Qualifications for Sheep Herding

I have found the subject of Sheep Herding by Aussie working dogs to be extremely informational and applicable.

All herding behavior is modified predatory behavior but through selective breeding and intense specialized training, the dog's natural inclination to treat cattle and sheep as prey has been minimized while their strong hunting skills are maintained, creating an effective herd leading dog. 

Australian cattle dogs nip at the heels of sheep and that is where the name 'Heelers' comes from. Heelers typically stay behind the herd and push them forward.

Border Collie's are known as headers, they have the knack for getting in front of the sheep and using a trick called 'strong eye', which means to stare the down the animals using intimidation. Headers consistently run to the front or head of the animals with the intention to stop the mob of sheep from moving.

German Shepherds are known historically as being 'tending' dogs. Shepherds act as a 'living fence', guiding large mobs of sheep to the grazing fields and preventing them from wandering onto roads and being lost or killed.

Interestingly, a mob of sheep can also be called a flock.

Biting the sheep is totally unacceptable and is grounds for instant disqualification. Gripping is another serious predatory behavior that dogs are wont to do, it involves a range of harmful behaviors from gripping and tearing off the woolen fleece to hanging on to a leg or tail causing bleeding out, severe bruising and sometimes, fatal damage.

I learned that once a sheep arrives at the place of processing (abattoir) and is inspected by a qualified veterinarian, if there is bruising or wounds on the flesh, then the pastoralist is warned and the value of the carcass is greatly reduced.

There are many novice handlers who are inclined to panic when faced with a dog who grips, tears and injures, but shouting and screaming at the violent dog will only make the dog frenzied, run faster or both, leaving a trail of injured sheep in the field.

The best way to stay awake and ahead of this predatory behavior is to calm down, study the training manual and look for the signs, preferably beforehand. Forewarned really is being forearmed, especially in this case.

I wouldn't attempt the work of sheep herding with any ordinary run of the mill bastard dog. Training and Qualification are absolutes, especially for a fair price at market for the fleece and meat from those that value unblemished sheep.

I cant help but see the similarities between Australian sheep herding and the answer our Lord gave HERE

1. But remember that without the fruit of repentance, and a broken heart and a contrite spirit, you cannot keep my covenant; for I, your Lord, am meek and lowly of heart. Be like me. You have all been wounded, your hearts pierced through with sorrows because of how the world has treated you. But you have also scarred one another by your unkind treatment of each other, and you do not notice your misconduct toward others because you think yourself justified in this. You bear the scars on your countenances, from the soles of your feet to the head, and every heart is faint. Your visages have been so marred that your hardness, mistrust, suspicions, resentments, fear, jealousies, and anger toward your fellow man bear outward witness of your inner self; you cannot hide it. When I appear to you, instead of confidence, you feel shame. You fear and withdraw from me because you bear the blood and sins of your treatment of brothers and sisters. Come to me and I will make sins as scarlet become white as snow, and I will make you stand boldly before me, confident of my love.
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2. I descended below it all, and know the sorrows of you all, and have borne the grief of it all, and I say to you, Forgive one another. Be tender with one another, pursue judgment, bless the oppressed, care for the orphan, and uplift the widow in her need, for I have redeemed you from being orphaned and taken you that you are no longer a widowed people. Rejoice in me, and rejoice with your brethren and sisters who are mine also. Be one.

THIS scripture also comes to mind:

No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood; only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned, by kindness and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul; without hypocrisy and without guile; reproving betimes with sharpness when moved upon by the holy ghost, and then showing forth afterward an increase of love toward him whom you have reproved (lest he esteem you to be his enemy), that he may know that your faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death; your bowels also being full of charity toward all men, and to the household of faith; and virtue garnish your thoughts unceasingly. Then shall your confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrines of the Priesthood shall distill upon your soul as the dews from heaven. The holy ghost shall be your constant companion, and your scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth, and your dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto you for ever and ever.

I think we can all be prone to having a little Aussie sheep herding blood in us, especially when we think and act as if we are the German shepherds, but we are really fools, misguided or worse, inwardly ravening wolves. Unfortunately though, this is serious business of Him who values the safety of His flock and if there are any who behave like this, we are simply going to be 'put down' or disqualified in the scriptural understanding.

Receiving feigned commission directly from another man to "guard the flock or move the mob" according to our own understanding will always lead to abuse. Sheep can be killed without any physical violence but through cruelty of words and action.

