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Of Steadying Study
Of Steadying Study, Truman G. Madsen
The emergings need not be dramatic. Joseph F. Smith prayed as a lad to "see some
great thing" (he was only six when his father, Hyrum the Patriarch, after a last
hug, rode away to Carthage). But he wrote later, "The Lord withheld marvels from
me, and showed me the truth, line upon line, precept upon precept, until He made
me to know the truth from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet and until
doubt and fear had been absolutely purged from me. He did not have to send an
angel to do this..."
Study-thirst can arise from opposite stimuli. Charles W. Penrose, who had memorized much of the New Testament before he was nineteen (Orson Hyde memorized all of it, both in English and German!), had lesser convictions (and they are lesser aspirations) until he heard a young missionary who spoke "with an effect of truth preached by the power of God." His series of pamphlets, "Rays of Living Light" are as lucid and intellectual as they are spiritual. He lived to be 93, a member of the First Presidency, and the President of the church could say at his death, "No prophet, ancient or modern knew more of the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
F. Dewey Richards, on the other hand, was moved by a strong denial. A man senior
to him in the Twelve (Richards was the youngest member, only 28) was
excommunicated teaching that "Jesus was just tried, sentenced and executed as
any other culprit should be." That "struck all through me like melted lead."
What do I really know? He asked and set about fasting, studying, praying until
"it was shown to me." Then at least, he shone.
What and how do you study when the field is so huge?
Well, our scriptural illiteracy often disqualified us from having a responsible
opinion. But indifference to the frame of the window is less worrisome than
indifference to the view.
To change the figure, it is vital that the astronomer know his instrument well.
But the point is to look through the telescope thus to bring the heavens closer.
You can get hung up on the lens. That is the paralysis of analysis.
Zina D. Huntington at 15, came into a room having never heard of the Book of Mormon. A copy was on the windowsill. "The sweet influence of the Holy Spirit accompanied it to such an extent that I pressed it to my bosom in a rapture of delight murmuring as I did so, >This is the truth, truth, truth!'" Here was a girl who read Moroni's promise after she had fulfilled it! Like the lad I knew who knelt down, started to inquire and then said, A...oh, never mind; I know it is inspired." And then prayed for real needs.
Alma O. Taylor, on the other hand, struggled for years (like Matthew Cowley in
Samoa, locked up and voluntarily starved to brighten his spiritual grasp) to
translate the Book into Japanese; word-by-word exacting, painstaking analysis of
meaning. One day he began to hear the clarion voice of Abinadi in his mighty
final witness of Christ before he was silenced by the smoke and flames. Argue if
you want, whether young Taylor just thought he did or really did. The point is
the message came through to the marrow of his bones. When it was over he looked
down at the pages. They were covered with his tears. "The result is, I no longer
feel dependent upon the testimony of any human being for my faith in the Book of
Mormon. I know that the Holy Ghost has born me direct witness and all questions
as to the how of the original translation, and the wherefore of this or that in
relation to the coming forth of the record are lost in the vision of the
glorious reality of it all."
One way or the other, the Books, are a way of approaching the ultimate Author
who has a lot more to say to you, live.
Now these youths had to be open to possibilities (like the four-minute mile)
before they undertook the struggle. Most of the religious world, our own
included, is satisfied with much less.
Were they afterward close-minded? Were astronomers after they discovered Pluto?
Chesterton says the purpose of opening the mind, as of the mouth, is to close it
again on something solid. In fact, answers always bring more questions. They
open new horizons sensitize us, give us fresh eyes and interests. How often
converts comment on the before and after of reading the scriptures.
The core of your heritage is this: you cannot live for long on borrowed light,
or like some sophomores, on borrowed darkness. "There is nothing made known unto
Joseph but what will be made known to all saints in the last days, so soon as
they are prepared to receive." The most dogmatic statement our leaders make is
that playing follow-the-leader is not enough. The knowledge-explosion in science
requires us to depend on the word of others. That's all I have for Paris, the
new math, or the speed and power of the Internet. But in our religion everyone
is required to know for himself, to become a prophet. So long as your outlook is
nth-hand, you aren't one. This is why I smile at times at the charge that there
is excessive "authoritarian pressure" in the Church. All the pressure is to get
you to transcend authority thus to become one, and clearly recognize others.
With the Spirit, as Brigham Young says, you never feel pushed. Without it...
Of Weakness and Window Dressing
Now that these sketches in spirituality are before us, we can appraise the
superficiality of some comments about religion.
You are warned today about religious (LDS) "crutches." Shall we then rush for
LSD wheelchairs?
You see grim and heroic youths determined to be "great on their own." Wish them
lots of luck. They would be much greater with lots of faith, faith in real
powers instead of fantasy ones.
You hear high chins say, "So-and-so is so smart he's leaving the Church." Maybe.
But there are geniuses that stay. Some people "on the outs' have never been in.
Their "strong reasons" are pretty weak.
You hear that all Churchy people are hypocrites (or whatever the word is this
month). Yes, all of us are, except one: Christ. And He hasn't given up on us
yet.
You hear that to be creative (more coveted these days than I.Q.) you must break
out of a "stifling" Church system. The father of the great scientist Henry
Eyring told him when he went to college: to be a Mormon there's only one thing
you must believe, the truth." Per square inch there is more light and creativity
in apostles than in apostates as you can tell from examining the portion of each
inside of you.
Usually (I do not say always) our real problem is we can't stand the heat. The
University of the Kingdom of God has the highest standards in the galaxy. It's
tough to get in, the tuition is all you've got, the requirements are staggering,
the tests are incessant, and the final grades are infallible.
Of course when things don't go well we nurse the wish to run away (to something better-or easier?) But there is one feeling none of us, in or out, should have about being spiritual drop-outs.
Pride.
And speaking of feeling, we need a lot more of it and more honest expression of
it. Religion isn't all a matter of perception. The cause of truth is often best
served in the laboratory when we try to keep our feelings out of account. If so
that is admirable. But not in the Temple. And not in prayer. And not in our
highest esthetic and personal relations. Darwin lamented his lost capacity for
responding to beauty, art, the holy, the faces of friends. It is a worse atrophy
to lose touch with the Spirit that increases and glorifies all of them.
In the next part we will talk about starting where you are and the utilization
of prayer.