These things are True

Well, my reading of the Book of Mormon recently has averaged about 5 verses per day. Not so hot. And part of that is maintained only because I try to read 3 verses to 3 year old Madeleine during breakfast as a nod to good parenting.

Ether 4:11
But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.

I'm supposed to teach a lesson in Relief Society in a little less than 2 weeks and I am freaking out. The suggestion was to teach on the Book of Mormon, that being a theme of a recent Ensign and much of the most recent General Conference. Sadly, I don't feel inspired or ready or excited about teaching that topic! Which to me means that I haven't been reading it enough and feeling the power of it enough.

So, while I do know that the things of the Book of Mormon are true ("things" being the sophisticated term for principles, teachings, truths...) and that they not only persuade me to do good but they help me feel good. I don't know if I have yet been visited with manifestations of the Spirit (or maybe I have been visited with such but haven't been listening) and I am not sure how powerfully I will be able to bear record of this. But I do believe and know that the Book of Mormon is true.

It is real. The teachings are true. It is a historical account. It is a blessing. It is a story. It is gospel teaching. It is the words of Christ. I believe this. And because I have had the spirit testify to me of its truthfulness, I KNOW this.

P.S. I'll let you know what topic I finally do decide to teach. May inspiration come quickly! May I be worthy of it!

Sacrifice & Faith

I need to learn the Bible better. *and, yes, I realize that was a poor use of the english language

We were discussing Paul's (Paul, right? See what I'm saying? I don't know the Bible) teachings to the Hebrews in Sunday School and I had something of an epiphany.

My Patriarchal blessing talks specifically about Hebrews chapter 11 which is an entire chapter about faith. Good old faith. Why is this the hardest principle for me to comprehend? Perhaps it has something to do with the complexity of the subject.

But, I digress...

I've read chapter 11 countless times. I've tried to understand it and apply it to my life. The result has been something akin to: "So... faith." Nothing more. Nothing less. In and of itself, this is a good lesson, n'est-ce pas? But there is more to it than that (obvi)!

The chapters that precede ch11 contain Paul's teachings to a Jewish (converted to Christianity) nation whose roots were so tightly wrapped around the Law of Moses that they struggled to understand that Christ's sacrifice replaced the tradition of blood sacrifices.

Oh, to actually know the history of the bible!

This led me to ponder the relationship between sacrifice and faith. Is there faith without sacrifice? Is there sacrifice without faith? Turns out? They are in a seriously committed relationship! Like, goin'-to-the-chapel-and-gonna-get-married kind of relationship.

I tried to think of an instance wherein sacrifice occurred without faith and vica versa. I couldn't think of any. So, is it safe to say they are mutually exclusive?

Either way, I took a look at my life, at the things the Lord has asked me to sacrifice (hello, 33 and single!) and I think I get what the Lord is trying to tell me ("hey, kid! you're gonna need some faith!")

I think there is more to it that this but I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Thoughts?

Jacob... my new favorite BoM prophet

I'm going to have a lot more to say about this tomorrow but I would just like to say that I love Jacob! WOWZA! He is intense and speaks/teaches with incredible power. I just read the entire book of Jacob tonight and, just... wow.

I couldn't wait to show you how I "illustrated" chapter 5. For some reason this has been a chapter that has been somewhat confusing in the past. I mean, there are just so many trees and branches that it's hard to keep track of them all! I drew/wrote it all out so that I could make some sense of it and, believe it or not, it kind of worked!

Mormon 9 Applies!

To be honest, I didn't think that I would have much insight or anything to share from the rest of Mormon. Just sadness, carnage, and loneliness of a prophet and his son. Sad stuff.

But, just now I read Mormon 9 and guess what? I can see how some things can apply to an actual situation that I've been facing with a family member. We've had, shall we say, a little tiff. Where I may or may not have been somewhat critical or chastising of them.

Verse 27: "and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him."... well, from this I take it I need to probably lay off and a) take my grievances to the Lord, humble MYSELF, and worry about my relationship with Heavenly Father first and b) let my family member work out THEIR OWN salvation instead of me getting all in their face and business. Hmph. I guess that put me in my place. We are our own agents. Particularly when I should honor and respect this family member quite significantly, I think that in this case... I am not responsible for their salvation. As a friend of mine once said about her husband who was, as she saw it, less observant than she: "I realized that he didn't need a Savior. He has a Savior. He needs me to love him. To be his wife, not his Savior." More love, more charity. Less chastisement. Okay, I see. It applies to me today.

and Verse 31: "Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection,..." Again, the same mercy which I hope to receive (and honestly have received) from this family member and from God, should be the same that I show unto him/her. I don't want to be condemned for my imperfections and neither should I condemn. Oy. I have been put in my place. And exactly at a time when I though these particular chapters were "yadee yada" - stuff that I thought was good but not applicable. How much I have to learn.

