1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:21,500 Hey there everybody welcome out to another episode of Redeemed Through His Blood. 2 00:00:21,500 --> 00:00:24,620 Scott Durfee here joined as always by David Durfee. 3 00:00:24,620 --> 00:00:25,620 What's up Dave? 4 00:00:25,620 --> 00:00:26,620 Life's good Scott. 5 00:00:26,620 --> 00:00:28,820 Life is good. 6 00:00:28,820 --> 00:00:34,080 It's a great pleasure to be with you and spend an hour with our listeners. 7 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:41,760 You know I was just reflecting, well this is a great time of the week for me or this 8 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:42,760 hour. 9 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:47,360 It's kind of a special time of the week for me. 10 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:58,080 And what a kind of a sweet period or time in my life when I focus on a podcast, focus 11 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,400 on redemption and the Savior. 12 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:08,400 And then to be in the temple two days a week using the sealing powers of the Melchizedek 13 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:16,040 priesthood that have been delegated to me through President Nelson and the Seal families 14 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:24,200 both living and dead for time and for all eternity fulfilling the promise and prophecy 15 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:27,200 of Elijah. 16 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:37,520 And Scott I don't know, I have no words to describe what a blessed sweet time in my life 17 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:38,520 this is. 18 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:43,520 Well we both got to be part of a really sweet experience last night. 19 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:45,360 A niece I guess of yours. 20 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:46,360 Yeah, grand niece. 21 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:47,360 Grand niece, that's right. 22 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:48,360 I guess a second. 23 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:55,120 You know in our family it's so weird because it's like and it's been this way since I was 24 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:59,640 little you know I would see somebody who's a third or a fourth cousin and say and I'd 25 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,240 be talking to them, Laura Way for example, Gilman, right? 26 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:05,760 And I'd be talking to people and say hey who's that? 27 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,440 You know because she was particularly very cute. 28 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:09,440 Still is obviously. 29 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,520 I don't know if she listened to it out but people would say hey who's that? 30 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:14,520 She's my cousin. 31 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,200 Oh really is that one of Dennis's kids? 32 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,760 No I guess she's my third or fourth. 33 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:23,880 But because of our family and our parents, your dad started this you know we're so close 34 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:25,440 to each other that we just. 35 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:27,320 It wasn't the first, second or third. 36 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:28,320 No we're just family. 37 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:29,320 I don't know. 38 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:30,320 Family. 39 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:31,320 That's good. 40 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:32,320 That's good. 41 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,360 Yeah I think so too but what a sweet experience to be with sweet little Sadie. 42 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:39,600 Sadie is just going to be an absolute wonderful missionary in Hawaii. 43 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:41,160 Yeah isn't that amazing? 44 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:43,880 Going to Hawaii to the Hawaiian Temple, visitor center. 45 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,360 Yeah, yeah tough duty. 46 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,840 I just think that she'll be great for her. 47 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:51,360 She'll be an amazing missionary. 48 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,440 Look forward to her. 49 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:55,440 She really will. 50 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:56,440 Humble sweet family. 51 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:57,800 Yeah we're in that time of year. 52 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,440 You know I know that we have listeners that tune in throughout the year so some of you 53 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:05,720 will be listening to this in the summer and that's okay but you just have to bear with 54 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,840 some of the commentary that we have because of this time of year. 55 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:14,200 You know Dave I know you probably too but we just have had one of the most amazing thanks 56 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:23,360 giveings, our family Casey, my oldest daughter engaged over the weekend to just a wonderful 57 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:28,160 young man who we're excited to have as part of our family and you know just a lot of great 58 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:29,160 things. 59 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:32,280 I know you had some wonderful stuff happen as well. 60 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:39,320 Life is good and you know we're getting closer to Christmas and as we do that next 61 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:44,960 week we should probably just kind of do a little Christmas podcast. 62 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:46,280 We're talking about the fall. 63 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:49,520 We've been talking about that now for a few weeks. 64 00:03:49,520 --> 00:04:00,760 And I'd like to just maybe conclude and summarize and try to say with the thunder of Sinai, that's 65 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:01,760 Elder Maconkey. 66 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,080 Yeah but you say it well too. 67 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:11,320 With all the thunder of Sinai, exclaim how important it is to understand the fall and 68 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,520 we'll try to do that today. 69 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:19,040 I do look forward to this will be our third time that we've done a Christmas episode. 70 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:20,880 Can you believe we've been doing this for that long? 71 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:21,880 No. 72 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:22,880 This will be our third Christmas. 73 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:24,200 Yeah I know, awesome. 74 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:25,840 I think so. 75 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:30,720 And you know we will do just a special Christmas season. 76 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,720 It'll be for the Christmas season in preparation for it. 77 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:39,000 So anyway, well the last couple weeks we've been focusing on the fall of Adam and Eve. 78 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:43,840 We've talked about how that is an important pillar. 79 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:50,240 In fact it's one of the three pillars of eternity, the creation, the fall, the atonement. 80 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:52,160 The pillars of the plan of salvation. 81 00:04:52,160 --> 00:05:00,280 And the atonement of Jesus Christ being the third one in kind of a circular fashion. 82 00:05:00,280 --> 00:05:03,160 One not necessarily before the other. 83 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:08,840 Probably preeminence belongs to the atonement of Jesus Christ in those three. 84 00:05:08,840 --> 00:05:14,880 But without either of the first two, even that wouldn't be possible or necessary. 85 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,960 Both of those words apply here. 86 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,280 But today we're going to move into, you know, we have a quote. 87 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:23,480 I think I'm going to let you talk about the quote. 88 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:29,040 It says, Louis, pretty famous philosopher Anglican by... 89 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,880 This is from his book called Miracles. 90 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,880 Scott, I know as a missionary, you probably did this as a missionary. 91 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:38,280 I think people still do this in Sunday school. 92 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:41,960 When they talk about the fall, they kind of draw, right? 93 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:48,720 They start ground level and then they show a big dip and they show Adam and Eve in the 94 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,160 bottom of this big dip. 95 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:52,160 Like a pit. 96 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:53,160 Yeah, like a pit. 97 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:54,160 Yeah. 98 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:57,360 Yeah, they draw it like a pit and a pit in the ground, below ground. 99 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:03,080 And then they show a ladder or they show something going back up to ground level. 100 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:04,080 Right? 101 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:05,080 Yeah. 102 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:06,080 That's kind of how they... 103 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:07,080 People teach the fall. 104 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:09,640 That's how we've kind of done it over the years. 105 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:15,000 So when I read this quote by C.S. Lewis, I just really fell in love with it. 106 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:23,720 And I hope our listeners can just get beyond the ground level pit, back to ground level 107 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,240 understanding of the fall and the atonement. 108 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:28,840 So let me read the quote. 109 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:29,840 Okay. 110 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:37,640 God is not merely mending, not simply restoring a status quo. 111 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:40,760 You're not just getting this back to ground level. 112 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:51,880 Redeemed humanity is more glorious than unfallen humanity could have or would have ever been. 113 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,240 I love that, Scott. 114 00:06:54,240 --> 00:07:01,200 We just do not understand and appreciate the real purpose of this fall and the fall and 115 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:06,680 this mortal experience is such an important part of our progression. 116 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:12,840 I mean, we should think of it as a fall forward, not a fall backward. 117 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:19,760 We should think of it as a fall upward, not a fall downward. 