NT 10: Some Paper and a Press

One of my most favorite experiences in my life occurred in a paper shop in Florence, Italy. Walking on the streets of Florence, some friends and I had been drawn in to this paper shop, probably because of the warmth it emitted in its yellow walls and decorative window displays.

Upon entering, we were greeted by two of the happiest Italian men in the world. They welcomed us in, joking and laughing with us like we were old friends. They had a passion for paper, and they showed us how they made their beautiful paper.

One turned up the Italian opera music playing in the tiny shop and told us how the music touched him with tears in his eyes. When I asked the other man what his favorite color was, he looked at his golden shirt, his tan pants, and the yellow shelves of his store and told us that yellow was his favorite color—because it reminded him of the sun, and the sun reminded him of his childhood days, and his childhood days reminded him of his boat.

The feeling these men created in the store was overwhelmingly joyful, and I left almost in tears because I was so happy.

I felt some of this passion for paper again as I visited the Crandall Printing Museum in Provo.

Everyone should go visit this museum. This small colonial-inspired house is full of treasures for your mind and your heart. Here I met three more men who had a passion for paper, or rather, a passion for the press.

They showed their handmade Gutenberg press and explained the amazing innovations of Johannes Gutenberg and the development of the press. They allowed visitors to feel the Latin letters placed on the press in the same way they were six hundred years ago, words that changed every day lives. In 50 years after its creation, the Gutenberg press produced 20 million books of the Bible.

After learning about the Gutenberg press, we were brought to a press created after the one in New England that Ben Franklin printed revolutionary documents on. These documents rallied the American cause and because of the printed word, we were able to have our freedom.

Then we were brought to a printing press built after the Grandin press in New York. This type of press produced the Book of Mormon, and what a miracle that book was. Considering the small amount of printing presses in the country, it is strange that there would be one in the tiny township of Palmyra, New York. What had made it possible to bring this heavy machinery to this place? If it had been brought on horse and wagon it would have been impossibly expensive. But because Palmyra was situated near to the newly built Eerie Canal, the machinery could be hauled across the river to Palmyra.

And the number of books. E.B. Grandin must have been incredulous when Joseph Smith asked him to print 5,000 books. The first printing of the Bible was contracted by the Catholic Church for a mere 180 copies, incidentally. 5,000 books was a very large number for a small place.

What a miracle it was that these books were finished in such a short amount of time. To bind that many books would have taken over 2 years, and this estimate is by a modern-day printer. Yet, the Book of Mormon was bound in 7 months. This would have required the boys in the print shop to print 2 sheets per minute, setting type for 11 hours a day. It would have required the printers to pull the press handle 5,000 times for each of the 37 stacks of paper it required for each book—that is 185,000 pulls to create that amount of books.

The Book of Mormon is a miracle.

The press is what made it possible for the word of God to go forth.
It was the medium that allowed the Gutenberg Bible, the word of God, to go forth to everyday people. It was the medium that allowed words of freedom and liberty to spread through America. It was the medium that allowed the word of God to go forth again and in its fullness and power through the Book of Mormon.

This is the real power of the press.

In Florence I felt that excitement and pleasure these men found in paper and paper making. The Crandall Museum also contained that excitement, but also contained the power, not of the paper, but of the words pressed upon that paper that changed people’s lives.

It is no wonder these men have such a love and a passion for the press. On paper are written words that have changed their lives, personally.

They are words that have changed my life.
And yours.

Crandall Printing Museum
275 East Center Street
Provo, Utah

NT 9: Paul in Jerusalem

"And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut."

In Paul's final trip to Jerusalem, he went to the temple, bringing a Gentile inside and teaching that the Gospel replaced the Law of Moses.

Chaos ensued. Paul was arrested and received some pardon because he was a Roman citizen.

The things that Paul had been working for--unity in the Church and acceptance of Gentiles into the Church did not come to fruition. That would have been so frustrating, to have your efforts being met with less than favorable results.

Luke wrote the book of Acts as a continuation of his account of Jesus' life. The apostles were continuing the work of Jesus, preaching his Gospel and the good news of his life and resurrection. Paul sought to unify the Church in this Gospel, and he had met with challenge after challenge.

And now, in Jerusalem, he was taken out of the temple and made a prisoner.
In class, we discussed the symbolic nature of Luke's use of the temple doors. Picture the huge doors closing Paul out of the temple. Here was an apostle of God, and he was shut out.

The unity he had hoped for--not here in Jerusalem.
The gospel he had preached--not accepted amongst the Jews.

I mean, Paul was a failure, right?!
Walked right into a trap at Jerusalem, wasn't accepted, wasn't really listened to, and became imprisoned. Even Paul.

Paul knew what would happen in Jerusalem as Agabus prophesied of the events that would take place. Do you know what he said when he heard?
He said, "What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

Paul was willing to experience failure, imprisonment, and death for this Gospel.
He had more faith than fear, and that's why he went to Jerusalem.

He knew that because of Christ he could do all things.

NT 8: We Can Make It

We don't need to worry about wide-spread apostasy in the church anymore as Paul warned the people of his day.

But personal apostasy is a very real concern.

As I've grown up, I've seen people fall away. I've often wondered how it happens. I've wondered how they could leave what they knew to be true. I don't know if there is always an easy answer, but there are two things that come to mind.

The first is complacency.
God says that if we are lukewarm, and not hot or cold, he will spue us out of his mouth. (Revelations 3:17) Those who live the Gospel halfway aren't really living the Gospel at all. To be lukewarm doesn't mean "imperfect." We are all imperfect. It doesn't mean we don't make mistakes or sometimes make the wrong choice. We all make wrong choices and mistakes.