God is a God of miracles. He miraculously guides me and has mercy on me. Reminds me continually. Gets me through things. Is there for me. It's a miracle, especially considering all that He has on His plate.

GC!!!!

So excited for General Conference. Must not take it for granted. We will hear the Lord's prophets speak.

And thank you for helping to give me added motivation to read! Seriously. Having this. Having you post actually DOES help me to be more consistent in me reading. Lame. But true. I needed you.

Line upon line

I've got a few weeks worth of scriptural thoughts that have become somewhat jumbled in my mind and notes that have been scattered on random pieces of paper throughout my house and I'm sad that I didn't get them recorded here. However, it's never too late to start, right? So, here we go. (I can't promise anything mind blowing)

2 Nephi 28:27-30 - Perhaps I never tied these verses together or I thought that only BookofMormon-hatin'-persecutors would ever say something like "We've had enough of your word, Lord! We don't need no more!" I mean, who says that?! But, how many times have I been reading in the scriptures or listening to a lesson/talk in church and thought, "Ugh! Again?! I just read this!" or "We just had this lesson last week!" or "Why should I pray about this morning and night, every day? The Lord already knows!" Guilty!

There is a reason we're asked to read and reread the scriptures. There is a reason that the "Gospel Principles" manual is what we study in RS. The Lord tells us to pray continually for a reason (*isn't there a scripture about how we should weary the Lord with our prayers? It's going to drive me crazy until I find it). The principles of the gospel don't change, but we, as individuals, do! We have to assimilate certain things before we are able to move on. Some days we need one thing, some days we need another. It's like how each time you read the scriptures you learn something new.

And, like you've mentioned before, the key to progression is consistency. We have to read/pray/ponder daily in order for the Lord to give us more.

2 Nephi 25:23 - "it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" Oh! How I am grateful for Christ's grace!

Ever since you wrote about progression and chastisement I've been thinking about my own personal progression. Where do I stand today in comparison to where I've been in the past.

I know I'm not as spiritual or as strong today as I was as a missionary, for example. It's not something that I'm proud of but at the same time I'm not ashamed of it either. The reason is because of the grace of the Lord.

The past few years have presented me with some pretty rough trials, things that have worn me down, in all honesty. Maybe things wouldn't have been so hard had I been faithful in my prayers & study of the scriptures. I wasn't and that is something for which I am trying to repent.

The beauty of it all, though, is that Jesus Christ is merciful. And it's ok that I'm not as good today as I was 10 years ago. Today I am doing my best and my best today isn't what my best was 10 years ago. Today, my best is meager. But it is my best. And for the time being, Christ will fill in the gaps until I arrive at a time when I am stronger and more able to live a more spiritual, Christ-like life.

I know, I KNOW!, that Christ is merciful with us through our trials... well, throughout our entire life! Isn't life just one big trial, anyway?

I was thinking about you and all that is on your plate right now. All good things. All worthy pursuits. And I believe the Lord sees your efforts and is proud of you and grateful that you are giving Him what you are able to. And His job, which he does willingly, is to make up for what we can't do. And together we are enough!

With Christ we are enough!

Welcome in Mauritius!

Huzzah! I'm finally all set up and ready to go.

Why, yes, that did take me forever and yes, I made it much more difficult that it should have been. Alas, I have finally arrived.

And I have things to share.

But right now, I must sleep.

a plus

It's amazing...

It's amazing how hard it is to be diligent. After all that awesome posting, I didn't read my scriptures yesterday. I did read two Ensign articles, so I think that may count, but wow. It amazes me how hard it is for me to pray and read scriptures consistently. Geez, you'd think after 31 years...

Oh well. Thank goodness God is merciful!!! I hope I don't play that card too often!

Love and Chastisement

In Relief Society we learned from the GC talk by Elder Christofferson (I think), with the title (~) He whom He loveth, He chasteneth. Well, despite not having the citation spot on, someone shared a FABULOUS (movie) quote that related well to what we discussed during the lesson: "God loves you exactly the way you are; but He loves you too much to let you stay that way."

