Saturday, January 19, 2008
Can ye feel so now?
I have been reading Clean Hands, Pure Heart, by Phil Harrison. So far, it is one of the best books I have ever read on leaving behind sin and changing as we turn to God. Dr. Harrison gave us permission to post his first three chapters on our website. I am very excited about that. The first three chapters deal with his story, undoing the lies about God, and undoing the lies about ourselves. After that, he launches into the 12 step program with an LDS perspective. I would recommend it to anyone, whether or not you struggle with addiction.
Reading this book has opened my eyes in many cases to a new understanding of some scriptures. One that was mentioned today was Alma 5:26. "And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?"
I had always read this scripture as a great invitation at the end of a series of soul-searching questions that Alma asks the people of Zarahemla, right before launching into another series of soul-searching questions. I thought that he was telling the people, "You've felt this before, feel it again now." It had never occurred to me that this was just another one very long series of soul-searching questions which are designed to help the people see accurately their current state before God. It had never occurred to me that he was saying, "Even if you have felt to sing the song of redeeming love in the past, the real question before God is can ye feel so now? It doesn't matter if you have had an amazing spiritual experience while kneeling down and praying for help. Can ye feel so now? It doesn't matter if you have felt the love of the Savior reaching down and helping you out of temptation and strengthening you beyond your natural comprehension. Can ye feel so now? Every day, we need to be able to answer honestly, I can feel so now. Every day, we need to keep our sins in remission by making sure that we can feel so now. Every day, we need to make sure that we can face temptation with that same spiritual experience in our hearts, with that same love of the Savior reaching down and helping us out of temptation and strengthening beyond our natural comprehension. This cannot be a one-time experience we have. This needs be something that we can feel so now.
Reading this book has opened my eyes in many cases to a new understanding of some scriptures. One that was mentioned today was Alma 5:26. "And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?"
I had always read this scripture as a great invitation at the end of a series of soul-searching questions that Alma asks the people of Zarahemla, right before launching into another series of soul-searching questions. I thought that he was telling the people, "You've felt this before, feel it again now." It had never occurred to me that this was just another one very long series of soul-searching questions which are designed to help the people see accurately their current state before God. It had never occurred to me that he was saying, "Even if you have felt to sing the song of redeeming love in the past, the real question before God is can ye feel so now? It doesn't matter if you have had an amazing spiritual experience while kneeling down and praying for help. Can ye feel so now? It doesn't matter if you have felt the love of the Savior reaching down and helping you out of temptation and strengthening you beyond your natural comprehension. Can ye feel so now? Every day, we need to be able to answer honestly, I can feel so now. Every day, we need to keep our sins in remission by making sure that we can feel so now. Every day, we need to make sure that we can face temptation with that same spiritual experience in our hearts, with that same love of the Savior reaching down and helping us out of temptation and strengthening beyond our natural comprehension. This cannot be a one-time experience we have. This needs be something that we can feel so now.
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