Appearing

Today the sun went away. Actually, it went away about three days ago - and I'm having a hard time dealing with it. Fall is upon us, and with it the long, blue-sky days of summer are now beginning to be replaced with gray over cast, earlier sunsets, and cold air seeping through the windows.

I had a bit of hope brought to me in the mail yesterday in the form of a Christmas catalogue for cute little gifts. Normally I would be annoyed that they are starting to sell Christmas stuff in September, but in this case I felt like it was a gift from heaven. Why, would you ask, was I so grateful to look at fiber optic snowflakes and snowman cookie jars? Because it reminded me that when it gets darker outside that means that Christmas is coming!

Today it was dark outside again, and even though I had the catalogue I still felt very blue. Though I'm looking into getting a light box or something to help with my strong emotional reaction to light, I wanted to bring up what came to my mind while I was reading this morning through the scriptures for this topic.

They are all about the second coming of Christ, how he will appear and how glorious that appearance will be. But there were two scripture in particular that stuck out to me. The first was 2 Timothy 1:10 which says:

10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

With my introduction to this topic I'm sure you can guess why this one stuck out to me. It speaks of light, and how that light will be immortal and everlasting. To never have to wake up and feel your insides come crashing down at how dark it is outside. But it isn't just natural light that this scripture is talking about, it is talking about all light. All knowledge and wisdom and hope and faith, and everything else in the world that is desirable because it is good and uplifting will come with Christ when he appears and we will get to be part of that.

Sometimes people say religion was made up by people to make them feel better with wishful hoping for all their dreams to come true. I say that these people needs to stop and think about when they were last feeling down, and what it was that brought them back up. It usually was a feeling, a loving word from a friend, a song telling them to hang in there, or just the sun coming through the clouds. If they could only realize that all this "wishful hoping" was based on the reality of these small, little up lifts, then maybe they would not be so cynical in our hope that one days we can feel those good, bright feelings all the time.

This is all great to see written down, and looking at my computer screen I feel better already. But then I look away towards the window, and though those feelings of hope are still there, I can feel them rapidly disappearing. This is where 1 Peter 1:7 comes in:

7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

The glorious appearance of Christ in the second coming is true and wonderful, but it is also only something I can look forward to in my mind. This scripture brings hope into the reality of what I'm feeling right now - a trial of my faith. That when I'm feeling low, I can take a small bit of hope that what I'm going through will bring me closer to Christ, and that even though angels are not singing with the clouds parted, I can know that Christ is making his own personal appearance in my heart.

Appearance

My fashion sense throughout the years has gone through some very interesting phases. When I was little, I was all into leggings with the socks on the outside along with the amazing "I don't brush my hair" hairstyle. In middle school my fashion evolved to baggy cotton pants, white socks, running shoes, and sweaters that were a size or two too big. Could I shout insecure with my body any louder?

High school is when I realized that how you dress could also be an art form. I went to skirts with scarves, experimented with different styles of make-up (including a very goth-like phase), and took much better care of myself with the end goal of expressing myself through my clothes.

College was my final evolution. There were defiantly some days that reverted to the "I just want to survive this day and really don't care how I look, you all see me every day anyways" style, but over all found the happy medium of "All I want you to be able to tell about me from how I look is that I'm a nice, put together young lady that you would like to get to know better."

I didn't want to look like a movie star or a nerd, I instead wanted to express the inner me that doesn't change with whatever phase of life I'm going through. I wanted the real me, the eternal me, to be represented. Oh, I still wear skirts and scarves, but I don't dress in all black in mourning of my "lost soul" (oh high school...).

What I'm now trying to do is to make how I look more like what the Lord commanded everyone to see in 1 Samuel 16:7:

7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

According to this scripture, who I am is not surface deep. There is a lot of talk about "it doesn't matter how you look, what matters is what is inside," and while that is true is some situations (like poverty, a stressed/hectic life, or me in middle school), I think that this scripture is also talking about bringing out what God sees inside you onto the surface.

However it is important to remember that all these goals and views for your appearance are just that, YOUR goals and views. There is another scripture in 2 Corinthians 10:7 which reads:

7 Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s.

This is saying that every person is Christ's, and that as Christ's disciple we are to look at others how he looks at them - bypassing the outward and searching for the real person inside their hearts.

No matter what, we are all going to have opinions that jump into our minds whenever we look in the mirror or see a stranger on the street. What matters isn't so much that we have these thoughts, but what we choose to do with them. Whether we choose to honestly believe that we can gain 20 pounds over night (because it really does look that way in the mirror), or to believe that the best way to make ourselves and others beautiful starts with our own ability to smile.

Appear

Grand and exciting news, the Topical Guide page got fixed! All the topics are the same font size instead of shrinking half way down the page! I think I will allow this to make my day.

