The Captain of Thy Soul

As much as I loved America's great philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson (and I still do), his essay 'Self Reliance' confused me in my youth.  It was truth mixed with error. He proceeded by the light that he had--and he had a very great intellectual light--but it had been eclipsed by the restored Gospel light that had burst upon the world, that few, even today, have begun to walk in.  

Compare this proud poem by William Ernest Henley, who may have been influenced by Emerson's 'Self Reliance,' with the Gospel of Jesus Christ-inspired counterpoint of an enlightened Orson F. Whitney:

             Invictus  

      by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeoning of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishment the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.  

      The Soul’s Captain 

     by Orson F. Whitney

Art thou in truth?  Then what of Him

Who bought thee with His blood?

Who plunged into devouring seas

And snatched thee from the flood,

Who bore for all our fallen race

What none but Him could bear—

That God who died that man

      might live

And endless glory share.

Of what avail thy vaunted strength

Apart from His vast might?

Pray that His light may pierce the

    gloom

That thou mayest see aright. 

Men are as bubbles on the wave,

As leaves upon the tree,

Thou captain of thy soul!  Forsooth

Who gave that place to thee?

Free will is thine—free agency,

To wield for right or wrong;

But thou must answer unto Him

To whom all souls belong.

Bend to the dust that “head unbowed,”

Small part of life’s great whole,

And see in Him and Him alone,

The Captain of thy Soul.  

 

 

             

        

Great Expectations--Part 2

I had thought not to finish this famous novel by Charles Dickens because of what I early perceived as its darkness of plot and setting and character of a number of its characters including its protagonist, Pip.  I, nevertheless, persisted and finished it.  It is the story of a prodigal who, over time, realized the folly and sham of his ‘great expectations’ and scarred and sick came back, a wiser man, to his roots. 

As noted previously, I appreciated its narrative technique, and, as I suspected and why I persisted, the triumph of good over evil. 

  

To me it showed the darkness and bonds into which one, even the good and innocent, can fall and become ensnared when captivated by the vain and vainglorious things of the world.  It also shows the cost of ignoring one’s conscience. 

 

We need to be very sure of our ‘great expectations’ or hopes and count the cost before we invest ourselves into anything that will not bring us and our loved ones the peace without regret that we all desire. 

  

The only legitimate reason to seek status or riches, is to “seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.” And the only person to legitimately do that, in this book, was not the supposed or even real ‘benefactor’ who provided money and false expectations to Pip, but Pip’s humble and good-to-the-bone stepfather Joe, the blacksmith.

I end with a short but very wise speech by this good man: “Pip, dear old chap, life is made of ever so many partings welded together . . . and one man’s a blacksmith, and one’s a whitesmith, and one’s a goldsmith. . . .  Divisions among such must come, and must be met as they come.  You and me is not two figures to be together in London; nor yet anywheres else, but what is private, and beknown, and understood among friends.  It ain’t that I am proud, but that I want to be right, as you shall never see me no more in these clothes.  I’m wrong in these clothes. I’m wrong out of the forge, the kitchen, or off the marshes.  You won’t find half so much fault in me supposing as if you should ever wish to see me [again if], you come and put your head in at the forge window and see Joe, the blacksmith, there at the old anvil, in the old burnt apron, sticking to the old work.” 

It is okay to have ‘great expectations’ and know what our true ‘work’ is,  but never compromise them at the expense of one’s character or integrity.  To thine own self—and one’s God—be true.

The Way We Were

We’ve all heard the Barbara Streisand song of that title, and we’ve all thought, probably many times, of the way we were when we were younger, prettier, stronger, perhaps more optimistic, certainly more naïve. 

‘Memories light the corner of my mind.  Misty water color memories of the way we were.  / Can it be that it was all so simple then, or has time rewritten every line?  If we had the chance to do it all again, Tell me? Would we? Could we?’

For me, the answer is, generally, ‘no’ and ‘perhaps.’  And for that I am very thankful—I’ve had few regrets.  I’ve got ‘miles to go’ and great things to look forward to. 

She goes on: ‘Memories may be beautiful and yet, what’s too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget.’  Well, again, perhaps. 

I did not see the movie, so I do not know the context of these lyrics, but I suppose it was her reflection of a past relationship that probably was once good but then went bad.  We’ve all got a movie that we sometimes run back. 

But the notion is valuable.  It congers a reflection in all of us as we look back at our lives: where we’ve been, where we are, where we have yet to go.  Are we satisfied?  Are we prepared for whatever might lie ahead?  

As another year passes (it is, after all, December 31^st), as our life passes, we invariably look back.  Often we see—or sometimes ‘simply choose to forget,’ but better yet choose to learn from—the rough parts ,  as well as happily recounting and replaying that which was good. 

One of the greatest boons that we have, in real time, is that we have access to an editing mechanism, a ‘delete’ button that really can ‘re[write] every line.’  Call it ‘repentance,’ and the outcome call ‘forgiveness,’  and call the life ahead a great ‘new day dawning,’ or a new beginning—whatever, with God’s help, we choose to make it. 

As I seem to be infused today with song lyrics,  I end this year with two more: 

For me, ‘It’s been a good life, all in all.’ (John Denver)  

If not for you, ‘Pick [yourself] up and get back in the race…that’s life.’ (Frank Sinatra) You might be surprised at who might be happy to run beside you! 

Auld lang syne. 

Great Expectations

Fascinated with the title of this novel by Charles Dickens, I had nevertheless avoided reading it for many years, until now, because my experience with some of Dickens’ other works.  As a youth I was exposed to Dickens in English classes, but my reading experiences, as I recall, were never uplifting or positive.  I thought, in fairness, now, I ought to give this well-known and highly-read author another chance.  And, again, I liked the title.  

