The Solemnities of Eternity

At the end of one of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord said, “Hearken ye to these words. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds” (D&C 43:34).  This implies an invitation to forgo having other things “rest upon our minds” and to put the things of God at the forefront of what we think about.  This is reminiscent of the Savior’s command, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (3 Nephi 13:19-20).  The Savior declared that our heart will be where our treasure is, and so perhaps one way to find out what our treasure really is for us is to understand what kinds of things our minds rest upon when we take the time to ponder and reflect.  Is it thoughts of money and gadgets and investments and sports and Hollywood and clothing and cars—the “treasures upon earth”—or is it the “solemnities of eternity”?  

                Hugh Nibley, in speaking to students at BYU, said it this way: “In our limited time here, what are we going to think about?  That is the all-important question.  We’ve been assured that it is not too early to start thinking about things of the eternities.  In fact, Latter-day Saints should be taking rapid strides toward setting up that eternal celestial order which the Church must embody to be acceptable to God. Also, we are repeatedly instructed regarding things we should not think about.  I would pass by this negative thing lightly, but the scriptures are explicit, outspoken, and emphatic in this matter; and whenever anyone begins to talk about serious matters at the BYU, inevitably someone says, ‘I would like to spend my time thinking about such things and studying them, but I cannot afford the luxury.  I have to think about the really important business of life, which is making a living.’  This is the withering effect of the intimidating challenge thrown out to all of us from childhood: ‘Do you have any money?’ with its absolute declaration of policy and principle: ‘You can have anything in this world for money!’ and its paralyzing corollary: ‘Without it, you can have NOTHING!’  I do not have to tell you where that philosophy came from.  Somebody is out to ‘decoy . . . [our] minds,’ to use Brigham Young’s expression, from the things we should be thinking about to those we should not care about at all” (see here).  Those words from Brother Nibley, though spoken decades ago, are as pertinent as ever for those of us who live in the world that barrages us with its distractions and tempts us with its money. 

                Erasmus is quoted as saying, “When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes” (see here).     That surely is the kind of attitude we should have as it relates to spiritual matters: the most important purpose of money should be to enable our pursuit of the divine as we learn and serve and try to become like our Heavenly Father.  Surely we have to use money to buy the things of the world, but if that is our ultimate end then we are falling far short of the divine potential God sees in us.  For as true Christians we only should seek money “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” (Jacob 2:19).  And, we might add, to enable us to pursue with more energy the true purpose of life as God wants it for us.  The Prophet Joseph taught, “The things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanse of eternity—thou must commune with God. How much more dignified and noble are the thoughts of God, than the vain imaginations of the human heart!”  But if our minds can’t make it past thinking about the numbers in our bank account or the things of the world that we own, then it’s no wonder that we fall far short of receiving the kinds of revelations that the Prophet Joseph received, despite the fact that, according to the him, “God hath not revealed anything to Joseph, but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and even the least Saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear them” (see here).  Surely to reach that point we must make the solemnities of eternity the frequent subject of our deepest reflections.