The Iliad Book 10 and the Book of Mormon - Leaders Before a Battle

You may have thought I'd given up, but no! Still going strong with the Iliad. Today we're reviewing Book 10 next to a story near the end of the Book of Mormon - the poignant thoughts of the prophet/warrior Mormon before he goes to battle. 

Book 10 of the Iliad opens in great fear. Achilles has refused to soften his heart and return to help the Greeks. Agamemnon's distress is acute - fearing that the gods and men have all turned on him:

 All night the chiefs before their vessels lay,
And lost in sleep the labours of the day:
All but the king: with various thoughts oppress’d,

 His country’s cares lay rolling in his breast.
As when by lightnings Jove’s ethereal power
Foretels the rattling hail, or weighty shower,
Or sends soft snows to whiten all the shore,
Or bids the brazen throat of war to roar;
By fits one flash succeeds as one expires,
And heaven flames thick with momentary fires:

 So bursting frequent from Atrides’ breast,
Sighs following sighs his inward fears confess’d.

 Now o’er the fields, dejected, he surveys
From thousand Trojan fires the mounting blaze;
Hears in the passing wind their music blow,
And marks distinct the voices of the foe.

Now looking backwards to the fleet and coast,
Anxious he sorrows for the endangered host.
He rends his hair, in sacrifice to Jove,
And sues to him that ever lives above:
Inly he groans; while glory and despair
Divide his heart, and wage a double war. 

 

The worries of leadership are heavy indeed, and Agamemnon's worries are intensified in the possibility that he may have done wrong, and his decisions are the reason why his warriors may fail in their task. And his worry turned out to be unwarranted, for some of his leaders went under cover of night and scored a victory, killing a Trojan prince and bringing back the spoils of that fight.

 

On the other hand, Mormon, the leader of the Nephite armies in the Book of Mormon, has little to no worries for himself, but for his people.

He had worked hard to teach them the gospel of Christ, and yet, they assumed that every victory belonged to them in their strength, and not from God. Their terrible deeds so repulsed Mormon that he resigned his commission as head of their armies.

After more battles, with strong men killed and women and children captured and sacrificed to idols, he changes his mind, but sadly. In Mormon 5: 1-2, we read:

 

And it came to pass that I did go forth among the Nephites, 

and did repent of the oath which I had made that I would no more assist them; 

and they gave me command again of their armies, 

for they looked upon me as though I could deliver them from their afflictions.

But behold, I was without hope, 

for I knew the judgments of the Lord which should come upon them; 

for they repented not of their iniquities, 

but did struggle for their lives without calling upon that Being who created them.

He took up a doomed fight out of love and honor for his people, but he knew what would be their end.

Even the mighty tremble when they sense divine withdrawal, and these two 'night of the soul' scenes reveal the weakness of human confidence. Two different leaders, sorrowing for their people - yet within, we can see that sorrow taking on different nuances.

 

 

 

Elder Eldred G. Smith, Part Three - Peace in a Christmas Song

For Part One or Part Two, choose the link and click. 

 

Elder Eldred G. Smith had a bit of a musical inclination, if we are to draw any conclusions from his talk, "Peace", in the April 1972 General Conference.

Yesterday we had the pleasant ear worm of a Hebrew folk song. Today we go back to a classic tune from the 1960s:

 

The Quote

"Let us not just sing, 'Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me,' 

but let us mean it. Make it my goal—your goal."

 

The song he's quoting is a Christian song, "Let There Be Peace on Earth", written in 1955, and most popular in the public consciousness during the 1960s, for obvious reasons.

 

It was written originally for the International Children's Choir:

 

Then it was sung by various other artists. This version by Pat Boone and Johnny Mathis I thought was pretty nice: 

 

There's other versions as well. Take a peek yourself. 

The concept is certainly sound. If we want to live in a peaceful world, it all starts with us.

Elder Eldred G. Smith, Part Two - Hevenu Shalom Alechem

 For Part One or Part Three, choose the link and click. 

 

Eldred. 

Who names their kid Eldred anymore, unless they want him to grow up to be a wizard? It's a pretty cool wizard name.

Anyway, Elder Eldred G. Smith goes on in his talk in April 1972 General Conference to talk about "Peace", and he mentions a song he learned on a trip to the Holy Land:

 

The Quote (lyrics from a song) 

 

"Our guide on a recent tour in the Holy Land, 

who is a Jordanian Arab and a Greek Orthodox Catholic by the name of Sari Rabadi, 

taught us a little Arabian song:  

“Havano, shalo, malechem,” 

which translated means: 

“We bring you peace.” 

 

That set me on fire to see if I could find that song.

And I did. :-) 

Hevenu Shalom Alechem. 

It's such a simple, fun song. You'll be an expert in no time. Here's a simple traditional version, to bring some peace to you today: 

 

 And just for funsies, here's a contemporary, over-the-top flashmob version from Israel. Heaven knows we could use some smiles these days:

 

Hevenu Shalom Alechem - We bring you peace.

God brings me the greatest peace in this world. Where do you find peace?

