Murmur not

One of my favorite words is “onomatopoeia” (a Greek word meaning name-making ). It describes words that imitate or reproduce the sounds they describe. The sounds literally make the meaning in such words as "buzz," "crash," "whirr," "clang" "hiss," "purr," "squeak," "mumble," "hush," "boom." Another word that sounds like its meaning is “murmur.” In Volume 8 of The Work and The Glory by Gerald Lund, Lydia teaches her children about this word:

“Lydia had given the family a lesson before they ever left Nauvoo, and as part of that lesson she taught them a great big word she had learned as a schoolgirl back in Palmyra, New York. The word was onomatopoeia. She had described how proud she had been when she had learned to pronounce that huge word without hesitation, and soon had all the family repeating after her, ‘O-na-ma-ta-pee-a, o-na-ma-ta-pee-a’ Then she explained that onomatopoeia referred to using words that sounded like what they described, such as gurgle or cuckoo.”

She then taught her family about the Israelites of the Old Testament that murmured against the Lord, and about Laman and Lemuel, who took themselves completely away from the gospel because of their murmuring. She had them say the words: “Mur-mur-mur-mur,” and asked them what they sounded like. The children responded that it sounded like people muttering under their breath.

Murmuring seems fairly harmless on the surface -- we can vent our displeasure at some imagined wrong and relieve tension and strain. A simple complaint to a spouse or friend, or even to ourselves under our breath seems harmless enough, but in fact, murmuring consists of three distinct steps -- devised by the adversary -- that carefully lead us away from obedience. In fact, the Son of the Morning himself is probably the all-time champion murmurer. He managed to lead away a third of the hosts of heaven.

In second place might be the Children of Israel, who when they arrived at the Land of Caanan, convinced themselves that they could not conquer the current occupiers of the land, even though the Lord promised them that they could overcome their enemies. As a consequence they were not allowed to enter, and wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, until the whole generation had passed away -- their children were finally allowed to enter the promised land.

Step 1: Questioning. Joseph Smith received a revelation in which his own wife was counseled not to murmur. Emma had just heard Mary Whitmer describe her experience as she saw the plates, and naturally, it seems to us, she thought that Joseph should have shown her the plates—if anyone deserved to see them, she did. But she was counseled to:

“Murmur not because of the things which thou hast not seen, for they are withheld from thee and from the world, which is wisdom in me in a time to come (D&C 25:4).”

Step 2: Rationalization. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, in his book, A Time to Choose said this:

Thus, "enduring" calls for the same basic skills in the disciple as choosing, the faith and courage to commit. It also adds another requirement: a willingness "to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him. . . ." (Mosiah 3:19.) Enduring is more than just surviving, for ". . . if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high." ("D&C 121:8.) Enduring "well" means passing the breaking point without breaking, having cause to be bitter—as men measure cause—without being bitter. Enduring ‘well’ means the disciple in the very trough of his difficulties avoids, as Job wisely did, having "charged God foolishly."
The "murmuring" so often mentioned in the Book of Mormon is kindred to the feelings we may sometimes have when we do not really question God's existence but rather his fair play, and we wrongly begin to make demands of him. (Helaman 16:17-20.) Murmuring may have no single cause, but a lack of perspective is suggested: "They did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them." (1 Ne. 2:12) A brighter time will come when they that murmured "shall learn doctrine," suggesting that conceptual inadequacy can cause us to murmur and complain.

Step 3: Slothfulness and or complete disobedience. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, in his book, A Time to Choose, said this:

Suffering is the sweat of salvation.

The straight and narrow is the path of perspiration and is too arduous to be free from adversity. There are many ways in which the disciple can suffer as a Christian, and for righteousness' sake. Practical, perceptive Peter said, "For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take is patiently, this is acceptable with God." (1 Pet. 2:20. Italics added.)

Perhaps the lack of divine patience with those who are lukewarm is not as harsh as it seems, for divine love seeks a commitment so God can work with us. But we must decide, even if we only start with a "desire to believe."

Of course, commitment means involvement. It means occasional disappointment in a divine church full of imperfect people. It means getting banged about a bit—but it also means everlasting joy.

Suffering as a result of commitment is something to be expected and not to be sad about. Perhaps it is also necessary for the disciple to know what Paul called ". . . the fellowship of his sufferings . . ." in terms of what Christ underwent for man.

Khalil Gibran observed that the cavity carved out of our soul by suffering will also be the receptacle of our joy. In this sense, those who have suffered most, and for the right reasons, will have stretched their capacity for joy and happiness. "