Home by Another Way

You probably know who James Taylor is. And it's likely that you could identify some of his songs. But the song I'm using this year as the backbone of my Christmas post is a little more obscure. It's called "Home by Another Way."

(To listen to the song. click here:)

Those magic men the Magi
Some people call them wise
Or Oriental, even kings
Well, anyway, those guys.

They visited with Jesus
They sure enjoyed their stay
Then warned in a dream of King Herod's scheme
They went home by another way.

_{w w w w w w}

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet.

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.¹

⠐⠐⠐⠐⠐⠐⠐⠐

Yes, they went home by another way

Home by another way
Maybe me and you can be wise guys too
And go home by another way
We can make it another way
Safe home as they used to say
Keep a weather eye to the chart on high
And go home another way

 (The term "weather eye" was originally a nautical one, meaning the ability  to quickly recognize signs of change in the weather.   But now its meaning has become to keep watch, to stay alert – even while doing something else.)

Steer clear of royal welcomes
Avoid a big to-do
A king who would slaughter the innocents
Will not cut a deal for you
He really, really wants those presents
He'll comb your camel's fur
Until his boys announce
They've found trace amounts
Of your frankincense, gold and myrrh.

And they go home by another way
Home by another way
You have to figure the Gods, saying play the odds
And go home by another way
We can make it another way
Safe home as they used to say
Keep a weather eye to the chart on high
And go home another way.

Home is where they want you now
You can more or less assume
That you'll be welcome in the end.
Mustn't let King Herod haunt you so
Or fantasize his features
When you're looking at a friend.

President Russell M. Nelson taught: "More than anything, our Father wants His children to choose to return home to Him. Everything He does is motivated by His yearning desire. The entire reason we are on this earth is to qualify to live with Him forever. We do that by using our agency to find and stay on the covenant path that leads back to our heavenly home." ²

Well it pleasures me to be here

And to sing this song tonight

They tell me that life is a miracle

And I figure that they're right

But Herod's always out there

He's got our cards on file

It's a lead pipe cinch

If we give an inch

Old Herod likes to take a mile.

(Here, I am using King Herod as a symbol for our enemy – the Adversary, Satan.)  

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. (James 4:7-8)

"God knew that because of the adversary’s deceptive tactics and traps, the covenant path would not be easy to find or to stay on." ³

It's best to go home by another way
Home by another way
We got this far to a lucky star
But tomorrow is another day
We can make it another way
Safe home as they used to say
Keep a weather eye to the chart on high
And go home another way.

🔃      🔃      🔃       🔃       🔃      🔃     🔃

The magi kept that "weather eye to the chart on high" (which I am here interpreting as God's laws and His Plan of Salvation) and listened and obeyed the revelation that came in a dream. They took a different path back home.

There are some lessons in the story of the Magi that might apply to us. One of these lessons is learning to seek and follow revelation – in whatever way it comes: through a dream, the scriptures, the words of prophets or other church leaders, or the counsel of wise and inspired friends or family. All these can serve as a means to open our ears – and our hearts – to the still small voice.

We have all made mistakes, and stepped off the covenant path – maybe just a little, maybe quite a bit. We have the power – the God-given agency – to make the choice, in the overall direction of our lives, and in the moment-by-moment decisions that we make every day.

When King Lamoni asked Aaron where his brother Ammon was, Aaron, said, " Behold, the Spirit of the Lord has called him another way.⁴

Perhaps you are one of those who have been called another way. Maybe your call isn't very glamorous. Maybe your family doesn't look like many of your neighbors families. Maybe your body doesn't work like other people's bodies seem to work. But God's love and mercy are extended to all. The Savior's great act of Atonement applies to everyone who will accept it.

"We believe that Jesus’ teachings and His own matchless and perfect life provide a pattern for men and women to live by and that we must emulate that pattern as best we can to find true happiness and fulfillment in this life. We do not believe that we can either overcome the flesh or gain eternal reward through our own unaided efforts."⁵

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: 

for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 

(Romans 3:22 - 23) 

For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins.  And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain?  Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy. 6

So, He sent His Only Begotten Son to atone for us and to show us the way. The godly power available to all who love and follow Jesus Christ is the power to heal us, strengthen us, cleanse us from sin, and magnify us to do things we could never do on our own. Our Savior is the Divine Exemplar who marked the path that we are to follow. ⁷

This is why Christ was born. This is His Mission: to show us another way, and to provide a means to cleanse us from our errors and transgressions, so that we can go to that Home where no unclean thing can dwell.⁸

I know this is true. I have seen and felt it my own life, as I have stepped off the path, and felt divine help getting back on it. I have felt the joy and cleansing power of consistent repenting and forgiving. I'm walking the path unsteadily, and I probably always will, but I  know that if I "keep a weather-eye to the chart on high", I will walk the right direction.  

 . . . Covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:31)

But in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way;

May God Bless Us All With This Message of Redemption this Christmas Season.

Wishing You All a Merry and Holy Christmas! 

Notes:

¹ Matthew 2:1 – 12

² President Russell M. Nelson "The Love and Laws of God," address given at Brigham Young University.

³ President Russell M. Nelson, ibid

⁴ Alma 22:4 

⁵ Robert L. Millet, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/what-mormons-believe-about-jesus-christ

⁵ President Russell M. Nelson, ibid

 ⁶ Mosiah 4:19-20

⁷ President Russell M. Nelson, ibid

⁸ See 3 Nephi 27:18

To see another favorite James Taylor song that has nothing much to do with Christmas  (except that they both  include happy children) click here:

For Worse or For Better

A year or two ago, a kind neighbor gave me ride to my appointment with my eye doctor. On the way there, I explained to her that I would need some help getting out of the office, into the car, out of the car, and into my house, because the shots the optometrist puts in my eyes would make my vision bad and leave me feeling sick.

She looked at me with compassion, concern, and some confusion. I told her that the sickness would only last a few hours, and my vision would be improved in a couple of days. She gave me an understanding nod, and said something that I remember clearly:

“So it makes it worse before it makes it better.”

That was it, exactly. She hit the nail right on the head. And although I doubt that she felt she had said anything deep or profound, I have thought about her remark many times since then and how it can apply to so many circumstances.

Some of the medications I take every day make me feel a little worse right after I take them, but It's not long before I feel the the benefit. And most surgeries fit in this category.

How about a little home remodeling? That always seems to make the house messy and unappealing before it makes it a nicer place to live.

Working out to tone and strengthen muscles is painful and difficult in the beginning, but it pays off with increased strength and energy. (At least, that's what I hear.) 

🔃       🔃        🔃       🔃       🔃     

I mentioned to someone that I had some problems with my teeth, but I didn't want to go to the dentist. Her response was as simple as it was sensible: "No one does."

                  Root canal, anyone? 

Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. (Psalms 81:10)

Still, we have reason to be grateful for modern dentistry. Before the age of painkillers, specialized tools and antibiotics, dentists used a variety of crude implements to get the job done. 

Whatever pain or discomfort we feel in the dentist’s chair is quite small compared to the pain we’d have without dental care. 

😓 😓 😓 😓 😓

Any woman who has given birth knows it's a difficult job. (And any man who has watched his wife give birth knows it, too.)

 . . . anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. ( Jeremiah 6:24)

Wes and me after the birth of our first child, Sam.
I did not look this happy fifteen minutes earlier.

          Me and the kids after the birth of my seventh child, Adam.

A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. (John 16:21)

Y Y Y Y Y Y

And while we're talking about small children – toilet training a child can certainly make life, well, untidy, for a while. But it's worth it. One of my little parenting joys has been watching my children walk into the bathroom alone and come out clean and dry. (Another happy parent moment is the day my baby takes a Cheerio off the high chair tray and puts it in his mouth.)  

Train up a child in the way he should go . . .  (Proverbs 22:6)

_{S S S S S S S}

I have watched as friends and family have had their hearts broken, and it's devastating for them (and for me, sometimes). But they seem to come out stronger, and with a clearer knowledge of what they want and need in a relationship.

 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. 

(Psalms 147:3)

â    â    â     â     â

There are many examples in the history of this planet that fit this pattern, starting right off in the Garden of Eden.

 

Things were pretty great there, but that kind of innocent happiness generally can't last.

"And Eve heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient. And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters." ¹

\ \ \ \ \

Joseph of Egypt (or as like to think of him "The Joe With the Coat") was sold into slavery by his envious brothers, and later was condemned to jail for a crime he didn't commit.

But in the end he triumphed, and humbly forgave – even blessed – his brothers for what they did.

And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you.  And they came near.  And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God.

_{☞      ☞       ☞       ☞       ☞}

When the early members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were driven out of their homes and began the long and arduous trek west, things got pretty rough – tragically rough for some.

But they carried on, believing that the promise of a better life would be fulfilled.

And, eventually, it was.

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them;

 and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing:

 they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. 

(Isaiah 35:1 - 2)

v v v v v v v

One of my sons sent this message in an email while he was on his mission:

"Repentance is like throwing up.