But again, I came to the same conclusion.

I would think we should have great expectations for anything in which we voluntarily invest our time or energy.  If we give any credence to the cardinal Christian virtues of ‘faith, hope, and charity,’  hope being that of a great future ahead of us, beyond this life, and I do, we should apply ourselves to it.  Besides, aren’t there those who have ‘great’ or ‘high’ expectations of us? As parents, don’t we have these expectations of our children?

Unfortunately, with Great Expectations which I have not and may not finish, though I have found the prose style and some of the character workups and their language usage (which was apparently common of mid-nineteenth century England) fascinating, the darkness of theme and plot and character weaknesses of many other introduced characters is repelling and deterring to me.  There is much evil in this book.  If it, like A Christmas Carol, finally comes to a good end, and I suppose it does, the end with both books comes too late. 

Moreover, with the reported moral weakness of the author, of which I have recently learned, further tainting the content, and notwithstanding his reputed ‘literary genius,’ as evaluated by numerous critics and scholars, I just can’t get into his works.  My literary and entertainment standard has not been met; and that is to seek after that which is “virtuous, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy,” and to read “out of the best books words of wisdom.”  I think I was mislead on this one.  

I had ‘great expectations’ for this book, but may have to put it down so as to not waste my time when there are so many other excellent works  to read that I’m sure I will never have time to exhaust in my mortal lifetime. 

Secular Education / Higher Education (part 2)

Ironically, many refuse to examine gospel truths simply because of how God reveals them. These very methods swell skepticism among many. “Furthermore, these divine disclosures are not democratically dispensed” (Maxwell) because such things are "made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works" (Alma 12:30; see also 2 Nephi 1:10).  This self-limits a huge part of the population.

In eternity, when the faithful receive "all that [the] Father hath," this will include an enormous enlargement intellectually (D & C 84:38).

Sadly, when people are left alone--without angelic visitations, without divine disclosures, without prophets, without scriptures, without the Holy Spirit--many cease believing. Belief in Gospel fundamentals is the first thing to go, as happened with Book of Mormon peoples who ceased believing in God, in the resurrection, and in a redeeming Christ, and therefore in repentance, and forgiveness, and in Faith, Hope, and Charity (Omni 1:17; Mosiah 26:2).  Confirmation follows faith and belief; it does not precede it.  

Many in the world hold back from making the "leap of faith" because they have already jumped to some other conclusions--often what the Book of Mormon calls the Korihor conclusions, which are: God never was nor ever will be; there is no redeeming Christ; man cannot know the future; man cannot know of that which he cannot see; whatsoever a man does is no crime; and death is the end (see Alma 30:13-­18).  

When so positioned, many mortals do not accept an invitation to explore the fullness of the Gospel of Christ which is the highest education and which challenges many secular assumptions.  Their reactions to the Gospel range from indifference to contempt. Happily, there are some who are meek enough to consider that which they have "never considered" and "never had supposed" (D & C 101:94; Moses 1:10). 

We who have made the ‘leap of faith’ and become immersed in the gospel framework sometimes fail to appreciate and take for granted how illuminating gospel truths are with regard to so many issues of the day. For instance, given the Plan of Salvation with our need to experience this probationary mortal school, to acquire a mortal body, and then knowing the very preciousness of human life--we see the awful practice of widespread abortion differently than many of the liberal element. Similarly, struggling to have the "mind of Christ" includes purity of thought and “letting virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly.” Hence we view pornography as a love-killing, distorted, enslaving thing. Likewise we cannot feel otherwise concerning such practices as licentious or violent entertainment  and blatant homosexuality even if these and other deviant sexual practices are or may become legally protected.

Education that is only "for a season" is narrow; it pertains only to a knowledge of things as they temporarily are, like today's weather forecast or an airline schedule or current fashion trends.  “Temporary facts are useful but terminal.” (Maxwell) Even an Ivy-League education will get us only so far. 

Thus our consuming of certain information is like consuming our daily bread. We need it (if it is not poisonous) but it is of temporary value and taken alone does not provide a balanced diet. We will soon hunger again (see John 6:47­-48, 51). Instead, the Bread of Life is not only satisfying, but it is inexhaustible.

Ultimate wisdom enables us to see Jesus as the Light of the World, but, further, we also come to realize that it is by His light that we are to see everything else. (C. S. Lewis) The Gospel's bright and illuminating light thereby helps us see God, ourselves, others, the world, and the universe more correctly and more deeply. Indeed, as Paul declared, "in [Christ] all things hold together" (RSV, Colossians 1:17). 

For now, though we can mercifully see something of our eventual possibilities, you and I are aware of our present limitations.  “For now we see through a glass darkly” and we should not forget it (1^st Corinthians 13:12).  So, “Is that all there is to life?” asks singer Judy Collins.  Having matriculated in an Eternal education I respond with a resounding, ‘No!

 Finally,  I submit that you and I should be fully qualified and certified both in traditional education and its processes and in ‘higher education’ as I have defined it for yet another very good reason: bilinguality. The men and women of Christ should be truly educated and articulate as to secular knowledge, but should also be educated and articulate in the things of the Spirit—in an education for Eternity.  For it is the Spirit that giveth Life—and that more abundantly.  It also gives a greatly expanded worldview.

It is for this I am grateful and to this that I aspire.  

(I am indebted to Elder Neal A. Maxwell, late of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for his B.Y.U. Campus Education Week 1992 keynote address, of which I listened and took careful notes.  It was his address which inspired me to discuss this topic and for providing a number of insightful thoughts and quotations.)