 

Elder Eldred G. Smith, Part One - Edna St. Vincent Millay and God's Peace

For Part Two or Part Three, choose the link and click. 

This week, we come to Elder Eldred G. Smith, and his April 1972 Conference talk entitled, Peace. This was the watchword of the day in the early 1970s - but what did it actually mean?

 His first quote comes from Edna St. Vincent Millay, the poet:

 

The Quote

“There is no peace on earth today, 

save the peace in the heart at home with God. … 

No man can be at peace with his neighbor 

who is not at peace with himself. …” 

(“Conversations at Midnight,” Collected Poems, Harper & Row, Copyright 1937 and 1964.) 

 

I did find this book, and along with it, the original quote, written from the point of view of a character named Anselmo:

 

"There is no peace on earth today, save the peace in the heart at home with God. 

From that sure habitation the heart looks forth on the sorrows of a savage world 

and pities them, and ministers to them, but is not implicated. 

All else has failed, 

as it must always fail.  

No man can be at peace with his neighbor who is not at peace with himself; 

the troubled mind is a trouble maker....

 

It's interesting, the separation of peace into levels, and how peace on earth is different than peace in God. That's also been true to my experience.

 

Elder Marion D. Hanks, Part Five - Joseph Auslander's Valentine to the World

 If you'd like to read Part One, Part Two, Part Three, or Part Four of this series, find the link and click.

 

It's been a long ride through "Joy Through Christ" by Elder Marion D. Hanks, but today we come to the end of it with this, the final quote - which isn't a quote at all, but a poem with an invitation to all, very appropriate since it's almost Valentine's Day:

 

The Quote

 

“World, O world, of muddled men,

Seek the Peace of God again:

In the humble faith that kneels,

In the hallowed Word that heals;

In the courage of a tree,

In the rock’s integrity;

In the hill that holds the sky,

The star you pull your heart up by;

In the laughter of a child,

Altogether undefiled;

In the hope that answers doubt,

Love that drives the darkness out. …

Frantic, frightened, foolish men,

Take God by the hand again.”

—Joseph Auslander

 

 It's a lovely poem - expanding the world of God far beyond formal religion into nature and baby laughter and love and hope - all the good things in this life that are blessings from God Himself.

But what of the man who wrote it?

 

Joseph Auslander (the husband of my twelfth cousin twice removed) was a very celebrated poet, it appears. He went to Harvard and taught English there. He was also the first Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress - a lovely little title to throw on one's resume.

His best-known work is a collection of poems called The Unconquerables, a tribute to the resistance of those nations occupied by Nazis during World War II. 

But the books of his I'm most interested in are More Than Bread, a collection of his poems, and another called Letters to Women.They sound like intriguing titles 

Strangely, I could not find the poem quoted above, but he did write quite a bit of work. I'll post another poem of his here that I like instead, from More Than Bread. 

The poem is called "Feet of Clay", and it's pretty long and similar in tone to the poem above, so I'll post just this exquisite exerpt of it here:

 

"...The god whose bones

Cannot stay bound,

Who pushes stones

And stars around,

And is not found,

 

Anywhere beneath

Lock and key

But blows a breath,

But stands a tree

Straight over me:

 

That is the god

Whose hand I trust:

Himself no clod,

He will not thrust

Me into dust:

 

Confucius moulders

In his tomb;

But this god smoulders,

The world for whom

Is narrow room;

 

For whom heaven

Is no vast place;

But the heart, even

One heart's slight grace,

Sufficient space... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elder Marion D. Hanks, Part Four - Martin Buber and Relationships

  If you'd like to read Part One, Part Two, Part Three, or Part Four of this series, find the link and click.

Continuing on with "Joy Through Christ" by Elder Marion D. Hanks, we start in on an intriguing idea - the idea that, not only do we need God, but God needs us...?

Is that true? There's agreement on this idea through Martin Buber: 

 

The Quote 

"Martin Buber helps us: 

“You know always in your heart 

that you need God more than anything else. 

But do you not know too that God needs you … 

in the fullness of His eternity He needs you?”'

 

As usual, I have never in my life heard of Martin Buber, and turns out he was a pretty interesting guy - a Jewish intellectual who left Judaism to study secular philosophy. He went on to help the Zionist movement, and to become a leading Israeli philosopher. Nominated for both the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize several times - I mean, that's impressive. 

Most of his writings are in German, so unless they were translated, that's going to be a challenge, but I want to read at least some of them

His most notable work seems to be the book, "I and Thou". This and his other works discuss communication in relationships. His theory of our potential relationship with God I find very interesting in particular. I want to follow up on that more closely.

The quote from the Conference talk was good. The quote from the primary source - his book I and Thou - is even better: 

 

"You know always in your heart 

that you need God more than everything ; 

but do you not know too that God needs you — 

in the fullness of His eternity needs you ? 

How would man be, how would you be, if God did not need him, 

did not need you? 

You need God, in order to be — 

and God needs you, for the very meaning of your life. 

 

In instruction and in poems men are at pains to say more, 

and they say too much — 

what turgid and presumptuous talk that is about the 

"God who becomes ” ; 

but we know unshakably in our hearts that there is a becoming of the 

God that is. 

