Is It Possible to Be Spiritually Prepared Without Being Temporally Prepared?

[lds2]

In our last general conference President Uchtdorf said...

"Like two sides of a coin, the temporal and spiritual are inseparable..."

"The Giver of all life has proclaimed, ‘All things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal.’"

"Unfortunately, there are those who overlook the temporal because they consider it less important. They treasure the spiritual while minimizing the temporal..."

"The one complements the other. The one without the other is a counterfeit of God’s plan of happiness..."

"This work of providing in the Lord’s way is not simply another item in the catalog of programs of the Church. It cannot be neglected or set aside. It is central to our doctrine; it is the essence of our religion. We must not turn aside our hearts or our heads from becoming more self-reliant..."

"The temporal is intertwined with the spiritual. God has given us this mortal experience and the temporal challenges that attend it as a laboratory where we can grow into the beings Heavenly Father wants us to become."

[NeuroTypical]

Is It Possible to Be Spiritually Prepared Without Being Temporally Prepared?

Oh, absolutely. Christ actually taught this on at least two different continents to two different civilizations:

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: ) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

How do you reconcile our counsel to prepare against Christ's sermon to His disciples? (I actually don't know the answer here - it's been something I've thought about off and on over the years.)

[Tyler90AZ]

To me Christ's sermon is more about taking personal responsibility for our spiritual needs first.

for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

[lds2]

The excerpts come from President Uchtdorf's talk that is featured on the front page of Providentliving.org.

Welfare and Self Reliance Principles | ProvidentLiving.org

On the front page of the "home storage" section it quotes,

“Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to ‘prepare every needful thing’ so that, should adversity come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors and support bishops as they care for others....With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve.”

[Dove]

Oh, absolutely. Christ actually taught this on at least two different continents to two different civilizations:

How do you reconcile our counsel to prepare against Christ's sermon to His disciples? (I actually don't know the answer here - it's been something I've thought about off and on over the years.)

I believe the Saviour was giving this counsel specifically to His disciples, who had a special calling to teach the gospel to anyone they came in contact with.....I think of the story of Alma, who was lead back to an evil city, and met Amulek on his way...Amulek fed Alma and kept him as a guest in his home.

Isn't that what the disciples did in their travels? Weren't they taken care of the followers of Christ as they went from city to city?

I don't know, I thought that's what it was.

Dove

[Seminarysnoozer]

"The temporal is intertwined with the spiritual. God has given us this mortal experience and the temporal challenges that attend it as a laboratory where we can grow into the beings Heavenly Father wants us to become."

Yes it is possible to be "spiritually prepared without being temporally prepared". I think that is how you would describe every one of us before coming to Earth. We all kept our first estate, we were spiritually prepared and matured, we passed the spiritual test. Then we are sent here to take the temporal test, to see if we will do the things we said we would do. This is one of the most unique things about our religion, we really believe that we have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

If all one had to do was believe, then passing the first estate test would have been sufficient, there would be no further need to learn to grow and be tested any further. We have to be tested with a little stewardship to see if we can handle greater stewardship. In all things temporal, though, the trick is to do it with an eye single to the glory of God. The heart of the test is not only to see if we do the things we are asked to do alone but we do them with righteous desires of the heart which is a spiritual focus monitored by God.

The other difficult part of being a good steward is to not seek reward for one self in the process of doing good works. D&C 4:5 " 5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work." As opposed to 2 Nephi 26:29 " 29 He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion." In other words, being temporally prepared often times means doing it anonymously, in private and giving praise to God in all things.

[Smeagums]

I think absolutely not in fact Brigham Young said how can a man wish to inherit a world when he can't take care of himself here on Earth granted his has the capability to do so.

I will try to provide the quote.

[lds2]

The other difficult part of being a good steward is to not seek reward for one self in the process of doing good works. D&C 4:5 " 5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work." As opposed to 2 Nephi 26:29 " 29 He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion." In other words, being temporally prepared often times means doing it anonymously, in private and giving praise to God in all things.

