MISSIONARY WORK!

Alma 14:10
"And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames."

Mr. Griffin pointed out Amulek's family may have very well been in that fire.

I can imagine how much faith that man must have had, to watch his family dying? He has the prophet next to him who tells him that he shouldn't do anything about it, and he does as the prophet says?

This shows a couple of things to me. One, having faith in our prophet. Recently in General Conference, I felt that one of the overlying themes was to follow the prophet and to have faith in the fact that he is our prophet and he does communicate with God. It was beautiful, really. All the apostles speaking of their love for President Monson, and admonishing the saints to follow him. I've never really thought about how much faith it could take to follow a prophet, especially when times are tough or when what he says "doesn't make sense." It gave me a wish to follow what he says, and to have faith in him.

Not only that; I thought of the fact that we also have to have faith in our Father's plan for us. Recently I feel like I have made a lot of decisions that seem totally crazy--especially to the world. I am currently waiting for a mission call. But I've learned that I need to trust in my Father in Heaven and do as He would want me to do, because he does know best. I am so grateful for the knowledge that he does love me! Personally! And He knows me! Personally!

Amulek shares all of this with his enemies! Because it is so true and so beautiful! Reading about him has given me courage to share what is close to my heart, even if it may be rejected. And I have never been so excited to do so in my life! I get to share The Book of Mormon somewhere in the world!

What Kind of Leader am... I?

When one starts college, they feel lost in the crowd. At least I did. I went to a school where the entire high school and junior high didn't consist of more than 240 people. There were about 40 people in my entire senior class, and I knew every one of them fairly well. We were close friends. Even coming from a school in Utah where gospel was taught and expounded upon, switching to BYU was a MAJOR shock. I felt utterly overwhelmed as I watched hundreds... thousands of students passed that I had never spoken to. Most I would never be able to learn their name or understand their story or hear about any of their life events. That was weird to me.

In this section of reading, I found myself looking to Alma as a leader. Alma the younger who had led away so many of the people and fought so diligently against the church. Yet he repented and he became an incredible leader--both in the government and in the church. He was instrumental in bringing thousands to the church. He had so much opposition and went through so many trials, yet he pressed forward and worked so hard to bring forth the work of the Lord.

Alma 2:30 says, "And it came to pass that Alma, being a man of God, being exercised with much faith, cried, saying: O Lord, have mercy and spare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people." He put himself at the forefront of battle, and was ready to do anything to help his people and do the Lord's will. He cries this prayer as he is "contending mightily" with the Lamanites "face to face", and "he was strengthened insomuch that he slew Amlici with the sword." (Compare that to Noah!)

I admire Alma's courage, and I hope that someday I will be able to face my battles with that same courage and faith in the Lord. Alma was able to protect and help thousands. I can see him going around to all the students on campus and helping them through their own challenges and sacrificing for them. I can see him being a mighty leader. I see people on campus that are like that, already. I see missionaries doing this as well, and it's incredible to me watching these leaders. I aspire to be like them.

Temper Tantrum

I can envision my sweet, little four year old sister screaming in innocent frustration, "NO. NO! I WILL NEVER BE HAPPY AGAIN! I AM SO MAD AT YOU!" She stamps her foot and frowns in such a way that makes her look like a fish. Her messy pigtails bounce as she runs out of the kitchen and after a couple seconds of loud, quick stomping down the hall, we hear her slam the door to her room.

What happened to spur such a tantrum?
She was told she couldn't have more cake. :) (In her defense, she was exhausted and didn't have a nap that day.)

The funny thing about all of my younger siblings, even my sixteen year-old brother, is that they almost immediately forget when they become extremely mad. I remember a couple of times when my younger brother and I would get into a giant argument and we would both storm off red in the face. Usually when I was still fuming, he would come in to my room and start telling me about his day as if nothing had ever happened. To be completely honest, it would drive me insane. Not wanting to break the sudden peace that had come between us, I would do my best to pretend that I was completely over whatever we were arguing about and listen and ask questions about things he mentioned about his day. Other times I was even more immature and would make him leave my room.

In Mosiah 10 it says, "Believing that... they were wronged... they have taught their children that they should hate them, and that they should murder them, and that they should rob and plunder them, and do all they could to destroy them; therefore they have an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi."

As Brother Griffith pointed out in class, did they really have reason to hate the Nephites so much? Did they have reason to be so extreme in their teachings?

Um. NO. Any one of the Lamanites could look at this and go, "Geez man. It's been 400 years and this land is actually pretty great. It's very fruitful. I'm content. None of that actually affected my daily life. I can still have a family and learn. I don't know what the deal is."

But how often do people hold grudges for stupid things? All of this shows two distinct things to me.