118 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:26,320 Because of the fall, we have a redeemer, which then takes us even further up the mountain. 119 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:31,440 So we shouldn't think of it about the fall as being the low ground level. 120 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:38,480 The fall was part of God's plan and takes us up into the mountain, into the mountain 121 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:39,480 of redemption. 122 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:41,440 You know, that's how we should see it. 123 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:51,320 Now, not without its prickly pears and its challenges and rocky crags and crooks and 124 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:54,160 cliffs and all that stuff, right? 125 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:55,920 Mortality is rough. 126 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:58,440 But Scott, we're climbing. 127 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:00,760 We didn't like fall in a pit. 128 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,720 I just don't think that's the way it should be displayed. 129 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,720 I don't know how C.S. Lewis figured that out. 130 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:12,160 I think the Bible makes it clear, but not as clear as the Book of Mormon. 131 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:18,640 I mean, when Paul teaches, as an Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, 132 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:27,880 okay, but for C.S. Lewis to know that redeemed humanity is more glorious than unfallen humanity 133 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:36,480 could have ever been, what he's really teaching there is to have a Savior is so much greater 134 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:40,200 than if Adam and Eve would have stayed in the Garden of Eden and even if they could have 135 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:41,200 had children. 136 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:45,320 And again, we don't know if they couldn't or if they wouldn't. 137 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,880 We know that they never would have had children. 138 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:53,840 But even if they could have had children and would have had children in the Garden of Eden, 139 00:08:53,840 --> 00:09:01,960 Scott, and we would have lived in the Garden of Eden, our lives and the state of our progression 140 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:11,080 and the happiness and joy of our redemption would not be nearly as great as it is because 141 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:18,720 of the fall and because of the Father sending His down and offering Him as a sacrifice. 142 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:25,200 I mean, the plan is perfect, Scott, and God knew that we would sin and He sent us down 143 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:32,480 to a hellish, mortal, telestial state so that we could grow and when I say send down, I 144 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,920 should again probably say He put us up. 145 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:36,920 Elevated us. 146 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:42,320 He elevated us to a place where we could really be challenged and where we could really grow 147 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:47,040 and where we could really exercise our agency, where we could be tested, where we could prove 148 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:54,160 ourselves and learn to keep His commandments, but mostly learn to rely upon our Savior and 149 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:55,160 Redeemer. 150 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:57,880 And receive the gift and the giver of the gift. 151 00:09:57,880 --> 00:09:58,880 Yeah, exactly. 152 00:09:58,880 --> 00:09:59,880 That way. 153 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:05,800 I love, you know, Adam and Eve had this same kind of awareness at some point, right? 154 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:12,760 They understood this, you know, after they had made sacrifices and had begun to live a 155 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:15,000 life in mortality. 156 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:20,640 You know, we read in the Pearl of Great Price in Moses chapter 5, verse, I'm going to start 157 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:21,640 in verse 10. 158 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:26,400 And so, one day Adam blessed God and was filled and began to prophesy concerning the families 159 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,680 of the earth, saying, blessed be the name of God. 160 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:31,200 And this is key. 161 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:37,280 For because of my transgression, my eyes are opened and in this life I shall have joy. 162 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:39,600 And again, in the flesh I shall see God. 163 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:40,960 That doesn't sound like a pit. 164 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,200 It doesn't sound like a pit at all. 165 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:48,120 And Eve makes it even, you know, as our wives do, they come in and make it even more beautiful. 166 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:49,720 Yeah, right. 167 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:55,400 And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying, were it not for our transgression, 168 00:10:55,400 --> 00:11:01,280 we should have never had seed and never should have known good and evil. 169 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:02,480 And I love this. 170 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:09,720 And the joy of our redemption and the eternal life, which God giveth unto all the obedient. 171 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:10,720 Yeah. 172 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:11,720 It's awesome. 173 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:12,720 They got it. 174 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:13,720 They understood it right there. 175 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:14,720 They got it. 176 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:15,720 Yeah. 177 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:16,720 They got it. 178 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:22,320 And I think we need to all celebrate the fall of Adam and Eve. 179 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:26,080 And by the way, Scott, we're the only Christian church that believes that we should be celebrating 180 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:27,080 the fall. 181 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:31,840 We're really the only church that believes we should be celebrating our humanness, our 182 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:35,640 natural man inclinations and all of that. 183 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:40,120 Other people, all commentaries that I've read, and there may be exceptions to this, but I'm 184 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:46,120 not aware of any, all the commentaries I've read, man, it's, they're really down on Adam 185 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:47,120 and Eve. 186 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:51,800 And if Adam and Eve would have not given into the lost of the flesh, and we don't know anything 187 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:56,760 about, you know, that really what happened and how the fall really took place. 188 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:03,600 I mean, the whole fruit thing, elder, president Oaks talks about it as, well, maybe it's a 189 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,840 symbolism, maybe it's an allegory, maybe it's a metaphor. 190 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:10,040 We don't really know what really happened or how it really took place. 191 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:16,040 But that's how God wants to teach it is that they partook of fruit or whatever. 192 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:23,400 All we know is that they made a conscious decision and choice following the plan of God to multiply 193 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:29,400 and replenish the earth and to come to a mortal state where all of that could be accomplished, 194 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:37,280 making it possible for Jesus to come down as a human and as a God, flesh of Mary and 195 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:47,520 spirit of God, and to be able to as a man, right, as a human, but deity that he would 196 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:54,000 make the sacrifice, become our savior and redeemer and take us further up the mountain. 197 00:12:54,000 --> 00:13:00,000 I just, I just wish that we wouldn't see ourselves in a pit because this, this was all part of 198 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,680 the glorious plan of God. 199 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:05,120 Eventually, when we, and for those of you who have been with us for past seasons, you 200 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:08,800 know this, when we get into repentance, we're going to talk about what repentance is not. 201 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:14,000 Well, let's, let's, we've talked about what the fall is not so far, right? 202 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,480 I mean, we know that it's not punishment. 203 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:25,080 We know that it's, it's not the God's way of having to come up with a second or a backup 204 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:29,680 plan, for example, you know, and Dave, you know, we're going to talk about, I think, 205 00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:35,680 six or seven things today that actually come as benefits to us or ways that our lives or 206 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:40,520 our eternal lives even can be, can be enhanced through the fall of Adam and Eve, right? 207 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:42,840 True doctrine understood changes behavior. 208 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:48,600 If we really understand the fall, Scott, if we really understood the doctrine of the fall, 209 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:49,600 it would change us. 210 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:51,320 Well, it would change our behavior. 211 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:55,880 It would change how we, how we live, how we act, how we feel about ourselves, how we 212 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:58,640 see ourselves and how we see others. 213 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:00,240 It would change everything. 214 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,840 It would change how it would change our worldview. 215 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:03,840 Totally. 216 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:07,760 Because, well, think of this too, you know, and you've used the quote, I think you quote 217 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:12,520 an elder pentagraph from the past when you, in the MTC, if I'm wrong, correct me on that. 218 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:19,640 But when he said that gratitude is the beginning of desire, you know, and as we study the fall 219 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,400 and as we understand the fall, then we have a deeper gratitude for the fall. 220 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:27,680 And as I have a deeper gratitude for the fall, then I have a deeper desire to put on the 221 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:29,360 Atonement of Jesus Christ. 