I agree with what you are saying that we had to pass our first estate which was limited by our spiritual nature. But I don't think that the second is purely temporal as they are "intertwined"...to me this is more like graduate spiritual work where now we have to control our temporal bodies and deal with extreme temptations/evil we couldn't experience when we were just spiritual beings where we must choose obedience and righteousness. But I don't think Pres. Uchtdorf's closing remark was what his talk was mostly about. It was about doing things "the Lord's Way" and what that means, and what He expects us to do, and that it has both spiritual and temporal components that cannot be separated.

We are encouraged to prepare for calamity/adversity not only to help ourselves, but our neighbors and our bishops with the poor and the needy. (First Presidency Message, 2007) We are also told to "warn our neighbors" and once we are "self-reliant" to do everything we can to help our neighbors become "self-reliant" also (First Presidency Letter, June 2011).

I'm not sure where the rewards or the priestcraft comes into that? We are told to help our neighbors, but wouldn't anonymity be more appropriate if you were actually doing charity...such as leaving zucchinis on your neighbors porch so they can have more "food storage?" JK but it seems we are getting temporal/spiritual preparedness and anonymity for charitable acts confused?

.

Edited March 30, 2012 by lds2

[Seminarysnoozer]

I agree with what you are saying that we had to pass our first estate which was limited by our spiritual nature. But I don't think that the second is purely temporal as they are "intertwined"...to me this is more like graduate spiritual work where now we have to control our temporal bodies and deal with extreme temptations/evil we couldn't experience when we were just spiritual beings where we must choose obedience and righteousness. But I don't think Pres. Uchtdorf's closing remark was what his talk was mostly about. It was about doing things "the Lord's Way" and what that means, and what He expects us to do, and that it has both spiritual and temporal components that cannot be separated.

We are encouraged to prepare for calamity/adversity not only to help ourselves, but our neighbors and our bishops with the poor and the needy. (First Presidency Message, 2007) We are also told to "warn our neighbors" and once we are "self-reliant" to do everything we can to help our neighbors become "self-reliant" also (First Presidency Letter, June 2011).

I'm not sure where the rewards or the priestcraft comes into that? We are told to help our neighbors, but wouldn't anonymity be more appropriate if you were actually doing charity...such as leaving zucchinis on your neighbors porch so they can have more "food storage?" JK but it seems we are getting temporal/spiritual preparedness and anonymity for charitable acts confused?

.

Of course, as there is no such thing as being a purely temporal being (even though being completely evil might be described that way, there is still a spirit there). There is no point in our existence when we are just a mortal body alone, without a spirit. Temporal mannerisms, therefore, can never be separated from spiritual influence unless a person is completely carnal, but they didn't start out that way. They started out spiritually prepared. My point is that we were all spiritually prepared before coming here, 100% prepared. There is no task that we are given here that God does not prepare a way for us to accomplish. So, it is possible to be spiritually prepared without being temporally prepared.

Temporal preparedness is of no long-lasting value if not done out of obedience and done for the right reason. For example, the people who are doing it because they are preparing for "doomsday" and not because they are obeying inspired leaders do not receive any long-lasting benefit from such preparation. They may think they do but the benefit is, at best, only for this life, which all turns to dust in the end anyways.

The benefit of the law, in other words, is not out of the actual temporal preparedness but from the obedience, which is a reflection of spiritual integrity in the setting of temporal distraction.

The "priestcraft" version of this is when people prepare for doomsday to save their "stuff" - i.e. worldly stuff, food, shelter, property etc. Then they live for things, they fight for temporal things, in a sense temporal gain (at least preventing temporal loss). I am just talking about Matthew 6:19 " 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

"Heart" of course meaning a spiritual desire.

If a person is disobedient to the urging of the leaders to prepare temporally, then by definition they have lost their spiritual preparedness. So, that situation of being "spiritually prepared but not temporally prepared" would not apply to such a person, they are not spiritually prepared.

Edited March 30, 2012 by Seminarysnoozer

[lds2]

Great post...thanks. I understand what you are saying now...

[Seminarysnoozer]

Great post...thanks. I understand what you are saying now...

Thanks, we are in agreement.

[Bensalem]

Is It Possible to Be Spiritually Prepared Without Being Temporally Prepared?

Yes. There are many more believers and saints who are obedient to the laws of the gospel which bring salvation and exaltation, than those who are prepared for the great tribulation with stores of food and water, debt management, or greater works of charity and good will.

