Life and forms of Life
By: Jeremy Chugg

Life is in the sciences, scriptures, and life experiences. This being the case I wish my thoughts to be spiritual as well as have you think about the world around us.

In chemistry “a hydrogen bond results from” a very strong “dipole-dipole force between an electronegative atom and a hydrogen atom bonded to nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine.(Wikipedia)” This strong bond can seem unusual when compared to other chemistry bonds but is necessary for life as it is the force involved that keeps water molecules together. We too must make strong bonds. I see that if we do not make curiously strong bonds as we come unto Christ we would fall away. From within Lehi’s dream (1 Nephi 8:33-36) it showed that even if people partook of the Tree of Life that they are not safe unless they heed unto Christ and not Spacious Buildings. So we in effect need “hydrogen” like bonds with our redeemer Jesus Christ. Our life here and hereafter depend on bonds both physically and spiritually.

The first definition of life in the 1828 Webster Dictionary is “In a general sense, that state of animals and plants, or of an organized being, in which its natural functions and motions are performed, or in which its organs are capable of performing their functions. A tree is not destitute of life in winter, when the functions of its organs are suspended; nor man during a swoon or syncope; nor strictly birds, quadrupeds or serpents during their torpitude in winter. They are not strictly dead, till the functions of their organs are incapable of being renewed.”(Webster) Looking at this we can gain a perspective of life as it was defined at around the time Joseph Smith. I like at the end of it where it says “They are not strictly dead, till the functions of their organs are incapable of being renewed.” So if we look at this as inactive members. They still have some life until they are incapable of reactivated in the Church. This gives me hope for some friends that I have that they will come back. Lehi kept speaking to his children and whole household to the very end encouraging them to choose the right we should keep speaking to our friends that need that assistance too. (2 Nephi 4:7)

Continuing on we will now look eternal life according to Elder Bruce R. McConkie: “Eternal life is not a name that has reference only to the unending duration of a future life; immortality is to live forever in the resurrected state, and by the grace of God all men will gain this unending continuance of life. But only those who obey the fulness of the gospel law will inherit eternal life. … It is ‘the greatest of all the gifts of God … , for it is the kind, status, type, and quality of life that God himself enjoys. Thus those who gain eternal life receive exaltation; they are sons of God, joint-heirs with Christ, members of the Church of the Firstborn; they overcome all things, have all power, and receive the fulness of the Father” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 237)”. Eternal life is what we should all be hoping and working towards. Matthew 25:45-46 states “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal”(Gospel). I bring Christ’s words to supplicate Elder Bruce R. McConkie’s statement. There is a large correspondence in doing that will help us make it to eternal life. I was once in the position of following another vehicle in the accordance to make it to a destination. I was briefed on what exit and what vehicle I was to follow. Partway through it the trip it started getting dark on the freeway and I lost track of the vehicle I was supposed following. Praying in good faith that God would help me find my way I continued and found a vehicle that looked like the one I was to follow. I had no cell phone to verify and to make matters worse this vehicle took a different exit than I was notified to take. I followed anyway and continued to do. It turned out that it was the correct vehicle to follow and I made it to my destination. I am very glad I continued to “do” even when I could have just as easily given up. We should all continue towards eternal life and do even when things look grim or unsolvable.

I sometimes have a hard time doing the next thing we should do in our life. I am a terrible journal writer, there I admit but as I just noted above it is not something we should give up on but rather an opportunity to become better. In 1 Nephi 1:17 Nephi wrote “But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days. Behold, I make an abridgment of the record of my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have abridged the record of my father then will I make an account of mine own life”. We should feel lucky that we do not have to engrave upon plates as Nephi did to keep a record. We have desktops, laptops, netbooks, notepads, pencils, pens, and many other ways to keep information for our future generations. A written history is only part of what we are able to leave. We now have cameras, camcorders, mp3s, CDs, and DVDs to leave a media type of journal that can be left. No longer are we bound to what can be writ with letters of a language. Spencer W. Kimball said “On a number of occasions I have encouraged the Saints to keep personal journals and family records. I renew that admonition. We may think there is little of interest or importance in what we personally say or do—but it is remarkable how many of our families, as we pass on down the line, are interested in all that we do and all that we say.”(Journal) The truth is that our life is not just ourselves alone but for the benefit of others. Future people might want to know where they came from or how and what we thought. I try and think about this and make journal entries that would be useful for future generations and the lives of others. I find it neat to see some of the trials that my ancestors overcame to get here and it gives me the strength to continue on. It can be surprising what can be found that you never knew about.

In proverbs 3:1-6 it states “MY son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” It is telling us that for our life we should trust in Christ. We really don’t know when the end of days on earth will be. Sometimes the life of another that you know is lost. He/She seemed so young or maybe they are not so young but will be greatly missed. Whatever the case is still trust in the Lord that earthly life is limited but it is not the end. I miss greatly grandparents that have passed away. Yet I know that I cannot worry about this forever without it keeping me from the needs of the living around me. We can each continue forward keeping the memories of them in our hearts but continuing our own life.

I know that my paragraphs may seem slightly random but I assure you they are representative of life and what it can and should mean to us scripturally, science wise, physically, and mentally. I hope it gives you as the reader a broader perspective of life and what it means to us all. I testify to friends, family, classmates, and the world through this blog that Christ is our savior and he is our ultimate teacher in life. I leave these words with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.


Works Cited
(Wikipedia)"Hydrogen bond." Hydrogen bond. 23 Sept. 2008. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 24 Sept. 2008 .
(Journal)Kimball, Spencer W. "President Kimball Speaks Out on Personal Journals." New Era 26 Dec. 1980.
(Gospel)Perry, L. Tom. "The Gospel of Jesus Christ." Ensign May 2008.
(Webster) Webster, Noah. 1828 edition of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language. 1828 edition of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language. .
(scripture references are in parentheses or within the sentences)All scriptures found at http://scriptures.lds.org/ under Bible or Book of Mormon Sections