The scriptures for this topic tend to have two themes: one of Christ appearing, and the other of us appearing to Christ. Both have to do with a judgement of sorts. In the first case, Christ appeared in his resurrected state to his followers. He had looked into them and judge of them that they had enough faith to see him. They had reached a state where they could behold his glory, and have their faith completed with the knowledge given by a first hand witness.

I've been reading lately about faith and thinking about what it means to have faith. My definition tends to get tweaked every few years as I learn more, but right now my definition of faith is that it is a type of belief. Hope is also a type of belief, but where they differ is in how this belief plays into our lives. Faith is the action of our belief, it is what makes a farmer plant grain and what makes us ask someone out on a date. Some might call it "taking a risk," but it isn't reckless with no grounding, it is the intelligent decision that we believe something that hasn't happened yet is going to happen so we're going to move forward like it did happen. Once the event takes place (like seeing God face to face) we no longer can have faith in it, as that faith has been replaced with concrete knowledge.

Seeing Christ back then, or now, would mean a lot to me in this uncertain world. There is peace and fulfillment we're all trying to achieve, but there is also a need to find truth and what is real. I guess that's what the amazing thing is about faith, that is can give us just as much comfort and assurance as knowledge can give even though all we have to go off of is what we can feel with our hearts. But isn't that what all those books and movies are about? To find something that is true that can only be confirmed within our hearts?

Appeal

This is one of those choice topics that has a total of one scripture. This is a blessing because now I can look at it in detail. The scripture is Acts 25:11 which says:

11 For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Cæsar.

A little background - Paul was preaching in Jerusalem towards the end of his life. The Jews were mad at him for preaching Christianity and wanted him dead. However, because Paul technically had Roman citizenship, he had the right to appeal his case to be tried by Roman law in Rome.

Why does this matter? Well, for Paul it meant that he was not subject to the Jews pushing their Roman Overlords around to have him killed like they did with Jesus. The Romans cared a lot about how their own official citizens were treated and Paul was guaranteed as fair treatment as could be expected at the time by playing his Roman card during the trial.

Why does this matter to us? We can take a lesson from Paul about moving forward with our work against resistance. Before this return to Jerusalem, many people tried to keep Paul from going because of the danger. More than that, Agabus prophesied that if Paul went back to Jerusalem then he would be imprisoned (Acts 21:10). But Paul knew what he needed to do, and made it work. He actually more than just "made it work" as he had the opportunity to preach to kings and great rulers as well as write four epistles while in prison that we still have today.

We need to remember to not always depend on things going smoothly just because we're doing the work God has called us to do, or that angels will swoop in to save us - but that one way or another we too can "make it work."

Apparel

The scriptures for this topic cover clothing and it's significance. Modesty is not talked about in all these scriptures, and if you want to see more of my thoughts on modesty go to my entry on Adorn, Adorning.

What is different about these scriptures is that I feel like they go deeper into why clothing is important from a spiritual perspective. It isn't something you really think about or notice on a regular basis, but can clothing be spiritually significant? Just a little blurb on clothing, I was told as a teenager that how you dressed was a reflection of how you felt about yourself and other people. In the church's pamphlet on standards For the Strength of Youth under the section on Dress and Appearance it states:

"Your body is God's sacred creation. Respect it as a gift from God, and do not defile it in any way. Through your dress and appearance, you can show the Lord that you know how precious your body is. You can show that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ."

The first scripture in this section describes the first clothing ever used, and that was by Adam and Eve in the garden in their attempt to cover themselves (Genesis 3:7). They had partaken of the fruit, and knew that they were naked and did not want the Lord to see them that way. This brings up questions in my mind such as "What made them care now?" and "Why do they think God would care now?" I don't know the answer, but I do know that they acted because of how they felt. That is where we can begin.

What came next was God clothing them himself before sending them out into the untamed world (Genesis 3:21). The pattern I want to point out is that clothing came when there Adam and Eve got their knowledge, and that Adam and Eve's attempts to clothe themselves was not enough. They had to be cover by Christ.

In D&C 29:34 it says that there are no temporal laws but that all laws are spiritual. I believe this is true, and I believe that how we dress has a direct impact on our spirits.

Apostles

When I was a little girl, I knew who the apostles were. They were twelve men the age of my grandpa who would talk on the TV twice a year and tell me that Jesus was real (see General Conference).

I did not know then, but I can appreciate now that this is remarkable. As I got older and could understand the scriptures better, I learned that the original apostles were called by Jesus Christ to lead his church and to proclaim the gospel as special witnesses of his divinity. The fact that this definition has not changed and is still how you would describe the modern day apostles is further proof to me of God's unchanging plan for his children and brings comfort into my life.

