Book of Mormon: Podcast 03 - "The Nature of the Original Text"

(Download)

A video of this presentation is available on the Maxwell Institute's YouTube page here.

This podcast is one part in a series of three lectures given by Dr. Royal Skousen as part of his 25 year magnum opus work on the textual criticism of the Book of Mormon.

About Royal Skousen

          Royal Skousen is Professor of Linguistics and English Language at Brigham Young University. In 1972 he received his Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He has taught linguistics at the University of Illinois, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California at San Diego, and as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Tampere in Finland. In 2001 he was a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Skousen's work in linguistics has dealt chiefly with developing a theory of language called Analogical Modeling, a theory that predicts language behavior by means of examples rather than by rules.

Skousen has published three books on this subject: Analogical Modeling of Language (1989), Analogy and Structure (1992), and Analogical Modeling: An Exemplar-Based Approach to Language (2002). More recently, he has published on the quantum computation of Analogical Modeling, notably in his 2005 paper "Quantum Analogical Modeling" (available here).

Skousen has been the editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project since 1988. In 2001, he published the first two volumes of the Critical Text Project, namely, typographical facsimiles for the original and printer's manuscripts of the Book of Mormon. From 2004 through 2009, he published the six books that make up volume 4 of the critical text, Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon. This work represents the central task of the Critical Text Project, to restore by scholarly means the original text of the Book of Mormon, to the extent possible. In 2009, using the results from volume 4, Skousen published with Yale University Press the culmination of his critical work on the Book of Mormon text, namely, The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text. The Yale edition presents the reconstructed original text in a clear-text format, without explanatory intervention. Unlike modern editions of the Book of Mormon that have added chapter summaries, scriptural cross-references, dates, and footnotes, this edition consists solely of the words dictated by Joseph Smith in 1828-29, as far as they can be established through standard methods of textual criticism. Later emendations by scribes, editors, and even Joseph Smith himself have been omitted, except for those that appear to restore original readings. Skousen is currently writing volume 3 of the critical text, The History of the Text of the Book of Mormon, which will be available in about three years (~2016).

 Skousen has recently accepted the assignment to be one of the editors for the Joseph Smith Papers, along with Robin Jensen, charged with the task of preparing the three volumes that will reproduce photographs and facsimile transcripts for the two manuscripts of the Book of Mormon.
            For those interested, Skousen's vita is available via Brigham Young University here. 

About this Lecture

The Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center

            This lecture originally took place in the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center on the campus of Brigham Young University on Tuesday, March 5th 2013.  The original lecture was accompanied by a powerpoint presentation. 
            This lecture examines the nature of the original text, as recovered by scholarly means as part of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project.  It is important, first, to note the number and kinds of changes that have been implemented in The Earliest Test (Yale University Press, 2009).  Of 606 readings in the Yale text, 216 come from the original manuscript (O), 187 from the printer's manuscript (P), and 88 from both O and P.  
          The manuscripts play the most important role in recovering the original text.  Since O is only 28% extant, this means that by human means most of the original text is not fully recoverable.  Nonetheless, there are 241 new reading that make a difference in meaning; these changes would show up in any translation of the Book of Mormon. Various examples are discussed that show how the original text was more consistent in usage.  In addition a few changes in names make a difference in how we interpret the narrative. 
          Conjectural emendations are found in the Yale edition as in all editions of the Book of Mormon, but much less frequently.  On average, about one out of every four proposed conjectural emedations have been accepted in the Yale Edition.
          The original text itself shows word-for-word control in its Hebrew-like expressions, the large number of lexical meanings dating from the 1500's and 1600's, its use of 131 instances of fully consistent expressions, identical non-biblical citations from different parts of the test, and the spelling out of the Book of Mormon names letter by letter.  Even the non-standard grammar of the Book of Mormon may date back to Early Modern English.
          This information was largely retrieved from "Interpreter: a Journal of Mormon Scripture".

Program Schedule

Book of Mormon: Podcast 02 - "Textual Criticism: The Printed Editions"

(Download)

This podcast is one part in a series of three lectures given by Dr. Royal Skousen as part of his 25 year magnum opus work on the textual criticism of the Book of Mormon.

About Royal Skousen

          Royal Skousen is Professor of Linguistics and English Language at Brigham Young University. In 1972 he received his Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He has taught linguistics at the University of Illinois, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California at San Diego, and as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Tampere in Finland. In 2001 he was a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Skousen's work in linguistics has dealt chiefly with developing a theory of language called Analogical Modeling, a theory that predicts language behavior by means of examples rather than by rules.

