Week 13 - Getting Home Faster

Ether 6:5-6

5 And it came to pass that the Lord God cause that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.

6 And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.

Just as the Brother of Jared and all those who traveled with him experienced the furious winds and waves and tempests along their journey to the promised land, we will experience temptations and trials and sorrows along our journey back to heaven.

So many of us question why, when we are making righteous decisions and living our lives well, we must go through hard things. To understand why, we must first understand the purpose of these hardships. 

Think about the struggles that you've gotten through already. What did you gain from those experiences? Did you strengthen a relationship with someone close to you? Did you learn something about yourself? Did it force you to let go of something that you didn't realize was holding you back? Did it improve you or your life in some way?

If you didn't answer yes to one of those questions, then you might want to re-evaluate the trial that you went through. Struggles are there to make us stronger and to make us and our lives better after we've gotten through them.

Just like a boat gets to its destination faster when there are waves and wind to push it along, we are pushed closer to our Heavenly Father when we go through trials.

If everything in life were perfect, we would be less inclined to end up on our knees and plead for the things we need because we wouldn't really need anything. Having trials ensures that we will have times of weakness. During those times, we will turn to our Heavenly Father and confide in him to help us through it.

Our Savior will also be there for us when we need him. He personally has felt every sorrow, pain, and weakness that you have felt. He truly is the best person we can turn to when we need comfort. He loves you so much and will be there to share that love with you when you seek for it.

Though there may be other things that we may gain from hardship in this life, our biggest blessing will be our strengthened relationships with both out Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Your God, your Savior, and I love you. Look for the good in whatever you're going through. For "thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes" (D&C 121:7-8)

Paige

Week 12 - The Mouth of Two Witnesses

Mormon 7:8-9

8 Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you.

9 For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will also know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them.

There are so many debates about whether there needs to be a second book of scripture after the Bible. Why was another book of scripture needed?

Let's first refer back to the scripture above. This can be a little tricky so make it easier to understand, let's replace the word "this" with "the Book of Mormon" and the word "that" with "the Bible." This will hopefully help make this more clear.

When we understand the purpose of these records, we can understand that there doesn't have to be just one of them. After all "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Corinthians 13:1). For the same reason that we send missionaries out in pairs, God has given us another testament of his word.

The power of having more than one book increases the believe-ability of each of them. They support each other, they testify of each other, and they clarify each other. They are stronger together than they could ever be alone.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that the Book of Mormon is just as much scripture as the Bible is. We believe in them equally and support the teachings of both. We believe that both the Book of Mormon and the Bible have been brought forth by the power of God with the Bible testifying of Christ in the old world and the Book of Mormon testifying of him in the new world.

Having the Book of Mormon does not detract from the power of the Bible. In fact it does the opposite, it allows us to understand its teachings more clearly. Scripture is scripture, and what God has given to his people to help them through this life should be used to our greatest advantage.

But the only way to truly understand what I'm talking about is to read each book for yourself, and ask God, for he will surely answer those who seek his reply.

Week 11 - Leading Others to Christ

This thought doesn't come from any particular scripture, but it was something that I felt was important to share with you. The thought pertains to missionary work and how we go about doing it.

Missionary work is a great thing and can bring so many people the joy and happiness that can be obtained through the gospel of Jesus Christ, but how we get people to the gospel matters. I think my Book of Mormon professor, Brother Griffin, said it best when he said "the best missionaries are those who can lead people to the gospel, not push them to it."

So what's the difference in leading and pushing people to the gospel? It's a matter of what we allow them to do by themselves. When we push people there, we are telling them what to do every step of the way, expecting them to do it, and then giving them more to do. All of this happens even if they are not ready or willing to accept it and do it.

Leading on the other hand is when we show people how to get there. We are doing these things simultaneously with them. We are making sure that they are understanding what they're doing and why. Leading gives them the opportunity to make mistakes and then figure out how to fix it or what to do better next time without feeling like they've failed.

Bringing others to the gospel is like writing a paper. You're trying to persuade someone that what you're telling them is right. When you write a paper you don't just tell them that you're right, give them a few fact and then expect them to change their lives because of it. Persuasion takes time and effort. You explain ideas and lay the groundwork for their own ideas to form that will lead them to the desired end result.

Teaching the gospel  must happen in the same way. With time and encouragement and support, we must lay the groundwork and allow people to make up their minds on their own, they'll be more converted that way. We can't get frustrated when people aren't accepting it, they may not be ready yet, but let us anxiously await the day that they are ready and we can try again.

Lead by example, show people the way, and allow them to use their agency, that is the way to bring others unto Christ.

The Lord loves you and I love you too.
Paige

Week 10 - "How Be it My Church?"

3 Nephi 27:7-8

7 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.

8 And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses' name then it be Moses' church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

How be it Christ's church except it be called in His name? If He is the one who we are following, then why should that not be recognized?

When the Nephite people asked Christ what they should call His church, He told them to call it after my name. He wanted everyone to know that it was His church, and they could know that through its name.

