Facing towards the Temple
I woke up this morning thinking about the tent door. When Abraham was commanded to go to the land of Bethel, he took Lot with him. Abraham told Lot that he could choose his piece of land first. As the Uncle, Abraham had every right to take the most choice piece of land, but instead, he chose to be a peacemaker and allow Lot first choice. Lot took what appeared to be the better piece of land, but it was closer to Sodom and Gomorrah. He also pitched his tent with the door facing toward Sodom.
In contrast, when the people came to hear King Benjamin's address, in the first chapters of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon, they pitched their tent doors towards the temple. Their hearts were open to hearing the words of their king and religious leader. What are we supposed to learn in these stories. Facing towards something in both these stories shows us where the hearts of the people were. So, my question is, "Where are our doors facing?" I would think that my door faces towards the temple, but how much time do I spend there? How much time do I spend looking at the enticing doors of the world? Dad and I saw a movie last night. It wasn't overtly wicked, but so many of the immoral relationships portrayed are now looked at as expected and normal. I think we even think of them as normal, even as we choose not to participate.
We know what happened in the story. While Lot was living near Sodom, neighboring kingdoms went to war against Sodom and Gomorrah. When the cities were captured, Lot and his household were taken prisoner. Abraham sent 318 of his trained servants and rescued Lot. Later, when the Lord decided Sodom and Gomorrah was ripe in iniquity, He made plans to destroy the city. Abraham knew that Lot was a good man, but he wanted to intervene and save others and he plead with the Lord to spare the city if he could find 50 righteous people. Soon he had bargained down to 10, but there still were not enough righteous people to spare the city. Lot was told by angels to take his family and leave. Most of his family refused to go with him, so he took his wife and two daughters and left. We are then told that Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. I'm not sure of all the symbolism here, but I think that Lot's wife went back. She could not leave the city and it's comforts and pleasures.
Other things happen to Lot after he leaves Sodom and Gomorrah that he may have been able to avoid if he and his two daughters hadn't been so influenced by the city they left behind.
I think it's something to think about as we choose our activities and our entertainment. I am not saying we should be extreme in our actions, but that we should be cautious as we make our choices. We should also spend more time with the things of God so that we can have ammunition against any temptations that come our way.
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Yuna celebrated a very important birthday this past week. She is now 8 years old and is looking forward to being baptized next month. Hyeji smashed cake into her face, but you can see she is not very upset about it.
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| Jordan with Yuli |
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