Skousen has published three books on this subject: Analogical Modeling of Language (1989), Analogy and Structure (1992), and Analogical Modeling: An Exemplar-Based Approach to Language (2002). More recently, he has published on the quantum computation of Analogical Modeling, notably in his 2005 paper "Quantum Analogical Modeling" (available here).

Skousen has been the editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project since 1988. In 2001, he published the first two volumes of the Critical Text Project, namely, typographical facsimiles for the original and printer's manuscripts of the Book of Mormon. From 2004 through 2009, he published the six books that make up volume 4 of the critical text, Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon. This work represents the central task of the Critical Text Project, to restore by scholarly means the original text of the Book of Mormon, to the extent possible. In 2009, using the results from volume 4, Skousen published with Yale University Press the culmination of his critical work on the Book of Mormon text, namely, The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text. The Yale edition presents the reconstructed original text in a clear-text format, without explanatory intervention. Unlike modern editions of the Book of Mormon that have added chapter summaries, scriptural cross-references, dates, and footnotes, this edition consists solely of the words dictated by Joseph Smith in 1828-29, as far as they can be established through standard methods of textual criticism. Later emendations by scribes, editors, and even Joseph Smith himself have been omitted, except for those that appear to restore original readings. Skousen is currently writing volume 3 of the critical text, The History of the Text of the Book of Mormon, which will be available in about three years (~2016).

 Skousen has recently accepted the assignment to be one of the editors for the Joseph Smith Papers, along with Robin Jensen, charged with the task of preparing the three volumes that will reproduce photographs and facsimile transcripts for the two manuscripts of the Book of Mormon.
            For those interested, Skousen's vita is available via Brigham Young University here. 

About this Lecture

The Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center

            This lecture originally took place in the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center on the campus of Brigham Young University on Tuesday, March 5th 2013.  The original lecture was accompanied by a powerpoint presentation. 
            The critical text directly compares 20 significant printed editions of the Book of Mormon, with 15 published by the LDS Church, 4 by the RLDS Church (now the Community of Christ), and one private edition in 1858 (published in New York City by James Wright).  
          In this review of the printed editions, Skousen will identify the most innovative changes made in each of the significant LDS editions. There will also be a comparison of the LDS and RLDS textual traditions.
          In the last part of the presentation, Skousen will discuss various secular editions published within the last decade, including Grant Hardy’s 2003 A Reader’s Edition (University of Illinois Press), the 2004 Doubleday Edition (with text furnished by the LDS Church), and Royal Skousen’s 2009 The Earliest Text (Yale University Press).
          This information was taken largely from Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture.

Program Schedule

Gospel Scholarship: Objects in the Mirror are Closer than they Appear

Gospel Scholarship: Objects in the Mirror are Closer than they Appear



Many movies are based on the idea of the average Joe finding out he is actually someone/something special. Whether it is Harry Potter finding out he’s a master wizard that is intricately connected to his arch-nemesis; Jake Sully finding out he has more in common with his Avatar than with his fellow marines; or Dwayne Johnson discovering he is a real Tooth Fairy with deep-seated issues, we find that the teachings in the scriptures are more complex than they seem on the surface.

In the movie, The Blind Side, we are reminded that along with the complex characters in the movie, we have to “peel back the layers” of the onion that makes up the gospel. In joining the Church at 16 years of age, I found the Book of Mormon to be filled with lots of cool, gory war stories. While 1975 preceded the shoot-everything-in-sight video game era, young men in any period tend to be attracted by a show of violent force. I was intrigued by the war stories, and looked forward to getting to the end of long sections of teaching. It’s been remarked that the movie Titanic would have been the perfect guy movie if it would have actually started about an hour into the movie.

The story goes of two missionaries walking along a road to an appointment. One elder was a veteran of 18 months on his mission, the other had been out just a few days. As they walked along, a huge pit bull rushed up from behind some bushes. It lunges towards the missionaries. The experienced elder quickly side stepped the massive dog. The second elder froze in terror with his scriptures in his hands in front of him, hoping to shield him. Amazingly, the pit bull chomped down on the scriptures, pulled them out of the missionary’s hands, growled and tossed his head around. After a few minutes of mangling the book in its massive jaws, the pit bull sighed, dropped the book and trotted off.