Christ's name is a key part to knowing what the church believes, but Christ gives us one caveat to using His name, the church must be founded on his gospel. With so many Christian churches claiming His name, how can we know which churches, if any of them, are really following Christ's gospel?

The scriptures tell us that by their fruits ye shall know them. We know what Christ taught, and those who follow His teachings and His gospel will strive to be like Him. Through the fruits of the church, and please make sure you are understanding the real fruits of the church and not just what everyone tells you, you may know if is it of Christ.

Christ has done so much for us; so much that we will never be able to fully re-pay Him. But through the simple things that He asks of us, we may begin to make His sacrifice more meaningful. He has shown us so much love, and let us show Him love back and do what He asks of us.

Finding Christ's church may not be easy, but it will always be worth it.

The Lord loves you, I love you.
Have a great day!
Paige

Week 9 - At the Altar of Christ

3 Nephi 18:1

And it came to pass that Jesus commanded his disciples that they should bring forth some bread and wine unto him.

This verse comes after Jesus has been teaching the people for a while. The first thing to point out, is that Jesus is commanding them to go and get bread and wine. He doesn't just ask it or request it, but he commands it. Commandments aren't something that the Lord takes lightly, so this shows the importance of this act. Commandments also result in blessings if they are kept; this tells us that Christ wanted to bless the people he was with. But why did the Savior ask them to bring him bread and wine? He was a resurrected being, he didn't need it for himself. But this would result in blessings for the people, so Christ asked them to make a sacrifice. He could have created the bread and the wine and they would have been much better than anything anyone could have brought to him, but he wanted them to have to opportunity to sacrifice something  for him. This parallels our lives today so perfectly. There are so many things that Christ could just give us, and it would be perfect and would be beyond anything we could think of, yet he still asks us to sacrifice the things that we have for him. What we sometimes fail to understand is that he does not ask us to do these things to fill his needs, but to fill ours. What matters to him is that we are giving him something that means something to us. Whether it be money, time, talents, etc. there's nothing we can give him that he can't create a better version of himself, but when we give something that matters to us, at the altar of Christ our sacrifice is perfected.

The Lord loves you, I love you!
Paige

Week 8 - Looking Up for Answers

(Yes, there is not a week 7 post, it will come at the end of the semester due to a 3-day weekend and optional entry for that week or later.)

3 Nephi 11:3-5

"And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about for they understood not the voice which they heard...And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they understood it not. And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sounds came."

When the people heard the voice of the Lord, they did not understand what they were hearing, so they "cast their eyes round about." This implies a horizontal motion; the people were looking around at each other to try and understand what they were hearing. But the thing is is that there was only one person who could tell them what was happening, and he definitely was not among them physically at that moment. It was not until they looked "steadfastly towards heaven" that they could truly understand what they were experiencing. There are so many times in our lives when we will encounter things that we will not understand. We may look to each other to answer our questions, but those around us are just as confused as we are. Though we may not be able to answer these questions for ourselves doesn't mean that these questions must remain unanswered. We have a loving God who wants to communicate with us. Through pondering and praying we can connect with him and we can receive those answers that we are ready to receive. Our God will not leave us all alone. He wants to bless you with the answers that you need, and sometimes they may come in the form of human angels, but they are still a blessing from him. So ask, and it shall be given.

Paige

Week 6 - Turning You into Something Powerful

Helaman 13:2-4

And it came to pass that in this year there was one Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla, and began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and they did cast him out, and he was about to return to his own land. But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart. And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart.

Samuel the Lamanite was one of the greatest prophets. Christ himself commanded Nephi to make sure that the teachings of Samuel were recorded in the Book of Mormon, but we have no idea where he comes from. When new people are introduced in the Book of Mormon we are usually given at least who their father was and we can trace their line back a long ways. Samuel is different though. We don't get anything. He is introduced from out of the blue. As far as the world is concerned, Samuel the Lamanite is a nobody. A nobody who allowed the Lord to guide his life and was able to do amazing things because of it. Samuel listened to the Lord when he told him to return to the Nephites and to preach to them again. He didn't know how to do it or what to say, but he trusted in the Lord and let him tell him what to do and because of that, this nobody became something powerful. The teachings of Samuel rank with Isaiah. His doctrine is deep and meaningful and his prophecies are specific and powerful. This Lamanite had a strong testimony of the power of God and he acted on it repeatedly. I doubt that there are many if any of us who haven't felt as if we are a nobody, as if our purpose here doesn't matter, as if we don't matter. But we matter to our Heavenly Father. When people of the world may turn against you, your Heavenly Father is there for you. He loves you and is waiting for you to come to him. And when you do, he will bless you and will turn you into something more than you can imagine. 


God loves you and I love you!


