Well last week apparently wasn't the last week so I have one more blog for you! I always thought it was interesting when absolutes like "always" "never" and "all" appeared in the scriptures because I always felt that it was impossible really but that the scriptures were making a good point and showing a perfect example, something we need to strive for. While I still feel this is valid this week I was reading some more in Moroni and a phrase I had never really noticed before popped out to me. It starts in Moroni 7 verse 19.
"19 ...and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.
20 And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?
21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing."
Moroni literally says "Ok get ready I'm going to tell you how to get all the good things." Then in verse 25 he makes a small conclusion saying "and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing;" It is an interesting thought that by faith we can lay hold on all the good things and I started to think about the fact that when we think about "god things" we typically think from a very worldly standpoint. We think of money and cars and even in a more noble sense we think about the scriptures and helping others as the "good things" we must lay hold on but I think to put this whole thing in the context of this chapter the good things we are required to lay hold on are Christ like attributes. Moroni begins with faith because it is only through faith that we can really develop other Christ like attributes. After talking about how faith is the method by which we lay hold on all good things he lists Christ like attributes ending with charity.
If we are to develop charity or any of these Christ like attributes we need to have faith and then, do as he directs in the closing of the chapter and "pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Thursday, April 13, 2017
They That Do Good
Seeing as this is the last entry for this semester I thought I would give some of my thoughts on the last chapter of The Book of Mormon. Before I started reading I had in my mind that I would talk about faith and testimonies but as I read Moroni chapter 10 the verse that stood out to me the most was verse 10. Particularly the line that says that "For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God."
It made me think about what our professor told us at the beginning of the semester about other churches. He mentioned that some people like to say that other churches that aren't the LDS church are "the church of the devil." But then he pointed out how much our church leaders meet with these other churches and coordinate efforts to do good and promote good around the world and then he said something along the lines of "If these other churches were all 'the church of the devil' do you think our leaders would want to work so closely with them?" I really liked that and I think this verse does a really good job in representing that idea. Regardless of religion, age, race, political orientation or anything else if you are doing good things then you are working by the power and girts of God, and God is with you.
While we claim to have the fullness of the gospel and be God's true and living church on the earth today we need to realize the amazing contributions that everyone on earth can make and is making. Moroni made it clear that he was talking to everyone in verse 9 when he said "And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth..." As members of the church we should join hands with others no matter what to promote goodness in the world an know that if we do what it right we and others are working by the power and gift of God.
It made me think about what our professor told us at the beginning of the semester about other churches. He mentioned that some people like to say that other churches that aren't the LDS church are "the church of the devil." But then he pointed out how much our church leaders meet with these other churches and coordinate efforts to do good and promote good around the world and then he said something along the lines of "If these other churches were all 'the church of the devil' do you think our leaders would want to work so closely with them?" I really liked that and I think this verse does a really good job in representing that idea. Regardless of religion, age, race, political orientation or anything else if you are doing good things then you are working by the power and girts of God, and God is with you.
While we claim to have the fullness of the gospel and be God's true and living church on the earth today we need to realize the amazing contributions that everyone on earth can make and is making. Moroni made it clear that he was talking to everyone in verse 9 when he said "And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth..." As members of the church we should join hands with others no matter what to promote goodness in the world an know that if we do what it right we and others are working by the power and gift of God.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Hope For a Better World
This week as I was studying I decided to study ahead and read Ether chapter 12. There are a lot of great things in this chapter and as I read it I was thinking about what Professor Griffin was saying about how sometimes we have verses or sections of scripture that we are so used to hearing over and over again that they can loose a little bit of the value to us since we just skim over them so I decided to try and slow down and read this chapter. The verse that I really saw in a different light was verse 4 "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." I had always thought this verse meant that if we have faith in God we can have hope that things will get better in this life but I'd never really looked at it with an eternal perspective. Honestly while the first explanation I think still stands it is much more clearly directed at what we shall receive in the next life. I realized that if we believe in God no matter what happens we can still have hope.
I think this is really important to remember when we think of the bad things that happen in the world. This week I had a friend come to me and show me a video where someone is talking about how if God really did exist why does he let bad things happen to good people. We talked about it for a while and it was a really good talk and then when I read this verse it hit me that, honestly, good people, especially people in our church, don't do good things because they think it will protect them from bad things. We don't believe in God as merely a way to protect ourselves. We know that we will have problems but we look to God for support in those hard times and with a hope that when it's all said and done that we will be able to find rest in the presence of God.
Hopefully we can all have a little more of an eternal perspective and realize that God loves us no matter what. Even when life gets hard he never gives up on us and if we look to God in faith we will find rest for our souls and find a better world in the world to come.