222 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:30,360 And that comes for a long reason. 223 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:34,640 And then my gratitude for the Atonement of Jesus Christ increases because I know of my 224 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:36,680 need for Redeemer. 225 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:40,960 And as my gratitude for the Atonement of Jesus Christ increases, then my desires increases 226 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:43,160 and it goes on and on and on. 227 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:44,160 And on and on. 228 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:45,160 Like a helix. 229 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:46,160 Right. 230 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:47,960 And we probably don't even know where that concludes. 231 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,160 In fact, it probably, for eternity, won't, right? 232 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:52,680 But gratitude is the beginning. 233 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,440 So I hope we can be grateful, be grateful for the fall. 234 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:03,480 And we've listed some lessons that we want to make sure that our listeners don't miss 235 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:09,080 in our gratitude and in our understanding of the fall of mankind. 236 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:16,360 So, number one, I think I don't necessarily need to put a number bullet point to these, 237 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:19,040 but maybe our listeners like numbers. 238 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:24,400 Number one, knowing that it was God's plan that we fall in sin should help us to be more 239 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:32,320 kind to ourselves and to others, more patient to ourselves and to others and to others and 240 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:37,800 more compassionate to ourselves to ourselves and to others, right? 241 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,840 Knowing that we are fallen. 242 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:45,680 That's how we should feel about it is that, hey, none of us, none of us are free from 243 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:46,920 the fall. 244 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:48,080 We all have inclinations. 245 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:49,080 We all have tendencies. 246 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:50,880 We all have temptations. 247 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:52,000 We're all going to sin. 248 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,600 I'm never free from it. 249 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:56,320 I'm never totally free from the fall. 250 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:03,080 We can talk about being born again and that we can become like a child, right? 251 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:05,240 The natural man is an enemy to God. 252 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:07,400 I know all that. 253 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:14,360 But as long as you're in this life, you feel the effects of the fall every day and we see 254 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:18,960 sin every day and we are tainted by sin every day. 255 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:21,800 And we sin every day. 256 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:26,240 Right about trying to be perfect. 257 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:28,360 We're not even sinless. 258 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,280 We can never be sinless. 259 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:35,800 So anyway, there's so many and I don't know, we'll maybe talk about sin when we talk about 260 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,360 repentance because there are sins of omission. 261 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:43,560 There are sins of commission and we're just, we never do everything we know we should and 262 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:49,760 we never completely stop in this life doing things we know we shouldn't. 263 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:57,520 So you know, we should let some of that go and we should just be more kind without being 264 00:16:57,520 --> 00:16:59,040 complacent in sin. 265 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:01,120 I'm not talking about being complacent. 266 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:08,120 I'm just saying when you understand the real, total, comprehensive effects of the fall on 267 00:17:08,120 --> 00:17:13,600 all of us individually, we should just be more kind to ourselves, more compassionate, 268 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:16,200 more patient towards ourselves. 269 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:21,560 You know, we talk about and we hear about every day if we look for it, you know, there's 270 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:27,360 people that are telling us and encouraging us, hey, you know, just be a little more compassionate. 271 00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:28,840 Just have a little more compassion. 272 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:31,520 Just try to be a little more understanding. 273 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:37,560 And I think one of the things that humanly, you know, some of us are predisposed to do 274 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,640 is to just think that everybody's experience is probably just like mine. 275 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:42,640 Yeah. 276 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:43,640 Right? 277 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:44,640 We should all be probably the same. 278 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:50,880 We have a conscious, that's not a cognizant effort or activity that we engage in for that 279 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:53,160 force to come by that conclusion. 280 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:56,120 But I think just by nature, we kind of do. 281 00:17:56,120 --> 00:18:01,120 However, our, all of us are experiencing the fall of Adam and Eve in different ways. 282 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:02,120 Yeah, for sure. 283 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:04,320 It's having a different degrees of difficulty. 284 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:05,320 Exactly. 285 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:09,200 And the parable of Elder Maxwell, different degrees of difficulty. 286 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:11,080 The diver, I don't know if you remember that. 287 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:12,080 I don't. 288 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:18,640 But he tells a story about the diver who, who was just perfected at entering the water 289 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,000 and not making a splash. 290 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:25,480 Because he knew how to point his toes and he knew how to stretch out and he could dive. 291 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:29,840 He could make these simple dives so beautifully without a splash. 292 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:35,000 And he was in this diving competition once and he, he, you know, felt really good about 293 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:40,760 it because he, the, there was one guy that was leading him in this diving competition. 294 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:49,320 He made this tumbling, high double triple somersault, twisting in the air and he comes 295 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:53,040 down and makes a, this big splash. 296 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:57,480 And the guy, the guy thinks, oh man, I got him because I didn't make any splash. 297 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:04,080 And the judges, when they, when they showed the results, this man had made a lot of splash, 298 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:08,920 beat this kid who could point his toes and no splash. 299 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:10,960 And he was so upset about it. 300 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:12,480 He went, what, how can that be? 301 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:14,920 He went over to the judges and started to complain. 302 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:23,480 And one judge just looked at him and he said, son, degree of difficulty, degree of difficulty. 303 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:30,400 Well, a lot of us in this life make a lot bigger splash than others because of the degree 304 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:32,440 of difficulty of our life. 305 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:33,440 Yeah. 306 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:34,440 That's true. 307 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,440 And God takes the judge, takes all of that into consideration. 308 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:42,080 I've always loved that little parable by Elder Maxwell. 309 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:43,080 But I'm going to use that. 310 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:44,080 I do love that. 311 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:46,040 Well, and it's applicable. 312 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:52,320 You know, we have this experience and, you know, for us to have a deeper compassion, 313 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:59,400 a deeper, to be, for me, you know, to be kinder and all of these other things, you know, it 314 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:03,880 does require us to understand, well, I should say, if we do understand that the fall was 315 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:10,040 part of God's plan, that it makes it a lot more consumable for me, a lot more palatable 316 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:16,760 for me, a lot more, a lot easier for me to take that on and make it a part of my life. 317 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:17,760 Yeah. 318 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:18,760 All right. 319 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:20,720 And I think I just made a mistake, Scott. 320 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:22,000 I think that's not Elder Maxwell. 321 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:23,600 I think that's Stephen Robinson. 322 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:24,600 Okay. 323 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:28,280 So just off the top of my hand, I didn't plan to share that. 324 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,480 But I think that's Stephen Robinson. 325 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:36,680 He was the diver that could point his toes and it wasn't so much parable, but a true 326 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:37,680 story. 327 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:38,680 Oh, I didn't know that. 328 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:39,680 Yeah. 329 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:40,680 I think that's Stephen Robinson. 330 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:44,920 So anyway, for our listeners, they can maybe look that up. 331 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:49,120 So Scott, let's go to number two. 332 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:55,880 Understanding the fall and knowing that we are all lost and fallen and can merit nothing 333 00:20:55,880 --> 00:21:05,360 of ourselves should humble us and help us to rely wholly and completely upon Jesus Christ 334 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:08,680 and His Atonement for redemption. 