The Touch of the Master's Hand

In the interest of not having extremely long posts, I did not include this poem in my last post about the worth of souls. However, I feel like I need to post it because this is one of my favorite poems. Think about the potential symbolic meanings in this poem. For example: How the master wiped the dust off and tightened the loose strings in comparison with the Master, Jesus Christ, cleansing us and giving us strength to overcome our weaknesses. Another example of symbolism I have found in this poem: the violin needs a bow to produce the glorious music. The "master" in this poem uses the bow to help the crowd see the true worth of the seemingly worthless violin. Just as that master used the bow, so the real Master, our Savior, can use each of us as a bow - an instrument in His hands - to help the world see the true worth of someone who they think is not worth anything.

I love my Savior and know that it is through Him that we can discover and achieve our potential as children of God. His Atonement makes that blessing possible. I hope that each of you realize how incredible you are and how much you are worth to God. That is all that matters in the end, anyway. What man thinks of you has no bearing on your eternal destiny.

The Touch of the Master's Hand

By Myra Brooks Welch

'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile:
"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar"; then, "Two! Only two?
Two dollars and who'll make it three?
Three dollars once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three--" But no,
From the room, far back, a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! And who'll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
And going, and gone," said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand
What changed its worth." Swift came the reply:
"The touch of a master's hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine;
A game - and he travels on.
He is "going" once, "going" twice,
He's "going" and almost "gone."
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
By the touch of the Master's hand.

The Worth of Souls

First of all, let me say that I know I will not ever be able to sufficiently describe this subject, being myself a mortal who does not comprehend what God can comprehend about all things (see Mosiah 4:9).

I know that God lives. He, my Heavenly Father, is as real to me as my father here on earth. While I do not stand in the physical presence of God, I do know some things about Him from the experiences I have had. To understand the worth of our souls, you must know about our divine origin. "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:16-18).

Think and ponder on those verses for a minute.

Now, here are a couple of things that I love about those verses:

1. You are a child of God. You know, the all-powerful, all-knowing Being who created all things? Yes, He is your Father. Think about the most exemplary, loving parents you know of here on earth. Their love for their children is not near as strong as the perfect love that God has for you as His child. This is how I relate the worth of your soul to God's perfect love for you - consider how loving parents here desire for their children to be just as good, if not better, than they are themselves. As you realize that God's love for you is infinite, you also come to realize that He has this same desire for you. He is perfect, so you cannot become better than Him. However, He does want you to be just like Him. As a child of Him, you can know that you can achieve that glorious purpose.
2. The Spirit bears witness with your spirit of that truth - that you are a child of God. The Spirit testifies to us about truth. And, "When we know spiritual truths by spiritual means, we can be just as sure of that knowledge as scholars and scientists are of the different kinds of knowledge they have acquired by different methods" (Dallin H. Oaks, "Testimony" April 2008 General Conference). You don't need physical evidence to be sure that God lives and loves you.
3. If you live by the Lord's ways, you are an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ. Consider the magnitude of that promise! He doesn't promise that you will be the richest, most popular person or that you will get everything you want when you want it. His promise is that, because you are worth so much to Him, the Lord wants to give you ALL that he has.
4. "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (verse 18). We are going to suffer adversities in this life. That is inevitable. Things are not going to always go the way that we want. This is because our will, especially about the timing of things, is not always the same as God's will. I love this quote from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis that talks about this:

"The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were 'gods' and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him - for we can prevent Him, if we choose - He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful, but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said."

"When He said, 'Be perfect,' He meant it. He meant that we must go in for the full treatment. It is hard; but the sort of compromise we are all hankering after is harder - in fact, it is impossible. It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad."

The true worth of each and every human soul is not comprehended by man. I do not fully understand it, but I do know that you and I are of great worth. I have had experiences sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ on my mission and with friends before and after that have helped me realize what joy it brings to help others come unto Christ as I continue in that quest myself. Because your soul is worth so much, it brings God great joy when you make any steps toward returning to live with Him. He loves you and wants to bless you and all of His children. In all of your interactions with people, always, always heed the Lord's counsel: "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10).

Judgment

People often say don't judge. However, we should judge - as the Lord judges.

"He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth" (Isaiah 11:3-4). The Lord will judge each of us - but He will do it righteously. Most mortals do not judge righteously - we judge based on very limited knowledge from the circumstances that we observe and on outward appearances. This is why Samuel assumed that Eliab was the Lord's anointed - because of outward appearance. Then the Lord gave Samuel this admonition: "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" (1 Samuel 16:7).

