Skip to main content

Lot's Wife




Salt...

A pillar of salt...

If you've never been to the area west of the Great Salt Lake (and unless you're REALLY bored there's no reason to head out there) there's a place called the Bonneville Salt Flats. It's amazing - truly. Try to imagine a vast sheet of salt, perfectly flat and blindingly white. If you go in the spring time, when the ground is a little damp, it's possible to scoop out an enormous ball of salt - like a snowball. The salt is very fine-grained and the taste is a little less salty than normal table salt, although salty enough that you do not want to eat it.

So there's Lot, evacuating Sodom, with his wife and daughters in tow. They're headed out to the hills, seeking refuge from the storm of fire and brimstone. They are told specifically not to look back on the destruction of their home and city, but Lot's wife cannot resist the temptation. She looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt.

It is unclear (at least to me) if this is a literal thing - her flesh was somehow transmogrified into a literal column of sodium chloride - or if this means she turned back and when they looked back to find her all they found was a column of salt, such as is found in Mono Lake...


Lot's wife is used by the Savior as an analogy or warning against leaving the world behind physically, but not mentally or spiritually. It seems that at times we may be desirous to please God without offending the world. Whether Lot's wife was actually turned into salt or not, if she turned back to consider what was forbidden - no matter how desirable - she certainly suffered for her act.

I also think that maybe the reason why she looked back is that she was hanging on to a former life or past transgression, unable to put it down. This is a hard one for all of us. We sometimes like to wallow in the guilt, enjoying the feeling of suffering and/or persecution, even when there is none. We like to feel the martyr, bringing on ourselves the unnecessary hardship and attention. While this may be effective, it is also quite damaging to our self-image and self-esteem. We should work to eliminate such things from our lives, instead becoming independent, strong, and faithful. We believe in the atonement of Christ; we must also believe that it is effective for each of us. I believe it is effective for me.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Other Art

I'm not sure we appreciate photography as much as we do other art forms. Part of this comes from the reality that surrounds and permeates a photograph - it's very, very real, and the photographer strives for clarity and crispness in the representations. Perhaps this is why black and white images continue to be relevant - they strip away extraneous information (color) and leave us with something that is at once familiar and also non-existent - for nothing exists in black and white. Nothing. I also think that pictures are becoming too common-place... Everyone has a camera in their pocket, and while that's a very democratic thing (everyone can express themselves in a picture easily and readily, and can find an audience for these images, which are casually taken and casually viewed, and perhaps just as casually forgotten) I think that we embrace that casual attitude, and it spills over to all aspects of the media, making it impotent. So I read this article this morning: h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lucky!

So Tomorrow is Amie's birthday. The 12 th is Andy's. The 14 th is Alex's. And the 26 th is mom's. Happy birthday everyone. I recently found that a member of our ward has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer has a survivability rate of less than 5% and you never, ever kick it, even if you live. Once diagnosed, people are expected to live about six months. My wife and I were talking about this wonderful woman. There are very few (too few) people in this world who shine. Literally. This sister shines with a light that is perceptible and discernible . The world will literally be a darker place without her in it. Life is short, folks. Too short for hard feelings, too short for pain and misunderstanding. I love you all so much. Sorry this one is such a downer... I don't mean to be lugubrious on your birthdays... I consider myself lucky to be your brother. You have and continue to bless me and my family in many ways, for which I will be eternally gra...
4 comments
Read more

Excommunication

My heart is heavy this morning. I read that Kate Kelly and others are being brought up on Church disciplinary action. For those who are unfamiliar with the process/proceedings of LDS Church discipline, it can be a bit mystifying. There are several levels of censure that the Church may impose. These range from a simple removal of some privileges for a short period of time to the most severe action - excommunication. When one is excommunicated, the person's membership in the Church is terminated. It is a very extreme measure, and for the faithful it can be a very difficult thing to consider. What people don't understand - what is nearly impossible for someone outside the proceedings to understand - is the amount of love felt. It's discipline. It's intended to be harsh (at times). And it's intended to be unpleasant. But it is done with love and care for the person. Since excommunication is such an extreme measure, it is really only very rarely applied. There are ...
18 comments
Read more