Faith

This week, I have been studying Ether in The Book of Mormon. This is one of my favorite books in The Book of Mormon because I like the simpleness of the way the Lord helps and speaks to the bother of Jared when they are building the barges to cross the seas to the promised land. This time as I was reading and studying this book, I realized that the theme of the book of Ether is faith (or at least it seemed that way to me).
In chapter 1, Jared and his brother are in the midst of wickedness and the Lord is confounding the language of the people due to this wickedness. Jared goes to his brother and says, "Cry unto the Lord that he will not confound us..." (verse 34). When this is granted, Jared says, "Cry unto the Lord and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our friends, that he confound not there language." (verse 36) Once again the Lord helped them. Then in verse 38 it says, "And  it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into the land which is choice above all the earth: And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance." At this point they were directed to gather everything and go down to the valley.
Now, I want to skip to chapter 3. At this point, barges have been built to help the people cross the seas. The brother of Jared is looking for a way to light the barges. They can't use windows,and the barges have to be kept tight to keep the water our. Under the direction of the Lord they have done what I picture in my head as some kind of cork system on the top and bottom to allow air in as needed. The brother of Jared has been directed to come up with a solution to light the boats. He goes up the mountain and makes some clear stones. He then goes to the Lord and says, "...O lord, look upon me in pity, an turn away thine anger from this they people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these things with I have molten out of the rock. And I know, O lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in the darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us int he vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea." (verses 3-4) Because of his faith, he received a miracle in verse 6. "And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he say the finger of the Lord; and it was the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear."
Let's skip to chapter 12. There have been wars and many secret combinations and great destruction. The prophet Ether is preaching to the people. "For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sund, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled-Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope fro a better world, yea even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." (verses 3-4) Later he testifies in verse 12, "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them..."
In "Mountains to Climb-Gaining Power to Overcome Challenges of Life," we are told that a particle of faith is precious and should be protected. If the foundation of faith is not in our hearts, our faith will crumble. We are promised that with faith, the hardest and easiest of times can be a blessing, and we can feel the love of God.
The Mormon Message titled "Testimony of The Book of Mormon." In this video, Jeffrey R. Holland testifies of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. He points out that his this was a made up church and book, they would not have died testifying of its divinity. He points out that we should treasure up the word of the Lord. By doing this our heart and faith will not fail us.
I have learned a lot about faith this week. If we pray for help, the Lord will bless us. If we hold our faith close and make it our foundation, we will not fail.

Tithing

https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/mormonad-fair-share-1118242?lang=eng

This week I learned a lot about the law of tithing. In the past I have not been very good at paying tithing. It is still a struggle for me, especially when the budget is tight. Last week, we got a paycheck that was smaller than expected. We were also unwise and spent foolishly before even checking how much this paycheck had been. This caused a trial of faith. I was scared to pay tithing. Of course the Lord knew of my struggle and there was already a plan in place to help me make the right decision. Part of my study in my Book of Mormon class was about tithing. 

When I sat down to read my scripture Monday, I was being helped with this struggle. 3 Nephi 24: 10-12 says:

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
"And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the fields, saith the Lord of hosts.
"And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land , saith the Lord of Hosts."

We are promised in by the Savior in these verses that if we pay our tithing we will have many blessings including protection from the "devourer." If we look at the footnote to get a better understanding of this promise, it takes us to Docterine and Covenants 85:3 which says:
"...he may tithe his people, to prepare them against the day of vengeance and burning..."