So what makes an apostle? A deciple is someone who is just a believer and follower, a prophet is someone called by God to preach the gospel, so what is it about apostles that make them so different?

To begin with, we could look at the original apostle's call. The original twelve have the great and heart-felt account given in Matthew 4:19:

19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

This is great and teaches much about those called to follow Christ, but this isn't a new or unique experience. Everyone who is a follower of Christ can lay claim to Christ calling them to follow him.

The next step in the Apostle's calling, where Christ makes them a bit more different and gives them a bit more authority, is in Matthew 10:1:

1And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

This is once again special as they now have authority to act in God's name to perform miracles and manage temporal blessing. But once again, later in Luke 10:1 he gives this authority to the Seventies, so it is not a distinguishing characteristic of the Twelve Apostles.

So what is an Apostle?

* He is someone called of God to be Jesus's companions while he was on Earth, to preach the gospel and to heal the sick (Mark 3:14):

14And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

15And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

* He is someone who has power to seal on Earth and seal in Heaven (Matthew 16:19):

19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

* He is someone who has authority to judge the members of the church (Matthew 19:28):

28And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

* He has been specially selected to be a specific witness of Christ's Resurrection (Acts 1:22):

22Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

* He is to be a part of the Twelve that runs the affairs of the church. Though this isn't specifically mentioned in the New Testament, the fact that we have letters of them doing just that is proof enough. For a specific scripture we can turn to Doctrine and Covenants 107:33:

33The Twelve are a Traveling Presiding High Council, to officiate in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Presidency of the Church, agreeable to the institution of heaven; to build up the church, and regulate all the affairs of the same in all nations, first unto the Gentiles and secondly unto the Jews.

* He is to be traveling to all the different parts of the church (D&C 107:23):

23The twelve traveling councilors are called to be the Twelve Apostles, or special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world—thus differing from other officers in the church in the duties of their calling.

This is a long list, and you can even go into further details with their specific duties. What I think the role of an apostle boils down to is in Christ's admonition to Peter before his ascension into Heaven recorded in John 21:15-17:

15So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

16He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

17He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

The role of an Apostle is different from that of a CEO of a company or a politician of a country. His power to serve only comes from God, not through his own efforts, and is only to be used for service to his fellow man. All he does is for others with the understanding that once he starts thinking of himself he will lose his power. That is the miracle of Apostles to me, that they are men just like you and me, but they are able to give their all for their God and for their fellow man that Christ loved so much, in following Christ's call to them to "feed my sheep."

Apostasy of Early Christian Church

When you sit down to learn about what Latter-Day Saints believe, in the first few lessons you're going to cover something called "The Great Apostasy" or the apostasy of the early christians after Christ ascended into heaven. It is taught before the law of tithing, why Sunday matters, or any of the other "big" doctrinal points of our religion. You might ask yourself why this matters so much? Is knowing about this really going to help you get to heaven? The answer is yes, and I'm going to try and explain why. Just keep in mind that I'm not a professional historian, but I am someone who has paid attention and done her own research.

As I pointed out in my last entry, there have been numerous apostasies since the beginning of the world (which is when the world becomes wicked, there is no priesthood authority on the Earth, with it ending with God calling a prophet to restore things to how it should be). Why this one matters the most, and why it is refereed to as "The Great Apostasy" is because it is also to be the last apostasy before the second coming of Christ and the end of the world as we know it. It is also known as "Great" because of how far they had to fall. They had apostles, the complete doctrine, Christ's church established - but in only a matter of years it all started to fall apart. The apostles were killed off or sent into excel, people did the best they could, but in the end the doctrines got changed.

This Fall was such a big deal, that prophets throughout the Bible talked about it. An example is Amos 8:11:

11Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:

This Fall was also not a new thing or a surprise. The apostles themselves saw it happening and knew it was inevitable, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 11:18:

18For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

And in Galatians 1:6-7:

6I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

And finally with 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3:

2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

This is all interesting to know, but why is this not just a history lesson? Why, especially to Latter-Day Saints, is this so important? Because without a falling away and the resulting religious confusion and lost of vital doctrine and ordinances, we could not have had a restoration. One of the main facts that makes our religion different from other Christian faiths is that we believe that Christ's church as was originally established in the New Testament was restored to the Earth through Joseph Smith. Without this, all the doctrinal revelation we have received through the line of authority given from Joseph Smith to the current prophet Thomas S. Monson would all be simply the nice impressions of some well meaning people, rather than the voice of God to men on Earth like Peter or Moses of the Bible.

Joseph Smith's divine calling as a prophet of God is key to our salvation, and without an understanding of the state of apostasy the world was currently in at the time we really don't have any grounds for accepting the calling of a new prophet.