God is Mightier Than All | 1 Nephi 4:1-3

If I keep His commandments, the Lord will be on my side and He is mightier than all of the earth. Remember the miracles of my fathers like the preservation of my ancestor Captain David Perry through the French and Indian Wars and the Revolutionary War and the tender mercies found in his book, "The Recollections of an Old Soldier."

Faith in Action | 1 Nephi 3:7

Heavenly Father does not ask us to do anything without providing the means to accomplish it, but this promise requires faith and trust in Him. The Lord is using Nephi as an example to teach me how He will provide a way. In this example, it took Nephi three tries to get the plates of brass:

1. The Lord will reveal his will (1 Nephi 3:11). Casting lots--similar to rolling dice or flipping a coin--was thought anciently to be a way of revealing the will of the Lord. This approach takes faith and an open heart. It may come as a voice of warning or a scripture that jumps out at me. These were extraordinary times and Laman seemed to be the most equipped for this kind of negotiation so the hand of God seemed to be with them. However, Laban had his free will and chose to go against the will of God.
2. Study it out in your mind and choose an appropriate path and then move forward with faith (1 Nephi 3:23-24). This path takes faith, pondering, and action. I can use this method by studying the situation out in my mind and then through quiet meditation go to the Lord for direction. Again, Laban used his free will to go against God. How often have I gone against His will and become a hindrance to others and their answer to prayer?
3. Total reliance on the Lord and His Spirit (1 Nephi 4:5-6). This may seem like #1 on the surface, but it is far from it—it takes total faith and trust in the Lord. Nephi had no plan or knowledge of what the Lord want him to do, but the Lord revealed His will one step at a time. Heavenly Father wants me to be self-reliant but to be truly self-reliant I must learn to fully trust Him and trust that He will reveal His will to me. In other words, I can't trust in myself without the spiritual backing of the Lord. However, in order to have that backing, I must trust Him completely and be willing to do His will no matter what. Laban was not given a choice this time—the Lord provided a way for Nephi to accomplish His work.

It will take work and it may take different avenues but the Lord will ALWAYS provide a way. On the other side, the Lord may give me several chances to follow His will but if I become a hindrance then He will work around me and I will be denied the blessings He had in store for me.

Thanksgiving | 1 Nephi 5:9-10

As I keep my covenants and open the scriptures, I see more clearly the tender mercies of the Lord in my life. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I see their hands of mercy in my life and the lives of my family. I know that God lives and loves His children, I see this evidence all around me.

Hard Things | 1 Nephi 3:5-7, 31

"How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?"

This is Laman and Lemuel giving in to their fears. Does this sound familiar? This is a battle that I fight daily and it manifests itself through complaining or thinking a situation is too much to handle. It takes work on a daily basis to have complete trust in Christ and to not give into fear and weakness.

My body in its infirmities cries out, "No! It's too much, it's a hard thing." But, through quiet mediation my spirit says, "Yes, I can do this with the Lord's help for with Him nothing is impossible." The battles of life are won through the quiet daily victories of the spirit as I try to subdue the weaknesses of the flesh. The fight to give the Savior all my burdens is real as the flesh tries to hang on to the stresses and worries of life.

Nephi is an example to me of how to react when the call comes from the Lord:

"Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou hast not murmured.

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

The thing that stood out to me as I read this passage was the phrase, "And it came to pass" which to me denotes the passage of time before he responded to his father. I can imagine Nephi taking the time to ponder and pray deeply upon the things he was asked to do. He too may have had to fight that internal battle between the flesh and the spirit.

He's an example to me of someone who turns to the Lord for strength and then turns that strength into faith and action.

