Thursday, April 30, 2015

The Lord's Way | 1 Nephi 18:1-8

I love the Book of Mormon and how even the narrative parts contain amazing principles and patterns. In this instance, Nephi is talking about finishing the ship and preparing for the journey to the promised land. The thing that stood out to me the most was how Nephi kept mentioning that he worked the timbers and built the ship the Lord's way not after the manner of men. Man's knowledge is limited and flawed and can lead to disaster. Whereas, following the Lord's way brings great joy and blessings that transcends this mortal existence. Nothing is impossible when following Christ's way.

How is the Lord's way found? The scriptures are full of examples illustrating this. In short, anything that leads to Christ leads to the knowledge of His ways. I will outlined a few of the most important ones that Nephi provides in these verses.

"I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft." The Temple of the Lord is a special place where the Lord teaches His ways—it is His higher education or the Lord's university. Not only that but it can bring one incredible peace from the outside world. I had the opportunity to attend the Temple a few days ago after not having been for several months and was amazed at how much peace and comfort that I felt as soon as I walked in. I think that the Lord's way becomes more clear while in an environment of peace and while pondering upon the eternities.

"I did pray oft unto the Lord." Prayer is an amazing thing, it is a conduit directly into heaven. Family and personal prayer like temple worship can be a quiet reflective time where the Lord can teach and show His ways.
"Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened."  3 Nephi 27:29
"The voice of the Lord came unto my father." Follow the prophet because he knows the way. His counsel will lead to the Lord and His paths.
"Learn to keep your eye on the prophet. He is the Lord’s mouthpiece and the only man who can speak for the Lord today. Then live close to the Spirit so you may know the truth of all things."  Ezra Taft Benson p.148
"We had prepared all things." Preparation is essential to finding the Lord's way. This includes scripture study, pondering, meditation, and prayer. Putting on the full armor of God each day will prepare the mind and heart to know the will of the Lord.

"According to that which the Lord had commanded us." The Lord's way is outlined through His commandments. His path can be seen more clearly as His statutes are kept, and as His statutes are kept, more of His way will be revealed.
"Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart." Psalms 119:33-34
The Lord's way may not be attractive especially to the natural man, and it may not follow worldly wisdom. However, the end results is glorious and beyond comprehension even to the worldly. Even Nephi's hard hearted brothers were affected by the Lord's way after His work was completed. It led to humility and thankfulness for a time.
"My brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord." 1 Nephi 18:4
I am grateful for Jesus Christ and His ways. I have been extremely blessed as I have tried to follow His path. It is difficult at times to trust His will, but as I look back, I am always amazed at the workmanship of His hand in my life.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Straitened | 1 Nephi 17:40-41

Heavenly Father loves all of His children and it gives Him tremendous joy when His children follow Him. Straitening them in the wilderness with His rod or His word is a symbol of His love like a loving father who corrects his children because he sees the great potential that they have.

He straitens me in the wilderness of life through trials and afflictions to help soften my heart and to make me who I need to be. And, He provided a way for me to be healed—the way is simple, I must only look to the Atonement of Christ and allow Him to heal me from sin, despair, and grief.

STRAITEN, verb
1. To make narrow.
2. To contract; to confine.
3. To make tense or tight.
4. To distress; to perplex; to press with poverty or other necessity

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

A Look Behind | 1 Nephi 17:13-14

Christ lights the path before and prepares the way ahead. However, sometimes it is hard to see the difference that He is making without taking a look behind. I know that the Lord is leading me as I look back I can see the Lord's tender mercies in my life as He has led me through trials and afflictions. I have no doubt that He lives and loves me and is helping me each step of the way through this life.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Take Initiative | 1 Nephi 17:8-10

Nephi is a great example of someone who works hard and takes initiative. He is told to build a ship and he does not sigh, groan, murmur, or complain. He immediately starts thinking about how he can accomplish the commandment that he has been given and what he needs from the Lord to get started. I am sure that he was well aware of his weaknesses and inadequacies when it came to building something on so grand a scale, but he trusted in the Lord and His plan.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Nourished and Strengthened | 1 Nephi 17:1-3, 12

These verses speak directly to me as I feel the weight of the physical body pulling on me. If I keep the commandments of the Lord, He will nourish and strengthen me both physically and spiritually and provide a way to accomplish the things He has given me to do.
NOURISH, verb
1. To feed and cause to grow; to supply with nutriment.
2. To cherish; to comfort.
3. To educate; to instruct; to bring up; to nurture.

