The title of today’s podcast is “Power and Sacrifice”. We may wonder, “Is power a good thing or a bad thing?” When we speak of it in church, it is considered a good thing. We are encouraged to seek the Power of Prayer, the Power of Faith, the Power of the Priesthood, and the Power of God. On the other hand, we have all heard the phrase, “Power Corrupts; Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”. Using the Marvel movie Thor Ragnarok as our starting example, we examine the relationship between Power and Sacrifice. Power, even when used to fight evil, requires Sacrifice. Of course, we consider other examples - Alma, the Savior, and Nephi, son of Helaman - of sacrifice and power. We consider the reasons that Power comes through true Sacrifice.
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S2E08 – Power & Sacrifice
This is the podcast “Science and Scriptures”, Season 2, Episode 8 or “Power and Sacrifice”.
Hello again, this is Scott Frazer, and welcome to the podcast “Science and Scriptures”. The title of today’s podcast is “Power and Sacrifice”. I have thought a lot about this topic over the years, both in regard to politics and doctrine. Watching the exchange of power in politics is like watching a tennis match. Public opinion sways power to the left, then world events push it to the right. We may wonder, “Is power a good thing or a bad thing?” When we speak of it in church, it is considered a good thing. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are encouraged to seek the Power of Prayer, the Power of Faith, the Power of the Priesthood, and the Power of God. On the other hand, we have all heard the phrase, “Power Corrupts; Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”. So, I thought it was time to dedicate an episode to a discussion of power.
I enjoy superhero movies made by Marvel Studios. They are exciting stories and offer a complete escape from normal life. Marvel movies are a good example of the ups and downs of holding power. There are often interesting principles of humanity portrayed in such movies. To make the stories interesting, the movie must always provide a powerful villain. Throughout a Marvel movie, there are distinctive shifts of power as the villain tries to destroy the world and our hero fights back.
A great example of this kind of movie is Thor Ragnarok. Thor is the Norse God of Thunder and agriculture, and by Marvel’s decree, a new superhero. At the beginning of the movie, Thor defeats Surtur, a flaming, Satan-like giant who thirsts to destroy Thor’s beloved city of Asgard. So far, so good.
Soon after, Thor’s father Odin dies. Hela, Thor’s evil sister, is released from her bondage and immediately battles against Thor. Hela’s power is great and she destroys Thor’s magic war hammer! Thor gets sent to a garbage-filled planet while Hella goes to Asgard and destroys the king’s army. She raises her own zombie army and plans to kill all who resist her. Thor finally manages to get back to Asgard.He battles against Hella and loses an eye in the fight.
Obviously, things are not looking good. The zombies are advancing on the people of Asgar.Hela, who gets power from the city of Asgard, cannot be beaten. The suspense is intense. Thor gets a burst of godlike energy and rejoins the battle to the music of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song”, which I am playing in the background now. (I’ll bet you never expected to hear Led Zeppelin on this podcast, did you?) But Marvel chose the music because it musically describes superhero power. Superhero power is bold, brash, and loud too. You might think the movie was over, but Hela pulls it together and threatens Asgard’s people yet again. Thor has his brother Loki release Surtur, the flaming, Satan-like giant that Thor had defeated earlier. True to his word, Surtur begins to destroy the city of Asgard – and in doing so, he weakens Hela’s power. Thor, Loki and the remainder of the people of Asgard manage to board a huge starship, which carries them away. As they leave, they see Asgard and then the whole planet explodes.
We learn from this movie that Power, even Power to fight evil, requires Sacrifice. Thor lost his father, his magical war hammer, an eye, many of his people, his hometown, and his home planet in this movie. But he found the power to overcome his evil sister Hela.The majority of his people were saved and, according to the storyline, eventually resettle on earth.
Before I go any further, I should emphasize that power is not a bad thing to seek or to have. The difference between good and evil power is easy to identify. Good power is the power to defend your family, your home, and your freedom of religion. Evil power is the power to overthrow others so they may be bent to your will. This was the essential difference between the Nephites and the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon. In Alma 43, we read,
“And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires.”