 You felt icky before and it's hard while your going through it,

 but afterward you feel much better." 

The repentance experience of the Book of Mormon prophet Alma backs this up.

And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul. And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world. Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death. And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. ea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.

(Alma 36:16 – 21) 

 💫           💫           💫            💫            💫

“If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart.

So it has been with the best people who ever lived.” 

(Elder Jeffrey R. Holland,)

"A plan in which supposedly everything would go right so nobody would be lost

 was 
already proposed and rejected.

 The plan of salvation, on the other hand,

 allows for opposition in all things:

sadness and sweetness,

 wrongdoing 
and repentance,  trial and testimony".²

"It 
is imperative that we recognize that whatever has happened to us has happened to others.

They have coped and so must we. We are not alone. 
Heavenly Father’s help is near."

(Thomas S. Monson)

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice:

and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." 
(John 16:20)

"And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again,

and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."

(John 16:22)

"But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions,

 with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions."

(Alma 34:39 - 41)

_{& & & & &}

Earlier this year our family reached a point in our study of the Book of Mormon where every thing was pretty rotten. The people continued to choose wickedness, despite divine warnings, and the men were bloodthirsty and contentious.

"And from the first year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought to pass an awful scene of bloodshed. And the bodies of many thousands are laid low in the earth, while the bodies of many thousands are moldering in heaps upon the face of the earth; yea, and many thousands are mourning for the loss of their kindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo." (Alma 28:10 - 11)

_{S S S S S S S}

I didn't like it. I didn't enjoy reading it. It was just too sad. And I knew (spoiler alert) that the book would have an unhappy ending, with one good man left alone, in hiding, waiting for his life to end. So I ranted and grumbled about that for a few days, until this truth hit me: the end of this book is not the end of the story. It's just one chapter in a story that is still being told, and that we know will end happily.

_{l l l l l}

When my children were young, I told them bedtimes stories to help them fall asleep. Of course, I quickly ran out of stories and started making up stories as I went along. Sometimes the stories were pretty good, even though I was trying to make them boring.

One evening my daughter Hannah, who was about four, was tucked into bed and eagerly awaiting the story I would tell, when she said:

"Mommy? Remember, I like story with a happy beginning, a sad middle, and a happy ending."

I think that might be the way most lives run. Our time here in mortality is much more complicated than a child's bedtime story; we can expect good times and bad times to roll through our lives.

But if we choose to work toward a happy ending we'll find it.

"This is a Church of happy endings. Troubles never need to be permanent nor fatal.

Darkness always yields to light. The sun always rises.

Faith, hope, and charity will always triumph in the end.

Furthermore, they will triumph all along the way.”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.

🌟     🌟    🌟    🌟    🌟

We go to the dentist when we have tooth problems because we have faith that the dentist will make it better.

People choose to have children because they have faith that they will find joy in parenting.

  We leave our cozy nests because we believe we can do better outside, even when we anticipate trouble on the way. 

     

 And we muster up the courage to face the sometimes formidable process of repentance 
because we know that it will make us purer and lighter, 
 freed from the burden of guilt and sin that hold us down.

Our time here in mortality is much more complicated than a child's bedtime story; we can expect good times and bad times to roll through our lives. But if we choose to work toward a happy ending we'll find it. And we, along with our families, can find peace and joy together, forever.

Notes:

¹ Pearl of Great Price, Moses 5:11 - 12

² From "What Happens When Life Gets One Degree Colder?",  BYU Devotional by Dallan R. Moody 

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/dallan-r-moody/when-life-gets-one-degree-colder/

On Sacrifice, Suffering and Scouring

Not long ago, I found a letter I had written to my son Ben, who was serving a full-time mission in Ecuador.

I'm including some of it below.

April 23, 2017 
Yesterday morning at 8:00, our family, and a few other families, met at the church – to clean the building. None of us are church administrators or professional custodians. We were just doing what we were asked to do.

What kind of church expects its members to do that? To come to clean the building, bringing their children along with them, and perform this menial labor without any monetary compensation or reward?

The same church that expects its members to serve in callings, to pay one-tenth plus of their income, to set aside a couple of years or so to spread the gospel to all the world, to serve those in need regularly, and to attend three hours of meetings on Sunday and often a few more.

Today in Relief Society the lesson was from Elder Ballard's October 2016 conference talk, “To Whom Should We Go?” You might remember it; it's about how people get lost and leave the church. Here's a quote we discussed:

"Some disciples struggle to understand a specific Church policy or teaching. Others find concerns in our history or in the imperfections of some members and leaders, past and present. Still others fi

nd it difficult to live a religion that requires so much. Finally, some have become “weary in well-doing.”