What an awesome quote, right? First of all, I can just see how I can revamp it and use it in my house: Mom loves you exactly the way you are, but I love you too much to let you ____. Same goes for saying that to my husband. It could really work wonders.

But I've recently, or actually for a long time, been obsessed with the idea of progression. Constant motion. You are never stagnant in the gospel and in your relationship with Heavenly Father. I am either always moving towards Him and getting closer to Him or farther away. There is no status quo or zero slope. Anyways... This idea of progression being a key element in our lives makes me love the above quote. That of course Heavenly Father has unconditional love for us! But that doesn't mean that He doesn't give us commandments to follow, experiences to stretch and challenge us, and people who need our love and service. He loves us too much to just let us be. Instead, we need to DO something, we need to progress, be challenged, and... of course, because we are, I am, human, fallible, chastisement. He loves us is the foundation that can and should not be doubted. But I am weak, I am not perfect. He wants me to be perfect (Matthew 5:48), so... I need sometimes that swift kick in the rump to get me going or to humble me.

Chastisement is... if you want to be really optimistic about it... a gift. Because it allows us to see ourselves in all honesty and nakedness, become aware, humble, and use the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Now THAT is a gift. One I certainly need, and one, when I use it (no matter how painful or difficult or fiery an experience) is always cleansing and leads me to greater peace, a greater appreciation for my Savior, and a closeness to Heavenly Father that was previously lacking.

So, back to the awesome quote. If God didn't love us, he wouldn't correct us and help set us back on the right path. He'd just let us mosey on and ramble over to the fiery pit and stay there... if He didn't love us. But He does. He loves us too much to let us go astray without a little effort on His part to try to bring us back.

I loved Relief Society this Sunday for that.

From a Few Verses

In the past week I've barely gotten through 2 chapters and not just because I'm pondering over each verse in depth. It's because a) I get easily distracted by the girls and only read a few verses each day and b) I'm in the war chapters of Mormon which tend not to be too interesting or captivating to me. But without further ado and sans excuses.

Mormon 5:2 - talk about me! Here I am, or have been (when I don't read my scriptures), "struggling for my life without calling upon that Being who created me." I've also been hanging out with a few friends who are suffering from depression and how I long to tell them and explain to them that we don't have to, and shouldn't struggle through our problems without turning to our Maker. It's like the book You are Special by Max Lucado. We need to return to our Maker, for He knows us. His tender mercy is always extended to us so that we don't have to struggle!

Mormon 3:3 - it says "the Lord their God." Sometimes, I am sure, in the scriptures it says just the Lord God. But here it is explicit in the Lord their God. He is a personal God. A God to His people, as well as THE God. But how sad is it that they/we/I can harden my heart against MY own God, someone who is personally mine?

Mormon 3:12 - This verse is just amazing. I can almost hear Mormon's voice; that personal, painful struggle where he leads and loves a people who are such a source of sorrow to him. It's amazing how he can love a people so much that it hurts, loves them and is so hurt by them and feels such sadness for them. It's very tender. Or as he says in 5:8, "harrowing" to the soul. What an agonizing existence. And I wonder what that means when he says he leads this people, prays for them but "without faith..." ? I cannot imagine a prophet of God as diligent as he praying without faith. Maybe without hope? Praying with a knowledge that God cannot bless the people and act contrary to His own laws of righteousness, that He cannot bless a people in sin?

Mormon 5:18 - the ship/vessel analogy. Where else is that in the scriptures? "Be ye clean, ye that bear the vessels of the Lord?" Am I making that up? Ah... electronic scriptures and searches - 3 Nephi 20:41. Be anchored, be clean, be a vessel/receptacle filled with the good things of the gospel, have a sail... I bet I could really study out this little analogy. Maybe at a later date.

Mormon 5:21 - so powerful for those of us who have loved ones for whom we pray. The Lord remembers, hears, honors the prayers that we pray for others. Those who are dear to us may NOT turn to the Lord, but if we continue to pray for them (and are righteous), the Lord hears us. So keep praying for them. One of our Heavenly Father's tender mercies.

Scriptures and Sisters

No, we are not writing scripture here and no we are not sisters.

Well... maybe we will be and maybe we are. To an extent.

Remember? We used to be the best of "sisters" (ma soeur!) and we used to immerse ourselves in the scriptures. Remember that?

Well, let's try it again.

2 Nephi 32:3

Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

We can post as often as we like, but we have to post weekly. About something we've actually read in the scriptures. We can also resurrect our glossary of new vocabulary words. Here's to hoping that this bears good fruit!