This also explains why the Lord is able to judge righteously when we are often not able. We know that God is omniscient - he knows all things. The Lord knows everything about each one of us - our thoughts, actions, and the desires of our souls. However, we know very little in comparison. We can see that someone looks clean and well-kept and think that they are a great person, or see someone in torn-up clothing and assume they are poor or not as good as those who look better. We can hear that someone did something we feel they shouldn't have, but we probably don't know their exact reasons for doing it. We cannot say someone is a terrible person because they do things that we don't agree with. We don't know even a hundredth part of what the Lord knows about what they've done, why they've done it, and where their true desires lie.

That is what gives me peace - knowing that "I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts" (Doctrine and Covenants 137:9). We know what we can see as we observe other people, and we can understand more about them as we talk with them and gain knowledge about their experiences and current circumstances. However, in this life we will never know them as perfectly as the Lord knows them, and so we cannot judge as perfectly as the Lord does.

In the various situations of our lives where we need to pass judgment on a person or a decision, we ought to pray for the gift of discernment. God can allow us, through the Spirit, to understand people and circumstances to a deeper level than what can be observed on the surface. If we have this gift given to us, then we can judge righteously and not worry when the Lord tells us "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged" (Matthew 7:2). I remember noticing the gift of discernment while I was on a mission and having interviews with my mission president. Specifically, with my first mission president, it was apparent to me that he had this gift. He always seemed to know more about me than I ever told him. He could tell what my desires were and how things were going with me, as if he could look through my eyes straight into my soul.

I hope that each of us can develop this gift of discernment by praying for it and always trying to look beyond what we can observe on the surface level of situations that we encounter. As we develop this gift, we will be able to judge as the Lord judges because we will see others as He sees them. So feel free to judge - as long as you are doing it how the Lord would.

Examples of Righteousness

This morning I was listening to this talk that was given by President Monson in the April 2008 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is particularly powerful to hear descriptions of those who have been examples of righteousness, and I love this story that President Monson shared of one such person:

Many years ago I spoke of one who took his example from the Savior, one who stood firm and true, strong and worthy through the storms of life. He courageously magnified his priesthood callings. He provides an example to each of us. His name was Thomas Michael Wilson, the son of Willie and Julia Wilson of Lafayette, Alabama.

When he was but a teenager and he and his family were not yet members of the Church, he was stricken with cancer, followed by painful radiation therapy, and then blessed remission. This illness caused his family to realize that not only is life precious but that it can also be short. They began to look to religion to help them through this time of tribulation. Subsequently, they were introduced to the Church, and eventually all but the father were baptized. After accepting the gospel, young Brother Wilson yearned for the opportunity of being a missionary, even though he was older than most young men when they begin their missionary service. At the age of 23, he received a mission call to serve in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission.Many years ago I spoke of one who took his example from the Savior, one who stood firm and true, strong and worthy through the storms of life. He courageously magnified his priesthood callings. He provides an example to each of us. His name was Thomas Michael Wilson, the son of Willie and Julia Wilson of Lafayette, Alabama.

Elder Wilson’s missionary companions described his faith as unquestioning, undeviating, and unyielding. He was an example to all. However, after 11 months of missionary service, illness returned. Bone cancer now required the amputation of his arm and shoulder. Yet he persisted in his missionary labors.

Elder Wilson’s courage and consuming desire to remain on his mission so touched his nonmember father that he investigated the teachings of the Church and also became a member.

I learned that an investigator whom Elder Wilson had taught was baptized but then wanted to be confirmed by Elder Wilson, whom she respected so much. She, with a few others, journeyed to Elder Wilson’s bedside in the hospital. There, with his remaining hand resting upon her head, Elder Wilson confirmed her a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Elder Wilson continued month after month his precious but painful service as a missionary. Blessings were given; prayers were offered. Because of his example of dedication, his fellow missionaries lived closer to God.

Elder Wilson’s physical condition deteriorated. The end drew near, and he was to return home. He asked to serve but one additional month, and his request was granted. He put his faith in God, and He whom Thomas Michael Wilson silently trusted opened the windows of heaven and abundantly blessed him. His parents, Willie and Julia Wilson, and his brother Tony came to Salt Lake City to help their son and brother home to Alabama. However, there was yet a prayed-for, a yearned-for blessing to be bestowed. The family invited me to come with them to the Jordan River temple, where those sacred ordinances which bind families for eternity, as well as for time, were performed.

I said good-bye to the Wilson family. I can see Elder Wilson yet as he thanked me for being with him and his loved ones. He said, “It doesn’t matter what happens to us in this life as long as we have the gospel of Jesus Christ and live it. It doesn’t matter whether I teach the gospel on this or the other side of the veil, so long as I can teach it.” What courage. What confidence. What love. The Wilson family made the long trek home to Lafayette, where Elder Thomas Michael Wilson slipped from here to eternity. He was buried there with his missionary tag in place.