The woman who was teaching the lesson joined the church when she was a teenager. She told us that in her previous church, you went to a meeting on Sunday and then you went home. And that was it.

I've been thinking about that. I think that kind of participation in a church can produce good people. But I'm not sure it can produce Saints, which is what we are shooting for. "A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary to lead unto life and salvation." 

I was going to include just that brief line of that quote from Joseph Smith, but I read the whole thing – for the first time, I think – and I'm going to use it all. I know you don't have all day to read e-mails, but it's not that long.

“Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth's sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life.” (Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith 6:7)

 💛    💛    💛     💛     💛    💛

The incomprehensible suffering of Jesus Christ ended sacrifice by the shedding of blood, but it did not end the importance of sacrifice in the gospel plan. Our Savior requires us to continue to offer sacrifices, but the sacrifices He now commands are that we “offer for a sacrifice unto [Him] a broken heart and a contrite spirit” He also commands each of us to love and serve one another—in effect, to offer a small imitation of His own sacrifice by making sacrifices of our own time and selfish priorities.

Just as the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ is at the center of the plan of salvation, we followers of Christ must make our own sacrifices to prepare for the destiny that plan provides for us. 

We are frequently asked, “How do you persuade your young people and your older members to leave their schooling or their retirement to sacrifice in this way?” I have heard many give this explanation: “Knowing what my Savior did for me—His grace in suffering for my sins and in overcoming death so I can live again—I feel privileged to make the small sacrifice I am asked to make in His service. I want to share the understanding He has given me.”  

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, April 2002 GC. 

_{b b b b b}

A young woman in our ward, as she spoke in Sacrament Meeting before leaving on her mission, told the congregation with emotion in her voice that she had struggled with her own weakness in making the decision.

Then she said, “I still don't know all the Savior's strength. But I know He has enough to give me the strength I need.” 

My own son, Joseph, who is nearing the end of his service as a missionary, had some struggles at first. This letter shows his honesty, his faith, and his subtle humor:

Missionary work is hard, not gonna lie. My companion keeps trying to make me do things I don't know how to do, really advanced missionary stuff like talking. At least if I didn't speak the language well I'd have an excuse not to do things.

We still haven't even met with most of our investigators, they're pretty hard to contact and it seems like some of them are avoiding us even. It can be really frustrating.

Sorry if it seems like I'm complaining. It's really not that bad. I have a lot to be grateful for. I'm actually not that stressed or homesick (which means it just hasn't hit me yet, probably) and my trainer says he was a lot worse his first couple weeks. I feel like I've been strengthened by God for sure. 

 

“If you have been to the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly,” he said. (President Thomas S. Monson, April 2011 General Conference

A story from my own life:
It was hard for me to find time to attend the temple while my children were young, but I managed to do it occasionally. Unfortunately, I sometimes felt like I needed to hurry through the session to get home and attend to my duties there.

On one such day, I sat in the chapel waiting for the session to begin. There were only a few people in the room, and I wondered if they could even do a session with so few. But just as it was time to move to the ordinance room, a man came in to join us. He seemed very old, and very frail. His temple clothes were yellow from age.

I am not proud about the feelings I had when I saw him. I became judgmental and annoyed, thinking that he might  slow the session down. I knew I was wrong to feel that way, and I tried to push the critical thoughts aside.

Toward the end of session, I found myself standing next to the frail old man, and I reached out to touch his hand. In that instant, my feelings toward him shifted dramatically. I knew that he was a much-loved son of God, a valiant soldier in the kingdom. I felt the Lord's love for him, and I was humbled by the privilege of standing with him in this sacred place. I will never forget those feelings.

It was only a few weeks later that I read a story about that man in the local newspaper. I learned that he had died, leaving this imperfect world and his worn-out mortal body behind. The article told the story of his long life of service, including in its account that in his later years, he had attended the Logan temple every day, from the time it opened until it closed. He had continued in that service almost until the last day of his life. 

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Galatians 6:9 )

_{Y Y Y Y Y}

Now, years later, it is again difficult for me to attend the temple. My poor vision and hearing, combined with my weakness and almost ever-present fatigue, make every visit to that sacred place a challenge.

One day, after a particularly troublesome session, I sunk into what can best be described as "whiny prayer," asking my Father in Heaven why He couldn't make this easier for me.

The answer came while I was on my way home, and it came very clearly: "Do you think you're the only person it's hard for? Is there no one worse off than you?"