The experienced missionary slowly walked over and picked up the book. He opened it up and noted that the dog had bitten the Book of Mormon only through a portion of Second Nephi. The young elder, still trembling from the experience, said, “it makes sense, I always struggle getting through the Isaiah portions myself.”

That is how I viewed the difficult portions of the scriptures for the first several years I was a member. Even as a missionary, the focus on doctrine was limited primarily to the concepts taught in the discussions. Gospel scholarship requires time and effort. Lots of time and effort, in order to become a better scholar. There is no such thing as becoming the know-all scholar, as the scriptures, connected with modern revelation, is an onion with a never ending supply of layers to peel.

Just as we have to go step by step in growing in Gospel scholarship, so did the Savior of the world:

“And I, John, saw that he (the mortal Jesus) received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness” (D&C 93:12-13,
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/93/12-13#12).

In this same manner, we receive grace for grace as we move from grace to grace. Or better said, we move from one level of righteousness and knowledge to the next level. It requires us to take action, and then to allow God to sanctify us to a new level of grace, until we receive a fullness, even as Jesus did.

One eats an elephant one bite at a time. One peels back the layers of the gospel onion one at a time. It is alright to look at it as a long term, even lifetime, goal. On my first foray into reading the Book of Mormon, I could never imagine that 35 years later I would have read it more than 75 times more (I’ve frankly lost count). And I now enjoy the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon much more than the war accounts. So, how do we begin peeling the layers?

First, schedule the time and then make the time to study the scriptures each and every day. If all you can find are 15 minutes a day, it may not seem like much, but each small layer adds up. In a year’s time, you will have read over ninety hours in just one year. The first few times you may want to read straight through the books of scripture, so you can get the gist of the story lines and most obvious concepts being taught. Familiarity, in this instance, breeds inspiration.

Next, ask yourself questions about what you are reading. Go into the scriptures with questions that you would like better answers to. Think about the things you are reading and how such teachings can apply to you in a modern sense, or in an ancient sense. Is there more than one way to interpret a scripture? Is the specific scripture incomplete, and we need to find a more complete answer elsewhere in scripture? This is how Joseph Smith received many of his revelations. He studied it, trying to understand what it was really suppose to mean. While translating the Book of Mormon, he read about baptism. He pondered on it, trying to understand the passages as best he could. It led him to pray about it, and the Lord restored the Aaronic Priesthood through John the Baptist (D&C 13, http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/13). His later studies in the Bible would lead to the Book of Moses, and many other revelations.

Third, ask God to help you have a greater understanding of what you are studying. Oliver Cowdery, Joseph’s chief scribe, wished to assist in the direct translation of the plates. The Lord granted him the gift of translation, however Oliver quickly became frustrated and stopped trying. The Lord explained to him:

“Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.
“But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right” (D&C 9:7-8, http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/9/7-8#7).

You’ll note that Oliver had to do more than just ask God to reveal it to him. He first has to study, ponder, and try to find possible answers for himself. Only after such effort would God reveal the answers to him from on high. So it is with us. We cannot be like Nephi’s rebellious brothers who did not bother to pray because they felt “the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us” (1 Nephi 15:8-9, http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/15/8-9#8). Nephi chastised them for the hardness of their hearts, because they were not diligent in keeping the commandments, which would include inquiring after the Lord to find answers. Are we in the same boat as Laman and Lemuel, and don’t even realize it?

Peeling the layers of hidden knowledge from the scriptures does one other thing for us. It helps us to peel the hidden layers from ourselves, as well. We get to see deeper within ourselves, even as God peers into our souls. It causes times of reflection and a will and desire to change. A part of the change is to go, layer by layer, grace to grace, from being like Laman to being like Nephi.

In beginning these steps, the path will look long and foreboding ahead of us. But if we stop to enjoy the grace we receive as we peel back each layer of the sweet gospel onion, we can rejoice in the journey. And the day will come when we look back at the gospel scholarship path we’ve walked and stand pleased with how far we’ve come. Then we can look forward again, and continue further along the scholar’s path.

Gospel Scholarship: Order out of Chaos

"Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?" Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?" (Isaiah 51:9-10).

This verse discusses, among other things, the Creation of the world and how God brought order out of chaos. We will see how the ancient Middle East believed the earth was formed. This article will also show how this Creation motif is re-lived and renewed in the story of the Exodus, the atonement of Christ, and the ordinances we receive.

Isaiah's words reflect the ancient belief that God formed the world out of Chaos:

"And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2).