We often think of evil men, such as Hitler and Stalin, who sought power to control their own people and neighboring nations. Terrorists try to gain power through the use of terror, bullets, and bombs. We read of power-seekers in the scriptures – such as the king-men in the book of Alma and all those who belonged to secret combinations.These men all grasped power for the sake of having power over others. They did not protect or care for those over whom they had power. Throughout earth’s history, the desire for this kind of power has caused millions of deaths and much misery.
In the scriptures, we read about this power to maintain our own lives and of those we love. While visiting the Nephites, the Savior announced,
“And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.”
In D & C 45, we read about the power of the city of Zion.
“And it shall be said among the wicked: Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand.”
There are dozens of other verses that declare that the power to defend is a good thing and is needed for heaven and earth to function. Given all that, let’s look at the relationship between power and sacrifice.
Power and Sacrifice
If you are taking a new job with a corporation, would you wish to work for a CEO who has worked his way up the corporate ladder, learning experience in different divisions of the company to learn how they function? Or would you rather work for a recent college graduate whose father, who owns the company, is retiring? There are very good reasons that power requires sacrifice. Sacrifice teaches you to value that over which you have power. It gives you hard-earned knowledge, empathy, and appreciation.
Let’s move this discussion of Power and Sacrifice into a family situation that many of you have probably experienced. Your 5-year-old daughter is sick. She is coughing and has a temperature of 102 degrees. Her lungs sound raspy. Now is the time when parents crave power. They desperately want power to pray for their daughter and have the Lord make her well.
In the LDS church, to make our prayers more powerful, we fast. We sacrifice food and drink so the Lord recognizes our sacrifice, making our prayers more powerful. To add more power to our prayers, we arrange for priesthood blessings.
As an aside, please note that the priesthood blessing is not made more powerful by finding the two most righteous church leaders available to give the blessing. This misconception is very common in the church, as members continually send requests for the prophet to give a blessing to a family member who is ill. The First Presidency has pleaded with members to not send in such requests. If the prophet had increased power to heal sick children, I have no doubt he would open his office and give blessings all day long. But the power of a priesthood blessing is not based on the relative righteousness or station of the brethren who give the blessing. Getting a stake president or other church leader to give the blessing does not increase its power.
However, more power can come from the added prayers of family, friends, and neighbors. The parents of a sick child will often ask their ward, friends, and family to join them in their prayers and even their fasts. The sacrifice of others brings increased power with it. Before we proceed with this story, let’s review what more the scriptures tell us about power and sacrifice.
The Old Testament
The temple ordinances throughout the entire Old Testament are based on Sacrifice. The Children of Israel were living under the Mosaic Law.The sacrifices required by God were numerous, usually burnt offerings. This is a very direct, easy-to-understand sacrifice. An Israelite chose a prize sheep or cow from his herds and gave it to the temple for sacrifice. This sacrifice demonstrated their dedication to God. The Children of Israel offered burnt sacrifices for many reasons, but they often offered sacrifices to receive power in their many battles against enemies. Please note that the sacrifices in the temple preceded any power they hoped to receive from God.
The Savior’s Sacrifice and Power
When I sit in Sunday School lessons about Jesus Christ, I always hear someone express appreciation that the Lord “died for my sins”. While it is normally a very heart-felt declaration, technically, there is a crucial missing step in their statement. Actually, Jesus Christ had to go through the sacrifices of the Atonement and the crucifixion to become God, and thus be able to forgive us of our sins.
Do you remember all the verses in the scriptures about Jesus Christ sitting “on the right hand of God”? The Savior could only sit on the right hand of God after the Atonement and Resurrection. For example, in Luke chapter 22, Jesus had been arrested and His crucifixion was inevitable. He recognized this fact and then told the Jewish leaders where He would end up.
“And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.”