We are being promised that we will be saved by the Lord if we follow this commandment.  In these verses.
In his talk "The law of Tithing," Elder Daniel L. Johnson said that tithing is the key to the blessings of God. He advised us to pay our tithing first (before paying any other financial obligations) and put our trust in the Lord. By doing this, he promised that the Lord will pour out blessings and that we will draw closer to him.
I am one who gets caught up in thinking sometimes that we can't afford to pay tithing. We have three children to take care of and bills to pay. To this Elder Dallin H. Oaks said in his talk "Tithing," that those who have faith in the law of tithing say, "I can't afford not to pay tithing." This is because we are promised blessings when we follow this commandments, and if we don't follow this law the Lord will withhold physical and spiritual blessings. I don't know about you, but I need all the blessings I can get.
Over the past year, I have been doing my best at paying tithing on our income. I have received blessings from doing this and trials when I forgot or got scared. Last spring, as we paid tithing and my daughter was growing so fast we were struggling to clothe her, the bishop's wife gave us clothes her daughter had just grown out of. It was more than enough clothes for my daughter and she was very excited to have been given such nice clothes. In contrast, in the fall as I was transitioning from paying tithing with a check to paying online, I forgot to pay for a few weeks. At this point, our bank account went negative and our water heater busted. We had to rely on some kind family members to get a new water heater installed and learned we needed to be more disciplined with our spending.
I am glad that I had the opportunity to learn more about tithing in a week where I struggled with paying it. I am glad that I was able to not only learn form the scriptures and the servants of the Lord, I have been able to reflect on my own experiences to learn as well. I am thankful that my loving Heavenly Father provided a way to strengthen me in my weakness.

Daddy / Daughter Dance

This beautiful girl didn't want to choose between her favorite guys for the dance, so...

she is going with Big Guy...

and Daddy.

She loves them both, and is excited to be going to the Daddy/Daughter dance!

Girl Scouts

I have recently become the co-leader of a new Girl Scout troop (the things I do for my daughter). We started just in time for cookie season. I would have to say that these girls are doing great considering only three are selling. Thankfully, we are almost done with cookies and can move on to more fun and exciting things. I would have to say, the more I get involved with these cuties, the more I am liking it.  I wasn't aloud to be in Girl Scouts when I was a kid. Now is my chace!

Be a Light

https://www.lds.org

I have been studying about Jesus teaching the Nephites this week in 3 Nephi, and I have learned a lot!

The main thing that I found throughout the chapters that I read (3 Nephi 12 to 17) was that we do our part to gain faith and help others in the process. 

First, we have to know what we believe in. Elder Robert D. Hales give a good formula for gaining faith in his talk, "Finding Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." He tells us that first we must hear the spoken and written word of God. Then, we need to let it sink into our hearts. Next, we need to "hunger in (our) soul for righteousness." Forth, we need to "obediently follow gospel laws, ordinances, and covenants." Finally, we are to "raise (our) voice in mighty prayer, asking in faith to know that Jesus Christ is our Savior." He then gives us the promise that if we find faith in Jesus, Heavenly father will strengthen this faith. 

It is important to understand, however, that faith is just the beginning. We need to take action. 3 Nephi 15:1 says, "...whoso remembereth these saying of mine and doeth them, him will I raise up at the last day." There are many things that the Savior asked us to do in these chapters. In chapter 12 He asks us to repent and come unto Him and keep His commandments. Chapter 13 tells us to give donations to the poor in secret, not expecting a reward, pray, forgive, and "lay up for yourselves treasures of heaven" (3 Nephi 13:20). In chapter 14 he says not to judge, pray for answers, and beware of false prophets. Chapter 15 tells us to do missionary work. These are all important steps to being more like and true disciples of Christ.

As we work towards discipleship, we will stick out for the world to see us. This is what the Lord wants. He says in 3 Nephi 12:14 to 16:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, i give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
"Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;
"Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

These verses were talked about in my class a few days ago. More specifically, the words "let your light so shine" were talked about. A group talked about how they pictured a lighthouse shining as a beacon. As they talked about this a visioned a lighthouse in the dark, stormy night shining to anyone who may be looking for that light to bring them to safety.

http://www.singingwiththespirit.com

When I went back to read it again, I pictured more of a the light of a candle or lantern lighting up a dark room. In my head it is a calmer light showing the way.

https://www.colourbox.com

No matter if we are the bright beacon helping someone through the storms of their lives or the soft candle showing the way in a dark room, by following Christ, we can help others find faith in Christ as well as ourselves. 

