Lorenzo Snow Lesson 21 (Loving God More Than you Love the World)

In the manual, Lorenzo Snow talks about the period of speculation that caused some of the most righteous saints, including many in the Quorum of the 12, to apostatize and leave the church.

In case you are like me and had no idea what in the heck speculation means,

It means investment in stocks, property, or other ventures in the hope of gain but with the risk of loss.

WHEN PEOPLE ALLOW WORLDINESS TO PERVADE THEIR MINDS AND HEARTS, THEY TURN THEIR BACKS ON ETERNAL PRINCIPLES

“That spirit of speculation rose out of the world, and swept over the hearts of the Saints like a mighty wave or rushing torrent, and many fell, and apostatized.”

Isn't this such great imagery?? Imagine how much damage an actual tsunami can cause...it literally destroys everything in its path. Now imagine a spiritual tsunami crashing down over the righteous. 

But that would never happen to us today right? Most of us don’t even invest in anything other than our usually sad and pitiful food storage.

QUESTION:

How are people today “swept over” by a wave of speculation?

In other words, what are the things today that we put before God?

• time spent on social media?
• sleeping?
• obsession with looks and image?
• present buying?

I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that we invest quite heavily into Christmas.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget what Christmas is really about and focus too much on presents.

I know that I LOVE to buy gifts. There's something so fun about getting someone exactly what they wanted and watching their face as they open your present. But sometimes, I focus way to much on this aspect of Christmas and I forget about WHY we celebrate the holiday. It certainly isn't about Santa Clause and the Christmas tree...even though that's certainly what it's becoming. 

“Some of [the Saints] began speculating; they forgot their religion, they forgot the principles that had been revealed to them, and many of them fell into the spirit of the times and were carried away with speculating. Difficulties arose. Envy and strife. And the Lord, being displeased with them, brought destruction into their midst.”

Can focusing so much on gift buying and shopping etc make us "forget our religion"? 

“As that spirit increased, disunion followed. Brethren and sisters began to slander and quarrel one with the other, because their interests were not in harmony.”

QUESTION:

How can we relate these two quotes to our own lives during this Christmas season?

WE HAVE COVENANTED TO SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM WORLDLINESS AND DEVOTE OURSELVES TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD

President Snow says,

“The god of the world is the gold and the silver. The world worships this god. It is all-powerful to them, though they might not be willing to acknowledge it.”

QUESTION:

Is this true today?

“We have got to love God more than we love the world, more than we love gold or silver, and love our neighbor as ourselves.

"If we, in our manner, habits and dealings, imitate the world, thereby identifying ourselves with the world, do you think that God will bestow upon us the blessings we desire to inherit? I tell you no, He will not!...We must build ourselves up in the righteousness of heaven and plant in our hearts the righteousness of God."

President Snow speaks of the spirit of speculation. The antidote to the spirit of speculation is the spirit of Christ. Instead of harboring and fueling the destructive spirit of speculation, we need to tenderly nurture the spirit of Christ in our hearts.

QUESTION:

How can we do this?

“An older boy and his young companion were walking along a road which led through a field. They saw an old coat and a badly worn pair of men’s shoes by the roadside, and in the distance they saw the owner working in the field.

“The younger boy suggested that they hide the shoes, conceal themselves, and watch the perplexity on the owner’s face when he returned.

“The older boy … thought that would not be so good. He said the owner must be a very poor man. So, after talking the matter over, at his suggestion, they concluded to try another experiment. Instead of hiding the shoes, they would put a silver dollar in each one and … see what the owner did when he discovered the money. So they did that.

“Pretty soon the man returned from the field, put on his coat, slipped one foot into a shoe, felt something hard, took it out and found a silver dollar. Wonder and surprise [shone] upon his face. He looked at the dollar again and again, turned around and could see nobody, then proceeded to put on the other shoe; when to his great surprise he found another dollar. His feelings overcame him. … He knelt down and offered aloud a prayer of thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife being sick and helpless and his children without bread. … He fervently thanked the Lord for this bounty from unknown hands and evoked the blessing of heaven upon those who gave him this needed help.

“The boys remained [hidden] until he had gone.” They had been touched by his prayer and felt something warm within their hearts. As they left to walk down the road, one said to the other, “Don’t you have a good feeling?”

Giving to others through our talents and sacrificing so that others can receive can help us to nurture the Spirit of Christ and become more like Him. 

WE FOLLOW THE SAVIOR’S EXAMPLE WHEN WE REFUSE TO TRADE THE GLORIES OF ETERNITY FOR THE RICHES OF THE WORLD

“I find in reflecting on life, that this world is short compared with eternity; that our intelligence, the divinity within us, has always existed, was never created, and will always exist through all eternity. In view of these facts, it becomes us as intelligent beings, to realize that this life closes in a few days, then comes the life which is eternal.”

I challenge us all this Christmas to tear our focus away from the gift buying and present wrapping and all the emphasis on Santa and instead take the time to give of your talents and your love to those around you, to share the love and spirit of Christ. Because when this life is over, none of those presents are going to mean anything. The gifts and ribbons and bows are all staying.

"Through [your] faithfulness [you] shall possess thrones, principalities and powers, [your] children becoming as numerous as the stars in the firmament or the sands on the sea shore."

This is the great gift that Heavenly Father has in stow for us, and it’s greater than anything we can receive from a shelf