Scripture and Genealogy | 1 Nephi 3:3-4

The scriptures and the genealogy of Lehi found in the brass plates were so important that the Lord sent Nephi and his brothers back to get them. Nephi explains why the brass plates were so vital to his family and to his posterity:

• They preserved their genealogy (1 Nephi 3:3). The scriptures teach me of my lineage through Joseph and the Lord's tender mercies towards Israel. My own genealogy and the sacred stories contained therein should be treated as personal scripture showing the tender mercies of the Lord. It helps me see who I am and where I come from.
• They preserved their language (1 Nephi 3:19). Although language today is readily available through other sources, scripture preserves the language of the Lord and the language and interpretation of prophecy for me.
• They contained the words of the prophets (1 Nephi 3:20). The scriptures are just as important to me today in teaching the words of the holy prophets. They help me to know the will of the Lord.
• They contained the law of Moses (1 Nephi 4:14-16). Although I am asked to follow a higher law today, the scriptures contain the commandments that the Lord wants me to follow.
• They preserved their history (1 Nephi 5:10-12). Learning of the greatest historical events in the history of God's people such as the creation, fall of man, the flood, the exodus and the restoration of His church, helps me to know of God's love for His people and His tender mercies for the faithful.
• They contained prophecies of the Lord (1 Nephi 5:13). Those same prophecies from the Lord by prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah help me find direction in my own life and help me to prepare for the coming of the Lord in the last days.

Scriptures and family history go hand in hand. One is my spiritual heritage and the other is my physical heritage. Together they give me the big picture of my full potential—who I am and where I am going.

Covenant with the Lord | 1 Nephi 2:16-24

Another thing that helps me in my scripture study is to look for patterns. Patterns are examples of how to personally apply principles of the gospel in my day-to-day life. They bring to light specific steps I can follow to come unto Christ.  Patterns are templates to follow that can be applied in various ways and situations. In this section, Nephi describes the pattern of covenanting with the Lord.

Preparation

Nephi describes the preparation needed to be ready to covenant with the Lord:

• Great desire to know Him
• Prayer
• Allow my heart to be softened
• Believe the words of the prophets
• Share what I've learned with others
• Pray for those that have hardened their hearts

Promises

He describes the covenant or the promises made to God:

• Humbly seek God—remember Him
• Keep His commandments

Blessings

Nephi describes the blessings that the Lord promises:

• Shall prosper (to succeed, to thrive, to grow, to increase)
• Led by the Spirit to eternal life
• Ruler and teacher in His kingdom 

Cursing

There is a cursing associated with every blessing if I choose not to follow Him. They are not designed as punishments but rather as natural consequences to help me to come back to Him.

• Cut off from God. I would be separating myself from Him and His Spirit by rejecting His covenants.
• Scourged to remembrance. The afflictions and trials that I would face would be more than I could bear without His help.

Some of the examples of covenanting in my life are my baptismal covenant (weekly sacrament) and my temple covenants. This pattern or template of covenanting with the Lord by preparing, promising, seeing blessings, and being aware of the cursing can be used in my everyday life as I strive to follow God.

Complaining | 1 Nephi 2:12, 16

Murmuring or complaining against God comes from not knowing the Lord or trusting His will. Complaining is a cancerous state of thought, devoid of any action. Nephi shows how I can fight against this cancer by "cry[ing] unto the Lord" and allowing Him to soften my heart. If I turn towards Him with full purpose of heart on a daily basis, I can have perfect faith and trust in Him and His will for me.

Depart into the Wilderness | 1 Nephi 2:2-5

I've found that one of the keys for me to understand the scriptures is to unlock the personal symbolism found within. When I place myself directly into the scriptures words suddenly take on a deeper meaning. A seemingly ordinary description of events transforms into precious principles of the gospel and personal revelation.

Take verse 5, for example:

"[I] traveled in the wilderness [away from the world] in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea [the fountain of all righteousness, Jesus Christ and the Atonement]; and [I] did travel in the wilderness with [my] family."

If I listen for the still, small voice of the Spirit, the Lord may be asking me to depart into the wilderness metaphorically by parting spiritually from mainstream society. I must give up my worldliness (idols) just as Lehi gave up his worldly riches.