I hope that as I continue to grow faith in Christ that I can be a light in someone's light. 

Pride Cycle

"And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him.
"Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their hears, and in gold, and in silver, and in all the manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their god, and do trample under their feet the Holy One-yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.
"And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him." (Helaman 12: 1-3)
The pride cycle is a bit interesting and definatley and a bit scary. I would have to admit that I fall into this trap. This is what it looks like:

In the Book of Mormon the pride took over the people  of Helamam quickly. Not only did it take of the people, but it took of them quickly. For example, Helaman 11:17 and 18 tell us that the people had been humbled and the Lord was now blessing them with rain so that they could finally grow. This was in the 76th year of the rein of the judges. As we continue to verse 36 in the same chapter, we see that by the 85th year of the reign of the judges the people "did wax stronger and stronger in in their pride, and their wickedness." This shows us that they had prosperity and here listing to the counsel of God, however in the 85th year of the reign of  judges, they were "ripening...for destruction." That is only about 9 years difference. This shows us how quickly Satan can come into our hears and minds and tamper with our relationship with our Heavenly Father. 

This cycle applies to us today as well. The countries with greater prosperity are the ones with greater evil and destruction. In his talk "The Lord Will Prosper the Righteous" in the October 1992 conference, Elder Dean L. Larsen told us "When the lives of the people are in harmony with the Lord's will, all of the essential factors that produce the blessings God designs to give to his children come into line...We have the Lord's assurance that he will bless and prosper his people if they will keep his commandments and remember to look to him as the source of their blessings." Elder Larsen continues on to tell us,"As the world continues to ripen in iniquity, our lives of necessity must become increasingly different from the world and its standard...As we succeed, we have the sure promise of the Lord that he will prosper us in every way necessary for our well-being...But this is a conditional promise."  

I love this gospel. I love that we can read scriptures written before Christ was even born and read conference talks that were given more than 20 years ago and look at today's world and see the similarities. I love that we can learn from the past and apply it to our present. The Lord knows us. The scriptures are for our time. The messages given at conference are to help us now and in the future!

Amalickah

For my Book of Mormon class this week, I realized how much can happen in one year. The 19th year of the reign of judges spans from chapter 45 through chapter 49. If you think about it, earlier in the Book of Mormon, one chapter was comprised of several years. For example, 1 Nephi chapter 4 spans about 8 years. The fact the the 19th year of the reign of judges spans about 5 chapters. This tells me that the things that were happening are very important. These chapters are action packed. There are wars, surrendering, an attempted coups, a king killed, and more. I am going to mostly concentrate of the happenings between Caption Moroni and Amalickah.
Amalickah was bad news. He was a very charismatic guy who wanted control over the government. He did gain some followers (back then this meant that some of the people literally followed him around to hear what they have to say). Alma 46: 7-8 says, "And there were many in the church who believed in the flattering works of Amalickah...Thus we see how quick the children of men do forget th Lord their God, yea, how quick to do iniquity,and to be led away by the even one."
Captain Moroni was not fooled and wanted to make sure people remembered what they had fraught for. He tore off his clothes, wrote on them, "In memory of our God, our religion, our freedom. and our peace, our wives, and our children", and posted them on a pole with his helmet the top of the poll. He called this the Title of Liberty. I pictured this being similar to the picture of a soldier's rifle with the helmet on it.
As the chapters go though, Amalickah manages to win over a lot of people, but they get kicked out. He become the king over the Lamanites by using subtle deceptions to trick king Lehonti down from the mount and killed him. Then, the deceptions continued. Alma 47:30 says, "Amalickiah, by his fraud, gained the hearts of the people." Next, he had to win over the heart of the queen, which he does.
At this point, he is still not happy and wants more power, so he stirs things up between the Lamanites and the Nephites and sends his people out to war against the Nephites. The Nephites are prepared for such battles, however. Their cities are fortified so well that the Lamanites are unable to throw stones or shoot arrows. The Nephites "were prepared for them, in a manner which had never been known...to battle after the manner of instructions of Moroni." (Alma 49:8)
Hopefully, we can be as Captian Moroni who was "a strong and mighty man...of perfect understanding; yea, a man who did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in liberty and the freedom of his country...whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God;...a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people. Yea, he was a man firm in the faith of Christ." (Alma 48:11-13) As the hymn says, we should "dare to do right, dare to be true." (Children's Song Book of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, number 158)