Speaking of the Savior, we read in 1st Peter 3:
“Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”
The phrase “to sit down on the right hand of God” means that the Savior, after His great sacrifice, was given the authority of a god. Through His sacrifice, He earned that power of a god who could sit on the right hand of Heavenly Father and forgive us of our sins.
Though Jesus Christ had made some sacrifices to come to earth and endure the rigors and hardships of mortal life, we all do that. Until the Atonement, the Savior had not made any significant sacrifices in His life.Power comes after Sacrifice.The way I understand this principle, while on Earth, Jesus had “power of attorney” in representing God the Father.If you note, Jesus’s miracles on earth were generally preceded by a prayer. Essentially, the Savior prayed to use the power that God the Father provided Him on Earth. This “power of attorney” concept also explains why the Lord declares Himself to be God. Someone with power of attorney can make all decisions for the person they represent. For all legal intents and purposes, someone with power of attorney, is the person being represented.
By sitting on the right hand of God, Jesus Christ went from being the Son of God to becoming a God Himself. He made the required sacrifice, which brought godly power of His own. I don’t believe that Jesus has to pray before He does a miracle anymore. He doesn’t have to check with Heavenly Father before He forgives someone. He has His own power and authority to do so.
Thus, if someone in your Sunday School class says the Lord “died for my sins”, please understand they are skipping a middle step. The Savior sacrificed Himself to attain the power He needed to then be able to forgive us of our sins.
The Requirements of Power
To jump to another superhero story, in the movie Spiderman, Spiderman is talking to his wise, kindly uncle Ben about his superhero powers. Uncle Ben summarizes his point with the words, “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”. This quote actually appears to date back to the French Revolution, but it became a key quote of the Spiderman franchise. Power that goes to people who will be responsible and wise with it will bring great outcomes. Power that goes to people who want to impress or control others with it, leads to disaster.
In Alma chapter 14, we find an epic, though heartbreaking, story about using power responsibly.Alma had just returned to the land of Ammonihah and had found a new missionary companion by the name of Amulek. They preached to the people and found some success. But soon they were taken, bound, and forced to endure a mock trial before the local chief judge. Then Alma and Amulek were taken to a place where, incredibly enough, the chief judge and his henchmen were burning church converts, including women and children, alive in a great fire!
Amulek was sickened by the scene and said to Alma,
“How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.”
Alma’s response is interesting.
“But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory”.
Alma goes on to explain the Spirit’s reasoning behind His constraint. Please note that the Spirit constrained Alma from stretching forth his hand. But… who would care if Alma stretched forth his hand if there was no power behind it?The way this verse is worded indicates that Alma could have stopped the executions had he decided to.Alma had the power. The Spirit counseled Alma to not stop the executions. There were reasons behind allowing the atrocity to continue. But the Lord would have backed Alma’s decision either way, and I believe that Alma understood that fact.
Later the chief judge slapped Alma and Amulek across the face and said,
“Behold ye see that ye had not power to save those who had been cast into the fire; neither has God saved them because they were of thy faith. What say ye for yourselves?”
The chief judge concluded that Alma and Amulek obviously had no power because they didn’t use it to save their friends. He made the same mistake as millions of people today, who believe that since God does not use His power to stop the wicked, He has none.
The chief judge went on to tell Alma and Amulek about the extensive power that he had over them. He didn’t understand that the power over men is different from the power of God. For “many days” Alma and Amulek suffered in the prison. Then one day, when the chief judge and his henchman were visiting and smoting them yet again, Alma decided enough was enough. He cried out to God for power to be freed from this violent nonsense. Not only did the two missionaries break their bindings, but God sent along an earthquake as well. The walls of the prison collapsed. Maybe the chief judge finally understood true power as the prison walls came tumbling down upon him.
Getting back to Alma’s choices, here’s the question I’d like you to consider. If you had been Alma, would you have stretched forth your hand and stopped the killings? Would you have allowed yourself to be constrained by the Spirit? Remember, you have the power to stop the atrocity. Would you have done so? Honestly… I think I would have.