The challenge has always been to receive our qualifications for service with the Shepherd through Instruction and Knowledge. To become harmless sons and daughters of God being filled with Wisdom and Charity. We must love the Master and obey with exactitude the commands of this Good Shepherd. He is the one who will directly call His servants.

Seasons of Fevers in the Land

And it came to pass that there were many who died firmly believing that their souls were redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ; thus, they went out of the world rejoicing. And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year was very frequent in the land — but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases to which men were subject by the nature of the climate — but there were many who died with old age. And those who died in the faith of Christ are happy in him, as we must needs suppose. (Alma 21:16)

What type of fevers are being referenced here? 
What is the nature of the climate in which these 'fevers' are so abundant?
Can we identify the plants and roots which God had prepared to remove this sickness?
Why would this be beneficial to know today?

As a side note:
Joseph Smith did not translate the Book of Mormon as some today are incorrectly teaching but rather, God gave His servant Joseph every word precisely as he (God) wanted it to be read in our day. The Book of Mormon is an ascension text, and as such, we do not have any right to move one word according to our understanding but God has the freedom to correct mans mistakes by casting His eyes over the records and dictating the changes.

In stating that I believe this book not only contains the vision of all things, but also the Spirit of Christ and Christ is Righteousness. The written language is deliberate. 

The pure language of Book of Mormon can only be understood through keeping the vessel clean and by the power of the holy ghost. It is through this medium we can come to understand the language of the Fathers, meaning the original language even from the tower of Babel, un-confounded to reveal the true meaning and intent of the writers.

The Book of Mormon intention is to sight our mind and heart forward, back to the time God gave commandments for the benefit and the use of man in instructing us how to become redeemed in order for the promises God made to the Fathers to be fulfilled. Knowledge saves a man.

Most of the time we view the words written in scripture in light of the temporal eye as just a history of a people who lived long ago, to which we have no connection, which is true in part, but it is truer to say while there are beneficial teachings for our temporal world view but it doesn't end there. What if there is a deeper meaning to the words which if read in Wisdom, can give us the remedy for the plague of sickness found in all the land today?
So with this side note in mind, lets look at other scriptural passages and allow the book to give us the definition so to enable us to understand the context of the word 'Fevers'.

'Fevers' can be found in connection with iniquities (Alma 10:13) and great tribulations of mind on account of wickedness (Alma 10:12) and the disobeying of commandments which leads to breaking of covenant which causes terror, wasting disease, and burning fever that consumes the eyes (so they cannot see spiritually) and causes sorrow of heart. (Lev 13:10)

(Question to ponder) If this is the present state of man and our spiritual condition reflects outwardly in our environment of church, government and country...then what is the cause and remedy to which Alma 21:16 is pointing us to?

"because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases to which men were subject by the nature of the climate"

What is the nature of our climate today? 

The following scriptures provide an accurate description of where we find ourselves right now.

"Abide in the liberty wherewith you are made free. Entangle not yourselves in sin, but let your hands be clean until the Lord come, for not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man, and the sun shall hide his face and shall refuse to give light, and the moon shall be bathed in blood, and the stars shall become exceeding angry and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falls from off a fig tree.

And after your testimony comes wrath and indignation upon the people, for after your testimony comes the testimony of earthquakes that shall cause groanings in the midst of her: and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand, and also comes the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion, and surely men’s hearts shall fail them, for fear shall come upon all people." (Teaching and Commandments 86:17-18)

"For a scene of great confusion and bad feeling ensued, priest contending against priest and convert against convert, so that all their good feelings one for another (if they ever had any) were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions." (T&C, JSH, part 1:11)

These scriptures are as relevant today as they were in the past. We see all around us the climate of our culture is confusion, voices saying lo here, lo there...opinions and commandments of men, false religious traditions, people running back and forth like waves heaving beyond their bounds, ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth in order to rise up. Divisions, corruption and secret combinations are found in church and government and Babylon herself, she is in opposition to all Truth.

Soon enough though, we are all confronted with our mortality because no one gets out of here alive. Weight of mind and spirit caused through uncertainty about our existence after death and our standing before God causes the mind of a person departing this mortality to burn with fever and regrets, due to un-forgiven sins, diverse lusts, wickedness, our secret places... guilt of mind and spirit enough to bring one low as Zeezrom experienced in Alma 10:12.