335 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:13,080 I mean, that's, that's just so sweet, right? 336 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:18,000 That we do not have to depend on, I don't have to depend on you. 337 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,760 I can't even depend on me to save myself. 338 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,600 Now, I know it says, work out your own salvation. 339 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:29,040 I know Paul says that in Philippians and that's other places in the scriptures, Book of Mormon 340 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:30,280 and other standard works. 341 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:36,160 But what that really means, working out your own salvation, it's a different work, as Adam 342 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:42,400 Miller puts it, it's a different work of a different kind, learning to rely upon Jesus 343 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,520 Christ and not ourselves. 344 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:48,960 It is taught over and over again in the Book of Mormon. 345 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:58,640 In fact, it's one of my favorite scripture chains is that man can merit nothing of himself. 346 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:06,360 We have, we can make choices, but the only choice that really matters is ultimately who 347 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:14,680 we choose as our Redeemer and to choose Christ as our Savior because we, we are just helpless 348 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:15,680 without Him. 349 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:20,960 And I think that's just so awesome to know that, that we get a point, we get at a point 350 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:27,040 going up the mountain where we just, we recognize, okay, I can't go any further. 351 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:33,040 I can't progress from here without Jesus Christ. 352 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:41,320 And that should be the real lesson, I guess, that we should take from the fall and the 353 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:44,000 Heavenly Father and all the prophets want us to take from the fall. 354 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:48,560 I mean, when Lehi teaches us, we read the scripture, when Lehi teaches us, first place 355 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:54,520 that it appears in the Book of Mormon, right, is in 1 Nephi, when Lehi says that we're all 356 00:22:54,520 --> 00:23:01,760 fallen and because we're all fallen, God sent the Messiah Redeemer. 357 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:06,080 That's what we should take from when we think of the fall is that in the next, very next 358 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:10,960 thought, we should bow our head and say, thank you and think of our Redeemer. 359 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:18,320 Okay, so that's number two, number three, understanding the fall helps us to know who 360 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:25,560 we really are and to celebrate our humanness, our human experience and the human condition 361 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:31,880 that we live in, knowing that Christ has redeemed us and that the fall was an essential part 362 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,320 of the plan of redemption. 363 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:43,000 I just think it's so sad that people do not celebrate this condition that we live in. 364 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:49,160 Now, I know we are not free from our challenges that comes up in another one of these lessons 365 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:51,600 we should learn from the fall. 366 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,880 We're never going to be free from some of those challenges and opposition. 367 00:23:54,880 --> 00:24:04,040 The law of opposition will always be present with us, but wow, we should accept that. 368 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:10,760 Not only accept it, we should celebrate that because Christ covered it. 369 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:17,880 Couldn't celebrate it if there was no hope of moving on and progressing and elevating 370 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:26,480 above that, but it's only by our choice of receiving the Redeemer that we're able to. 371 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:29,960 So let's go to number four. 372 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:35,960 Everything that God knew we would send, right, because of the fallen conditions we'd be 373 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:44,920 born into, should help us to know He is not ever mad at us when we sin. 374 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:50,560 Kind of looking back on that patriarchal blessing I gave that we told the story about the girl 375 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:55,520 and I knew I had to tell her, God has never been mad at you, even though she'd had two 376 00:24:55,520 --> 00:25:00,520 children out of wedlock and had to go to church for 16 years. 377 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:04,240 Anyway, I'm going to repeat this number four. 378 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:09,960 Knowing that God knew we would sin because of the conditions we would be born into should 379 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:15,560 help us to know He is not ever mad at us. 380 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:23,600 Without forgetting, now again, we should never forget, having said that, that God cannot 381 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:27,640 look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. 382 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:31,560 Doctrine Covenants section one. 383 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:42,640 God is the ultimate example, therefore, of hating all sin, yet loving all sinners. 384 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:45,120 He knew we would, Scott. 385 00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:49,600 We're His children and He sent us down here knowing we would sin. 386 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:51,600 It was all part of the plan. 387 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:54,880 He loves us even in our sins. 388 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,760 He loves us. 389 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:01,000 It's not something that we earn. 390 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,280 We don't earn His love. 391 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:12,480 And finally, He loved us so much that because of the fall, part of the plan, He offered His 392 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:18,360 son to come down here and to sacrifice for our sins and carry out the atonement. 393 00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:23,160 So that's a big one, I think number four is really big. 394 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:28,640 It can just kind of change how you see your relationship with God, how you see God. 395 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:29,640 That's everything, right? 396 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:30,640 Well, it is. 397 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:32,720 And that's one side of the coin. 398 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:37,600 On the other side of the coin, it might actually help how I see my relationship with others. 399 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:40,120 Specifically, and this is where I'm thinking. 400 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:42,040 Yeah, that God's not mad at your kids. 401 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:43,040 That's it. 402 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,560 That's exactly what I was just thinking of. 403 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:49,600 Because that's on all of our minds a lot of the time, right? 404 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:56,600 So if God knew that I would sin and He's not mad at me, then what puts me in a position 405 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,120 to be mad at my kids when they sin? 406 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:05,200 That's a little bit, you know, that just makes me a little uncomfortable to think, OK, why 407 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:10,840 would I be OK to tread in that area when God doesn't even? 408 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:12,840 I know. 409 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:14,280 The wrath of God is real. 410 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:17,280 I think I said this in a previous. 411 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:21,800 The wrath of God is real, but it's not His personal emotion. 412 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,600 The wrath of God is because of what people do collectively. 413 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:32,840 What people do collectively and how it affects unborn innocent babies who are born into that 414 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:34,100 situation. 415 00:27:34,100 --> 00:27:38,080 People may feel the wrath of God, but that's not His personal emotion. 416 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:39,320 That's what He does. 417 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:41,640 His wrath is what He does. 418 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:42,800 Not what He feels. 419 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:43,800 Not who He is. 420 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:44,800 God is love. 421 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:45,800 I think that's important. 422 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:46,800 I do, too. 423 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:57,480 Number five, understanding the fall of all should help us to overcome the false philosophies 424 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,480 of perfectionism and meritocracy. 425 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:06,440 Wow, the two apostate doctrines that hold us back. 426 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:08,600 Do you think we could do an entire podcast just? 427 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:09,600 I don't want to. 428 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:10,600 Sure. 429 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:11,600 I don't want to. 430 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:12,600 I'm just saying. 431 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:13,880 I'd be pretty negative. 432 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:17,760 I'm just saying that we definitely could. 433 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:25,240 Because David, this is something that has permeated the entirety, I think, of the human 434 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:27,000 race. 435 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,800 This meritocracy and perfectionism. 436 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:39,360 For example, if you think about even think of the parable of the prodigal son. 437 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:44,320 When we think of the parable of the prodigal son, well, we think, well, the brother that 438 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,440 was all ticked off because he was a righteous brother. 439 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:49,600 So he dealt with perfectionism. 440 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:50,600 Right. 441 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:51,760 But guess what? 442 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:53,200 So did the prodigal. 