Cross training means training in a variety of sports in order to improve performance in each of them. Thus, improving in one sport makes you better at other sports. Closely linked is the idea of muscle confusion: When you work a muscle the same way every time, eventually you plateau. However, if you change the routine, working the same muscle but in different ways, you continually progress.
Spiritual cross training is a scripture-study program based on this principle. Instead of studying The Book of Mormon for a month (or a year), you mix it up daily–you cross train. This idea came to me when I was spending up to two hours a day studying the temple. I was very excited about it, but eventually I got burned out: I didn’t have the time or energy to study that much on a daily basis. The unfortunate result was me taking a break from scripture study for days on end.
Here’s my schedule (but the principle can be personalized to your interests and schedule):
Some of you probably know because you know me, or have noticed by my video and other media posts: I am kinda an amateur dabbler in video production and film making.
So I was excited when I noticed that the church announced a new DVD set as a resource for teaching Old Testament in the upcoming year. There are 56 videos in the set, many of which are new, or have never been available for purchase previously. There are also many, many other visual resources. From the preview video, they look like great quality reenactments of Old Testament stories. The reenactments either include, or other resources have, life-like renderings of the Tabernacle, Temple at Jerusalem and other stuff that can seem very distant until you see video that looks very real, as if peaking into the past. I’m excited to see all this new stuff, and see if it aides teachers in real Sunday School teaching situations.
You can watch the preview video they made here:
If you’re interested in how technology like this can help advance the purposes of the church, Bryce Haymond at TempleStudy.com posted, and started a Google Wave, about about using Google Wave to advance the purposes of the church.
Recommitment
This blog has seen far too few updates of recent. I’ve been extremely busy starting a couple small businesses, while working two other jobs, all while serving as an assistant stake clerk, a husband, and friend.
I recently stopped working on another blog, and expect to shuffle up the job situation in the near future (hopefully Heavenly Father agrees).
C S Lewis
On top of this, a friend I haven’t been in contact with for several years, asked me about a quote I used once in a lesson in church. I found it after a little searching and was surprised and intrigued to become reacquainted:
“Vice is a monster of so frightful face, as to be hated needs but to be seen; but seen too often, familiar with her face, we first endure, then tolerate, then embrace.” – Alexander Pope (An Essay on Man)
Then just the other day I ran across a related quote from C.S. Lewis:
Category : Ancient, Book of Mormon, Ceremony/Ordinances, Divine Potential, Doctrine & Covenants, Latter-Day, New Testament, Old Testament, Scriptures, Temple
Tags: Book of Mormon, Christ, Divine Potential, endowment, god, heirs, keys, Malachi, orders, ordinances, priestesses, priests, queens, sacrificial offerings, temple
If you haven’t already, I strongly recommend you read Part 1 and Part 2 of this article before reading this.
The title of this series of articles suggests that there might be scriptures that are “most important.” I don’t pretend to be capable of knowing what, of all God’s revealed scripture is the most important. However, Malachi 3 must be of great importance because, like many chapters of Isaiah it is given to us twice, and was given to the ancient Nephites by Christ himself. Malachi 4, in turn, must also be hugely important to us, because we have it many different times in the Latter-Day cannon of scripture. Of all things that Moroni could have told Joseph that night in his bedroom, he repeated Malachi 4, something Joseph already had in his Old Testament, and Moroni knew he would translate those verses from the plates that Moroni was there to announce to Joseph. Yet he gave them again. Why?
The Return of the Prophet Elijah
Elijah rebukes Ahab for turning from worshiping Jehovah to Baal.
We ended the last article with the indication that there were further ordinances that allow us to experience the things of Godliness. Clearly these ordinances are very important, perhaps most important. I personally believe that this is the reason we are given Malachi 4, several different times. Moroni even gives us different wording in the latter-day reciting. There are probably many reasons for this but I think two are very important: first, to help us better understand a scripture we may have become too familiar with, and therefore have stopped trying to extract deeper meaning from; and second, to help us take notice of it and ask the questions that will help us delve beyond the surface meaning.
Lets go to the scriptures. In. 3 Nephi 25 we read:
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Category : Ancient, Book of Mormon, Ceremony/Ordinances, Latter-Day, Old Testament, Sacrificial, Scriptures
Tags: Add new tag, Book of Mormon, Christ in America, Malachi, ordinances, sacrificial offerings
A lot has happened in mine and my wife’s life since I wrote Part 1 of this article. I believe some of it has helped me have a deeper appreciation for the truths contained in these chapters. I hope I can convey them well here, and show their importance.
First we need to go back and look a little more deeply into 3 Nephi 24 which is the same as Malachi 3. 3 Nephi 7 states “Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them.” While we previously discussed the idea that both ancient Israel, and us, “are gone away from” certain ordinances that the Lord calls His own, we didn’t address what these were.
What “ordinances” are we “gone away from?”
The Doctrine & Covenants is often a great place to find clarification on other scripture. Especially the Old & New Testaments, since they weren’t written for us, like the Book of Mormon was. D&C 84 was designated as “a revelation on priesthood” by the Prophet Joseph.
