Tested, Proved, and Polished
Tested, Proved, and Polished
When a raw diamond is mined it goes through a sorting process. Only about 20 % of mined diamonds are used to make jewelry, of excellent, medium and poor cuts. The sorting process, analyzes the cracks, clarity, and colorations caused by the diamond crystal growing imbedded with other minerals. Diamonds that cannot be used for jewelry have many uses in manufacturing, and are used in the other processes of preparing the 20% for jewelry.
When a diamond is selected for jewelry, the experts decide how the diamond should be cut so that it value is maximized, without losing most of its weight and optimizing its clarity.
First, the diamond must be cleaved along the plane where it is the weakest. It is held in a wax or cement mold while the cutter carves a sharp groove along the plane. A small steel blade is placed in the groove and a sharp blow to the blade splits the stone. This is done to keep most of the weight of the diamond and to keep the strongest part of the structure intact
Once the cleaving is done, the diamond is now ready to be given a shape. Each of the eight facets are cut into the diamond by slowly grinding away using a diamond paste.
Once this is complete, a technique called bruiting is done. This process is similar to a rock tumbler, just in a much more controlled environment. two diamonds tumble against each other with the sides rotating and wearing each other down until they are round in shape.
Now that it has its basic shape, it is sent to a polisher where any errors the cutter left behind can be polished off and each facet is polished to a smooth glass-like surface.
Through each of these phases a gemologist inspects the gem to make sure the angles and light refraction will be optimal.
As I was reading through the talk by Elder Eyring, I realized we are like this Diamond.
A diamond’s composition is made up of pure carbon, just like Graphite and coal. Yet the formation of the carbons is changed to make one substance or another, which vary in appearance, and strength.
In graphite carbon atoms are arranged in a hexagonal manner, forming sheets of carbon atoms that are stacked one over the other. Graphite sheets can absorb lights of different wavelengths and hence are opaque and dark.
In Diamonds, each carbon atom is linked to four others in tetrahedral manner and form a pyramid-like structure. The pyramid-like structure does not absorb light but reflects it causing its appearance to be transparent and sparkling.
In our pre-mortal state, we existed as spirits, learning and growing. God purpose for us was to give us immortality and eternal life. To do this, he presented a plan that would allow us to gain a physical body and grow in wisdom and glory to become perfect even as he. Those who accepted this plan and Christ as the savior, who would redeem us from the mistakes we would make, “kept their first estate.” In Abraham it states, “And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon.” We received a body that would help us become like our Father in Heaven and allow us to utilize his power and Glorify Him.
It is as though in the pre-mortal realm we were graphite, absorbing light and knowledge as long as we were in the presence of God. But we knew that in order to become like our heavenly father we needed to become a diamond, with the properties that would allow us to be fully reflective of his Glory and Love. We received a physical body, and were sent to mortality to “Keep our 2nd Estate through testing, proving, and polishing.
Just as a diamond is cut, bruited, and polished, our testing would require parts of our character that were weak and had inclusions or cracks to be removed so that they wouldn't cause damage to the strongest parts of us. If there are inclusions in a diamond and stress is put upon it, the crack will grow and damage the whole structure of the diamond.
The Bruiting process of shaping the diamond comes from other diamonds bumping around each other. How perfect that through our experiences with each other we become perfected and shaped, whether our associations are good or a struggle they are meant to teach us to love God and love our neighbor, love our enemies and those that despitefully use you, to be poor in spirit, to mourn for those that mourn, be meek and humble, have brotherly kindness, and above all charity to all even when it is hard to do so.
Elder Eyring said “that purpose was to give his children the Opportunity to prove themselves able and willing to choose the right when it is hard. In so doing, their natures would be changed and they could become more like him.” “....we must grow in spiritual cleanliness and stature to be able to live in his presence in families forever. To make that possible, Heavenly Father, gave us a savior, and the power to choose for ourselves by faith to keep his commandments and to repent and so come unto him.”
The polishing phase helps remove any flaws from the cutting and bruiting process and polish us to be the most reflective diamond.
The Savior’s example is our best guide. He was not exempt from the need to prove himself.
Accepting his mission as our savior and keeping his first estate, he was born into this world. While there isn’t much written about his early years before his ministry began, we know In Luke 2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him.
Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and Man.
We have this clarified in Doctrine and Covenants 93:12: I saw that he received not of the fullness at first, but received grace for grace; and he received not of the fullness at first, but continued from grace to grace until he received a fullness.”
Joseph Smith said of him: when still a boy, he had all the intelligence necessary to enable him to rule and govern the kingdom of the Jews, and could reason with the wisest and most profound doctors of law and divinity, and make their theories and practice to appear like folly compared with the wisdom he possessed; but he was a boy only and lacked physical strength even to defend his own person; and was subject to cold, to hunger, and to death.”
As he grew and learned, he was being taught the characteristics that would bring him to a fullness of the Glory of God. Humility, faith, love, temperance, charity, line upon line, precept upon precept, having to overcome the veil of mortality just as we. When his ministry began he knew what to teach us because he had also learned these things in his youth.
Before his Ministry officially began, Jesus sought out John the Baptist to be baptized and enter into a covenant with the Father. In Doctrine and Covenants 93:15-17 it states: And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying; this is my beloved son. And I, John, bear record that he received a fullness of the glory of the father; and he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.”
When we enter into covenants with the father we likewise receive the Holy Ghost and in D&C 93:20 if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness and be glorified in me as I am in the father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.”
As we are cut, shaped, and polished, God’s glory reflects off of us and the glory is given back to him. We, with our agency, have a choice in what we will allow to removed, how we are shaped and the final cut of diamond we will allow our Heavenly Father to make of us, and how polished we will become. In other words:
Doctrine and Covenants 88:22-24
For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory. And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory.
And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory
Following his baptism, we know that Jesus was led by the spirit to various places for learning, and then came the devil and tempted him.
David O. McKay in October Conference 1911 said this:
“Now, nearly every temptation that comes to you and me comes in one of those forms. Classify them, and you will find that under one of those three nearly every given temptation that makes you and me spotted, ever so little maybe, comes to us as (1) a temptation of the appetite; (2) a yielding to the pride and fashion and vanity of those alienated from the things of God; or (3) a gratifying of the passion, or a desire for the riches of the world, or power among men.”
Luke 4:“Then Jesus was led up of the spirit, into the wilderness, to be with God. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, and had communed with God, he was afterwards an hungered, and was left to be tempted of the devil.”
“And the devil said unto him, If thou be the son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.”
First the devil casts doubt on who the Savior is. “If thou be the Son of God”...He loves to cause doubt and distort our knowledge of our divine nature. Because he knows that if we do not know that we are Sons and Daughters of our Heavenly Father and that he has a purpose for us, we will look to the physical world to fulfill our appetites.
It is no coincidence that his first temptation would be on appeasing his physical desires and appetites. From infancy we strive to fulfill our physical and emotional needs. A babies cries to have his needs fulfilled, hunger, cleanliness, and tiredness. When needs are not met it creates in us both physical and emotional deficiencies, that we may spend a lifetime trying to fill. For example, think of a baby that never receives physical comfort when it needs it, the baby grows up with emotional and often compulsive behavior to try to fill that need to be accepted and loved.
We each have these types of physical and emotional needs and desires to feel loved, accepted, worthy, and good enough, having what the world calls “self Esteem” and desires to be happy and have enough. Satan has a counterfeit to fulfilling our appetite.... it includes comparing yourself to others to feel good about yourself, Do everything for yourself so you can feel accomplished. You must be right and perfect. Because Satan’s way is always conditional and requires you to constantly find stones to be made into bread. If you cannot do these absolutely, and you show weakness and ask for help you must not be good enough. If you make any sort of mistake you cannot be worthy. Do these sound familiar? How often do we act towards ourselves and to others in this way.?
Jesus in his ultimate wisdom counteracted this temptation “Man Shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”. Christ had come to a knowledge who he is, he was obedient and grew in favor with God, through his obedience. The Glory of God builds us up in confidence, peace, in love, and unity. It fills our emotional needs in a way that nothing else can and brings peace to our souls.