Nephi also points out his father's priorities were his family and provisions and tents for their journey. Likewise, my family should be my highest priority. Provisions speaks to me of preparation and consistency, whereas, the tents speak to me of stability and protection for my family.

Feeling the Holy Ghost | 1 Nephi 1:14-15

I love Nephi's description of his father feeling the Holy Ghost:

• his soul did rejoice
• his whole heart was filled

I've felt these same feelings during Sunday school lessons and personal scripture study.

This brings me to my #1 tool—bringing the Spirit to my scripture study sessions. Some days it happens by digging into the scriptures, other days it may be heartfelt prayer, or it may be a short inspirational video that brings the Spirit. The real learning begins when the Spirit of God is there to teach and confirm. Some days the Spirit may teach an incredible truth specially crafted for me in my current circumstances. Other days it may be feelings of incredible joy and peace, a filling of my heart to overflowing.

Affliction & Deliverance | 1 Nephi 1:1, 20

Nephi starts out with one of the most important themes in the scriptures by talking about affliction and how to find deliverance. He shows this especially in first Nephi where he shares his own personal story of conflict and his journey towards finding peace. He's an incredible example to me of how one can find amazing peace and deliverance from trials and afflictions by turning to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Having afflictions and being favored of the Lord are not mutually exclusive. As a matter of fact, being favored of the Lord means one will have afflictions and trials. He uses afflictions for many purposes but the two primary purposes are: (1) to turn our hearts towards Him, and (2) to purify and refine our souls. He wants us to become a finely polished stone that is beautiful and glorious. I can only fulfill the latter by following His will no matter what. And, when I follow His will, He helps me every step of the way. He says, "My yoke is easy" because through the Atonement the Savior is pulling the weight, but it's only easy if I am moving with Him and walking in His footsteps. If I deviate from His path whether it is through stubbornness or fear then I choose to take on the full weight of my burdens.

If I have faith in Him and align my will with His then He will give me power to overcome my afflictions and enemies. He may not take them away but He will make me "mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

Getting Started

There are many ways to study the scriptures—cover-to-cover, topical, chronological, etc. Each is effective in its own way. However, for my intent and purpose, I will be doing an in-depth scripture study searching for personal meaning for my everyday life. I will be focusing my efforts on cover-to-cover with some topical side trips. I have no timeline for completion, but will instead take as much time as needed to dig a little deeper.

I have chosen to start with the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I find the language somewhat easier to understand yet rewarding. It also contains many of the writings of Isaiah, so it has allowed me to ease into the more complex language used by Isaiah. I'm finding that understanding Isaiah is helping me gain a deeper understanding of the gospel and helping me see things I've never seen before in other books of scripture.

Introduction

Welcome to The Everyday Saint blog. I hope this blog will become a place for you to return to again and again to find inspiration, peace, hope, and a safe haven away from the crazy world we call life. I chose the title for two reasons: (1) to show how the scriptures can be life changing for the normal, run-of-the-mill saint, and (2) to show how it takes daily work to be a true follower of Christ.

My main purpose is to show that with a little elbow grease and a heavy dose of the Spirit that the everyday saint can find higher meaning and individual direction to their normal (or not-so-normal) everyday life through daily scripture study.

I will show by sharing examples of what verses and chapters mean to me and how they relate to me, but keep in mind, this is simply a mechanism for generating enthusiasm and desire. The real end goal is that as you take scripture study to a new level, God will reveal to you how the scriptures relate directly to your circumstances.

I will share with you some study helps that have made a difference for me. However, these should be viewed as tools in a toolkit. Each tool is meant for a specific situation and may not be effective in other situations. Each of us learn and reason differently so some tools may not work well for you. There is no right way; we must simply adapt our tools to what works best for us.

Along the way, I will share personal stories and experiences to try and help motivate and encourage. We all have challenges handpicked by a loving Heavenly Father specifically designed to help us grow in the exact way that will help us achieve our fullest potential. Every individual's trials and afflictions are different but no less difficult for them than what others face.