To be hot or cold is to have chosen what side you are fighting on. It sounds to me that God has very little patience for fence sitters. We have to choose what side we are fighting for and FIGHT. If we are not on the Lord's side, whose side are we on? There really isn't any middle ground. If we aren't fighting each day by reading our scriptures, praying for help, and following the prophets (in other words, becoming complacent) we aren't going to make it.

The second is overzealousness.
This is the opposite of complacency, and yet both can result in apostasy. I have noticed that when people get too focused on being perfect and doing everything right, they get major burnout. They don't accept themselves, they place themselves under more pressure and demands than the Lord does. They focus on their own efforts instead of His grace.

Elder Larsen of the Seventy said that "overzealousness is at least as much to be feared as apathy."

Isn't that interesting?
Why would that be?

I think that the problem with both complacency and overzealousness is that your focus turns away from Christ. Isn't that depressing? The very thing that overzealous people avoid so well (complacency) has a very similar cause.

How do we avoid both complacency and overzealousness?
We step in the right direction.
And then we take another step.

If we are prone to complacency, we must remember to keep walking in the path.
If we are prone to overzealousness, we must remember to refrain from trying to sprint the whole time.

When we do give our efforts to following his path, and keep our focus on the Savior, we don't need to worry about apostasy. We will know that it is His grace after all we can do that will help us make it.

One of my favorite quotes by Elder Maxwell eloquently expresses exactly what we need to be doing.

"Oh, how glorious and wonderful is “this Jesus Christ”! If contemplating the doing of all these things – to become more and more like Him – makes us feel discouraged, intimidated, and overwhelmed, we need to remember that He never said it all had to be done in a day. Rather, if we could not travel fast, we could at least be steadfast and press forward, doing things in wisdom and in order and in a pattern of paced progress, first achieving correct direction and then added momentum. It is the labor of a lifetime and more." Even as I Am, pg. 33-34.

It's possible. Let's stay on the path and remember that it is possible because of Him.

NT 7: Intimations of Divinity

I had the opportunity to visit the exhibit "Intimations of Divinity" at BYU's Museum of Art. After the presentation of the exhibit, there was a discussion about the meaning of this painting between a few students:

"And Then I Looked," David Lynn

I don't know what the author intended, but these are some of my perceptions from the painting.
Christ is the rock and he is the light.

Our journey is a journey to Christ.
Like someone climbing up a steep mountain, we make our way through life.
The path is not always easy and the closer we get to the light, the steeper it is.

It would be near to impossible to scale up the center of the steep cliff. To get to the top, we have to venture out in the darkness, climbing on the rocks away from the light.

There will be times of not knowing in our lives. Those are times where we can choose to have faith.

The journey starts in a pebbly area, easily traversed, no incline. Then it gets steeper.

We could always choose not to climb the mountain. The path would be so easy if we were not trying to get to the top. Little pebbles line the way, no incline, no sharp rocks.

But we wouldn't really get anywhere staying there.

And there is always a way up the mountain. Henry B. Eyring said, "You need never be discouraged or afraid. The way through difficulties has always been prepared for you, and you will find it if you exercise faith."

It takes a lot of faith
to not know
to not see everything
to struggle through the rocks
and the steepness

But it seems that the best plan
is to venture out in the darkness
and keep your eyes on the light.

NT 6: Gethsemane and Us

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Gethsemane.
The place where the most righteous, holy, pure person ever to live on the earth was subject to pain beyond measure, to sin that he had never partaken in, to the sorrows and heaviness and the weight of the world.

No matter how good we are, each of us has to partake of suffering in this life as well. It will never be to the extent of the Savior, but each of us will partake in our own Gethsemane. It is part of being a disciple of Christ. Whatever it may be, God will have a tried people. If we never had bitter we would never know the sweet.

When we go through suffering, not from sin, but from the circumstances of life, we have the opportunity to come to Him, the one that suffered all so that our suffering would be less.

No matter how great our suffering, He understands.
Deep personal trials and suffering can allow us to feel the Savior's love more deeply and more powerfully when we realize He has traveled here before.
This is a beaten road, a path that we never have to walk alone.

Yet sometimes we will feel very alone.
That is part of Gethsemane.

When we suffer, we partake of Gethsemane. Our personal Gethsemanes, while far from the suffering of the Savior, bring us to Him. If we never suffered--even the smallest part of what He suffered--how could we ever feel worthy to be in His presence?

Suffering can be a purifying process for us. It allows us to move upward.
This painting taught me that.

The title of the painting is The Sacred Incline.
It pictures a pioneer family, headed to Zion--but how far Zion must have felt at that moment.
They are pictured on Rocky Ridge with the snow and the ice and the wind.
Yet, they are on a sacred incline. Think about what that means.
Their suffering is sacred.
Their experience, their nearness to death, their pain, is holy.

I found this painting at a time in my life when I was experiencing a great deal of emotional pain--and I was asking why.
Why was I going through this?

The answer came in part through this painting.
It was my sacred incline.
My Gethsemane.

Once I realized this, I almost wish I could tell you things got better from then.
They didn't.

After this, life became consistently more painful and lonely.
For a long time.

But I made it through. I made it through that Gethsemane.

My sorrow and suffering may be so small compared to the Savior's, and compared to what many other people suffer.
But it was more than I could suffer on my own.
But I knew, I knew, that I was not beyond the Savior's care.

Because He had been in Gethsemane.
Part of His Gethsemane was my Gethsemane.
And nothing, nothing, could separate me from His love.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

...Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.