2016 Bucket List

I'm thinking this year instead of making goals like "lose weight," I'm going to make more of a 2016 bucket list. The goals seem to fizzle out half way through the year. I am hoping that by having a bucket list, I will still be bettering myself, and I will have more fun doing it.

1. Hike a 14er (Chad and I plan to do this the weekend before my birthday)
2. Go to the temple (hopefully in the next few months)
3. Take the kids camping and fishing for a week 
4. Go to Utah to visit family 
5. Complete the Pathway program an continue on with BYU-I

Most of the items this list have specific dates attached. Chad and I have to sit down and make a plan for others. One I have to make the steps myself to accomplish.

2016 is going to be anther great year!

Christmas Memories

As I was growing up, my dad would play Chistmas music and sing (a bit out of tune) with it until January 1st. Blue Chistmas came on the radio on Sunday as I was driving to go pickup the kids from their dad. Tears came down my face as I heard my dad singing along in my head. I was tempted to call my Utah family and ask them to record him singing this and others and some how send them to me before Christmas. Last night at work, other Christmas songs came on the radio that reminded me of my dad playing his Readers Digest Christmas cassette tapes over and over while singing along. Isn't it amazing that a "tradition" that I thought was "SO annoying" as a teenager would be some of my fondest Christmas memories now?

Anthony Robert Mitchell

This guy would be 39 today! When we were kids the official Christmas celebrations in our home couldn't start until the day after his birthday. (He wanted to make sure the holidays were separated.) I will change my blog background in 10 minutes to honor that tradition. ;)

A Different Kind of Christmas Message

http://narcoleptica.deviantart.com/art/Christmas-star-24488816

Imagine having to have faith in a man that will come to the earth and will be born in a land your forefathers left due to wickedness. Imagine trying to live the gospel being told this this amazing person will exist and show the way for us to live, but until then we need to do it anyway because that is what the Lord has asked us to do. This would be hard for me, however this is what the people of the Book of Mormon did for many generations.
In my scripture study this week, Alma 7: 9-16 left a great impression on my heart. It filled me with true joy and a great respect for Alma and the people he was teaching.  Imagine my excitement as I looked in the Book of Mormon Student Study Guide on lds.org and these verses were one of the points highlighted in the lesson (it seems like this never happens)! I was even more exited as I watched the Mormon Message video that went with our lesson for class titled "Look to the Light." (Isn't technology great!)
This scripture passage starts off with Alma, the younger, teaching the people in the land called Gideon to repent. he says, "Repent ye, and prepare a way for the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at had, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth." As I said before, we have to remember that Christ has not been born yet. They are still waiting on this. It won't happen for about another 83 years. It is their job to prepare for this wonderful event that will happen, and they have no idea when it will happen. (Just like we have no idea when He will come again.) Alma goes on to tell them of Christ's birth. He tells them that Mary will have this baby in Jerusalem (the place their forefathers left because of iniquity several generations before). He tells them that he will suffer afflictions and temptations in His life just like us including physical death. He does this so that he can know our struggles and temptations and be able to take on our sins as His own and deliver us from these sins. Verse 13 says:

• "Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according the to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me." 

This is the Atonement summarized into one verse. Christ came to the earth. He was perfect. He took upon him our sins so that we can live with Him and our Heavenly father again. Our job is to repent and come unto him. Verse 16 tells us of the promise we are given when we do this:

• "And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the holy Spirit, which testifieth in me."

