Hey guys so I need to post alot this month. I have decided, because I am basically out of ideas, that I will post a talk that I gave recently on fasting and I am hoping that juice in his infinite mercy and wisdom will decided to count this post as at least two blogs due to its magnificalness. PS-I hate giving talks but I kind of enjoy how it forces you to think about different gospel topics:
It was a hot blistering afternoon in a small desert town in Northern Mexico. It was October so the summer highs of 50 degrees C were not upon my companion and I but I was still sweating buckets and we were a bit down because two of our golden investigators had run into some obstacles with their baptismal date. Elder Morales, my companion, thought we should have a spontaneous fast for them. What he did not realize was that today was Thursday and on Thursday Hermana Sandra would always invite us over for tortillas. She made the best tortillas I had ever tasted and I have definitely tasted a lot in my day. People would drive from upto an hour away and although she was a single mother of five children she was one of the more wealthy people in the town because of her extraordinary tortillas so I was a little reluctant to decide to do this fast; however, as a result of this fast I came to appreciate much more the law of the fast, its challenges and the great blessings that it brings us. Recalling this experience has made me think about three challenges we face which I briefly wish to outline and which I refer to as self-mastery, accountability, and formalities.
In a talk L. Tom Perry gave regarding the law of the fast he gave a very interesting quote from Plato, "The first and the best victory is th conquer self; to be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile." Other more modern reiterations of this quote could include "you're your own worst enemy" or something of that nature. Plato expresses a much similar idea when he discusses what would be required to have the perfect city. He purposes a complete and drastic reformation of religion, education, music, and family. By creating a completely new and better environment he suggests that people will be able to direct their ambitions and energies towards much higher, nobler things such as patriotism, justice and virtue. However, it does not take long until Plato discusses how all of the proposed reformations can be undone by man's passion for material things. The desire to have the best food, the best clothes, the best entertainment will completely undermine the strength of Plato's new perfect city. King Benjamin expresses this idea very clearly when he speaks of the natural man. Acting as the natural man and allowing our passions to control us inhibit our ability to properly fast. Sometimes it can be a passion for food like it was for me, more frequently it is passions for other pursuits such as movies, laziness, forgetfulness (at least for me) that may cause us to forget about the law of the fast. Fasting is a personal battle that involves mastery of self, no one can fast for you or make it meaningful for you, it is one of those few things in the gospel where overcoming one's self and engaging in a meaningful fast is entirely dependent upon you.
This idea leads me to the second obstacle which we encounter called accountability. For many commandments we feel external pressure to perform our duties ie) home teaching, church callings, church meetings, missionary work etc. There is no explicit question regarding the law of the fast in the temple recommend interview. Fasting is much different no one is taking stats of whether we fast no one stands up in Elder's Quorum or Relief Society and asks "who's going to report on how their fast went this month?" It goes further, the guidelines regarding fasting are quite flexible. Jesus did not instruct his desciples by setting down any specific requirements regarding the nature of frequency of fasting. Rather, fasting, similar to temple attendance, is a very personal private matter between the individual and our Father in Heaven. I think there are excellent reasons for this and fasting should be done in this fashion, however, sometimes the lack of accountability to others makes it difficult for us to engage in a meaningful fast.
The third challenge that we can encounter is the issue of formality. How often do we fast merely because it is the first Sunday of the month? How often do we forget that it's fast Sunday until we get to Church and a member of the bishopric is bearing his testimony? (obviously because I have been able to think of these hypothetical questions I have been guilty of this myself) Clearly, this is not ideal nor is it a propler practice of the law of the fast the way the Lord intended. The Lord by making the law of the fast more personal is holding as to a higher standard but we need to linve that law by adequately preparing and living the law of the fast through mastery of self, recognizing our accountablility to the Lord and not turning the law of the fast into a formality that can be easily forgotten. We should recognize that passions can be controlled, we are accountable to the Lord, and most importantly the law of the fast can be a great source of strengthening testimonies and providing spiritual strength.
In terms of building our testimonies, the method in which fasting can help us do that is best illustrated in Alma 5:45-46. Notice here how Alma had seen angels, he had had magnificient spiritual experiences but he attributes his testimony to the fact that he had prayed and fasted to know the truth not the fact that God told him not the fact that God had spoken to him directly. Throughout the course of his great missionary efforts he would fast for not only a greater testimony but also spiritual strength to have the spirit with him in great abundance to preach with power and authority. The power of fasting in gaining a testimony is astounding, as your body suffers your heart is opened and your mind is easily directed towards spiritual matters and concerns.
Personally for me I know that fasting can provide great spiritual strength and comfort. The golden investigators I mentioned in the beginning did not get baptized. For a missionary this is very hard, I knew of the great blessings and opportunities for growth and the potential to develop a very strong relationship with Heavenly Father that awaited them if they became members of His church. I was devastated. However, the fast that my companion and I did at this time gave me a great source of reassurance because I felt a strong impression from Heavenly Father that I had done the very best that I could to teach them the gospel and that my efforts were acceptable before Him.
At another time in my mission I suffered a very serious bike accident. For a time it looked like I would need to go home but I can tell you that the fasting done by other missionaries, members of wards and branches where I had served as well as members of my family during these difficult days was remarkable. As a result my recovery was nothing short of miraculous and I know that there are countless other stories of healing, testimonies and comfort that have come about because of fasting.
Before I close there are two more points I wish to touch on briefly. Up until now I have not discussed fast offerings. I think the importance of this principle is discussed very thoroughly in Alma 34:28. This principle may seem harsh but it goes to illustrate how we need to help others. The giving of fast offerings allows us to adhere to the importance of helping others even if it is minimal. Also, the bishop with his office and the gift of discernment is in the best position to judge who is truly in need and who is not something which can be difficult for us to know. Alma 34:28 really goes to show why the fast offering is so important.
Finally I wish to borrow one final point from Elder Worthlin. Why is the fast so important and why does it bring such great blessings? It is because, and Elder Worthlin touches on this, fasting is the greatest single act that we can do that allows us to live the two greatest commandments. When we fast and temporarily suspend the basic requirement we have to nourish ourselves we show our love for God, we acknowledge that he is the source of everything in our lives. By providing our fast offerings, we show our love for our neighbour and how we must help them. I testify that adhering to the law of the fast, despite the challenges, is one of thegreatest sources of strength and blessings that we can obtain during our time in mortality ... the end