"And also Zeezrom lay sick at Sidom with a burning fever, which was caused by the great tribulations of his mind on account of his wickedness, for he supposed that Alma and Amulek were no more. And he supposed that they had been slain by the cause of his iniquity. And this great sin, and his many other sins, did harrow up his mind until it did become exceeding sore, having no deliverance;"

But must we wait until we are confronted with our impending physical death before we can repent of our sins and have a change of heart?

As we allow the Book of Mormon to define the meaning of words, we can clearly make the connection between fevers and spiritual sickness; which sickness if left unattended to, causes fear and trembling in mankind when approaching God. Knowing this then, can the Book of Mormon also give us the remedy to cure this sickness which plagues the whole entire world?

"And whoever among you that is sick and has not faith to be healed, but believes, shall be nourished in all tenderness with herbs and mild food, and that, not of the world. And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for and lay their hands upon them in my name; and if they die, they shall die unto me, and if they live, they shall live unto me." (T&C section 26) 

I recommend the reading of that whole chapter

"Yea, even doth not Isaiah say, Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men — a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed..." (NC Mosiah 8:3-4)

Jesus Christ is the root that is not of this world. The Father saw fit to plant Him in this dry ground. Jesus Christ followed His Mother here and despite the adversity and harshness of the climate in which he had been planted, by His strength and by His goodness and knowledge, He was able to grow into a tender nourishing plant, a plant of renown to heal the nations.

These verses are teaching us that if one believes (in God, or Great Spirit or any other name he is known by) but has not the correct faith, they are to be nourished in all tenderness of herbs and mild food, which is to say to be nourished in Christ because he is a root, a tender plant, connected to the Mother Tree... or in other words it is His Doctrine, His Fathers commandment unto us, which heals. 

Milk is often used to describe this first nourishing. Christ's Doctrine give us access to many tender herbs, roots and plants that nourish our spirit and give unto us knowledge.

The (spiritually sick) are fed the milk of the gospel in the Name of Tenderness because they are babes, and when they have reached the age of accountability, or equipped with faith (or have a correct understanding of the Doctrine of Christ) then they can be administered to by the calling of those having been given authority from Jesus Christ and be baptized by the laying on of hands...two or more, dying as to the old man of sin and arising as a new living creation; as many baptisms in living waters as are needed to bring them eventually to eat meat, honey and milk again, it is cyclical. The person being baptized is free to chose how far they will walk once they have entered in the strait gate. (3 Nephi 13:2)

How glorious, how beautiful, how merciful! These words and this invitation seems to generous for us who can be so neglectful. This gift of healing of the fevers of mankind is so often overlooked for the simpleness of the way! No wonder those who died in the faith are happy in Christ! This is deliberate key wording with greater significance than we will cover in this post.

Keep this thought in mind as we read this paragraph from a recent post which can be found here...
"When I see mankind fearfully running about and acting on their dread, I think of how ancient prophets compared man to the unruly sea. The ‘seas heaving themselves beyond their bounds’ is a familiar scriptural metaphor used to describe panic in the last days. ‘Men’s hearts failing them for fear’ is another way the bemused prophets and our Lord described how society will behave as the end approaches."

Why are the prophets bemused at us? 
I think it is because in our own fear of death, our conscience, our sins and the uncertainty of what comes next, we look to every temporal means to protect ourselves. God gives us signs and warnings in our current world view in the hope it will sight our minds to our internal condition.

Often our response to these warnings is shown in our behavior much like a rafter of turkeys who can be extremely panicky, hyper-active and display mindless behavior, Turkeys tend to hide in the 'rafters' which is a safe place for heavy birds.

This depiction of scared turkeys reminds me of our own state when we are heavy laden with sin and want to hide in the dark rather than come to Judgement and stand in the Light.

The prophets are bemused because they saw our very day, they saw our spiritual sickness due to the nature of our climate and they know the cure because they have themselves, partaken of the root, the tender plant, the fruit and the Tree.

As a testimony of how great the Fathers love for us, and as act of charity towards those who receive their words, the prophets wrote the prescription and point to us the cure! 

The following scripture is likewise given in Wisdom and so has a deeper meaning than we have considered. I recommend prayerful study to see how the verses are intrinsically connected to what we have discussed in this post. I look forward to reading your insights if you feel to share with me.

Teachings and Commandments section 89