Boyd K Packer said "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the Gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. Preoccupation with unworthy behavior can lead to unworthy behavior. That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines"
In order for this to happen we must live by and rely on Every Word of God!. God never wants us to feel insufficient or worthless, No matter what we have done, he wants us to feel his love and acceptance. It is why he sent a savior to redeem our mistakes and make a path where we could become complete and whole, despite our weakness. The more we realize and experience who we truly are, we grow in favor with God, we feel joy in good times and hard times, it allows us to be corrected without our confidence waning, we become humble, teachable, we grow in love, charity, and patience with ourselves and with others, being outward focused without the worry of what people will think of us. We become contented and grateful for what we have, it is enough. We are enough.
In October 1951 General Conference Elder Cowley said “neither the millionaire nor the pauper can live by bread alone, but both can live and enjoy living to the fullest degree if they will accept the spiritual influences that sustain the soul of man.’
Jesus was taken up into the Holy City, and the spirit set him on the pinnacle of the temple. “then the devil came unto him and Said “If thou be the son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at anytime thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
In other words.....If thou be the Son of God, prove it to all those at the temple. Satan always wanted the glory for himself, so of course this temptation would appeal to pride and vanity. The scriptures say that angels will bear thee up, so that justifies big and showy actions to show the world who you are.
Are our actions intended to feed our ego, and make us look good in the eyes of those around us? In this situation Jesus could have asked himself, for what purpose would revealing himself in such a grand manner to those at the temple serve? He would simply be doing it to satisfy his own vanity at being the Son of God, filled with all of God’s glory and power. Yet, Through his life and ministry, Christ meekly showed his power and performed miracles only when he was in service to others. He asks the same of us.
Christ’s response to this helps us better understand this. “he said” Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
As we look at our own behaviors and ask ourselves, for what purpose am I doing this. It might take much introspection to see if we are really doing it because of our love of those we serve, or are we doing it to look good or “not look bad” to those around us.
We do not need to prove to the world what we believe, Our righteous actions done in genuine love will speak for themselves. We do not ask God for signs and wonders to determine if we will trust him. We do not use the power of the priesthood for our own gain. We use it in genuine service and love to others. We do not tempt God and force him to do what he says he will do. “if you do this, Heavenly Father, than I will do this.” We trust he will fulfill the covenants we have entered into with him, as we fulfill our part. We express our loyalty to him through our obedience to his commandments by genuinely loving Him and loving and serving those around us.
If we are doing it to satisfy our egos, we are building our house upon sand, and when the storms of life come, we will have no foundation to stand on. How many do we know that have fallen away because they were righteous because it was expected or they wanted to appear a certain way, and when the world challenged them, they had no lasting testimony in which stand upon.
If our actions are based on love, no matter the outcome to ourselves, our testimony of God and Jesus Christ grows stronger, we create within our diamond the facets in which the glory of God will be reflected in us.
In his last test, “The spirit taketh him up into a high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. And the devil came unto him again, and said, All these things will I give unto thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me”
The devil promises worldly power, wealth, recognition, if we will worship him. Jesus, who had received a fullness of the Glory of God had just seen all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, he understood that the glory of this world is so much less than the fullness of the glory of God.
Had he just not been shown all the kingdoms of the world and the fullness of God’s glory, it may have been tempting to use the glory of this telestial world to try to sustain him through his greatest trial.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan; Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. He knows the source of all Glory and he will not deviate.
If we are looking to the world for power, wealth, or control in our lives we are angling our diamonds away from the light and glory of God, and we cannot receive of it.
To receive the celestial glory and be cut, shaped, and polished to the ideal cut, we must KNOW WHO WE ARE. Satan will always use our doubts and insecurities to tempt us to using our power for our own selfish ends, even if the intention seems good.
Through the remainder of his life, he was never affected personally by the rejection, betrayal, despising, mocking, of those around him. Neither by the growing number of disciples he had, did He seek for power over others. He willingly did as he was asked of God to do. He trusted God to provide opportunities for him constantly, to supply his needs, opportunities to teaching and testify, and he used his power only to serve others.
Each of these kinds of test, Preparing him for his final trial, in the Garden and on the Cross. He spent his life angling himself to be fully reflective of the Glory of God, so that when he knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane and took upon him the sins of the world, he was sustained and buoyed up. His perfect love for us was and is without blemish, purifying and sanctifying us, so that we too can become perfect and polished as he.
Always remember you are a diamond, in the process of becoming full of God's Glory, and reflecting that love to those around you.
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