443 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:57,680 The prodigal was also in effect at dealing with perfectionism because he didn't see himself 444 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:05,160 worthy to come back and do and accept his father's offering, which was given to him so freely. 445 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:12,560 And when we talk about perfectionism, and I'm going to use the word scrupulosity, where 446 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:17,240 we worship our scrupulosity, how well are you keeping the commandments? 447 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:18,440 Are you going on your mission? 448 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:19,440 You've got to be scrupulous. 449 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:20,600 Did you get your duty to God? 450 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:22,600 Did you get your Eagle Scout? 451 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:24,680 Those kinds of things, right? 452 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:30,520 That can really jump in front of us in our pursuit developing and having that close relationship 453 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:32,840 with our Heavenly Father through us. 454 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:33,840 No doubt. 455 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:38,160 I know that it's a whole human race, but I think it especially affects sometimes members 456 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:39,160 of the church. 457 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:40,160 It does. 458 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:41,160 Yeah. 459 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:48,760 I know that the brethren are trying to overcome that false philosophy of perfectionism and 460 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:50,600 meritocracy. 461 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:52,680 And I think we're doing a lot better about it. 462 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:58,320 I mean, grace and mercy are so much more prevalent in conference talks than they were back in 463 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:01,880 the 1950s and 60s and even 70s. 464 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:03,680 And that's what we probably needed, right? 465 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:06,760 At the time, that was fine. 466 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:10,960 But honestly, Scott, it just, I don't know. 467 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:16,720 It just seems like, again, I alluded to this last week or the week before, we're all trying 468 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:19,120 so hard to be like Jesus. 469 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:23,200 And yet at the same time, we need to know we're never going to in this life be like 470 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:24,200 Jesus. 471 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:25,200 Right. 472 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:31,600 I mean, we do give heed to temptation, which he never gave heed to, even though he suffered 473 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:36,480 all temptation and we'll talk about that when we talk about his atonement. 474 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:43,200 But we just are always going to come up short. 475 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:51,520 And it's not only, I'll repeat, it is not only not possible to be perfect in mortality. 476 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:55,640 It's not perfect to live a day and be sinless in mortality. 477 00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:56,640 Not possible. 478 00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:57,640 It's not possible. 479 00:30:57,640 --> 00:30:59,480 We're tainted by sin every day. 480 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:00,480 Yeah. 481 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:06,880 And now I know the Greek word for perfection is whole, complete. 482 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:12,440 And if you want to think of it that way, when Jesus commands us to be perfect, even as 483 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:16,960 his father, and then in the Book of Mormon, to be perfect, even as he's perfect, it's 484 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:22,520 interesting that he doesn't say he's perfect in the New Testament, but he does say he's 485 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:27,560 perfect in the Book of Mormon because he's been resurrected. 486 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:32,800 But if you want to think of perfect as being complete or whole, and that we're becoming 487 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:39,600 more complete and we're becoming more whole, but the truth of it is, Scott, President Nelson, 488 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:42,960 others, perfection is pending. 489 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:46,720 We are not going to be perfect in this life. 490 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:48,240 Give it up. 491 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:49,920 Stop it. 492 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:52,800 Stop trying to be perfect. 493 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:56,680 Now, again, I'm not saying we should be complacent. 494 00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:58,600 I'm not saying that. 495 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:00,000 Please don't misunderstand me. 496 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:04,760 I'm not saying we should be complacent or casual. 497 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:10,080 We should live a life, a charted, chart our course. 498 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,520 We should be intentional, all of that. 499 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:18,360 But, well, we should just not be so hard on ourselves or others. 500 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:25,920 And meritocracy, to think that we merit anything, that we, meritocracy is a little bit like 501 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:27,520 we think we deserve it. 502 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:28,520 We're entitled to it. 503 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:29,520 I've earned it. 504 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:30,520 I've earned it. 505 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:35,760 And it's kind of the vending machine gospel that Elder Christopherson and others have 506 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:39,640 talked about where you think, okay, I put in my dollar. 507 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:40,920 I should get out the candy bar. 508 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,680 I guess it's probably $2 now, inflation. 509 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,720 But I put in my $2 and I used to be a quarter, by the way. 510 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:50,520 I remember that. 511 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:55,760 How come I don't get, anyway, meritocracy can really lead. 512 00:32:55,760 --> 00:33:03,160 It can lead people to really emotional, spiritual dungeons and put them in a really dark place 513 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:07,200 because we just, man can merit nothing of himself. 514 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:13,320 We are completely holy, absolutely dependent upon Jesus Christ and his merits. 515 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:15,480 And if you don't understand the fall. 516 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:19,800 And if you don't understand five, number five here, you know, number five being understanding 517 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:23,480 the fall should help us overcome the false philosophies of perfectionism and meritocracy. 518 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:27,760 If you don't understand that, then number four is really difficult to understand too, 519 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:31,720 which is again, just to reiterate, knowing that God knew we would sin should help us 520 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:35,440 know he is not mad at us when we sin. 521 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:38,280 Those things are really, all of these tie together. 522 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:41,280 But those two really kind of are true. 523 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:42,280 You know, yeah. 524 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:43,280 All right. 525 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:49,760 Number six, understanding the fall should help us to not make the mistake of solely basing 526 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:56,240 our identity upon the temptations, perversions and weaknesses of the flesh and sins that 527 00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:58,840 we experience immortality. 528 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:05,920 We are spiritual beings having a human experience and we are human beings having a spiritual 529 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:06,920 experience. 530 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:07,920 We're both. 531 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:08,920 Yeah. 532 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:11,600 We are dual beings, Scott. 533 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:12,600 Dual citizenship. 534 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:14,560 That has been taught by all the prophets. 535 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:21,880 We are we are dual beings and in fact, the elder bednar said said this, Scott, in the 536 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:28,120 2013 General Conference, April, the precise nature of the test of mortality then can be 537 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:30,960 summarized in the following question. 538 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:36,880 Will I respond to the inclinations of the natural man or will I yield to the enticings 539 00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:42,120 of the Holy Spirit and put off the natural man and become a saint through the Atonement 540 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:43,280 of Christ, the Lord? 541 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:44,280 Right? 542 00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:47,920 And then there's Josiah, King Benjamin, Josiah 319. 543 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:50,400 He, the elder bednar goes on. 544 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:53,080 That is the test. 545 00:34:53,080 --> 00:35:00,680 Every appetite, desire, propensity and impulse of the natural man may be overcome by and 546 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:03,120 through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 547 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:09,360 We are here on the earth to develop God like qualities and to bridle all of the passions 548 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:11,000 of the flesh. 549 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:15,200 Now again, we won't be perfect in that, but that's the quest. 550 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:16,520 That's the test. 551 00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:18,880 That's what we should be striving for. 552 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:25,840 I told you today I can't have any of your M&M peanuts when I came in here today. 553 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:32,160 Because I just, I just have become weak over Thanksgiving at eating too much sugar. 