I think this is really important to remember when we think of the bad things that happen in the world. This week I had a friend come to me and show me a video where someone is talking about how if God really did exist why does he let bad things happen to good people. We talked about it for a while and it was a really good talk and then when I read this verse it hit me that, honestly, good people, especially people in our church, don't do good things because they think it will protect them from bad things. We don't believe in God as merely a way to protect ourselves. We know that we will have problems but we look to God for support in those hard times and with a hope that when it's all said and done that we will be able to find rest in the presence of God.
Hopefully we can all have a little more of an eternal perspective and realize that God loves us no matter what. Even when life gets hard he never gives up on us and if we look to God in faith we will find rest for our souls and find a better world in the world to come.
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Power Humility and Revelation
This week I was studying in the book of Jacob and chapter 4 verse 6 has always been one of my favorite scriptures since the first time I red the book. I was reading over it again and this time tried to connect the following verses a little more.
6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.
Verse 6 has always appealed to me because I want to have the power to move mountains. I want to develop that kind of faith and I want the Lord to trust me to do what he would ask. I know that as my faith has grown I've seen more and more miracles in my life and I've been able to accomplish the hings that the Lord has asked of me. I think the next verse is just as important though because I think sometimes people think about the blessings and power that they have, or that they see other people with and they think that other people's lives are perfect but verse 7 talks about the trials they have and how they understand them.
7 Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.
God showed them their weakness but instead of being mad at God or asking "why me?" they had enough faith to understand why God shows us our weaknesses. They understood that it was to show them and help them understand his grace. The last verse I wanted to talk about was verse 8 because after talking about the power and the humility that they have they praise the Lord.
8 Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God.
They praise God and invite others to "despise not the revelations of God." They understood that the only way to know God was through revelation.
As we continue to progress we can look to God for strength and through revelation we can understand that when we are show our weaknesses it is because God loves us and wants us to improve. We look to God and one day we will be perfected.
6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.
Verse 6 has always appealed to me because I want to have the power to move mountains. I want to develop that kind of faith and I want the Lord to trust me to do what he would ask. I know that as my faith has grown I've seen more and more miracles in my life and I've been able to accomplish the hings that the Lord has asked of me. I think the next verse is just as important though because I think sometimes people think about the blessings and power that they have, or that they see other people with and they think that other people's lives are perfect but verse 7 talks about the trials they have and how they understand them.
7 Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.
God showed them their weakness but instead of being mad at God or asking "why me?" they had enough faith to understand why God shows us our weaknesses. They understood that it was to show them and help them understand his grace. The last verse I wanted to talk about was verse 8 because after talking about the power and the humility that they have they praise the Lord.
8 Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God.
They praise God and invite others to "despise not the revelations of God." They understood that the only way to know God was through revelation.
As we continue to progress we can look to God for strength and through revelation we can understand that when we are show our weaknesses it is because God loves us and wants us to improve. We look to God and one day we will be perfected.
Friday, March 24, 2017
Reliance on the Lord
This week I was thinking a lot about how my life goes when I try to do things myself and when I really rely on the Lord. As I was reading The Book or Mormon I came to 2 Nephi chapter 24, which professor Griffin called "Isiah's Taunt Song." What stood out to me was the structure of the chapter. In the beginning Isiah is talking about the power and goodness of the Lord. He talks about how God will gather his people in the last days. Then it talks about Lucifer and calls him the "Son of the morning." The next few verses really stood out to me. In verses 13 and 14, two very short verses, it uses the word I 5 times.
"13 For thou hast said in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High."
I thought about Lucifer's fall came about through not only self centeredness but through pride and a desire to do everything himself. In particular I thought about how the things mentioned in these two verses are things that in a certain sense we are all promised if we stay true and faithful to our covenants. They are all things that Lucifer could have obtained through the plan of salvation and relying on the lord but he chose a different path. The rest of the whole chapter talks about the punishments and woes that befall Satan (and those who follow him).
I realized a long time ago that I needed the Lord but sometimes I need a little reminder. What is important is remembering the power and mercy of the Lord and that we can do all things through him. If our desire is to "be like the most high" our desires are essentially in line with what God wants of us. The key is to keep in mind that we need to always remember him and that if we do he will use his great power to bless us in this life and in the world to come.
"13 For thou hast said in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High."
I thought about Lucifer's fall came about through not only self centeredness but through pride and a desire to do everything himself. In particular I thought about how the things mentioned in these two verses are things that in a certain sense we are all promised if we stay true and faithful to our covenants. They are all things that Lucifer could have obtained through the plan of salvation and relying on the lord but he chose a different path. The rest of the whole chapter talks about the punishments and woes that befall Satan (and those who follow him).
I realized a long time ago that I needed the Lord but sometimes I need a little reminder. What is important is remembering the power and mercy of the Lord and that we can do all things through him. If our desire is to "be like the most high" our desires are essentially in line with what God wants of us. The key is to keep in mind that we need to always remember him and that if we do he will use his great power to bless us in this life and in the world to come.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
What more could he have done?
