Catch up

I have a few pages of notes already so far from my brief studies of the Book of Mormon and from other thoughts outside of that study, so this might be a lengthier post. I should go ahead and mention, also, that I have also been reading through Jesus the Christ and will be adding bits and pieces from what I've read out of there in this blog as well from time to time.

Sunday April 18, 2010

I started my goal of reading the Book of Mormon everyday. This is what stood out to me that particular day:

1 Ne 1:20 - "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

I've always liked the phrase "tender mercies of the Lord" because I feel like that captures the essence of the balance between Justice and Mercy that has been created by a loving Heavenly Father who must obey the laws of Justice, and therefore allowed His Son, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ to suffer for us - not only our sins, but all of our sorrows - in order to be able to extend unto us Mercy that we may overcome our "natural man" and this mortal existence, including death, both spiritual and temporal, that we may gain eternal life.

Another note that I made from my readings that night is actually from pages 438-439 in Jesus the Christ:

Here Elder Talmage touches on the parable of the Unprofitable Servant and how it applies to the disciples of Christ. To summarize, "when [we] shall have done all those things which are commanded [us], say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." Reading this really humbled me, and changed my view of service and keeping the commandments. I often feel like when I obey the commandments that that entitles me to certain blessings, or at least that's what I want to think. But the truth is that we are forever indebted to our Savior for all the blessings that we have, including our very existence. It made me really grateful for the blessings that I do have, and realized that the commandments are blessings also, in that they offer us the chance to prove to our Heavenly Father that we are grateful of all that He has given us.


Sunday, April 25th 2010

This is the price we pay to know God...

I realized this day that we have to strengthen our testimonies in trial and humble ourselves in order to keep our relationship with our Heavenly Father when things get better.

1 Ne 7:11-13 (first part of 13) - "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us... ...And if it so be that we are faithful to him, we shall obtain the land of promise..."

As I was reading this, I couldn't help but draw a parallel between myself and Laman and Lemuel. How often do I forget the things that the Lord has done for me? How often do I choose to be rebellious, not necessarily even in my actions, but also in my thoughts? I cannot count how many times the Lord has revealed His hand in my life, and yet, there are times when I am like Laman, and I murmur against what I may think is too hard, or things that I just don't feel like doing.

I want to change that, not only in my personal life, but in everything I do; my work, my friendships and relationships, my family relationships, everything. That is my goal for the next week. I want to work like I have a testimony of the blessings and revelations that have been given to me, and that I am grateful for them, and will continue to work on them to grow them, and grow myself in them.

1 Ne 8:37 - "And [Lehi] did exhort them with all the feeling of a tender parent..."

As I read this I realized that our Heavenly Father is a loving, tender parent, and that he has given us blessings and tools, along with the Mercy of the Atonement, to help us gain eternal salvation that we might live with Him one day. I love thinking of my Heavenly Father that way. It helps strengthen my testimony that He loves me, and that strengthens my resolve to do what is right.

1 Ne 9:6 - "But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words."


Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

1 Ne 10:18 - "For he is the same yesterday, today and forever." I've always loved this scripture, and it is reiterated throughout the scriptures, not only in the Book of Mormon, because it is important that we remember it. Basically it means, that when we read about how God worked in the times of the scriptures, we can gain faith by knowing that He still gives the same revelations to us today, and that we can receive a testimony of that for ourselves.