What a wonderful message at this time of the year where we are preparing to celebrate the birth and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He lives. He came to earth not only to teach the people in Jerusalem while he was here. He blessed the people of Nephi. He continues to bless us. He will come again. I hope to be worthy of His blessings when this happens.
I love that we have scripturse that testify of Christ and his mission. I love that we are told of the struggles before and after Christ came to the earth so that we can learn and grow. I love that we can read of the prophesy of Christ coming and see how it all was fulfilled. I love that the Book of Mormon testifies of people who left Jerusalem to come to the Americas and because of their faith, they were blessed with the gospel. These people had a great deal of faith.
I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to study the Book of Mormon. I have learned more form this wonder book of scripture over the last few months than I have learned from it in my life. I am excited to learn more in the coming months.

Can't Judge a Book by Its Length

The book of Enos in the Book of Mormon is a short book, but it contains some great stuff. I have to admit, in the past I would glace over this book reading it real quick because it was short and I didn't consider it important because of its length. The phase, "You can't judge a book by its cover," may not necessarily fit here, but modifying it a bit may: You can't judge a book by its length. Having said that, I am going to concentrate on the first four verses.

Enos starts out telling us that he father was a "just man" that taught him their language along with the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This tells me that he loved his father. He wanted EVERYONE to know that his father was a "just man" and why. This gives me something in common with Enos. I love my dad as well. He taught me the gospel and made sure that I got an education when I was a kid (teaching me his language).

Enos goes on to let us know that he struggled with sin and sought out to "(receive) a remission for (his) sins." (Enos 1:2) He did this while he was out hunting for food. Alone in the wilderness, he though of his father's teachings of the gospel. Verse 4 says: "And my soul hungered; and I knelt down before my maker, and cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens."

I like the use of the word "hungered" in this verse. I relates a physical feeling to a spiritual need. We all know what it is like to feel hungry physically. By eating, we fulfill a need. By praying to our Heavenly Father, Enos was fulfilling more than just the want to pray and wasn't doing so because he was told to pray. He was fulfilling a need to pray. He felt such a great need to pray that he prayed all day and all night. 

The result of this great faith was a great reward. Verse 5 says, "And there came a voice unto me saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt e blessed." He got to HEAR the Lord! How amazing is that?

If we have faith and pray with everything we have in us, we can receive a reward as well. The September 2006 Friend has an article titled "The Enos Experiment." This tells the story of a little girl who learned about Enos in primary. She went home with the desire to really pray to Heavenly father and tell Him all of her thoughts and feeling. That night she knelt down and prayed. She gave thanks, asked for forgiveness, and really talked to Heavenly Father about her feelings until she had "shared everything that was in (her) heart." When she was done she "felt a calm warmth fill (her) soul and knew Heavenly Father had listened."

I hope to have this kind of faith. I have learned that I need to make my prayers more sincere. I have a list of things that I feel I need to pray for and want to pray for, but these scriptures and this talk got me thinking about my own prayers. I do have faith in prayer. I have had a few times where I have reached out to Heavenly Father an poured out my heart. I hope to remember these experiences and pray with everything I have in me more often. I love this gospel. I love that we always have the opportunity to improve ourselves and grow closer to our Lord and Savior though honest and sincere prayer!

My Dad

My dad has always given a great example of work in my life. When I was a teenager, my dad was a single father. He was depressed a lot, but he didn't give up. He continued to do housework; laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. For leisure, he learned to cross stitch and made beautiful cross stitches of all of the temples he had been to at that time which made our home more beautiful. He went to work early in the morning so he could be home for us kids not long after we got home form school. He taught us that if we want something, we have to work for it. My brother, sister and I all had jobs at 16 and used the money for things that he didn't see as necessities. He loved us, and we knew that. As an adult, I went through some of the same struggles my dad did. I asked him what he did to stay positive. (I didn't see the depression.) He told me that he just kept busy taking care of us kids and the house. It has been and continues to be such a wonderful blessing to have him as my father!

