"Come here" and "go there" (part 5)

"As the clatter and clamor of life bustle about us, we hear shouting to 'come here' and to 'go there.' In the midst of the noise and seductive voices that compete for our time and interest, a solitary figure stands on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, calling quietly to us, 'Follow me.'" 

- Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Follow Me," April 2002

Image via Popular Mechanics, The Real Face of Jesus: What Did Jesus Look Like?

Bonus scriptures:
"And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away"

"And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will"

"For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own; justice continueth its course and claimeth its own; judgment goeth before the face of him who sitteth upon the throne and governeth and executeth all things"

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven"


Bonus links:

• Stand By My Side by Liese Rodger. "I am a Black woman who has lived in Utah for twelve years. Utah is a state with a rich history that its people are immensely proud of. But for a people so enriched in the stories of their oppressed pioneer ancestors, I often wonder why it is so difficult for many to see the parallels between their own oppression and the deeply rooted, ongoing history of their minority neighbors."
• We Are Witnesses by Charlotte Mountain. "What has made [George Floyd's] murder so different? It is that we are witnesses.... This video was shot with a steady hand by a 17-year-old girl named Darnella Frazier. Keep her in your prayers. The Latter-day Saint religion has a great tradition of anointing and setting apart children for great things. I believe that for this day Darnella has been set apart. She showed us the truth. She made us witnesses."
• Why I'm Skeptical of New Christian Allies by Marc Antoine Lavarin. "Something majestic is taking place in the midst of this struggle. However, in order for us to seize the moment, we must avoid the path of safe and easy allyship that doesn’t require theological transformation."
• Womanist Theology and Mormonism (Maxwell Institute podcast) with Janan Graham-Russell. "When you think about your religious beliefs, your theology, how much consideration have you given to your race? How has the color of your skin affected your understanding of God, of Jesus Christ, or of your religious community? Maybe you’ve never thought much about it. If you’re a black Latter-day Saint in America, you virtually can’t escape these kinds of questions. Many black American Latter-day Saints know that questions about the color of their skin and their faith are deeply intertwined. Add the component of gender and the questions multiply."
• "There Is No Equality": William E. Berrett, BYU, and Healing the Wounds of Racism in the Latter-day Saint Past and Present by Rebecca de Schweinitz. "Shortly before The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’s 2018 'Be One' event, celebrating forty years since the LDS Church removed racial restrictions on temple and priesthood participation, Black Latter-day Saint podcaster and author Zandra Vranes asked white members to consider 'what you or your Mormon ancestors were doing between 1852 and June 7, 1978.' It’s an important question that forces us to, in Eugene England’s words, 'face our unbearable Mormon loss of innocence.'" 
• Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter, Black Mormon Lives Matter by Meg Conley. "We are not individualists. Individualism is anathema to Mormon theology. If heaven can only be built through physical and spiritual collective action (and the temple is a physical and spiritual place) then God’s Kingdom on earth can only be built through both physical and spiritual action. Our ancestors said their prayers and then got off their knees and acted for the community."
• New Volume of Saints Reveals the Many Sides of Brigham Young by Peggy Fletcher Stack. "This image of the 'Lion of the Lord,' as he was known, sits atop monuments, stands on statues and graces a university named for him. In today’s 16 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however, believers know little of Young’s many sides — tender, stubborn, willful, racist, yet profoundly religious with a great love for the temple."
• Follow Christ to Eliminate Racism by Bryant Jensen, with contributions by Janan Graham-Russell and Melissa Inouye. "By following Christ to eliminate racism, we participate in the “ongoing Restoration” of His gospel and prepare for His Second Coming. We are all children of God, members of a body. Some members have been terribly mistreated, for a very long time. Let’s work arm-in-arm—Latter-day Saints of all racial and ethnic backgrounds—to eliminate interpersonal, institutional, and implicit racism. He lives and loves us all, with our differences. He asks us to do the same." 
• Healing the Wounds of Racism by Darius Gray. "1. Acknowledge the problem. 2. Recognize it in ourselves. 3. Learn a new approach. 4. Listen."

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Series:
Part 1: Unspotted from the world
Part 2: Seek ye diligently
Part 3: Mourn with those that mourn
Part 4: In much patience
Part 5: "Come here" and "go there"