process in the temple. We see illustrations of creation before the actual creation. I think that this is very literal. The earth and everything on it was created spiritually before temporally. It’s an interesting thing to consider.

29:34-35

“Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.” This does not mean that the commandment to not eat the fruit had nothing to do with fruit because eating fruit is temporal. What it does mean is that every commandment, even if it involves physical acts, is spiritual in nature.

The commandment to Adam wasn’t about his diet. Rather:

• It involved agency.

• It introduced the possibility of obedience vs. transgression.

• It had eternal consequences.

• It was tied to the plan of salvation and the need for a Savior.

It wasn’t about eating the fruit. It was about choosing to eat the fruit. He exercised his agency and there were consequences. We can look at every commandment this way. Our commandments, because we are in mortality, have a temporal aspect but the purpose is always spiritual. Tithing has nothing to do with money but sacrifice. Not committing adultery has less to do with sex and more to do with controlling the natural man. Keeping the sabbath day holy has less to do with not waterskiing and more to do with honoring God.

“Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual.”

God doesn’t care about the temporal things of this world. He cares about our immortality and eternal life. Every commandment is there to help us be exalted - which is a spiritual matter.

29:36

“And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil—for, behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a thirdpart of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency.” This was confusing when I first read it because it sounds like Satan is saying that God’s honor is Satan’s power. It actually doesn’t read that way. Because it is still God who is talking, he is saying that Satan wanted God’s honor which was God’s power.

It’s an important concept to remember that God’s power (and our power) is based on our honor. Our honor is based in our integrity and righteousness and faithfulness. So is God’s. That kind of honor cannot be given but must come in time and with a billion good choices which has shaped character.

Here’s how this works:

• God’s power is moral and spiritual—it comes from perfect love, truth, justice, mercy, and honor.

• God maintains power because of who He is—a being of complete integrity and glory.

• If God were to act contrary to those things, He would cease to be God (Alma 42:13, 25).

So when the Lord says “my honor is my power,” He’s teaching the truth that the divine power of God is inseparably connected to His honor - His perfect, unchanging character and glory. His character and glory were earned on the long, challenging path of becoming God.

Then the question is: what was Satan really asking for?

Satan was asking for God’s status and power, without being worthy of it. He wanted:

• The glory of being in charge.

• The honor given to Christ.

• And the power that comes with it.

I can’t help but think that there are many managers in many businesses that aspire to be in charge for these reasons - rather than the desire to serve others. Becoming like God is not like receiving a promotion at work.

What Satan wasn’t interested in was the righteousness, love, or sacrifice that earn honor. Satan wanted the outcome without the nature. He wanted to rule, to compel, to receive worship—without doing the Father’s will or embodying God’s character. He wanted the easy road.

Because true divine power cannot be separated from divine character. You can’t just take God’s “position” or “authority” like a title. It flows from who He is, not just what He controls. Satan demanded that honor (and the power that comes with it), but he had no right to it, because he lacked the character, obedience, and love required to wield it. God’s kingdom isn’t like England where the title of King is bestowed upon someone. God’s honor cannot be bestowed.

This verse powerfully reinforces that in God’s kingdom, power flows from righteousness - never from ambition. Christ taught this over and over again by saying the first will be last and the last will be first. When James and John wanted to sit at God’s side in his kingdom, Christ responded that they didn’t even know what they were asking.

29:39-40

“And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet.” This is clearly an explanation of why there must be opposition in all things. We cannot appreciate good times without the bad. For us to have agency, there must be choice. There can’t be true choice if there aren’t good and bad options. A multiple choice test with only the correct answer listed as an option is no test at all!

“Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation.” If we follow the directions given by Satan, we will be doing the will of Satan. It’s that simple.

I think it’s interesting that the scriptures never speak about Eve being commanded to not partake of the fruit. Adam was given the commandment before Eve was even formed. There is a different version taught in the temple. I’m not sure why it’s portrayed the way it is in the temple. I’m sure there’s a good reason. Based on how Eve initially responds to Satan, she is obviously aware of the commandment. “…he said unto the woman: Yea, hath God said—Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And he spake by the mouth of the serpent. And the woman said unto the serpent: We may eat of the fruit… But of the fruit of the tree… God hath said—Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” So, she was aware of the commandment but there’s no scriptural record of her being directly commanded not to partake of the fruit.

It is reinforced several times that Adam was the one who transgressed the law. We learn in the Articles of Faith that we will be “punished for our own sins and not ADAM’S transgression.” There is no mention of Even’s transgression. It suggests the possibility that Eve’s role in the Fall was as a wise initiator rather than simply a transgressor.

29:43-45

Needless to say, it is very important to have faith in Jesus Christ. It may be the distinguishing factor between exaltation and damnation. “And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation—that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe.” The determining factor is faith.

What happens to those who do not believe? “And they that believe not unto eternal damnation; for they cannot be redeemed from their spiritual fall, because they repent not.” If we do not believe in Christ and what he taught and how is is the source of salvation, we can never progress. Why would I take a single step on a journey when I didn’t believe that the destination exists or that there is even a correct path? No one does something that they don’t think will have a specific result. Whether that is following Christ or simply turning on a light switch. No one flips on a light switch when they don’t think the room will get brighter.

For those who continue to be damned into eternity, it will because they prefer that way. “For they love darkness rather than light, and their deeds are evil, and they receive their wages of whom they list to obey.” Some people will choose to go another direction. They have shaped their characters over a long time where they love darkness rather than light. I can’t really relate or imagine what that is like and I’m grateful that I can’t.

29:48

This verse is speaking about children and how they are not accountable. “For it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hand of their fathers.” Parents are responsible for teaching, nurturing, and preparing children.

Since children are not accountable early on, God places responsibility on their parents to teach them truth, righteousness, and prepare them for accountability.

The “great things” that are required might include:

• Teaching children the gospel (D&C 68:25-28)

• Providing a righteous example.

I, like many parents, have thoroughly second-guessed my work as a parent. None of my children are involved in the church. I wish I would have been more diligent in teaching them the gospel when they were younger. As they became teenagers, they began to slip away. My efforts once that process had started didn’t have a significant effect. If I could do it over again, I would make our house a house of teaching and learning throughout the week. By the time they were eight years old, they would have a solid understanding of the gospel. I wish I would have taken better advantage of that time when they were out of Satan’s reach.

I’m sure I am not the only parent who feels this way. I can get swept up in regret and sadness if I let myself. I can appreciate how Alma the Younger felt bearing the weight of his sins. It can get overwhelming. But, like Alma, the thought of Jesus Christ can wipe away those horrible feelings. Jesus can heal them and save them. My children are now in his hands and he is excellent at drawing people to him. Whether it happens in this life or the next, God will save them. They will be given every opportunity to embrace the gospel. Their chances are not gone. This hope is a beautiful feeling and I couldn’t be more grateful to Christ for doing what it took to save them.