The Economy of Heaven

In A Cultural History of the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2, page 72, Daymon Smith writes:

It would seem that the Book of Mormon does not prophesy great things for its Gentile readers to whom it would come. The book does not solve our problems. Why does it come to us, if not, say, as a reward for our virtues? Here we can turn to the first author, Nephi, and his vision of the future (relative to 600 BCE). His vision guide explains the Gentiles have scattered and smitten the remnant, “after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly” because their bibles have perverted the ways of the Lord, hardened their hearts and blinded their minds.

This led me to consider the Lord's economy: how He forgives the debt (however massive!) of him who has not wherewith to pay (think of the parable of the 10,000 talents or the prodigal son); He heals the ungrateful (think of the 10 lepers who were cleansed); He causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall upon the wicked and the righteous; He pours out His blessings and His service unselfishly, without regard for remuneration!

How great is the generosity and mercy of our God! And how great are our Gentile “stumbling blocks”, preventing us from knowing or receiving Him.

One of our great “stumbling blocks” is our belief in – and adherence to – a “capitalistic” economy. We “earn” what we have. We “buy” and “sell”. We give in exchange, in return for “value”. We make a “deal”. We keep records and maintain accounts. We measure who is “in the black” and who is “in the red”. We proclaim our “worthiness” in biannual temple “recommend” interviews and assert that we have paid a “full” tithe. We strive to “pay the price” and “fulfill our callings”.

Meanwhile, our Lord gives freely to him who merely asks of Him and does not ask again for that which has been borrowed. He gives away freely. To him who would take His coat, He gives His cloak also.

Rather than “keep tabs”, our Lord lives a Zion economy, insuring that there are no poor among those who have fellowship with Him. What is His is theirs, including ALL that His Father has. All He asks, in return, is nothing really: all our heart, might, mind and strength, all our wealth, time, talents and means. All our sins, failings, weaknesses and short-comings. He wants all of it, broken, incomplete and eternally useless as it may be. And He promises to make weak things, sinful things, broken things, even ugly things become strong and clean and whole and beautiful again unto them – and only them – who will have Him to be their God and who love Him above all else.

Rather than offer salvation “for sale” – to him who is willing to pay tithing or do “good works” enough to “justify” the “expense” – He urges all to come unto Him to receive "wine and milk without money” and honey “without price”.

Because of our great stumbling block, we do not understand this Great God of ours. We do not understand His ways, His judgments, or His tender mercies. We regard ourselves as deficient, unworthy, unloveable and thus unloved by Him. We struggle to “clean ourselves up” and to “pay our own way”. Like little children, we sometimes try to hide our messes, or fix what we have broken, not realizing that, by trying to do so, we only make things worse.

We cannot clean ourselves up. We cannot fix what we have broken. It isn't possible. The debt cannot be repaid. What's broken cannot be fixed. Except by a god.

We must realize that we can never repay. We must realize that we are ever in His debt! Only He could pay that price. (And He has!) Only He could claim that power to ransom us from death and deliver us from sin. (And He has claimed it!) Only He has the power to save us – our meager, futile, foolish efforts notwithstanding.

After all we can do, we can do nothing. The chasm is unbridgeable...by us. The wall unbreachable...by us. The mountian unscalable...by us. We cannot go there. We cannot get there. We cannot stay there...except by Him. We have no power to redeem ourselves. In us is no life but what we have and receive through Him. He is the Vine; we are but branches. Detached from Him, we shrivel and die. We are nothing.

Does the grape do anything to receive nourishment from the vine? Nothing more than stay attached! So the Lord calls on all of us to call upon Him in mighty prayer; to continue to receive His holy Spirit; to continue to receive the light and living waters He freely provides; to grow, and sweeten and fatten to a fulness so that, when the end is come, when we are all called upon to do so, we, like Him, may die – and be gathered home, fulfilling the measure of His creation.

Every good gift comes from Him, even grace and mercy and forgiveness of sin. From Him we receive the Holy Spirit, by which we are justified (made “straight”, caused to walk in the “right way”). Through His blood we are sanctified (made “holy”, deemed “clean”, “perfect” and “without spot”). By exercising perfect faith in Him, by calling upon Him in mighty prayer and offering a whole sacrifice of everything we have, “giving away”, as it were, all our sins to know Him, He pours out His Holy Spirit upon us and makes us His. We become like Him.

Thus all who will come may become begotten sons and daughters unto God.