Knocked My Socks Off

As I was doing my scripture study this week, I came across a verse that totally wowed me! I was so overcome by the power of this one verse I knew I needed to share it. I was going to go to the gathering for my class the next night, and I was hoping that I would get the chance to share it there, but my group was discussing a different chapter. That means that I get to write about it on my blog.
The verse that just blew my mind (picture the commercial where the tops of people's head blow and purple smoke poofs out) was 2 Nephi 31: 20. It reads, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the father: Ye shall have eternal life." I found this verse so amazing that I highlighted it in pink and went back and outlined it in blue. (I'm not going to miss this one when I need it.) The next task was to break it down to discover why it was so amazing.
To start off I wanted to make sure I understood what "steadfastness" meant. Luckily, I didn't have to go far. In the footnotes, there are suggested words to look for in the topical guide: commitment, dedication, perseverance, steadfastness (of course), and walking with God. I had a better understand just from that list alone, but I wanted to get more information on walking with God. I did a search on lds.org rather than the topical guide so that I could access more than scripture. I could access conference talks. I found a talk by Aileen H. Clyde titled, "Confirmed in Faith." In this talk she speaks about our relationship with God. She talks about how Christ knew God and followed His commandments and was given strength as he did so. As we follow our Savior's example, we can walk with God as He did. John 15:10 says, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love..." Isn't this a great promise from our Heavenly Father? When we do our part of keeping the commandments, He will do his part by showering us with His love.
When I go to "perfect brightness of hope" I though of the second verse of "We Thank The, O God, For a Prophet." It says:

When dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us

And threaten our peace to destroy,

There is hope smiling brightly before us,

And we know that deliv'rance is nigh.

We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness.

We've proved him in days that are past.

The wicked who fight against Zion

Will surely be smitten at last.

I love the line, "There is HOPE shining BRIGHTLY before us." I understand that this brightness may be in the next life sometimes, but not always. For example, sometimes I struggle with the loss of my mom and brother even though it has been 19 years since they passed. I miss them. It is hard that I can't share my kids with them, but the hope that shines bright is that we are an eternal family thanks to the covenants my parents made in the temple. I will see them again. In this life however, I do have some amazing kids that have some of the traits they had. My daughter has my mom's spunk and spontaneity, my oldest son has her kindness and willingness to help, my middle kid has her sense of humor. I get to tell stories of how great they were in this life so that my kids and my husband can get to know them now and not have to wait to learn about them. I also get to pass down some of the traditions that my mom had with us.
Next, I felt I needed to explore, "endure to the end." Endure is such a daunting word. It sounds very difficult to me. Lucky for me, my instructor did a video about this, and I actually took notes. (I'm growing as a student...) He pointed out that this is not just doing. It requires action. One great way is to actually "feast on the words of Christ" as it says many times in the scriptures. He pointed out that this means to really delve into the scriptures as we study them. We should be marking them and thinking about what we are reading. This is some thing I haven't done much of in the past. I have my ex-husband's scriptures that I bought for him when we were first married. There were no markings in them when he decided to leave the Church and leave all of his church books behind when he moved out. I was trying to keep them nice, but when I started this class, I couldn't help myself. I found myself looking for colored pencil to highlight, write definitions of words I didn't understand in the margins, and write topics such as "missionary work" or "Atonement" in the margins as well. My instructor also pointed out 2 Nephi 32:8-9 where it talks about praying. In these verses we are instructed to pray always. We are told that if we feel we shouldn't pray that is the "evil spirit" telling us that it is not okay to pray. My instructor went on to give us a list moer that will help us to endure to the end: have faith in Jesus, serve God and others (I would say through others as well), choose the right, seek and find Christ, and let the Holy Ghost in.
The last phrase I wanted to explore was, "Ye shall have eternal life." That is a wonderful promise for us! I followed the footnote for eternal life. It lead me to the topical guide on a search for "objectives." I felt lead to Mosiah 4:27 which says, "And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order: for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore all things much be done in order." Eternal life is our PRIZE for enduring the pains and woes in this life by staying close to our Lord by learning of Him, following the commandments as Christ did, and remembering to pray continually.
I love my Heavenly Father. I am so thankful for personal growth through inspiration and revelation. I am thankful for the Book of Mormon and the opportunity that I have to truly FEAST on the word or God at this time in my life. I pray that my kids and husband will see the changes that it is making in my life and want to follow my example. In the name of MY Lord and Savoir, Jesus Christ. Amen