554 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:38,200 And so I just, I just got to have a little, a little check of the flesh here, a little 555 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:46,800 flesh check and I'm just saying, okay, come on, David, spirit over flesh here, no more 556 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:48,600 sugar today. 557 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:49,600 So today. 558 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:50,600 Listen to you. 559 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:51,600 Today I can't have any sugar. 560 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:53,600 You're just doing it one day at a time, are you? 561 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:54,600 I am. 562 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:55,600 That's all I can do, Scott. 563 00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:56,600 Yeah, that's awesome. 564 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,000 What day at a time? 565 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:00,600 But that's the test. 566 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,760 Is that we learn in this life. 567 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:06,640 And hey, this isn't a pit. 568 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:08,560 It's not an exciting adventure. 569 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:14,360 This puts us up in the mountains of adventure here, Scott, is that we have this test, this 570 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:23,120 climb of trying to learn how to allow the spirit to control and override the flesh. 571 00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:24,120 Yeah. 572 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:28,320 Well, just think of, if understanding this, we've talked about six points so far, we've 573 00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:32,600 got one more to talk about, but just, if we just understand these seven points, just 574 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:39,720 think of how that unburdens us, it relieves that burden from us of all of that weight. 575 00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:43,520 There's a ton of weight in all of that, not understanding who we are. 576 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:44,520 Weight. 577 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:47,200 My merit, not his, weight. 578 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:49,560 W-E-I-G-H-T. 579 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:52,960 Weight on my shoulders, all of that. 580 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:55,000 Not understanding who I am completely. 581 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:56,000 That's a weight. 582 00:36:56,000 --> 00:37:01,080 Knowing that God's plan of the fall should help me be more kind to myself. 583 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:02,580 Without that, I have weight. 584 00:37:02,580 --> 00:37:09,640 So all of this unburdens me or unloads that weight from me if, and that's it, right? 585 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:10,640 Here's the key. 586 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:11,640 Hopefully. 587 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:12,640 Here's the key. 588 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:15,760 If I embrace it and accept that into my life that way. 589 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:19,400 Instead of seeing it as a challenge, you should see it as an opportunity. 590 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:20,400 And a great blessing. 591 00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:21,400 Yeah. 592 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:22,400 Yeah. 593 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:23,400 The fall forward. 594 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:24,400 Yep. 595 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:25,400 The fortunate fall. 596 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:26,400 Yep. 597 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:27,400 Right? 598 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:28,400 The fortunate fall. 599 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:29,400 The fall forward. 600 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:30,400 The fall upward. 601 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:31,400 The fall upward. 602 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:32,400 Fall upward, not downward. 603 00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:33,400 Yeah. 604 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:34,400 We should celebrate this. 605 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:35,400 Yeah. 606 00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:37,400 As part of the plan's gotten. 607 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:38,400 Anyway. 608 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:40,160 Number seven. 609 00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:49,560 Understanding the fall helps us explain a lot of mortalities, problems, and issues that 610 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:50,560 we all face. 611 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:55,760 And it seems like we increasingly face some of these situations and problems, right? 612 00:37:55,760 --> 00:38:06,840 Such as physical challenges, mental incapacities, inequities, inequalities, unfairness of life, 613 00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:12,240 the imperfections that we all see every day in ourselves and others. 614 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:18,760 And even sexual issues and sexual tendencies and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. 615 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:19,760 Right? 616 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:27,600 If we really understand the fall, Scott, we should not be surprised by some of these weaknesses 617 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:28,800 of the flesh. 618 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:31,760 I give unto men weakness, right? 619 00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:33,360 Ether 1227. 620 00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:35,120 I give unto men weakness. 621 00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:40,960 That's the fall that they might be humble and that they might learn that my grace is 622 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:49,400 sufficient and that this is me saying it and that they need to rely upon Jesus Christ's 623 00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:51,080 grace as our redeemer and Savior. 624 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:55,800 So I just think there are so many things that we deal with. 625 00:38:55,800 --> 00:39:07,400 And as a parent and dad of a gay son, Scott, I don't know if he was born with that or if 626 00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:12,040 he developed that because of the conditions that he was born into. 627 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:17,520 I don't know if he was born with it or it's something that is learned because of the conditions 628 00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:19,160 and the availability. 629 00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:21,680 Well, the good news is, is you don't have to figure that out. 630 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:22,680 I'm not as judge. 631 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:23,680 No. 632 00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:24,680 And even though- 633 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:25,680 I'm his dad. 634 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:26,680 I'm not as judge. 635 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:30,520 Even those few seconds that you just wrestled with that, you don't need to do that. 636 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:31,520 Yeah, you're right. 637 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:32,520 We don't need to do that. 638 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:33,520 Thank you. 639 00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:34,520 It doesn't matter if he was born with it. 640 00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:35,520 Thank you. 641 00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:37,240 It doesn't matter if it was nature or nurture. 642 00:39:37,240 --> 00:39:38,240 It doesn't matter. 643 00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:39,240 That's a moot point. 644 00:39:39,240 --> 00:39:47,160 And Satan would have us wrestle with and strife with that issue so that we miss the important 645 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:50,280 part of that, which is it doesn't matter. 646 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:57,960 I remember when I was the Institute Director, we had Elder Christopherson's brother come 647 00:39:57,960 --> 00:39:59,560 to the Institute to do a fireside. 648 00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:01,280 And he's openly gay. 649 00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:02,280 I mean- 650 00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:03,280 I think he even written a book. 651 00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:05,240 Now, he's not acting out on it. 652 00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:06,240 He's not. 653 00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:14,800 He's a strong, active member of the church with church callings and is in full good standing 654 00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:15,800 of the church. 655 00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:20,000 But, you know, he lived a gay lifestyle for many years. 656 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:23,960 I think it was like 15 or something years. 657 00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:32,680 And one of our teachers asked them about being born into it or developing it, you know? 658 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:37,960 And I will never forget his answer, which was it doesn't matter. 659 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:41,080 I'm so glad he said that. 660 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:47,840 And to focus on that would be counterproductive. 661 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:50,760 To focus on that would be totally counterproductive. 662 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:51,760 It doesn't matter. 663 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:56,640 And I might even suggest it wouldn't only be counterproductive, but it would be orchestrated 664 00:40:56,640 --> 00:40:58,840 by the diabolic- 665 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:02,080 Yeah, you're even stronger than him. 666 00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:04,600 But that meant a lot to me coming from him. 667 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:07,240 I mean, he believed that he was born into it. 668 00:41:07,240 --> 00:41:10,560 And there are, I'm sure, others who do believe that. 669 00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:15,480 And my son believes that and his mother believes that. 670 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:17,520 But I don't know. 671 00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:18,520 We don't have to know. 672 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:19,520 It doesn't matter. 673 00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:20,520 We're not the judge. 674 00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:21,520 We are not. 675 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:22,520 But God knows. 676 00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:23,520 Right. 