One: it is so, SO hard to go against false traditions. For 400 years, the hatred of the Lamanites grew and everything was blown out of proportion. What I teach my children is extremely important.

Two: Forgiveness is necessary. Because the Lamanites were so engulfed in how they had been wronged they weren't happy. From what I read it seems like revenge became their purpose in life. If someone is so stuck in the zone of getting revenge, it would almost be necessary to get slaves to fulfill everyday needs. :)

"By their fruits, ye shall know them." Nephi didn't complain and teach his children to destroy the Lamanites. It was the other way around. The Nephites didn't demand contention with the Lamanites. It was the other way around.

In my everyday life, this showed me that I needed to realize that my arguments with my brother just don't matter. What I think is important in that rush of anger is not really what is important. What is important is my relationship with him. I need to forgive and let go because, frankly, I don't want to live in a temper tantrum.

Learning

Jacob 7:4 

And he was learned, that he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil.

This scripture is talking about Sherem. Sherem was an anti-Christ. But he was not stupid.

I feel like the prophets have told us to basic/overlying things about education. One: get as much as possible. It will rise with us in the second coming, and is extremely important. Two: don't get a big head about it.

The prophets have mentioned about how often men learn so much that they forget Who created them because, hey. They have the answers to the questions. They're smart. They've dedicated their life to being right. They already know the answers. They don't need a God. Believing in a God is pathetic. Listen to them! Don't pay attention to the religious elderly. They just aren't smart. (*creepy voice of the snake from "The Jungle Book") Trust in... me...

...Really?

I feel that one of the worst temptations in the world today is to depend on the knowledge of men. Yes, we have come a long, long, way. Science is AMAZING. Math is one of my favorite things in the world. What we can learn is overwhelming, but exciting. I've read through a couple of philosophers' writings. They are simply incredible. But we know nothing. Think about it--there is SO much out there. But we know nothing.

Isn't it interesting that the power of the devil is flattery? The adversary is a master of rhetoric. He is not stupid. He knows how to convince men that they know more than they actually do.

This is why the devil uses Sherem, a master of words to turn the people away from their God. It also makes you wonder how the adversary convinced Sherem that he was better than the prophets and even his God.

Humility is one of the hardest attributes for me. It is so hard to be humble and understand that, really, I am no more than the dust of the earth. It's hard to do well in something and then remember to kneel down and thank my Heavenly Father for that ability. I get distracted in what I accomplished and find myself praising the knowledge of men instead of remembering to praise God. It's not that I think I'm better than God, but I feel like I forget that I need to turn to Him for all things, including thanking Him for my accomplishments. I know I would nowhere without Him. (2 Nephi 32:9)

Writing Styles of Ancient Times!

In Book of Mormon, I felt like we did a lot more academic studying than we usually do. A lot of it had to do with learning the history and the culture of that time. It was utterly fascinating. We talked about how Isaiah prophesied of Assyria's domination even though it was coming 150 years later. We also talked about how Isaiah tended to prophesy for three separate time periods: his, Christ's, and our time. Such as in 2 Nephi 11:2. This has happened in every one of these different times.

Mr. Griffith also talked about how Isaiah was a poet, and therefore had a lot of culturally beautiful aspects to his writings. He pointed out to us how in Hebrew, much of Isaiah's phrases and words were not only repeated three times (as was very poetic in that time) but they looked extremely similar to each other.

Different cultures have always fascinated me. I love studying what everyone's different beliefs are and why. I also love observing how that affected what we do in our day to day lives. It's incredible that we can also see this in the scriptures! It shows that Isaiah was reaching to his people on a very personal level. The fact that he knew of our time and was prophesying for us as well just makes it all the more special.

Also, being able to dive in such a way into the scriptures makes these prophets and their people feel more real to me. I can see that they were real people with struggles just like the people in our time. And that is why Isaiah can prophesy the way he does! Times through history are similar, and just as they needed to study Isaiah's words, we need to study his words and heed them. 3 Nephi 23:1-3 isn't just for Nephi's time or just our time, it is for all times.

I Stand All Amazed

I cannot express to you how I feel about this gospel. Words cannot describe. It's funny, because often times I feel like I almost can't share what I feel and learn about the Gospel because the things I learn feel so sacred and personal to me, but I also feel this deep desire to share and help everyone feel the way I feel. I want to show how important it is and how wonderful and how comforting, but it's hard to open up. Does anybody else feel like that?

I have started to understand how Jacob feels when he proclaims in 2 Nephi 9, "O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! ...O how great the goodness of our God... O how great the plan of our God! ...O the greatness and the justice of our God! ...O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! ... O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it."