Here we see that there IS an earth already available for him to work with. There is no ex nihilo creation, or creation from nothing. However, this earth is "without form, and void" or is not organized yet. The earth is steeped in darkness and covered in water.

For the ancients, nothing was more chaotic than darkness and water. Before creating life, God must eliminate chaos by bringing forth light. This light is not the sun, moon and stars, for those are brought forth on the fourth day (vs 14-19).

Instead, on the first day, light was called forth, ordered, and divided from the darkness. The chaos of darkness is not destroyed nor eliminated, but is diminished and held at bay (vs 3-5).

Next, the waters had to be tamed. On the second day, waters on earth were separated from those in the skies. And on the third day land masses jutted up into the air, forcing the waters into the oceans, seas, and rivers (vs 6-10).

As with the darkness, the waters were not destroyed, but controlled. Isaiah's above quote mentions a dragon, or sea serpent, which in the ancient beliefs was slain or defeated by God, in order to bring order and create the earth.

In some traditions there were two dragons, male and female. The Lord defeated one in the Creation, and will defeat the second one in the last days. Isaiah also foresaw this event:

"In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish Leviathan the piercing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea" (Isaiah 27:1).

Leviathan and Rahab are sea serpents. They caused the waters to be chaotic. In forming the earth, the Lord was able to control, but not totally defeat the monster(s) until the end.

Confusing? Puzzling? Let's let the scriptures explain:

"And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was there place found anymore in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:7-9).

As with the ancient tradition, the serpent, or Satan was not completely defeated until the end:

"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years" (Revelation 20:2).

In LDS theology, Lucifer sought to replace both Christ and God, recommending a replacement plan that did not require a Suffering Savior nor agency, but would force a chaotic salvation on all (Moses 1:1-4, Abraham 3:23-28, Isaiah 14:12-20).

So, in the beginning, God had to defeat Satan (Adversary) and his chaos in order to form the earth. But he did not totally destroy the chaos, as it was necessary for earth life. Half of the earth is bathed in life and the other in darkness. Water still covers most of the earth.

While a group of elders traveled down the Missouri River, Wilford Woodruff spotted Satan raging upon the waters. The party pulled to the bank, and Joseph Smith asked God the meaning of the vision. The answer is found in Doctrine & Covenants 61.

The Lord preferred them to slow down and preach along the way, because the "the inhabitants on either side (of the river) were perishing in unbelief (spiritual darkness)" (61:3).

The Lord allowed them to travel by river, because he wanted to reveal to them an important concept: "there are many dangers upon the waters and many more hereafter" (61:4). The Lord "decreed in mine anger many destructions upon the waters, especially these waters" (61:5). Here we see Satan connected to the chaos of the waters of the Missouri. The Lord still allows the chaos its place. Still, "he that is faithful among you shall not perish by the waters" (61:6).

The Lord explained that the waters were blessed "in the beginning" or in the Creation as he brought order to them. However, they would be cursed in the last days, even as John the Revelator prophesied. Interestingly, the Missouri River is especially noted as cursed. Here we have the greatest curse/chaos located on the edge of Zion.

In fact, modern revelation tells us that the line between chaos and order will be very visible in the last days. "And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must need flee to Zion for safety." In fact the only people not at war, a man-made chaos, will be those in Zion (D&C 45:68-69).

Satan, the Dragon, will rule the hearts of many, filling them with rage and chaos. Those who turn fully to Christ will go to Zion, rejoicing for the peace and order it provides (D&C 45:71).

There has always been a delicate balance between order and chaos. Lehi explained to his son Jacob that "opposition in all things" is necessary for life to exist. Without it, there is no agency and free will. Nor is there a need for a Savior and atonement to save us from total chaos: Perdition and Outer Darkness, death and hell. We do experience temporary chaos in life, in order to learn, grow, and have personal choice. In the premortal existence, we experienced the chaos of Satan's rebellion, where 1/3 of the host of heaven followed the Dragon (Rev ) and were cast out of heaven. The dark womb and chaotic waters that break forth in new life, creates order from birth. In this life, we struggle with unanticipated events and entropy- the natural flowing of energy and systems from order to chaos. Things break down, requiring us to use more energy to restore order. Even the sun is expected to burn itself out in a few billion years, collapsing into a dark chaotic mass.

God brings new order to those things that accept his infusion of light, life and order. Just as Christ calmed the Sea of Galilee and ordered the waves, "Peace, be still," he can bring order out of our lives. He has formed several levels of heaven (1 Cor 12:1-4) to give each of us blessings according to the level of order and chaos we choose to live with. For those who abide a celestial law or level of order will receive a celestial glory (D&C 88:22-32).

