Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Empty House (REAL LDS/Mormon)

Victor D. Cave, "Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Empty House", Ensign, Mar. 2003, 45–47

True repentance is not merely eliminating the negative but replacing it with positive attitudes and actions.

As Jesus traveled through the cities and villages of Galilee performing miracles, a man who was possessed with a devil was brought to Him; the man was also blind and unable to speak. Jesus healed him, causing many to be amazed and wonder if He was the promised Messiah (see Matt. 12:22–23). When certain Pharisees heard that Jesus had done this, they said, “This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils” (Matt. 12:24). Jesus dismissed their ridiculous logic and taught, “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men who receive me and repent: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven unto men” (Joseph Smith Translation, Matt. 12:26).

A group of scribes challenged this teaching, saying, “Master, it is written that, Every sin shall be forgiven; but ye say, Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven. … How can these things be?” (Joseph Smith Translation, Matt. 12:37). Jesus then gave what has become known as the parable of the empty house:

“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none; but when a man speaketh against the Holy Ghost, then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth him empty, swept and garnished; for the good spirit leaveth him unto himself.

“Then goeth the evil spirit, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last end of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation” (Joseph Smith Translation, Matt. 12:38–39).

True Repentance

A person who commits sin without repenting does not have the protective influence of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, an evil spirit enters and dwells therein, thus leaving him “unto himself.”

The spiritual danger pointed out by this parable is real. Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) has explained: “When a man is baptized for the remission of sins … by the power of the Holy Ghost; when he becomes clean, and pure, and spotless before the Lord; … if he then sins against the Holy Ghost and loses the Spirit of the Lord as his companion, he is left in a fit condition to be swallowed up in every form of evil and iniquity. The house that was once swept and garnished, that was once a fit habitation for the Holy Spirit of God—that house is now vacant. The Spirit of the Lord will not dwell there longer, and the spirit of evil returns—returns to a vacant house, with a force and vigor exceeding anything of the past.”¹

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) has explained how this principle applies to the process of repentance:

“The devil knows where to tempt, where to put in his telling blows. He finds the vulnerable spot. Where one was weak before, he will be most easily tempted again.

“In abandoning sin one cannot merely wish for better conditions. He must make them. … He must eliminate anything which would stir the old memories.

“Does this mean that the man who has quit smoking or drinking or had sex pollutions finds life empty for a time? The things which engaged him and caught his fancy and occupied his thoughts are gone, and better substitutions have not yet filled the void. This is Satan’s opportunity. The man makes a start but may find the loss of the yesterday’s habits so great that he is enticed to return to his evil ways, and his lot thus becomes infinitely worsened. …

“Many who have discontinued bad habits have found that substitution is part of the answer, and have conquered a bad habit by replacing it with a good or harmless one.”²

True repentance, then, is not merely eliminating the negative in our lives; it also must involve replacing the negative with positive attitudes and actions.

Beware of the Sharks

This reminds me of a lagoon in French Polynesia. It is one of the largest lagoons of its kind in the world. It is of beautiful turquoise color because of its white sandy floor. The water level lowers and rises ever so slightly with the ebb and flow of the ocean tides. The lagoon is peaceful and calm, but the pass through which the tides rush is treacherous and filled with sharks that await an easy meal. One day a few tourists swam too close to the pass and began to be dragged toward danger. The peacefulness of the lagoon had led them to be careless and lazy in keeping themselves from the sharks. Gradually they had floated on the soft current toward the pass. Eventually they went too far and found themselves beyond the point where their own abilities could save them. Outside help was necessary, so a speedboat was sent to rescue them.

As the swimmers in this lagoon should have done, we need to put forth a consistent, positive effort every day in order to remain in safe waters. We need to develop good habits that can replace old, bad ones. Satan desires that we become lazy and complacent. Daily scripture study and prayer, service, repentance, and following the promptings of the Holy Ghost can keep us safely in the spiritual waters of the Lord.

Many of us may already find ourselves in serious spiritual danger and in desperate need of rescue. Jesus Christ, like the operators of the speedboat, has power to save lost souls. Let us all, whether we feel we are in safe waters or not, swim to Him, our Savior and Redeemer. Then the “good spirit” will never leave but will always be with us (see D&C 20:77).

More on this topic: Spencer W. Kimball, “God Will Forgive,” Ensign, Mar. 1982, 2–7; Delbert L. Stapley, “Good Habits Develop Good Character,” Ensign, Nov. 1974, 20–22.

IIRC, CC and I worked together to find out who the FReepers were that were aligned in this mission...I just volunteered to be the "keeper of the ping list"...and the others were gracious enough to allow us to become "quasi-organizers" for the group. BTW, NO ONE alone makes any decisions for the Inmans...we are autonomous and the ping list is used as a clearing house of sorts for any group activity.

Well put.

ColorCountry, Elsie and then Greyfoxx39 were among those well out front in their boldness pre-Romney...and the Romney lies catalyzed many of us.

CC & especially GF served as our "glue" in the Lord...and MHGinTN, AMPU, p-Marlowe, FastCoyote, Tennessee Nana, Graybeard58 & then Zakeet & Godzilla & others significantly weighed in [I know I'm leaving a few out...sorry].

And even those who took us on now & then were being covered by the Lord of Love & Truth -- Szonian & Sentinel...both of whom left Mormonism through the convictions of the Holy Spirit.

We praise the Lord for you both!

We are indeed "autonomous" -- just like our God is diverse, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we allow the Spirit to direct us, trusting that He wields us as one. Which He has!

And yet our Lord is One God, and eminates unity. I truly think that if the worldwide Body of Christ did this kind of ministry where we act as one under His direction, then who would need false ecuminism?...or media-created events seemingly/largely done for a "surfacy" show of unity.

Precept upon precept, and principle upon principle mean NAUGHT.

Well, since "principle" was one of Joseph Smith's fave words...and "precept upon precept" is a fave Mormon phrase, I'm going to assume for the moment that you are Lds...please correct me if that is a false assumption.

Many people have been brought up in diverse Christian beliefs. Understood that you and yours consider LDS teachings non-Christian. Please demonstrate how Christ instructed us to castigate...Jews...

First of all, not all Jews...just certain ones...like highly legalistic ones!

[If you are Lds, have you engaged in the typical Mormon error of being so busy that reading the Pearl of Great Price, D&C, the BoM, & Mormon authors that you've neglected direct reading of the Bible?]

If so, here's a "short course" teaching for you as to how Jesus and the apostle Paul handled the legalistic Jews...be sure to also read the last graph -- as to how Jesus handled even the Saduccees, who weren't nearly as legalistic as the Pharisees:

Matt. 15:9: But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Matt. 16:12: ...guard against the yeast...against the TEACHING of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Luke 11:52: ... you have taken away the key to knowledge.
John 8:44,47: You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies…The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.

I guess, JustAnotherOne, your “prophets” were off-base in directly countering Jesus that “ALL” people on earth are the Mormon god’s Kolobian bedroom-conceived offspring?

Mark 7:6-8,13: He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” …13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

Matthew 23:2-7, 13-34 : 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!

33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.

The Apostle Paul to the Galatians:

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is EVERYONE who does not continue to do EVERYTHING written in the Book of the Law.” (Gal. 3:1-6, 10)

Jesus to the Saducees:
Matt. 16:12: ...guard against the yeast...against the TEACHING of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
To the Sadducees: Jesus replied, “You are IN ERROR because you DO NOT KNOW THE SCRIPTURES OR THE POWER OF GOD. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you... (Matt. 22:29-31)

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