In Book of Mormon we have been going down the path of the Plan of Salvation. This week, we went extremely deep into the Atonement of the Savior. We talked about how because of Jesus Christ we can become like our Father in Heaven. We also talked about how he experienced all of our pains, sins, and the wrath of God. I can see our Savior in my mind's eye walking beside us and gently reminding us that he understands and asking us to let him be the one to carry the burden because he already has. I can see him helping us to stand a little straighter and gently taking our hands.

I never thought about the fact that our Brother and Savior also had to experience the wrath of God. I can only imagine how that must have been for our Father, the same Father that wept as He had to destroy His children. It helps me to understand how much our Heavenly Father loves us. It makes Him feel closer.

This is another point when I feel wholly inadequate to show what this means!
Oh, how great the plan of our God! Oh how great His love for His children!

Thermometer or Thermostat?

1 Nephi 10:1

"For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord..."

In my Book of Mormon class, we talked about the difference between acting and being acted upon. In this verse, we have Nephi asking the Lord to understand what his father knew. In class we talked about how he sat down and pondered, and sought to understand, and believed that the Lord would make those things known unto him. He made a physical effort to understand, and had faith that, through the Lord, he would understand.

Laman and Lemuel didn't. They just kinda expected the answers to come to them or not. At least from what we understand, they made NO effort to understand what their father was talking about, and resented their father.

It really made me consider--do I act, or am I acted upon? There are so many questions at this time of life that I do pray about, but do I really search and ponder in my desperate need for answers? What's funny is when a friend started bringing this up as well. I started evaluating different situations I have been in, and in what ways I could have looked at it in a better light and realized what I could have changed instead of what I wished would change. I realized that I simply could not be content just allowing things to happen around me.

Also, it has ALWAYS astounded me how sensitive Nephi is to the spirit. He knows that it feels like, and he knows that to do when he hears it! He doesn't sit there doubting whether he felt it or not, he acts on it with 100% faith! It stuns me. I realized that in my quest to learn how to feel the Spirit more keenly, I needed to act instead of assuming that such a gift will just come to me. I need to be firm in what I believe.

The Extra Details

Nephi 7

9 And it came to pass that they rejoiced exceedingly, and did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord; and they gave thanks unto the God of Israel.

10 And after they had given thanks unto the God of Israel, my father, Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, and he did search them from the beginning.

First off, how blessed we are to have such easy access to the scriptures. We don’t have to take two weeks to go get our scriptures to study the word of God. The word of God fits in our pockets on our devices. We have constant access to what our modern prophet is telling us today, and we have the technology to see the apostles and prophets live when they speak to us. Also, this showed how much Lehi valued knowing their heritage.

However… consider this—where, in this chapter, did Nephi talk about what he went through to get those plates? This is something that I had never considered before. His brothers an extreme detriment to their cause, and they beat him with and Sam with sticks. What is the story behind that? There aren’t minute details in the Book of Mormon.  What were they probably saying the entire way there? What were they yelling at him? I wonder how many times they threatened him. We don’t know. But we know it must have happened.

Not only that, but we don’t know how Nephi told his dad that he had to kill Laban to get the plates. Nor do we know how Lehi must have responded. What a conversation that must have been. As Mr. Griffin showed in class:

“Hey… dad? I need to talk to you.”

“Sure son! What’s on your mind?”

“Well. Dad... You see. To get those plates?”

“…yes?”

“Dad… I was commanded to kill Laban. This… this is his sword.”

“You…” *Long silence as they both look at the plates.* “What… why is God asking us to do this?”

“I don’t know, Dad.”

That’s the other thing—Nephi was commanded to write these smaller plates. He didn’t know why, he just knew that he was supposed to. Sometimes we are asked to do things, and we just don’t know why. It’s a very funny thing, learning to put all of your trust in your Father in Heaven. Somehow we can learn to do it though. Nephi learned how to get personal revelation, and act on what he knew he was commanded to do. There is a quote by Julie B. Beck: "The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life." This is a difficult ability to acquire! But isn't it incredible that we can get revelation from our Father in Heaven that knows all things? We can trust Him, and we will be an instrument in his hands.

Hello World!

Because my blog is viewed by everyone around the world. *winkwinknodnod.

BUT! Regardless. Listen. For those of you who don't know me personally...

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Otherwise known as the LDS church, or the Mormons. Coming to a theater near you... "Meet the Mormons"!! 

Yes. That is me.

As a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I read and study what we call the Book of Mormon. I am actually taking a class on it at my college! It. Is. Wonderful. If you ever get the chance to combine faith and school, DO IT.

We also believe in the Bible, as long as it is translated correctly. We believe that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, another testament of Christ, through the power of God. It is the record of those that lived in the Americas in ancient times. We also believe that he restored the true gospel of Christ to the earth.