 

The world is not divine sport, it is divine destiny. 

There is divine meaning in the life of the world, of man, 

of human persons, of you and of me.

Creation happens to us, burns itself into us, recasts us in burning — 

we tremble and are faint, we submit. 

We take part in creation, meet the Creator, 

reach out to Him, helpers and companions."

 

A lot of times in our faith, we talk about being the Lord's hands on Earth, that this is what He needs us for. So there's a reaching out to Him, and when we find Him, we are inspired to reach out and help our brothers and sisters on Earth, because that's what He wants.

That's what makes God happy. Once I felt His love for me, I wanted to make him happy too, and so we go on, co-creating together. Him creating me, I creating peace in others, thus creating them and me...it's a great cycle to be on. 

I think Martin Buber was definitely onto something here. What a great find!

 

Elder Marion D, Hanks, Part Three: William Wordsworth and Our Need for Something Real

 If you'd like to read Part One, Part Two, Part Four or Part Five of this series, find the link and click.

Well! I've been away for a few days - struggling through a very difficult problem.

But the clouds have finally lifted, and I can see the sun again. Thank heaven.

So it's with great joy that I return to the talk for April 1972, "Joy through Christ" by Elder Marion D. Hanks to explore some more of these juicy little General Conference references:

 

The Quote

"For some of us, 

a reason for unhappiness is that 

“the world is too much with us; late and soon, / 

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers,” 

as the poet said. 

(William Wordsworth.)"

 

Ah - another reference to William Wordsworth!

Of course, it's from his poem, The World is Too Much With Us - a sentiment I hear from people of many faiths. 

We yearn for something real, like nature in our ears, on our skin, or God in our heart.

And yes, if you're questioning whether God is real, I can say with great certainty that there's nothing more real in my life than God the Father and Jesus Christ. 

Nothing makes me happier. :-)

But whether we believe in God or not, I think we can mostly agree on the beauties and majesty of nature, and how happy we can be when we're out in it, even a little bit.

Where's your favorite place to soak in nature? 

 

The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

 

 

This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;

The winds that will be howling at all hours,

And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;

For this, for everything, we are out of tune;

It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be

A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;

So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,

Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;

Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

 

 

 

 

Elder Marion D. Hanks, Part Two - Epictetus and Our Potential for Happiness

  If you'd like to read Part One, Part Three, Part Four or Part Five of this series, find the link and click.

 

Back again today in April 1972 with the talk,"Joy Through Christ" by Elder Marion D. Hanks. It's a shorter quote, so I'm pulling a little bit of the talk along with it for context:

 

The Quote (with context)

It is well to consider 

where we are with respect to our Creator. 

If we are out of touch, 

if we have moved away from him, 

then we are not as happy as we could be. 

Something is missing. 

 

Epictetus said: “God hath made all men to be happy.” 

And a prophet wrote: “… men are, that they might have joy.” (2 Ne. 2:25.)

Wherein have we erred if we are not happy? 

Why are we less happy than we could be? 

How can we have more joy?"

 

Sometimes the cultural or literary quotes from General Conference are used as a positive example, something that is in keeping with the gospel of Christ. Sometimes the quote is used to illustrate a belief that is more in keeping with the world and its beliefs.

Here, combined with the scriptural quote, is a positive example. But happiness is not a guarantee. Happiness is a potential gift. We can live in such a way that makes us more or less happy, and the gospel of Jesus Christ provides that path to happiness, even when life isn't going all that great.

The key is the last word Elder Hanks mentions here - joy. Joy is happiness that comes after suffering, or even in the midst of suffering, and that's what the gospel provides. 

 

Epictetus and the Stoics

In fact, the philosopher Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher, and he did in fact say this - in his book Discourses:

 

Let not that which in another is contrary to nature 

be an evil to you : 

for you are not formed by nature to be depressed with others 

nor to be unhappy with others, 

but to be happy with them. 

If a man is unhappy, remember that his unhappiness is his own fault : 

for God has made all men to be happy, 

to be free from perturbation..."

 

Stoicism, as a worldly philosophy, often has a lot in common with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It emphasizes discipline and hard work and good works, caring for others. That DOES take you down a similar path.

What Stoicism lacks is the power to help others live this way.

The gospel of Jesus Christ isn't easy by any means. If anyone tells you it is, they're selling you something. I've lived with these requirements most of my life. Trying to live the gospel on your own is probably the hardest thing in the entire world.

But we aren't supposed to live it on our own. That's the key.

 

When Jesus Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he was arrested and tried and crucified, He through all that suffering opened a way for us to find relief from our own sins and sufferings. Our lives are hard, but He can help lift our burdens and carry them with us.

It's that blessing that helps me daily through fear and anxiety, through falling on my face mistakes, through all the uncertainties of life and the harms that others do, and it helps me pick up again and keep moving forward with peace in my heart.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, or if what I'm saying sounds impossible, you can find out...if you want. 

Grab a nearby missionary from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - the guys and gals with the name tags - and ask them. Or find a local friend or neighbor who's a member and ask them. They'll tell you...or if they don't know, they'll know someone who does.