December 25, 2012

Joyeux noel, ma famille.

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:
Just took me three tries to spell the word "spiritual". That can't be a good sign. Ah well, here goes anyway.

So, for those of us who aren't in New Caledonia, today is Christmas. We get to have one day which, if we do it right, is entirely committed to the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Fun aside on that-this week in choir, the director said that he had done a little bit of research on the topic, and had found that according to Joseph Smith, pre-terresrial beings are capable of appearing to others on Earth. This came up, because we were practicing "The First Noel", and he made the point that theoretically, we could have been one among those numberless concourses of angels, singing praises at the birth of the King. And, assuming I was anything like I am now, I can only imagine that I jumped at the chance to be part of a choir of any sort. It's a fun thought, anyway. But the point is that from that Christmas night all the way to this one, people keep on coming together to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Son of God. And then I heard something this past week that made me think-in the Sunday devotional, the speaker said that there would absolutely be no Christmas, if there was no Easter. That we celebrate this Baby's birth, because of this Man's life, and ultimately, because of this Messiah's death. We celebrate His birth, because it is the mortal beginning of His mission. May we talk about that for a second?

In 2 Nephi 9:6, we read that "He offereth Himself a sacrifice for sin". I read that this past week, and reflected on the significance of the wording. He is not given, He is not offered-nor could He be. "He offereth Himself". I read that, and I think more than anything else about His agency. For one reason or another, it was a topic I had hardly ever thought of before. Granted, we talk often about the fact that He had a choice. But somehow, we seem to ignore the fact that he made a choice. We tend to think of agency in a somewhat limited perspective. Christ, yes, had the choice at any point to rescue Himself from His tormentors, and He chose not to. But more importantly, He made the most difficult choice that anyone had ever made-to submit to the Father, and to take upon Himself the pains of the world.

In the Gospel according to Elder Santos, we read that, really, each of us has our own Plan of Salvation. The Plan of Kamalu's Salvation will wend its course, entirely dependent on the choices that I make throughout my existence. Your Plan of Salvation, too. But the pillars of the plan are those moments in which the purpose of God would stand or fall on the exercise of one person's agency. It is because of Adam's choice that men are, and it is because of Christ's choice that men might have joy. 

And that brings our story right back around to us. I don't think we emphasize nearly enough the importance of our choices. I would humbly submit that doing the right thing is not enough; doing the right thing will never be enough. Why? It comes back to our agency. I noticed a pattern early in my life-that many of the great spiritual leaders who I looked up to were not born into the Church-they were converts, and each had great spiritual experiences which lead to their conversion. I even, in my youthful-er ignorance(-er?), began to envy them their opportunity to join the Church, and determined that to be a convert was infinitely more valuable than being born into the Church. You may have already spotted the foolishness of my premise, but I'll point it out anyway; I have since learned that, really, being a convert is of no real value compared to the price of being converted- a process that can be either skipped or experienced in either situation. What is the difference? I am convinced that it comes down to the exercise of our agency. Some do the right thing because they are told to-in effect, because they turn their agency over to their parents, their ward, their community, or whoever else. This can be a hugely compelling influence, even causing young men to go on missions without ever having made the choice to do so. Maybe those influencing factors do not think of the effect they have, or maybe they do, and decide that it is better for their loved ones to do the right thing, however that may happen. Others, however, will do the right thing because they understand its necessity and see the wisdom in righteousness, or perhaps they will not necessarily understand, but will have faith sufficient to chose the right regardless. The difference between the two may not be in their actions, but I am convinced that it makes a difference in your progression. That, incidentally, is the reason why Lucifer's plan would never have worked-because doing the right thing is never, ever, ever enough. We would have been a heavenly host, bereft of agency and consigned all together to damnation.

In the Guide des Ecritures (Kinda like a bible dictionary-topical guide combo), we see Damnation defined as a stop in our progression. Doing the right thing does not contribute to our progression, if we have not chosen to do so. Think of it-what price was your agency bought at? To our Father, it was worth one third of His beloved children. But it is immeasurably valuable, because it is the only median through which we can grow. It is the only median through which God's work and glory have any chance of being accomplished. If He is to accomplish His plan, then we must use this most wonderful gift, that he has given us, every single day. Remember; Agency is not simply the ability to choose to do the wrong thing. It is, and has been forever, and must continue to be for each of us throughout all eternity, the means by which we choose to do the right thing.

In Alma 5, conversion is described as having the desire to "sing the song of Redeeming love". Think of what that means for a second. I have a testimony that music is the language through which we communicate when we simply feel too much for words to be sufficient. What joy, what light must fill you, to have such a feeling, and to have such a desire? Alma doesn't just stop after asking his audience if they have been converted-he continues to ask them "Can you feel so now?" Being converted once is great, but it is not enough. We must utilize the grace of the atonement every day of this life and every day afterwards, to become. If you have not been converted, then know that Christ is waiting for you. What better day to receive to yourself the Gift of His Love than the day on which we remember the Gift of His Life? For those of you who have been converted, can ye feel so now? I promise you that you can and will, so long as you are willing.

Today, we commemorate the greatest gift ever given. Today we commemorate the Birth, Life, and Death of Jesus the Christ. But don't stop there. Please, act today. Do whatever you can to deepen your conversion. Do whatever you can to know that Christ loves you, and could have done no more to show that love. Do something different today, and let it carry you. Because enduring to the end is not the process by which we stay the same-it is the process by which we change into "new creatures" (2 Nephi 9:8?). Keep on choosing. Keep on changing.

Today, I cannot give you very much. But I would remind you of He who as already given you everything. I love you all, very very much.

-Elder Kamalu Santos

"Oh sweet, the joy this sentence gives-I know that my Redeemer lives!"