We also believe in a loving Heavenly Father that created us, and sent us down here so that we could learn to be like Him. We also believe in the gift of agency--the gift to be able to choose between right and wrong.

That basically is a quick rehash. If you happen to cross my blog, and want to learn more, I will answer any questions to the best of my ability. Leave them in the comments! (Because, again, we know the whole world looks at this blog. ;) Ha. Haha.

But also, if you are curious,  www.lds.org is an AMAZING resource.

Looking for Something

From my Book of Mormon class:

*(Sorry. Much of this is the basics this week. I'll probably step into deeper things later, but this made an impact on me. So I'm going to write about it.)

What is your distraction? Why is it distracting you? ...If it's on your mind... why on earth aren't you looking for an answer for it? Why is it your distraction instead of your purpose?

This, (though maybe it shouldn't be this way) was quite the revelation for me. Whenever I read scriptures, I'm always thinking to put away things of the world and my own selfish thoughts and concerns and think of the eternal and everything gospel. I want to just focus on studying. You know what? It's hard to do that when scripture study is one of the few times you get to slow down and think. Telling myself not to think about my concerns at that very moment while studying my scriptures is like asking me to think... but telling me don't you dare think young lady. At the same time. ... Does that make sense?

Look for what you are thinking about... this brings "liken the scriptures to yourself" to a whole different (not new) level. It's funny--I feel like I have been told this concept before. I always thought that it meant to "modernize" the scriptures in a way where you can gain strength from them in your life. Like if you are faced with temptation. "Get thee hence Satan!" Such as when you are filled with despair because you feel like you are failing (2 Nephi 4 is my all time favorite chapter at the moment). Why not look on the page of scripture that you are reading right then. I ask questions and seek for answers, but I always formalize it. ... Must it be formalized? Why must I have a mystery that I've been trying to solve for a long while? Why must I separate my friend trouble from what I am reading? Why must I separate my feelings from my questions? Why must I separate how guilty and pathetic I feel? Why must I separate what I think are stupid questions and feelings from my scriptures? Why have I been doing that my whole life? 

It makes me feel quite behind many of my peers... but... that helps me. NOW. HERE.

Also the phrase "It came to pass." Coming from a Book of Mormon culture, I feel like I used this as one phrase that meant only one thing. But, in class, it was pointed out to me. IT came to pass. It CAME to pass. It came TO pass. It came to PASS. Everything that we experience came to pass. Not that it just happened, we experienced it and then it passed. We experienced it so it would pass. All the struggles we face? It came TO pass. And it does PASS.

And-- ...I can't wait until we get to meet Nephi. Let's be honest. :)

Two Years' Change

Life is strange. You don't have to live very long before you realize this.

Think about it--two years ago, could you imagine where you were going to be this year? Could you possibly imagine what experiences you were going to have? How different you would look? Could you imagine the people you were going to meet? Could you imagine what songs you would decide you would love? Could you see what friends you were going to make? Did you know which friends you would lose? Keep? Could you imagine the feelings you were going to feel? Despair, happiness, loneliness, excitement, anxiety, love, confusion, pain, joy, humor? Could you envision the scenes where you would laugh so hard that your stomach would ache for days? Did you imagine what people you would like? Did you know what mistakes you would make? Did you know what you would regret the most? Did you realize what would embarrass you the most? Could you imagine how your personality would change? Did you imagine what experiences your friends would have? Could you imagine what you would be involved with? Could you imagine what you would learn? What you would have to unlearn and start over? Could you imagine the conversations you would have? Did you image the relationships you would and would not develop? Could you imagine what your friends would go through? Did you see what you would be proud of yourself for doing? Did you understand that you would feel younger now than you did two years ago, but more mature? Could you... Did you... Could you... Did you....? Where did you think you were going to be? Where are you now?

Maybe it is just me. I am at that stage of life. But... I swear...

Life will be the death of me.

That's the other funny thing; life always ends in death. Everything has an end. Or does it?

All that change you have experienced in the last two years, will it ever leave?

Can you imagine two years from now?

Two years is a long time, yet a very short time. How... how... How did so much change around me? How did I change so much?

...Why does so much change? But you almost have to encourage the change by continuing the hike and walking forward through the valleys and to the tops of mountains. But! I think I'm getting stronger. I think everyone is.

I can't help but know that there is Someone at the head of this journey, and I trust my Father in Heaven. I can see his hand in my life from what I have learned and experienced. I know he is there. I... just don't know the overall result yet. And that's okay. I'm going to keep hiking, even if my feet ache and bleed and I feel exhausted. Everything will turn out.