I hope that I can stay true and faithful as he did no matter what my circumstances are. In Alma 46:9, Mormon makes a comment on the actions of Amalickiah, a very wicked man who had a terrible influence on many people: "Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men." I firmly believe that the opposite of this statement is just as true - we can see the great righteousness one very righteous man can cause to take place among the children of men.

In fact, if we continue in that same chapter from The Book of Mormon and the subsequent chapters, we find a description of one of my favorite people in the scriptures - Captain Moroni. If you click here, you can read an amazing description of Captain Moroni, particularly in verses 7-17. Verse 17 gives us all a vision of how great we can truly be: "Yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, that if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men."

That is my goal, and my challenge to all of you. Let us live our lives righteously at all times, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in. Friends, let us shake the powers of hell! The scriptures tell us that we can, and I know it's possible if we follow our Savior's example in all things.

What a Sacred Gift

It has struck me at various times throughout my life that our physical bodies are a precious gift from God. I am in awe at the complexity of the human body, as well as how many things our bodies are constantly doing that we never even realize. I feel that is the way that our relationship with God is sometimes too. There are so many things God constantly does for us, but we hardly ever realize what most of them are.

Anyway, back to the topic of that sacred gift God has given us of our bodies. The scriptures teach us how we should think of our bodies and what our attitude toward them should be. "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). What do you think of when you picture a temple? God considers your body to be a temple, and expects you to respect it as such.

In the LDS Church, we are encouraged to be modest in the way we dress. This is a very important way of showing our respect for our bodies. We are taught to be virtuous in our thoughts and actions, and any time that we don't dress modestly we are not encouraging those virtuous thoughts and actions for those of the opposite gender.

I don't mean to get off on a personal tangent here, but I will for just a moment. PLEASE do not take offense at what I say here about how we dress. Even here at BYU where LDS teachings are incorporated into every subject that is taught, it seems that a lot of people don't quite get it. The BYU Honor Code, which we each sign in order to be a student here, requires modesty from men and women all the time. Yet I often see girls who are more than likely BYU students jogging around Provo in shorts that hardly go past their butt and shirts that reveal far too much. There are also many who don't seem to understand how much of a difference it makes to wear a one-piece swimsuit instead of a bikini. Modesty is not a standard that gets removed when you go jogging, dancing, swimming, to the gym, or doing anything else. Honestly, seeing that is a big turn-off when I consider what I'm looking for in a girl. A question I think we should all consider - Once you go to the temple and covenant with God to wear your temple garments, are you going to need to buy a whole new wardrobe in order to do so? Will you be looking for excuses to take them off for activities you do, or will you be wearing them always? Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of people who understand why it is important to be modest at all times, and they never compromise. I respect those people profoundly. I plead with those who may not always follow that standard to do so. You don't need to show excessive skin to get attention, and that's probably not the attention you really want anyway! Girls, I can tell how beautiful you are without you showing me more of you than I should be seeing.

What an incredible gift God has given us. Our bodies are amazing! They are truly a wonderful, beautiful creation. The more I learn about how they function, the more I realize that there is no way we came into existence by accident. Accident cannot produce such perfection. I hope each of us can show God our love by showing respect and appreciation for the gifts He has given us, including our bodies.

That Man of Galilee

This is a poem I wrote while I was on my mission. I feel like it describes at least a portion of how I feel about Jesus Christ.

That Man of Galilee

By: Matt Blakely

That Man who was above all others,
The One whose face I long to see-
He descended below all things,
Suffered and died, even for me.
He did not say He was one of many,
He boldly said "I am the way."
He's commanded us to be like Him,
So with all the energy of heart I pray-
Lord, wilt thou forgive my weaknesses,
My many flaws you easily see.
Yet I know that with Thy strength,
Even I may become like Thee.

This Blog's Purpose

I am a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all mankind, and that He will receive all who humble themselves and come unto Him. I'm trying to become more like Christ each day, and I felt that it could be beneficial to myself and to others for me to share my thoughts about Jesus Christ - His ministry, message, and mission.

I hope to write helpful thoughts about principles to live by that will draw us nearer to Him. I do not declare that everything I write will be official doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some will just be my opinions. However, I will try to approach all topics that I write about from the perspective of the scriptures, words of modern-day prophets and other church leaders, and my own studies and experiences.

Please send any questions you have for me or suggestions about topics that you think I should write about to manofgalileetopics@gmail.com. I will try to adequately and appropriately answer any question or topic suggestion that is sent to me.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy this blog!

Matt Blakely