Jet Mariano

Tag: Book of Mormon

  • MIT-8 “Righteousness from Heaven, Truth from the Earth”

    Preparing for Church this afternoon Suit pressed, heart steady, and gratitude present. The drive to Juniper Crest Ward reminds me how blessed I am — good health, sufficient food, and strength to keep my covenants. Six days of labor and training, one day to remember the Giver of all things.

    Excerpt

    After a demanding week of work and training, the Sabbath reminds me that truth rises from the earth while righteousness comes from heaven — and both lead us back to God.

    Intro

    Five days of stressful work as an Infrastructure Engineer, and six days of training — boxing and Muay Thai, three hours at a time — can leave the body tired and the mind stretched thin. But Sunday belongs to God alone.

    Today is not about productivity or performance. It is about renewal.

    The scriptures remind me that God’s work has always been a partnership between heaven and earth.

    Grateful for the strength to come, the means to arrive, and the faith to worship.

    Notes from My Friend

    “Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.”
    Psalm 85:11

    In Enoch’s expansive vision, God orchestrates a collaboration between heaven and earth for the salvation of humanity.

    Early in the vision, Enoch’s people are lifted up to God’s presence through his teaching and leadership (Moses 7:21), leaving a void of goodness on the earth. But the people who remained behind were not left alone:

    “Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion.”
    Moses 7:27

    Both the heavens and the earth sorrow for the wickedness of humanity, causing Enoch to weep also (Moses 7:28, 40, 48).

    Then, before the Savior’s Second Coming, God sends revelation through both heavenly and earthly sources, to once again create a society like the one Enoch’s people built anciently:

    “And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.”
    Moses 7:62

    At the time of the Savior’s coming, Enoch’s city will return to the earth to unite with this new Zion:

    “Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;”
    Moses 7:63–64

    One literal fulfillment of God bringing truth “out of the earth” is the Book of Mormon itself, which Joseph Smith translated from engravings on metal plates buried by Moroni. As Moroni prophesied:

    “[this record] shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall shine forth out of darkness”
    Mormon 8:16

    Another fulfillment is the work of living people flooding the earth with truth as they share prophetic messages with one another. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland testified:

    “God will send help from both sides of the veil to strengthen our belief”
    “Lord, I Believe,” April 2013 general conference

    Perspective

    All week long, truth rises from the earth through effort — work, training, discipline, endurance. Sweat, repetition, and responsibility shape the person I am becoming.

    But on the Sabbath, righteousness looks down from heaven.

    For decades, I have tried to keep Sunday different. I don’t shop or buy food on the Sabbath. I have six other days to do those things. Sunday is reserved for worship, visiting the sick, prayer, and quiet pondering.

    This discipline is not about restriction. It is about remembering who provides strength beyond my own.

    The strength I build through boxing and Muay Thai is earthly strength. The peace I feel on Sunday is heavenly strength. Both are necessary, but they are not the same.

    One prepares the body. The other restores the soul.

    Practice (today, not someday)

    Today I will be grateful for both earthly and heavenly help which God sends to bring us to Him. I will remember that in the important work of the salvation of His children, heavenly and earthly forces collaborate under His direction.

    Final Reflection

    When truth rises from the earth through effort and righteousness descends from heaven through grace, God prepares His people for Zion.

    Six days I labor and train. One day I worship and renew. In that rhythm, I see the wisdom of God’s design — strength from the earth, peace from heaven.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    Truth rises through effort. Righteousness descends through grace.

    What I Hear Now

    “Truth shall spring out of the earth.”
    “Righteousness shall look down from heaven.”
    “God will send help from both sides of the veil.”

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – Enoch and Empathy

    I was reminded of that truth while camping in Monument Valley, waiting patiently in the quiet hours before dawn. I stayed awake at the cabin, watching the sky, trusting that light would come in its own time. When the waning gibbous moon finally rose, it crowned the stone buttes with a soft, steady glow. And then—unexpectedly—I was rewarded with a distant lightning show on the horizon. Stillness and power shared the same sky. Waiting revealed what haste would have missed.

    Excerpt

    God’s empathy is not a weakness to be restrained. It is the very source of His justice.

    Intro

    In recent years, empathy has come under suspicion. Some Christian thinkers have warned that it can become excessive or misplaced, even harmful. While acknowledging compassion as a Christlike trait, they caution that emotional identification—if left unchecked—might blur moral clarity or weaken obedience to God.

    That concern, however, finds no support in scripture.

    Notes from the Moment

    In Moses 7, Enoch is shown a vision of the future. His city has been taken into heaven. Other righteous souls dwell with God. Those left behind are marked by violence and cruelty. As Enoch observes God watching this scene, he expects detachment—or perhaps righteous anger.

    Instead, he sees something that unsettles him deeply: God weeping.

    “How is it that thou canst weep,” Enoch asks, “seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?” (Moses 7:29). To Enoch, holiness and empathy seemed incompatible.

    God then explains:

    “Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;”

    Moses 7:32–34, 40

    Here, there is no effort to dilute empathy in the name of justice. God does not administer justice despite His compassion—He administers it because of it.

    Perspective

    As Enoch begins to understand the depth of God’s love, his own heart expands beyond anything he had known. He “wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook” (Moses 7:41).

    Divine empathy is contagious.

    Practice

    A similar pattern appears after the Savior’s death, when darkness covered the land in the Americas. The people heard His voice explaining the destructions that had taken place. These were not acts of emotional detachment, but of mercy—meant to prevent further suffering. Repeatedly, He gives the same reason:

    “That the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them”
    (3 Nephi 9:5, 7–9, 11)

    Justice, once again, is rooted in empathy.

    President Dallin H. Oaks—having spent years studying and administering law—has reflected deeply on the relationship between love and commandment. In a worldwide devotional, he shared how his thinking has matured over time:

    “I have previously referred to our ‘continually [trying] to balance the dual commandments of love and law,’ but I now believe that goal to be better expressed as trying to live both of these commandments in a more complete way. …”

    “Stand for Truth,” Worldwide Devotional Address for Young Adults, 21 May 2023

    Final Reflection

    If God loves all His children with perfect love, then loving them cannot compete with loving Him. When compassion seeks their eternal good, it is aligned with holiness—not opposed to it.

    The scriptures do not portray empathy as a liability. They reveal it as divine.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    Compassion and holiness are not rivals. In God, they are one.

    What I Hear Now

    “God’s justice flows from His love.”
    “Empathy does not weaken truth.”
    “Holiness can weep.”

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

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