Every Day Is the Last Day: Advent Reflections for Mormons

December 01, 2011 by James Faulconer

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The Lord came to us through his birth. Through his birth he came to sacrifice himself and to be resurrected to eternal life at the right hand of the Father. His sacrifice and resurrection make our hope for eternal life possible if we have faith. His suffering for sin recognizes my suffering for sin and through it he offers me succor (Alma 7:12), the succor of divine comfort and the promise of eternal life.

But eternal life is God's life more than it is life forever. Even the demons live forever. To hope for eternal life is to hope to "be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 Jn. 3:2). The gospel promise is that the power of the resurrection will be literal. It is also the promise that we are resurrected now, to divine life, if we hope in faith.

December 4
2nd Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11: Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. . . . O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Psalm 85:8-13: I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints . . . . Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

Jesus brings God's comfort to us. His message is "You have been punished enough." He commands us, "Suffer from sin no longer." If we heed that command, we lift up our voices on the mountaintops in praise and adoration. For he not only saves us, he leads and protects us, gathering us to him as one might gather a pet lamb, leading us as one would lead a pregnant ewe. He brings us loving kindness (mercy) and steadfastness (truth). On the road Christ travels. his mercy and his righteousness are indistinguishable and they bring us salvation.

1 Nephi 11:14-22: And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou? And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins. And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

I do not know much, but I know that God loves us, his children. That love is the meaning of Mary's experience: bearing the Lamb of God, she shows us God's love, his condescension. In turn, that love is "the most desirable above all things."

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12/1/2011 5:00:00 AM

Advent

Mormon

Speaking Silence

Christmas

Holidays

Meditation

Sacred Texts

Mormonism

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About James Faulconer

James Faulconer is a Richard L. Evans Professor of Religious Understanding at Brigham Young University, where he has taught philosophy since 1975.

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