Line upon Line

Many years ago, while visiting a friend’s house, I learned that my friend’s younger brother had memorized all the seminary scripture mastery verses. He knew the references, he knew the doctrines taught, and he could recite the verses word-for-word. I was very impressed. I was in my early twenties and had previously attended seminary, but I did not know the verses that well (and never had). The manner in which I learned of this young person’s prowess, however, was troubling: he was being, in turns, quizzed by family members (themselves seminary graduates), and teased for knowing the answers. Instead of encouragement or praise, he was rewarded with a laugh and shake of the head, condescending comments about how much time he must have dedicated to that, and a dismissive label.

Lehi’s Vision

In The Book of Mormon, we read of a dream that Lehi had. Among other things, he saw a “tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy” (1 Ne 8:10), a “rod of iron” that “led to the tree” (1 Ne 8:19), a “strait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree” (1 Ne 8:20), a “great mist of darkness” (1 Ne 8:23), and a “great and spacious building” that was “filled with people” dressed finely and “in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit” (1 Ne 8:26-27). Lehi sees a great multitude enter the building and they did “point the finger of scorn” at those “that were partaking of the fruit” (1 Ne 8:33). Some of those that tasted the fruit became “ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them” and “fell away” and “were lost” (1 Ne 8:28).

We learn later from Nephi, among other things, that the iron rod represents the “word of God” (1 Ne 11:25, 15:24) and the tree represents the “love of God” (1 Ne 11:22, 25). In order to teach this, the Spirit of the Lord shows Nephi the birth, ministry, and Atonement of Jesus Christ (1 Ne 11:13-33). Nephi also learns that the mists of darkness represent “temptations of the devil” (1 Ne 12:17) and the great and spacious building represents “the world and the wisdom thereof” (1 Ne 11:35) or the “pride of the world” (1 Ne 11:36).

Thinking about the Great and Spacious Building

There have been many wonderful talks in modern times to help us apply Lehi’s dream to our lives. In President Packer’s talk, “Lehi’s Dream and You”, he taught us powerfully how not to heed the mocking of those in the great and spacious building. He also makes the following profound statements without elaboration:

“Largely because of television, instead of looking over into that spacious building, we are, in effect, living inside of it. That is your fate in this generation. You are living in that great and spacious building.” [i]

Although President Packer does not explain these statements and the rest of his talk generally addresses how we hold onto the iron rod and move forward (and does not presume that we are inside the great and spacious building), he later adds the following related counsel:

“All of the mocking does not come from outside of the Church. Let me say that again: All of the mocking does not come from outside of the Church. Be careful that you do not fall into the category of mocking.”[ii]

I find these apostolic declarations sobering. After all, for me, it is comfortable to picture myself as the doughty hero, bravely pressing forward on the path, holding fast to the iron rod, at least occasionally partaking of the fruit, and trying not to fall into temptation or heed worldly jeers. But it is onerous to confront President Packer’s words and honestly acknowledge myself as (at least an occasional) resident of the great and spacious building. If I’m truthful, at different times, in different contexts, I can be in different places—the mocked or the mocker—in Lehi’s dream.

Yes, I have been derided for not letting my kids have a cell phone until a certain age. “Your kids are too sheltered.” “They won’t be able to connect with friends otherwise.” “They’ll use this app on their missions anyway.” But I confess that sometimes I shake my head, tsk tsk or otherwise satirize others—whether of my faith or of other faiths—who have even more restrictive rules regarding certain technology. Similarly, as a young person, my friends and I generally dressed modestly. But I also occasionally teased, or judgmentally muttered about, a peer who attired even more virtuously.

And, as the first story above illustrates, the same people that attend early morning seminary and may be razzed by their high school friends for doing so, can in turn tease a fellow seminary student who seemingly approaches seminary more seriously than they do.

It’s as if I want people to experience the joy of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but it sometimes makes me uncomfortable when they do so at a higher level than I do. Rather than following their example upward, I sometimes find myself trying to tease them down to my level of Gospel living. Symbolically, it’s something like: I desire for my friends to partake of the fruit of the tree…but it disquiets me when they partake more (or seem to relish partaking more) than I do.

For me, I’ve even noticed that there are certain topics that trigger an almost knee-jerk jeering response from me. It’s as though I lug around a personal mini great and spacious building into which I readily enter for immediate mocking when the right subject arises. In my life, one such topic is the Word of Wisdom. I’m not proud of how often I scoff at someone who (in addition to avoiding tobacco and strong drinks like I do), otherwise eats more healthily than I do.

Another personal great and spacious building for me relates to keeping the Sabbath day holy. For example, I don’t watch certain types of movies on the Sabbath. Yet I’ve noticed (and it has been pointed out to me), how often I make fun of others who go even further in Sabbath day observance: they don’t watch any movies on the Sabbath or they wear church clothes all day or whatever.[iii]

Questions about the Great and Spacious Building in My Own Life

Therefore, in order to account for my tendency to oscillate between mocked and mocker, when I read and ponder Lehi’s dream, I try to resist the urge to see myself only as the intrepid stalwart—holding to the iron rod and partaking of the fruit of the tree. For me, that view is not sufficiently accurate and therefore does not help me grow closer to Jesus Christ as much as a broader perspective would. Here are some questions that I ask myself to improve introspection:

• What do I think or say when I observe another person living the Gospel in a holier way than I am?
  • Do I let that be a good example for me?
  • Or do I attempt to tease (whether or not I claim that my teasing is only a joke) or taunt them down to my level?
  • Or do I dismiss them (whether audibly or in my heart) with an unkind label or gibe?
• In what areas of my life am I holding to the rod and/or partaking of the fruit?
• In what areas of my life am I in some corner of the great and spacious building (or perhaps my own small and cozy building)?

Again, Nephi learned the meaning of the tree and fruit in Lehi’s dream through a vision of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, Lehi’s dream is about you and me learning about Jesus Christ, following the example of Jesus Christ, being cleansed and strengthened through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and making and keeping covenants in the name of Jesus Christ. All this we strive to do despite the obstacles on our path, which include temptations of the devil and mocking mortals.

Although I absolutely do need to elevate my resistance to people who needle or criticize my faith and bolster my fortifications against Satan’s temptations, I also need to be honest about when I am the mocker—when I am the one inside the great and spacious building who is hindering others on the path or at the tree. Only then can I strive to rectify such behavior. And that will aid me and those around me on our paths to come unto Jesus Christ.

Notes: 

[i] New Era, January 2015.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] I’ve also noticed a tendency to attempt to justify or avoid responsibility for ridicule by saying something like “just kidding” or “I’m just saying” or “I didn’t mean anything by it” (whether immediately after the jibe or if someone brings it up later). But if I’m being honest with myself, I must acknowledge that “I was just joking” and its ilk are not get-out-of-great-and-spacious-building-free cards. In other words, an appeal to humor or other attempts to shirk responsibility for my words do not (or at least do not fully) intellectually or emotionally remove the effects of jeering (on the mocker or the mocked).