Our sins separate us from God, because in sinning we embrace chaos and darkness. In embracing the atonement of Christ through faith and repentance, we accept order and light. Faith in Christ allows God to defeat the Dragons and Leviathans of life and bring forth in us a new Creation as saints and children of God.

Gospel Scholarship: Coming Distractions

Gospel Scholarship: Coming Distractions



In the recent popular Disney movie, “Up” (disney.go.com/disneypictures/up/), we find an old gentleman who lifts his home into the sky with thousands of helium balloons, in order to settle it in his dream adventure location. Along the way, he picks up a cub scout and meets up with dogs with special collars that allow them to speak in... Squirrel!

The heroes win in the long run because the evil dogs are prone to distraction. Their main goals often fail because of such distractions. Perhaps distractions are one of Satan’s primary tools to prevent us from becoming all we can become as sons and daughters of God.

According to statistics, in 2006 the average household watched over eight hours of television per day (http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/). Imagine how that is today compounded by the number of people seeking to be entertained on IPhones, IPads, Twitter and Facebook! (see also: http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html )

American University law professor Jane Raskin stated in 2004, "Everybody’s got values.... The thing that frightens me is the way that an eroding public school system ... and television on all over the place is leading to a steady dumbing down of the American public and a corrosion of basic critical thinking in the population." (http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/)

I recall a few years ago giving a talk on gospel scholarship. One of the key points made was to continually be reading, learning, and questioning things. Afterward, an older lady came up and told me that she agreed how important reading was. She went on to explain how she had read hundreds of Harlequin Romance books. It took all my strength to refrain from commenting on how she totally missed the point of the lecture.

This isn’t a new problem, either. The Lord warned the Laodicians: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15-16) Today, many people are lukewarm in their testimonies because the world distracts them. They have a testimony and attend Church, but are too busy with looking at shiny objects the world dangles in front of them that they do not notice that they are spiritually adrift.

Mormon noted, “But now, behold, they are led about by Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so are they.” (Mormon 5:18)

Ships use sails and anchors to guide and stop. In conjunction with charts and other tools, they guide a ship through dangerous waters to safe harbors. However, when sails and anchors are not used, the ship is left to aimlessly drift with the currents, distracted by every tug on the bow.

Does this make television and other entertainment evil? In many cases, no. But is it the best use of our short lives? Was our life created for us to be simply entertained? Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Twelve Apostles spoke of Martha and Mary, close friends of the mortal Lord, who had different focus. Martha busied herself cleaning house and making dinner for everyone, while Mary sat at the Savior’s feet listening. When Martha complained, Jesus explained that Mary actually had chosen the better part.

In this life there are good things, better things, and best things, according to Elder Oaks,

“Some uses of individual and family time are better, and others are best. We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families....To our hundreds of thousands of home teachers and visiting teachers, I suggest that it is good to visit our assigned families; it is better to have a brief visit in which we teach doctrine and principle; and it is best of all to make a difference in the lives of some of those we visit. That same challenge applies to the many meetings we hold—good to hold a meeting, better to teach a principle, but best to actually improve lives as a result of the meeting. “ (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Good, Better, Best”, Ensign, Nov 2007)

Are we properly using our time to its best? Are we using it to develop talents, knowledge, skills, family relationships, and serve others? Or do we spend our time seeking to be entertained and numb our minds towards the realities around us and the things of God?

What goals have we made for ourselves, our families, our jobs, our church callings? Are we just doing the bare minimum to get by, eagerly awaiting for the end of the week so we can play? Or are we making the best of each moment?

Each of us should sit down weekly and review the week, our successes and failures, and determine where we can do better in the following week. Goal setting is necessary to achieving a fulfilling life. Both long term and short term goals need to be set. How many books will you read this year, this month, this week? What kind of books? What new talents or knowledge will you develop over the next year or two? How can you improve on your home/visit teaching? Is the major babysitter in the home a television or a set of books? What can you do to make a difference in the world today? Are you hot, cold, or lukewarm?

“And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith. Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God. “ (D&C 88:118-119)

What is it that we should learn and why?

“And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.
“Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;
Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—
“That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you.” (D&C 88:77-80)

As we learn to focus on what is best, eventually the squirrels will no longer distract us from our true potential as sons and daughters of Heavenly Father.