But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses . . . 

_{*     *     *     *       *}

I found this Crock Pot at a thrift some years ago, and I took it to the checkout table with some concern.


I pointed out a big spot that was covered with black crusted burnt gunk.

"Oh, you can get that off. That's a great pot. You can scrub that burnt stain right out."

She was so confident that I could get it clean that I bought it and took it home for a good scrub. And the thrift store cashier was right – it was a great Crock Pot, and I did get the burned greasy gunk off it. 


Since then, I have found many items priced ridiculously low –because they were dirty and stained.
  
This solid surface cutting board appeared to be deeply stained, but the stains came out more easily than I expected. 

This cookie pan cost a dollar – but now that it's clean I think it's worth more.

Last Sunday, I sat next to a very lovely woman in Relief Society, We talked for a moment, and when the meeting ended I told her I liked her shoes, and I wondered how she kept them so white.

She told me that she'd bought the shoes at a thrift store, and they were really grungy. She had soaked them in a cleaning solution, and then rubbed them clean.



I was delighted by her story and asked her if I could take a picture of her shoes.

Just last month I bought this pot for two dollars. It's a nice pot, with a non-stick surface and a good lid.

But the bottom of the pot was burned black.

I knew this job would require a scouring pad.  

I found one under the kitchen sink and started scouring. Somewhere in the process, I remembered something a friend had said to me the day before: "Do you know what a scourge is?"

The similarity of the words scour and scourge suddenly struck me, and I left the pot and ran to the computer to see what I could learn about the words.

(This is the pot I was working on.
 You can see that I never quite finished scouring the bottom clean.)

I learned that the words scour and scourge are sometimes used interchangeably, and that that the word scour comes from the Middle English word scǒuren – “to polish, scour; to clean; to beat or whip.”

\ \ \ \ \ \

And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. 

And they clothed him with purple, and plaited a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!

 And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

Crucifixion was an agonizing, torturous death, but Jesus endured a torture that was nearly as, or perhaps equally, excruciating before he ever got to the cross. This was the pain he suffered when he was scourged.


Scourging was possibly the worst kind of flogging administered by ancient courts. Scourging was not normally a form of execution, but it certainly was brutal enough to be fatal in many cases. A person certainly could be beaten to death by the scourge if that was desired. Its purpose was not only to cause great pain, but to humiliate as well. It was belittling, debasing, and demeaning. 

The scourge was not designed merely to bruise or leave welts on the victim. It was a whip with several thongs or strands, each perhaps as much as three feet long, and the strands were weighted with lead balls or pieces of bone. This instrument was designed to lacerate. The weighted thongs struck the skin so violently that it broke open.

 

The victim of a scourging was bound to a post or frame, stripped of his clothing, and beaten with the flagellum from the shoulders to the loins. The beating left the victim bloody and weak, in unimaginable pain, and near the point of death.

It is no doubt that weakness from his scourging was largely the reason Jesus was unable to carry his cross all the way to Golgotha (Matt. 27:32 ).¹

S S S S S S S

“We do not know, we cannot tell, no mortal mind can conceive the full import of what Christ did in Gethsemane.We know He sweat great drops of blood from every pore as He drained the dregs of that bitter cup His Father had given Him.

“We know He suffered, both body and spirit, more than it is possible for man to suffer, except it be unto death …

“We know that He lay prostrate upon the ground as the pains and agonies of an infinite burden caused Him to tremble and would that He might not drink the bitter cup” (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, “The Purifying Power of Gethsemane,” Ensign, Apr. 2011, 57).

     He is despised and rejected of men;

 A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:

 And we hid as it were our faces from him; 

He was despised, and we esteemed him not.

➢       ➢       ➢       ➢       ➢  

The second-hand items I have shown here have been rejected, perhaps, because they were considered unclean – stained and uncleanable – and therefore of little or no worth.

But I cleaned them. I scoured and soaked the stains out. 

Of course, I can't remove every stain. I don't have that ability. I don't have that power.

But I know someone who does.

He, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior has the power.The Power to Heal us, The Power to Comfort us, The Power to cleanse us, and The Power to make us whole .

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:

 Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities:

The chastisement of our peace was upon him;

 And with his stripes we are healed.  

(Isaiah 53:3 - 5) 

On this day we celebrate our Savior's life: His sacrifices; His suffering; His miraculous healings – And His Great Triumph over Death and Sin.

And that is good news, indeed.

Hallelujah Amen!

1. Much of the information about the scourging and suffering of Christ is from "The Scourging of Jesus" by David McClister.