Paige

Week 5 - Your Wandering Mind

This week's thought comes because of a comment that was made by my Book of Mormon professor in class. He began by asking which of us had ever caught ourselves zoning out while reading our scriptures or even while praying. We all laughingly admitted that we had. Then he told us something I had never even thought of before. He told us to pay attention to where your mind wanders off to. Most things that will interrupt something like that must be weighing on your mind pretty heavily. Don't only just recognize what you're thinking about, but bring your thought, concerns, joys, and sorrows to your prayers and your scripture studies and see if the Lord can't give your mind some insight to what you're thinking about. Since hearing this, I decided to try it and see what would happen. I can promise you that it's an experience that you won't forget. I found my mind wandering during my scripture study and when I brought it back to what I was reading, I was able to get new things out of the text that related specifically to what I was thinking about. I received promptings that I was waiting for that I hadn't yet received because I hadn't been looking for them in the right places, and all of this happened because I didn't treat my train of thought as a distraction from my reading, but something that could help me search for meaning in the scriptures. Now I can't promise that you'll have an amazing experience every time it happens, and I'm definitely not saying to let your mind roam wild and free, but when it does, you'll have the opportunity for a special experience. So don't be mad at yourself next time you catch your mind wandering, use it to your advantage.

Be happy and smile!
Paige

Week 4 - Having Faith

This weeks spiritual thought doesn't come directly from a scripture, but from something that my Book of Mormon teacher said in our lecture. He said, "faith is not to know that God can do something or may do something, but faith is to know that God WILL do something." This was so powerful to me. Lately I've been struggling a little bit with my decision to go on a mission and I've asked and asked for another confirmation that what I'm doing is the right thing for me to do with my life. As I read through my notes again to think about what I wanted to post today, I found this quote, and I know that if I do have the faith that I say I have then I need to believe that God will give me the strength to do this and that He will be there with me the whole time. I know it won't be easy and I know that it's not always going to be fun, but there will be things that make it worth it and people I meet that will change my life. For anyone reading this, trust me when I tell you that our Heavenly Father loves you. You are his child and he will never leave you out in the cold without his care. He will comfort you and stand with you and carry you through your toughest times and your happiest times. Know that he is there and that he will help you. Ask for his help and seek to find who and what he has already given you. The Lord loves you and I love you.

Paige

Week 3 - Choosing Happiness

Alma 50:21-23

"For it has been their quarrelings and their contentions, yea their murderings, and their plunderings, their idolatry, their whoredoms, and their abominations, which were among themselves, which brought upon them their wars and their destructions. And those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord were delivered at all times, whilst thousands of their wicked brethren have been consigned to bondage, or to perish by the sword, or to dwindle in unbelief, and mingle with the Lamanites. But behold there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni, yea, even at this time, in the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges."

The Nephites were in the midst of one of the bloodiest wars ever fought. Thousands had been killed; fathers, sons, husbands, and friends who weren't going to return home. If the past has taught us anything about war, it is that we are all excited when it is over and done with. Yet, in this passage we are told that even through all of that, there had never before been a happier time among the people of Nephi since Nephi was alive. So what could have brought them such happiness in such dark times? The gospel did. They were righteous and had incredible testimonies that gave them hope and joy. We may not all have testimonies such as theirs, but the act of coming closer to Christ and strengthening your testimony is enough to have that hope. They also had to choose to be happy. If they had given into the overall feelings of war, they would not have been a joyful people, but when they sought out the good and searched for the joy, then they found the happiness. If we do the same, we will also find that joy. We are all fighting our own wars and if we give in to the battles then we may lose our happiness as well. But by choosing to be happy, that's surely what we will receive.

Paige

Week 2 - Coming Unto Christ

Alma 36:17-20
"...I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world. Now, as my mind caught hold upon this though, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death. And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pain no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!"

As human beings, none of us are, or can be perfect in this mortal life. We will make mistakes and we will do things that we wish we hadn't. There is no way around that. But there is a way to fix it once it has happened. That way is Christ. He has given his life for the benefit and eternal happiness of ours. He loves you more than you could ever know. He has felt every pain, sorrow, and heart ache that you have. He is the only one that truly knows what you're going through. Through Him we can make our own redemption, but that's just it, we have to make it happen. We must use the atonement to save ourselves. Christ has done his part, now do yours. Repentance is the only way to become perfect. And no matter what you have done, it is possible to "get rid of it" in the sense that God will remember it no more. You cannot come unto Christ cleanly, you must lay your sins at his feet and let him take them from you. Only then can you be clean.

Wishing you a happy day!
Paige

Week 1 - Reaping the Fruits

Alma 32:42-43
"And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst. Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you."

With the recent announcement of the age change at which young men and women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints can serve a mission, I have decided to become a missionary. This will entail a lot of hard work, but I'm ready and willing and excited for it. This work may be frustrating at times, but there will be blessings that come with it as well. As laid out by Alma, any of us that are working on hard tasks have a way of gaining the blessings that come. We must be diligent in our faith and nourish, or study, the words of our Lord's gospel. When we dive into the words of Christ, we will receive the fruits of it. They may not come right away, and they most likely won't come all at once, but we are promised that as we plant those seeds of diligence, faith, patience, and long-suffering, that the tree that grows will provide us with its fruits. And these aren't just any fruits; these are the purest, sweetest, and most precious fruits of all. Christ's gospel gives us access to the best that can be offered to us, and there is no other way than by Him and through Him to receive it. Study, learn, feast on His words and the blessings will surely follow.

Wishing you all a happy day!
Paige