677 00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:31,480 And if some of these things, God, are in fact the result of the fall, this is the good news. 678 00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:40,520 The atonement of Jesus Christ covers and overcomes unconditionally, I may say, all the negative 679 00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:43,400 effects of the fall. 680 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:48,000 Now that doesn't mean that we will not be held accountable and that there aren't commandments 681 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:49,960 that we need to keep. 682 00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:55,640 It means that God will compensate them, that God will strengthen them, that God will bless 683 00:41:55,640 --> 00:42:04,040 them with all the grace and mercy they need in spite of their fallen nature, propensities, 684 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:07,360 tendencies, inclinations, whatever. 685 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:13,160 If we rely upon the atonement of Jesus Christ, he will restore us. 686 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:14,640 He will cover us. 687 00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:16,440 He will compensate us. 688 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:19,800 He will save us and he will redeem us. 689 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:21,840 That's what we have to focus on. 690 00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:33,720 And not get so hung up on all of these mortality, malaise, mortality issues, inequities and 691 00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:34,720 inequalities. 692 00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:37,040 Let's not get hung up on that. 693 00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:44,440 Let's just, when we see that, we should just remind ourselves Jesus Christ covers all of 694 00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:48,880 it and it's not our place to judge. 695 00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:51,560 I mean we can judge good from evil. 696 00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:53,440 We have to make those judgments. 697 00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:56,920 But we do not judge individuals. 698 00:42:56,920 --> 00:43:03,880 And we don't know all the reasons and all of the situations and conditions that people 699 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:05,240 are born into. 700 00:43:05,240 --> 00:43:07,320 We don't know all the answers to that, Scott. 701 00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:14,520 And so we need to let it go and rely upon, again, learn to rely upon for ourselves and 702 00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:17,960 for others that the Savior covers that. 703 00:43:17,960 --> 00:43:19,280 That's right. 704 00:43:19,280 --> 00:43:22,520 So because of the fall, we have two problems. 705 00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:23,680 It's really one problem. 706 00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:24,680 It's death. 707 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:26,280 But we can split those into two problems. 708 00:43:26,280 --> 00:43:29,000 These are the two major negatives, universal negatives. 709 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:30,720 We have spiritual death. 710 00:43:30,720 --> 00:43:32,200 We have physical death. 711 00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:34,840 Spiritual death is we're cut off from the presence of God. 712 00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:40,400 So a lot of the stuff that we talked about so far as part of these seven points come 713 00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:41,920 as a result of the spiritual death. 714 00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:43,560 We're spiritually dead. 715 00:43:43,560 --> 00:43:46,000 I mean in the world that we live in. 716 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:50,480 Yeah, in that we've been cut off from the direct presence of God. 717 00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:52,560 And then the second one is physical death. 718 00:43:52,560 --> 00:43:58,040 And so much of what you just talked about, what we've just talked about here, fall into 719 00:43:58,040 --> 00:44:03,960 either one or both and sometimes one or the other and sometimes both of those categories. 720 00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:09,760 For example, when we talked about mental, we made a little list here and it's by far 721 00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:12,280 from being completely inclusive. 722 00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:13,280 We said physical. 723 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:15,600 So physical, let's talk about some of those. 724 00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:19,400 Physical challenges can be anything that ails us, even diseases. 725 00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:21,200 I have a daughter. 726 00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:26,520 My second oldest daughter is type one diabetic for her entire life since she was nine years 727 00:44:26,520 --> 00:44:27,520 old. 728 00:44:27,520 --> 00:44:31,840 She's reliant on a shot more than one time a day, several times a day just to keep her 729 00:44:31,840 --> 00:44:32,840 alive. 730 00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:35,600 So that's a direct result of the fall. 731 00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:40,480 I know others that I sponsor, myself can be included in this. 732 00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:47,440 People in the Institute, people in my own family that deal with mental things. 733 00:44:47,440 --> 00:44:48,440 Whether that be... 734 00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:49,440 Sure. 735 00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:50,440 And when we're talking about... 736 00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:51,440 Anxieties, depressions. 737 00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:55,840 Well, okay, so that's a mental and emotional when we combine them together, those kinds 738 00:44:55,840 --> 00:45:00,280 of things and those are a direct result of the fall of being cut off from our Heavenly 739 00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:02,280 Father's presence. 740 00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:03,280 Right. 741 00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:06,760 And that can come as part of not just spiritual but physical death. 742 00:45:06,760 --> 00:45:11,720 And you can go through, and I think I said this last week, that there's literally every 743 00:45:11,720 --> 00:45:15,360 problem that we face in this world that has to do with mortality. 744 00:45:15,360 --> 00:45:21,520 We can definitely link it back to spiritual or physical or both deaths. 745 00:45:21,520 --> 00:45:27,400 And if we understand that, then with that comes the compassion and all of the other 746 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:28,880 things that we're talking about here. 747 00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:33,480 But first off, and hopefully, number one, it's compassion for ourselves and understanding 748 00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:34,480 all of that. 749 00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:39,320 And the only reason you would feel like any of that puts you in a pit is because you 750 00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:43,560 don't understand that the Atonement of Jesus Christ covers it. 751 00:45:43,560 --> 00:45:48,960 When you understand that the Atonement of Jesus Christ covers it, compensates for it, 752 00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:50,880 will overcome it. 753 00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:52,880 Wow. 754 00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:57,280 Those things can actually be blessings to us. 755 00:45:57,280 --> 00:46:03,360 This is why he says, and again in Ether 1227, that if men humble themselves before me and 756 00:46:03,360 --> 00:46:07,360 have faith in me, I will make weak things. 757 00:46:07,360 --> 00:46:10,080 Become strong unto them. 758 00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:11,240 That's what we've got to focus on. 759 00:46:11,240 --> 00:46:12,320 And I have felt that in my life. 760 00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:13,320 I know you have too. 761 00:46:13,320 --> 00:46:14,320 Yeah, for sure. 762 00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:18,840 You know, I know, and I would venture a guest to say that most of our listeners have probably 763 00:46:18,840 --> 00:46:22,200 felt that in our lives at some point as well. 764 00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:24,680 But that's available to us all the time. 765 00:46:24,680 --> 00:46:29,560 Well, again, and when I say we're spiritually dead, Scott, I know we can be alive in Christ. 766 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:30,560 Absolutely. 767 00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:35,920 You know, as mortals who are spiritually cut off from the presence of God, we don't have 768 00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:38,560 to be spiritually dead to righteousness. 769 00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:42,160 We don't have to be spiritually dead to the Savior or the Holy Spirit. 770 00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:46,120 We can be born again, spiritually born again. 771 00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:47,280 And I get that. 772 00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:52,960 And that we should be spiritually alive in Christ. 773 00:46:52,960 --> 00:47:01,160 But again, as long as we're here and as long as blood is coursing through our veins, we 774 00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:06,880 are going to feel the effects of the flesh and the fall. 775 00:47:06,880 --> 00:47:13,840 Brigham Young said, we will never in this life completely overcome it. 776 00:47:13,840 --> 00:47:16,440 So I just pray we can endure to the end. 777 00:47:16,440 --> 00:47:22,160 And I know that's true for apostles and prophets and all those who have walked the earth. 778 00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:29,400 Even Jesus, even Jesus felt the full effects of the false God, but he never gave heed 779 00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:31,400 to temptations. 780 00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:34,520 Now, I will talk about that more. 781 00:47:34,520 --> 00:47:38,760 I guess I don't want to go off on that, but we'll talk more about that when we talk about 782 00:47:38,760 --> 00:47:40,160 his life in the next few weeks. 783 00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:44,520 Well, speaking of Jesus and his life, Jesus shares with us. 784 00:47:44,520 --> 00:47:45,520 Good Samaritan. 785 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:49,080 Yeah, the rich young ruler, you know, says, what do I have to do? 786 00:47:49,080 --> 00:47:54,240 I keep all the commandments, you know, and Jesus says, well, you have to love God and 787 00:47:54,240 --> 00:47:55,840 you have to love your neighbors yourself. 788 00:47:55,840 --> 00:47:57,600 And he asked, well, who's my neighbor? 789 00:47:57,600 --> 00:47:58,600 Right. 790 00:47:58,600 --> 00:48:01,640 And this is all I think in Luke 10. 791 00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:05,840 Jesus gives this amazing parable of the Good Samaritan. 792 00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:11,720 Oh, I'm indebted to John Welch and his research on this and an article that was written years 793 00:48:11,720 --> 00:48:18,480 ago in the, in the Enzine magazine that the Good Samaritan not only answers the question 794 00:48:18,480 --> 00:48:20,480 of who's your neighbor, right? 795 00:48:20,480 --> 00:48:23,520 The Samaritans, Jews hated one another. 796 00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:29,320 And so it's a perfect parable, beautiful parable to answer who's our neighbor. 797 00:48:29,320 --> 00:48:32,120 All of everyone's our neighbor. 798 00:48:32,120 --> 00:48:37,280 Even if we all, we shouldn't have enemies, but even our enemies, we should see as neighbors. 799 00:48:37,280 --> 00:48:43,360 Anyway, but John Welch discovered in the stained glass window and other research he did in 800 00:48:43,360 --> 00:48:51,480 Europe that the early Christian fathers, Scott, recognized this parable as being Jesus's way 801 00:48:51,480 --> 00:48:58,840 to teach the young rich ruler and others the plan of redemption. 