This week I was thinking a lot about how some people look at all the bad things that happen in the world and at all the evil and use it as "evidence" to show that God doesn't exist. This week I was reading in 2 Nephi 15 and in verse four The Lord asks "What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it?" The allegory of the vineyard has always been very special to me since my mission. I think a lot about how much effort The Lord puts into us as people. What really stood out to me in this verse it just that after all that has happened The Lord wants to show that he has never given up and up to the point of taking away our agency there is nothing more the Lord could have done to help his people.
As I think about this in my own life I realize some of the things that The Lord has done in the past to help me and I realize that the only thing that stopped me from receiving greater happiness was myself. The Lord always did his part and never left me alone. It was always me, through my disobedience, that blocked the blessings of the Lord from finding me. It is like Elder Uchtdorf said when he compared the blessings of the lord to rain. He said that the Lord is always pouring endless blessings upon us and we choose to block them from time to time.
We need to always be seeking the blessings of the lord. If we do we will see his hand in our lives and we will be able to return to live with him. God didn't send anyone to this earth to fail. He has done everything that needs to be done so that we can return to live with him. There is nothing that God hasn't done or wont do to help us return to live with him. The only exception to this rule is that he won't take away our agency. If we use our agency to obey the lord we will feel a greater presence of his spirit in our lives.
As I think about this in my own life I realize some of the things that The Lord has done in the past to help me and I realize that the only thing that stopped me from receiving greater happiness was myself. The Lord always did his part and never left me alone. It was always me, through my disobedience, that blocked the blessings of the Lord from finding me. It is like Elder Uchtdorf said when he compared the blessings of the lord to rain. He said that the Lord is always pouring endless blessings upon us and we choose to block them from time to time.
We need to always be seeking the blessings of the lord. If we do we will see his hand in our lives and we will be able to return to live with him. God didn't send anyone to this earth to fail. He has done everything that needs to be done so that we can return to live with him. There is nothing that God hasn't done or wont do to help us return to live with him. The only exception to this rule is that he won't take away our agency. If we use our agency to obey the lord we will feel a greater presence of his spirit in our lives.
Friday, March 10, 2017
Reason To Rejoice
This week I was reading in 2 Nephi chapter 9 again and what really stood out to me is the tone that Jacob takes in his writing. In the first half of the chapter Jacob is speaking about the plan of salvation and kind of talking about the process and what is involved in the plan and the second half he talks about justice. It is a beautiful chapter on the atonement and the thing that stood out to me this time was how often he glories in the the Lord. It almost seems that he's so happy and so excited about it all that he can't contain his emotion. He will talk about a topic and when he moves on to a new topic he say's something along the lines of "O how great the... mercy, wisdom, grace, plan, justice ... of our God." He acknowledged that in every aspect of the plan of salvation the greatness of God is shown in some form.
I realized that I used to be like this. On my mission and before it when I was starting to learn about the church on my own I remember finding things out and seeing them as amazing and revolutionary to me and sharing them with the other members I knew and more often than not them saying, not disrespectfully in anyway, "yeah... we learned that in primary." or something along those lines. I still find joy and peace in the gospel but does it make me as excited as it used to? Not usually. Every once and a while I'll find a passage or two that makes me get a glimpse of the greatness of God and those moments are very special to me but I want to continually be glorifying God in all that I do.
I know that as I search the scriptures diligently and seek and pray more to find the joy of the gospel I can get that excitement back. As each of us grow in the gospel and progress our testimonies we will find that our hearts, as Jacob's did, will begin to "delighteth in righteousness" (2Ne. 9:49) to a greater degree. We will still have those awe-inspiring and reverencing spiritual moments but we will also find more opportunities to delight. This is a gospel of joy and every time in my life when I make a sincere effort to grow closer to the gospel, no matter what my circumstances are, I feel an increase in joy in my life.
I realized that I used to be like this. On my mission and before it when I was starting to learn about the church on my own I remember finding things out and seeing them as amazing and revolutionary to me and sharing them with the other members I knew and more often than not them saying, not disrespectfully in anyway, "yeah... we learned that in primary." or something along those lines. I still find joy and peace in the gospel but does it make me as excited as it used to? Not usually. Every once and a while I'll find a passage or two that makes me get a glimpse of the greatness of God and those moments are very special to me but I want to continually be glorifying God in all that I do.
I know that as I search the scriptures diligently and seek and pray more to find the joy of the gospel I can get that excitement back. As each of us grow in the gospel and progress our testimonies we will find that our hearts, as Jacob's did, will begin to "delighteth in righteousness" (2Ne. 9:49) to a greater degree. We will still have those awe-inspiring and reverencing spiritual moments but we will also find more opportunities to delight. This is a gospel of joy and every time in my life when I make a sincere effort to grow closer to the gospel, no matter what my circumstances are, I feel an increase in joy in my life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)