The best way to understand if a person is responsible enough to have power is to see if they can restrain themselves from using it. In the Disney movie Fantasia, Micky Mouse is a wizard’s apprentice. One day, he borrows the wizard’s magical hat and uses the magic to do his chores for him. The magic makes a mess out of everything, and the wizard has to clean it all up. This old animation is a great example of the dangers of someone obtaining power that they cannot use responsibly.
However, there are also examples of people who can be trusted with power. In Helaman 10, we read about Nephi, the son of Helaman. The Lord and Nephi are conversing. The Lord tells Nephi,
“Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God. Behold, I declare it unto thee in the presence of mine angels, that ye shall have power over this people, and shall smite the earth with famine, and with pestilence, and destruction, according to the wickedness of this people.”
“Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people.
And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be rent in twain, it shall be done.
And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast down and become smooth, it shall be done. And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this people, it shall come to pass.”
I believe that this was as much power as God ever gave to a human. Here’s the next question I have for you to consider. If you had been Nephi, what would you have said to this offer by the Lord?
For myself, not having the experiences, wisdom, or understanding of Nephi, I would have turned down this offer without hesitation. Are you kidding? Just reading what God is offering Nephi takes my breath away. I am way too emotional for such power. For example, if anyone slaps me, like the chief judge slapped Alma… I don’t turn the other cheek very well. I would smite the judge with all the plagues of Egypt simultaneously without a second thought. He would soon be covered with lice, flies, frogs, boils, and locusts. That’d show him.
So… no… I am personally not ready for such power. However, in my defense, there are very few people that I know who I would trust with that power either.
On the other hand… earned power, power you can hold responsibly, is certainly a good goal to have. When you have obtained the level of self-mastery that is required to hold such power – then you will have achieved something very great indeed.
Before we conclude, let’s go back to our sick 5-year-old little girl. The family has prayed, fasted, and arranged a priesthood blessing. The little girl has been examined by specialists and is now in intensive care at the hospital. All that can be done has been done. What do the parents do now? Considering today’s discussion on power and sacrifice, the parents and family must now prepare to accept whatever happens to their little girl. Some sacrifices required by our mortal probation are extreme challenges, as would be the loss of this little girl to her family. The family needs to have the power to overcome whatever sacrifice is required of them. True sacrifice is not the same thing as skipping a couple meals on a Fast Sunday or paying tithing. It often involves heartbreaking tragedy.
Sacrifice is a good prerequisite before one can receive power, because true sacrifice either breaks you into pieces or it makes you stronger. If you break into pieces, you are not a fitting vessel for power. If you endure the sacrifice – and hopefully come to understand it – you can be entrusted with power, be it in this life or the next. Sacrifice makes a person more understanding and more empathetic of others, so that person can be trusted with power to bless others.
Like Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah, there are times when, whether you have the power to stop it or not, you must accept tragedy. In this life we have little power over tragedy. We do all that we can to avert tragedy – and then we accept the outcome. In the next life, I believe we will be given more power over our lives. But let’s be clear. Even in the next life with that additional power, it will never be absolute. Power has its limitations. Jesus could not do miracles in his hometown of Nazareth because of the unbelief there. Due to the rules of Earth life established in the Preexistence, God is restricted in what He can do here. Even a god must be responsible with His power and follow His own rules and restrictions.
To conclude, please understand that, whether you know it or not, you are learning principles of sacrifice and power every day of your mortal probation. Most of us think that we are of little consequence to this world – and it’s true, we are. But… we are learning. We are becoming beings who can be trusted with power, and that is a noble pursuit indeed. I am going to end this podcast episode to my superhero music. Always remember the superhero you are trying to become…
So, that is all I have for you today. I thank you for listening to this podcast. Today’s episode went in a different direction than I expected. But I hope it helps you to consider the interaction of power and sacrifice. If you think this episode might help a friend or family member, please share it with them. This is Scott Frazer from the podcast Science and Scriptures. Take care and have a great week.