In this particular example, the commandment given by the Lord to eat raw meat completely went against the wisdom of the world and the traditions of the Jews. However, by following the Lord, they received two blessings:
  1. The raw meat was sweet and edible.
  2. They were nourished and strengthened beyond their normal capacity, especially the mothers bearing and nursing children.
It is the same today as I keep His commandments, I will be blessed with power and strength to accomplish His work. His commandments may not be easy to follow, they may not always make sense, and they may not be pleasing to popular culture. However, following His commandments will bring great reward in this life and the life to come. It will bring strength and power and act as a safety net of protection to me and my family.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Chastened | 1 Nephi 16:25, 39


If I allow the Lord to chasten me and I turn away my anger and repent of my sins and humble myself before Him then He will bless me beyond measure—not only me but my family and my posterity.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Weary in Affliction | 1 Nephi 16:35-36

Life is hard and it is easy to get weary in affliction. The tendency is to lose faith and turn to familiar worldly things to find solace from the pain like the daughters of Ishmael, but this kind of relief is fleeting and does not bring lasting peace. It may dull the pain to the mind and body, but it also brings hopelessness.

Turning to the Lord in times of weariness through prayer and feasting upon His word will bring lasting peace and a deep hope for the future. He may not take away the affliction and He may not bring physical rest, but He will bring great spiritual power and healing.

The strength gained may seem short-lived, but by continuing to turn towards Christ daily, the power will continue to flow. Sometimes it comes at the very breaking moment on the verge of collapse, but it will come as a healing balm to the soul in need.

I take great comfort in knowing that He is the perfect Consoler, He knows the pain that I specifically go through. He knows what I need most. I am thankful for His healing and strengthening power. I find the will to keep going only through Christ and His Atonement.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Seeds of Rebellion | 1 Nephi 16:20-23

Reading daily brings a lot of peace and comfort as I read about the Atonement, but it also opens my eyes to areas where I am lacking or in need of improvement.

Affliction can lead to humility before the Lord or it can lead to being negative. Negativity manifests itself as a small murmur which, left unchecked, leads to complaining against the Lord then on to rebellion.

Murmuring Complaining Rebellion

Why does this progression happen? It ultimately falls within the pride cycle, but I believe that it boils down to the state of the heart. The natural man's defense against pain and heartache is to harden or close off the heart by keeping those negative emotions locked within. As those negative emotions build, they are released through murmuring and complaining which leads to further hardening of the heart.

Murmuring Hardened Heart Complaining More Hardened Heart Rebellion

Open rebellion does not just happen spontaneously, it requires a hardened heart and begins as a quiet murmur. It applies to all aspects of life whether it be family, church, school or work. Murmuring is like cancer. It may not seem bad in the beginning stages but it grows to all-out rebellion—whether it be against family members, church leaders, bosses or God.

Allowing these negative feelings to run wild even if those receiving them are well deserving, will lead to hardening of the heart against the Lord and His Spirit. This progression can only be broken like the pride cycle through humility before God—not submissiveness to the situation but to God and His will.

I love Nephi's example of positive behavior in the face of adversity. Nephi was suffering from affliction as much as the others, yet he chose not to murmur. He chose to be positive about the situation. He chose to do something about his situation. He had no experience building bows and arrows—he was use to finely-crafted ones that were made out of steel, but he worked hard, did his best, inquired of the Lord, and the Lord did the rest.

I can take the easy way out by sitting back and complaining about my circumstances or I can do as Nephi did, strive to make things better by working hard to resolve the situation and by going to the Lord for help. He will help me even if it means giving me power to bear my burdens.

It's a choice to be negative or positive. Choose to BE POSITIVE no matter what the circumstances. Negativity can be habit-forming—the knee-jerk reaction to any bad situation. I struggle with breaking this mold. But, I know that as I turn to the Savior and trust in Him that I can find the confidence to change.