802 00:48:58,840 --> 00:49:05,880 And he was trying to teach all of us in the parable of the Good Samaritan that the Samaritan 803 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:07,360 goes down out of Jerusalem. 804 00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:08,760 Do you have it there? 805 00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:09,760 Is it Luke 10? 806 00:49:09,760 --> 00:49:10,760 Yeah, Luke 10. 807 00:49:10,760 --> 00:49:11,760 Beginning with verse. 808 00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:12,760 Verse 25. 809 00:49:12,760 --> 00:49:17,160 And so a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit 810 00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:18,800 eternal life? 811 00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:23,600 And he said unto him, what is written in the law, how readest thou? 812 00:49:23,600 --> 00:49:27,640 And he answering said, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all 813 00:49:27,640 --> 00:49:30,800 thy soul and with all thy strength and thou shalt and with all thy mind. 814 00:49:30,800 --> 00:49:32,000 That's the first great commitment. 815 00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:33,000 Yep. 816 00:49:33,000 --> 00:49:34,000 Okay. 817 00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:35,000 And thy neighbor as I self. 818 00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:36,000 Second great commitment. 819 00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:41,920 And he said unto him, thou hast answered right, this do and thou shalt live. 820 00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:47,880 But he willing to justify himself said unto Jesus and who is my neighbor. 821 00:49:47,880 --> 00:49:53,200 And Jesus answering said, a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among 822 00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:58,480 thieves which stripped him of his raiment and wounded him and departed, leaving him half 823 00:49:58,480 --> 00:49:59,600 dead. 824 00:49:59,600 --> 00:50:06,160 So this, this man that, that leaves Jerusalem to go down, he goes down out of Jerusalem. 825 00:50:06,160 --> 00:50:07,760 This is this, this is a symbol. 826 00:50:07,760 --> 00:50:11,120 And again, early Christian fathers understood this. 827 00:50:11,120 --> 00:50:13,200 This is a symbol of the fall. 828 00:50:13,200 --> 00:50:18,160 They leave the, the holy city on the hill, Jerusalem's up on a hill, Scott. 829 00:50:18,160 --> 00:50:24,400 And they, they leave there and they, they descend thousands of feet down towards Jericho 830 00:50:24,400 --> 00:50:27,520 and towards the Dead Sea. 831 00:50:27,520 --> 00:50:35,000 So they're coming down out of Jerusalem, down to the Dead Sea or the Jericho area, lowest 832 00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:38,120 part of place on earth, by the way. 833 00:50:38,120 --> 00:50:44,560 And this is symbolic of us coming down from heaven to mortality. 834 00:50:44,560 --> 00:50:48,040 This represents the fall of all. 835 00:50:48,040 --> 00:50:49,040 So continue. 836 00:50:49,040 --> 00:50:50,400 So he left him half dead. 837 00:50:50,400 --> 00:50:54,720 And by chance and half dead, meaning we're all beaten up. 838 00:50:54,720 --> 00:50:55,720 Yep. 839 00:50:55,720 --> 00:50:56,720 And that's a result of all. 840 00:50:56,720 --> 00:50:57,720 We're all attacked. 841 00:50:57,720 --> 00:50:58,720 We're all, we're all attacked. 842 00:50:58,720 --> 00:50:59,720 We're all robbed. 843 00:50:59,720 --> 00:51:00,720 We're all victimized. 844 00:51:00,720 --> 00:51:01,720 We're all abused. 845 00:51:01,720 --> 00:51:02,720 We're all, okay. 846 00:51:02,720 --> 00:51:07,040 That's just, that's just the worldly hellish conditions of mortality that we're born into, 847 00:51:07,040 --> 00:51:09,280 which is again part, all part of the plan. 848 00:51:09,280 --> 00:51:10,280 We're all beaten up. 849 00:51:10,280 --> 00:51:11,280 We're all bloody. 850 00:51:11,280 --> 00:51:14,680 And I love, I love the word half dead, especially in light of what we just talked about a few 851 00:51:14,680 --> 00:51:15,680 minutes ago. 852 00:51:15,680 --> 00:51:16,680 We are. 853 00:51:16,680 --> 00:51:17,680 Right. 854 00:51:17,680 --> 00:51:19,480 Because we suffer from the spiritual and the physical death. 855 00:51:19,480 --> 00:51:22,960 I hope I'm more alive in Christ than I am dead, but I am half dead. 856 00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:23,960 Yeah. 857 00:51:23,960 --> 00:51:24,960 We all are to a degree. 858 00:51:24,960 --> 00:51:29,400 We're, we all are to a degree dead because of the fall of Adam and Eve. 859 00:51:29,400 --> 00:51:30,400 31. 860 00:51:30,400 --> 00:51:33,560 And by chance, there came down a certain priest that way. 861 00:51:33,560 --> 00:51:35,960 And when he saw him, he passed by him on the other side. 862 00:51:35,960 --> 00:51:41,400 And then the priest represents the law, particularly in this time of the parable was given the 863 00:51:41,400 --> 00:51:44,480 law of Moses, but that's, that's the symbol. 864 00:51:44,480 --> 00:51:48,320 The, the, the priest represents the law. 865 00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:49,840 So the priest didn't save him. 866 00:51:49,840 --> 00:51:50,840 Yeah. 867 00:51:50,840 --> 00:51:55,320 And likewise, a Levite, when he was at that place, came and looked upon him and passed 868 00:51:55,320 --> 00:51:58,160 by on the other side, the priest can't save you. 869 00:51:58,160 --> 00:51:59,320 The law can't save you. 870 00:51:59,320 --> 00:52:03,800 In other words, the Levite can't save you, meaning the priesthood can't save you. 871 00:52:03,800 --> 00:52:06,520 We're not saved through the priesthood. 872 00:52:06,520 --> 00:52:08,400 We're not saved through the church. 873 00:52:08,400 --> 00:52:09,920 We're not saved through that. 874 00:52:09,920 --> 00:52:10,920 Okay. 875 00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:11,920 Continue. 876 00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:16,320 But a certain Samaritan as he journeyed came where he was. 877 00:52:16,320 --> 00:52:18,760 And when he saw him, he had compassion. 878 00:52:18,760 --> 00:52:25,880 And it's so interesting that Jesus chooses to use the Samaritan to symbolize himself. 879 00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:31,960 The good Samaritan himself comes and what does he do? 880 00:52:31,960 --> 00:52:38,400 They went unto him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine and sent him on his 881 00:52:38,400 --> 00:52:39,400 own beast. 882 00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:40,400 Yeah. 883 00:52:40,400 --> 00:52:41,400 Carried him himself. 884 00:52:41,400 --> 00:52:42,400 You're right. 885 00:52:42,400 --> 00:52:43,400 He, he picked him up. 886 00:52:43,400 --> 00:52:49,680 He put him on his own beast, carried him himself and brought, brought him to an end and took 887 00:52:49,680 --> 00:52:50,680 care of him. 888 00:52:50,680 --> 00:52:56,640 And the end represents the church and it goes on and says, he even gave money and tells the 889 00:52:56,640 --> 00:53:01,240 innkeeper, Hey, if you need anything else, here's some money to cover it. 890 00:53:01,240 --> 00:53:03,280 Well, that's the savior. 891 00:53:03,280 --> 00:53:05,320 The savior has purchased us. 892 00:53:05,320 --> 00:53:07,640 The certain, the savior has paid for us. 893 00:53:07,640 --> 00:53:14,120 He's paid for all of our abuse, all of our victims and for, for all the sins committed 894 00:53:14,120 --> 00:53:15,120 against us. 895 00:53:15,120 --> 00:53:16,720 He's paid for all of that. 896 00:53:16,720 --> 00:53:22,600 Scott, that's, that's the, so ultimately when we read the good Samaritan, we should answer 897 00:53:22,600 --> 00:53:23,880 two questions. 898 00:53:23,880 --> 00:53:26,640 One, who is my neighbor? 899 00:53:26,640 --> 00:53:33,800 And second, where am I in the plan of redemption? 900 00:53:33,800 --> 00:53:35,080 Where am I? 901 00:53:35,080 --> 00:53:39,560 Have I allowed the savior to pick me up, to bind my wounds? 902 00:53:39,560 --> 00:53:41,840 And has he carried me to the end? 903 00:53:41,840 --> 00:53:43,120 And am I recovering? 904 00:53:43,120 --> 00:53:44,120 Am I healing? 905 00:53:44,120 --> 00:53:46,440 Am I, am I striving? 906 00:53:46,440 --> 00:53:54,080 I mean, that's, that's a powerful symbol of the, of the fall and the Atonement of Jesus 907 00:53:54,080 --> 00:53:55,080 Christ. 908 00:53:55,080 --> 00:53:59,000 I think we can be complete unless we read the final verse of that, in fact, a final 909 00:53:59,000 --> 00:54:00,000 tune. 910 00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:05,200 Now Jesus asked this certain lawyer, now which of these thinkest thou was neighbor unto him 911 00:54:05,200 --> 00:54:07,160 that fell among the thieves? 912 00:54:07,160 --> 00:54:12,320 And he said, he that showed mercy unto him, and Jesus said unto him, and this is charged 913 00:54:12,320 --> 00:54:13,320 for all of us. 914 00:54:13,320 --> 00:54:19,000 Jesus said unto him, he says unto us as well, go and do thou likewise. 915 00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:20,000 Yeah. 916 00:54:20,000 --> 00:54:24,880 Well, ultimately I hope that's what we get out of understanding the fall, Scott. 917 00:54:24,880 --> 00:54:29,920 And under to understanding the Atonement that will think of that parable and that charge 918 00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:34,880 to go do likewise and to become more like the Good Samaritan and help others bind up 919 00:54:34,880 --> 00:54:36,080 their wounds. 920 00:54:36,080 --> 00:54:41,480 And knowing that many of those wounds were not self inflicted. 921 00:54:41,480 --> 00:54:45,360 Many of those wounds, I know we have agency and that will be accountable and that we again 922 00:54:45,360 --> 00:54:48,640 should not look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. 923 00:54:48,640 --> 00:54:51,440 But the truth is we've all been robbed. 924 00:54:51,440 --> 00:54:53,160 We've all been beaten. 925 00:54:53,160 --> 00:54:56,920 And we should remember that when we think of the fall. 926 00:54:56,920 --> 00:55:00,040 And we should allow Jesus to pick us up. 927 00:55:00,040 --> 00:55:07,080 And sometimes we should be the hands in the arms and the beasts of Jesus and allow Jesus 928 00:55:07,080 --> 00:55:15,520 through us to help transport people to a place where they can be further healed. 929 00:55:15,520 --> 00:55:19,840 So I hope that's what our listeners will take from the fall. 930 00:55:19,840 --> 00:55:25,200 People probably continue to fall back on this doctrine because I think to really understand, 931 00:55:25,200 --> 00:55:28,960 appreciate, be grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 932 00:55:28,960 --> 00:55:34,080 You have to understand your need for a Redeemer, which means you have to understand the fall. 933 00:55:34,080 --> 00:55:39,360 So we'll try to remind ourselves and our listeners of that as we continue on through the other 934 00:55:39,360 --> 00:55:44,440 podcast, future podcast as we move into the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 935 00:55:44,440 --> 00:55:48,720 Well, I think we've kind of established a real good foundation from which to build now 936 00:55:48,720 --> 00:55:51,080 as we do exactly that. 937 00:55:51,080 --> 00:55:56,840 Dave, you know, in the beginning today, we talked about how the fall of Adam and Eve 938 00:55:56,840 --> 00:56:02,480 provides each one of us an opportunity for joy and for expansion of our spiritual lives 939 00:56:02,480 --> 00:56:05,400 and through eternity. 940 00:56:05,400 --> 00:56:11,520 And I hope that each one of us can see ourselves in the parable that we just read, the parable 941 00:56:11,520 --> 00:56:12,520 of the Good Samaritan. 942 00:56:12,520 --> 00:56:17,280 I hope that we can see ourselves as he who fell among thieves. 943 00:56:17,280 --> 00:56:23,240 We are the one that descended and we are the one who is completely reliant on he, the 944 00:56:23,240 --> 00:56:30,000 Good Samaritan, on Jesus Christ, who picks us up, who puts us on his doctrine, who puts 945 00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:36,880 us on his answer, who puts us on his law, which satisfies all the law and will bring 946 00:56:36,880 --> 00:56:38,320 us ultimate joy. 947 00:56:38,320 --> 00:56:39,720 Thanks so much for being with us, everybody. 948 00:56:39,720 --> 00:56:41,160 Glad you were with us this week. 949 00:56:41,160 --> 00:56:44,120 We look forward to being with you again next week. 950 00:56:44,120 --> 00:56:59,520 And until then, be well.