My dad and Noel
September 2008

Love This Quote

If you are poor, work. … If you are happy, work. Idleness gives room for doubts and fears. If disappointments come, keep right on working. If sorrow overwhelms you, … work. … When faith falters and reason fails, just work. When dreams are shattered and hope seems dead, work. Work as if your life were in peril. It really is. No matter what ails you, work. Work faithfully. … Work is the greatest remedy available for both mental and physical afflictions. (The Forbes Scrapbook of Thoughts on the Business of Life, New York: Forbes Inc., 1968, p. 427.)

Mommy Win

Last week my boys had Court of Honor for Boy Scouts. As they were getting ready, Eric told Sean to tuck in his shirt. Sean didn't understand why and expressed his want to be comfortable. Eric in a bit of a disgusted tone said, "It's a sign of respect." I was so proud of my 13 year-old for teaching his brother this important lesson about respecting the Boy Scout uniform. 

I am happy to announce that my sweet Sean received his Tenderfoot rank! It was such a wonderful surprise!

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

Comparing Myself to Others

I find myself comparing what I believe are other people's strengths to my own weaknesses. For example, this week in the gathering for my classes were talking about a study skill for studying the scriptures that we learned last week and put into practice for this week as we studied the Book of Mormon. The terrifying skill was...lists. I have a hard time going through the scriptures and picking out the lists. To add to this daunting task, we were studying 2 Nephi 17 to 27 (mostly Isaiah chapters). My brain was hurting. I read chapter 18 twice and listened to it as I read it one more time. I still didn't fully grasp it, but knew I would have to move on for now to get through the rest of the reading assignment. As the class started, I expected to not be the only one who had this difficulty. Instead I found that I was in the minority. When the lead student (the class member leading the discussion) asked how it went for everyone, there were many comments on how it was so easy to find the lists that they found they were forgetting to think of the significance of the lists. I raised my had and gave my opinion that I thought this skill was the hardest one we have learned so far and that my brain hurt just from trying to understand what Isaiah and Nephi were trying to teach us. I got a few shocked looks. I felt really small. When I told my husband about this experience, he simply said that I was smart and I needed to stop comparing myself to others because it was bringing me down. He was not wrong. I do this a lot.
I am smart. I have A's in both of my classes this semester. I have an associates degree in business. I use words that I have to explain not only to my kids, but also to competent adults sometimes. (I blame my daddy for this one. he he) I am able to solve hard math problems most of the time. I know how to research things if I want or need to know more about a subject. I have several hymns and other songs memorized.
I don't know why I don't see myself as an intelligent person. I wish I could see myself the way Chad does. I guess I will just have to pray about it.

Halloween 2015

Ninja Unicorn

Prison Inmate

Badger

Bassek Starbuck (his own comic book character)

China Doll

Yes, I do realize it is not Halloween yet, but tonight was the party at church and we all dressed for the occasion.