By connecting the two more fully, President Uchtdorf, seems to be saying our spiritual perfection falls short when we under-perform our temporal requirements.

Many are spiritually ready to die; fewer are prepared to go on living.

Edited April 6, 2012 by Bensalem

[HiJolly]

Yes. There are many more believers and saints who are obedient to the laws of the gospel which bring salvation and exaltation, than those who are prepared for the great tribulation with stores of food and water, debt management, or greater works of charity and good will.

By connecting the two more fully, President Uchtdorf, seems to be saying our spiritual perfection falls short when we under-perform our temporal requirements.

Many are spiritually ready to die; fewer are prepared to go on living.

Good comment. President U is reflecting a Western value, also found in the New Testament:

1 Timothy 5:8: But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

And while I believe that joining the two is not necessarily required for everyone, I do believe it is required for those following Western moral codes. For an Eastern person (ie, from India or China) I'm not sure it is a requirement.

OTOH, where would *you* rather live? For me, it's a no-brainer --- Western culture is vastly superior. So for myself, I agree that temporal and spiritual values/commitments are combined.

HiJolly

[lds2]

Many are spiritually ready to die; fewer are prepared to go on living.

If that didn't come from a bumper sticker...then it should be one!

I think there are more people that just hope to go in the first round of whatever major calamity strikes than want to go through the trials necessary to make it through to live in Zion or the New Jerusalem. (Not that people hope that...I think the hope uppermost in most people's minds are that they will be able to live as they always have until they die...they don't want to consider the possibility of having to live without fast food, fast transportation, screens for entertainment, etc.)

The older I get the less likely it will be that I am one of the people who will "make it through." But living in a truly Zion community would be awesome...just children being able to play safely outside with no worries of someone hurting them would be huge. Having the desert blossom as a rose...that's another one I would like to see as I live in the desert. No poor among them, that would be a real blessing. Jesus Christ personally leading His Church...how wondrous a blessing that will be.

.

Edited April 6, 2012 by lds2

[Bensalem]

If that didn't come from a bumper sticker...then it should be one!

I should have copyrighted it before posting it.

[Bensalem]

But living in a truly Zion community would be awesome...just children being able to play safely outside with no worries of someone hurting them would be huge. Having the desert blossom as a rose...that's another one I would like to see as I live in the desert. No poor among them, that would be a real blessing. Jesus Christ personally leading His Church...how wondrous a blessing that will be.

Yea, awesome times.

[jb789]

Oh, absolutely. Christ actually taught this on at least two different continents to two different civilizations:

How do you reconcile our counsel to prepare against Christ's sermon to His disciples? (I actually don't know the answer here - it's been something I've thought about off and on over the years.)

I've thought about this teaching of the Savior a lot, and I believe that at a certain point in one's spiritual progression, when they are living "by the Spirit" day to day, meaning truly trusting in God and have become as a little child, that this instruction to "take no thought for the morrow" is fulfilled. That is, even in temporal matters, because we seek the Lord's guidance and submit to Him in all things, we can truly get to the point where we no longer need to give "thought for the morrow" - our faith has made us whole.

For many this sounds ridiculous and even impossible - how could we give up our goal setting and planning? And of course to abandon such things prematurely would be foolish!

The prophets always teach to the level of understanding of the saints at the time - Moses did this with the law of Moses, Christ did this to his disciples on the Sermon of the Mount. The living prophets today do the same thing - they teach to the level of understanding of the members. Throughout the scriptures the prophets stated they knew much more than they were permitted to write - and why? - because the people were not ready, and it would confuse and mislead them.

Thus, we are continually counseled now (and rightly so) to make preparations for the morrow, to plan, set goals, etc. However, at a certain point in one's spiritual journey, the need for such planning is transcended by a living faith and guidance by God daily - it is then that the Savior's words of "take no thought for the morrow" are fulfilled.

[lds2]

I agree such righteous people could not sit idly by and watch others go without, they would take the counsel from the First Presidency to become self-reliant so they could then bless their neighbors and the poor and the needy. I've seen the work ethic of righteous missionaries and I've seen righteous Saints work just as hard to serve/help their neighbors/ward members.

When there is no poor among us and all work to help themselves as much as possible and their neighbor...that will be awesome!