2 Nephi 9

As those who read this blog know, I have been studying the Book of Mormon for a class I am taking this semester. Our reading assignment this week was 2 Nephi 9-16. Some of these chapters were difficult to understand because they were chapters from Isaiah. However, I really liked chapter 9 which explained the Atonement and what we need to do or not do if we want to be saved through this wonderful gift. It is a long chapter, so I'm not going to go trough the entire chapter, but I would like to go over some of the highlights.
Verses 5 and 6 explain  "...the great Creator that suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him. For as death passed upon all men, to fulfill the merciful plan of the great creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection.." This is interesting to me because it explains the purpose of Christ coming to earth and dying. We are told that he was subject to men and now we are subject to him. I didn't think of it this way before. I had not thought of Jesus be subject to the laws of man, but we know that he was because he was careful of how he worded things like when he was asked what the greatest commandment was he responded in Mark 12:30-31, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. and the Second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is non other commandment greater than these." By doing this, he had broken no laws and satisfied the will of God, his father. He was also crucified because of the corrupt laws of man. Because of this great sacrifice, we are now asked to be subject to Christ. He paid for our sins and he wants us to come unto him.
Further in the chapter, we are advised of Spiritual death which is the complete separation, both physical and spiritual, from our Heavenly Father. We that if we make the wrong choices we will have "perfect knowledge of our guilt," but if we choose righteously we will "have a perfect knowledge of (our) enjoyment" in verse 14. I would rather remember the joys that I had through life rather than the things I would need to feel guilty about. I don't know about you, but I don't like that guilty feeling. This is because of the atonement as well.
I think the best part of this chapter is verse 18 where we are given our goal for this life, "But , behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed int he Holy one of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world,and despised the same of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be forever." This is a great goal for us with a promise from our loving God! We are old if we follow Christ as we endure the challenges of life, we will have eternal life with our Father in Heaven. Not only do they want us to have this gift, they have a place saved for us. That is even better than walking into a ward party and having a friend save seats for me and my family (which is a great feeling). They want us to succeed. They are waiting for us to come back. To put the icing on the cake, we will have eternal joy. What more could we ask for?
Christ came to this earth as a man. He suffered many things for us and was subject to all of the evils of the world. He knew joys and pain while he was here. He suffered and was crucified for us. All he is asking in return is that we follow His example. If we do so, he has a spot reserved for us where we will not feel pain and sorrow. He knew we wouldn't be perfect, but if we do our part by repenting and listening to and following  His counsel, he has already paid the price so that we can still claim that spot. Isn't that a wonderful promise?
Please, take the time to REALLY study 2 Nephi. It is an amazing chapter of scripture that spells out all we need to know about the Atonement.

Straiten Through Afflictions

I have been studying 1 Nephi 15 to 22 this week. I have learned some important lessons. The main one that I have learned is that we are given trials, struggles, and afflictions to make us stronger and to gain the blessings that the Lord has in store for us.
I started learning this lesson as I was reading chapter 17. In this chapter, Nephi is commanded to build a ship, and the Lord shows him how. His brothers mock him and call him a fool for thinking he can build a ship and cross the vast waters. They didn't believe that the Lord had commanded him to build a ship and was showing him how. He stood up to his brother and told them that if the Lord could bring the children of Isreal out of bondage, He can help him build a boat saying in verse 37  to 40, "And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked. And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes. He ruleth high in the heavens...And he loveth those who will have him to be their God..." He continues on to say that the Lord "did straiten them in the wilderness...because of their iniquity" in verse 41. I looked up straiten because I wanted to see why they would use this spelling of the word. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary online, straiten means to make narrow. According to dictionary.com, it means" to put into or bring into difficulties or distress." To me this means, he is telling us that the Lord was giving them difficulties and narrowing their options because they are not following the commandments.
Now, I am going to skip to chapter 20. This chapter is like Isaiah chapter 48. I want to concentrate on just a few verses: 10, 18, and 22. "For behold, I have refined, thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction...O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments - then had peace been as a river, and they righteousness as the waves of the sea...there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked." We are being told that the Lord is refining us with afflictions and if we follow the commandments we will have peace and a greater influence on others. Also, if we don't listen to Him, we will not have those blessings. Afflictions are not fun. Dictionary.com defines affliction as, "a state of pain, distress, or grief." We are not given peace automatically. We have to go through the "pain, distress, and grief" while obeying the Lord and following his plan for us. As we do this, he will bless us with peace.
In the Hymn book for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we are taught "Sweet is the peace the gospel brings to seeking minds and true," in Hymn 14. As I have been studying the scripture over the last few weeks, this hymn has brought more and more meaning into my life. It has calmed me when I am scared, it has helped me in my studies, and it has helped me be more patient with my family. I know that the Lord brings us to Him through our trials and obedience. I am so happy that I have the opportunity to truly study and learn from the Book of Mormon!