Scripture Chain from Stake Conference

Elder Paul Johnson came to our Stake Conference, and he shared the following scripture chain, which helped us to see how we want to use our agency to choose God.

 

Moses 4:3

3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

 

2 Nephi 2:27

27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are giventhem which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

DC 29:40

40 Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation.

2 Nephi 26:22

22 And there are also secret combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness; yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever.

2 Nephi 28:20-22

20 For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well -- and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell;and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none -- and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

3 Nephi 7:5

5 Now all this was done, and there were no wars as yet among them; and all this iniquity had come upon the people because they did yield themselves unto the power of Satan.

3 Nephi 6:15

15 Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this -- Satan had greatpower, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world.

3 Nephi 6:17

17 And thus, in the commencement of the thirtieth year -- the people having been delivered up for the space of a long time to be carried about by thetemptations of the devil whithersoever he desired to carry them, and to do whatsoever iniquity he desired they should -- and thus in the commencement of this, the thirtieth year, they were in a state of awful wickedness.

Alma 7:15

15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.

Mosiah 5:7-8

7 And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changedthrough faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.

8 And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.

2 Nephi 9:6-7

6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they werecut off from the presence of the Lord.

7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement -- save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs haveremained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

The Spirit Will Not Fail Us

I'm reading Alma 4 this morning--when many of the church members started becoming wealthy and proud--and began persecuting the humble followers of Christ.

Alma, who had been the one to baptize them and bring the gospel into their lives, was watching the suffering of the people he loved (and the wickedness of others whom he also loved, I'm sure), and he "began to be very sorrowful."

But then there's this beautiful sentence that I don't think I've ever particularly noticed before:

"Nevertheless, the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him."

Could this not be applied to every single challenging time I've ever had in my life?

• I went through some very difficult experiences in college (won't go into detail), but the Spirit of the Lord did not fail me.
• I had no idea if I would EVER love motherhood, and I felt incredibly discouraged as a new mom, but the Spirit of the Lord did not fail me.
• I had several surgeries last year, and hundreds of hours of pain over the past ten years, but the Spirit of the Lord did not fail me.
• I have beautiful opportunities to teach and serve, but I am struggling to find balance in a life where everyone seems to need me all at once, but the Spirit of the Lord WILL not fail me.

There has never been one time in my entire life when I have struggled or needed knowledge and the Spirit has not been there to help me.  Those experiences, though difficult, really were opportunities for me to "exercise" my faith.

Life is a series of exercises in faith.  We practice.  We struggle.  We learn to turn to God.  We cry to Him mightily.  We humble ourselves and let Him know that we know nothing, and then we invite Him to pour His Spirit out in abundance upon our lives. 

As I type these things, I feel such a beautiful outpouring of Love.  I feel His peace.  I learn to recognize the presence of the Comforter.  I have no doubt whatsoever that there is a God, that He has all power, and that He chooses to use that power on my behalf--in spite of my weaknesses and lack of faith sometimes.

What a beautiful, beautiful gift.  I am very grateful today for the Love of God

Inspiring Thoughts LEAPING from the Page

Yesterday I was physically having a challenging day.  I was exhausted and tense, and just needed some time to take a rest. 

I still like to open my scriptures first thing in the morning and read what the Lord wants to say to me, so I initially picked up my new, small set of scriptures and planned to read some chapters in preparation for our scripture group next month. 

However, I saw my larger set of scriptures sitting on the table, as well, which contains many markings I made a few years ago when I went through the scriptures looking for passages that "leaped" out at me.

That's an interesting and beautiful process . . . to open the scriptures and read a verse, a phrase, or a word that strikes your core and fills you with the Lord's Spirit--like it was written long ago just for you. 

The first scripture I read was 1 Nephi 4:6  about being "led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."

That's my life right now.  I pray for guidance each morning (and throughout the day), my husband and I gather in prayer, Saren and I pray before our phone calls, and we all ask the Spirit to help us with our work.  Then the Lord leads us to the places we need to be.  He introduces us to those who will teach us.  He strengthens us and helps to shape us for what lies ahead--even though we can't see past June.  I love that.

I then read a series of phrases throughout the scriptures: "be diligent," others will "take courage at [the] words" we speak, we will receive "much strength of the Lord," our "joy [can be] full," He will give us the "power whereby [we can] accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded," we "shall not occupy [our website] with things which are not of worth unto" the mothers of the earth," "the Lord is able to do all things," "press forward," receive of "the multitude of His tender mercies," "follow Him," she "that diligently seeketh shall find," humble myself, "by small means the Lord can bring about great things."

As I read all the highlighted verses throughout several pages of scripture, I felt like the Lord was rejuvenating my desire to serve Him with all my heart.

Then this morning, I was studying Alma 1-4, and more beautiful scriptures strengthened my resolve to make today wonderful:

• I am an instrument in the hands of God, and His instruments are not overworked and frazzled.  He cares for them, polishes them, lets them rest, and allows them to work according to their strength.  Why did I never realize that before?   It's great to have "a cause" and proper motivations to work, but there aren't any "proper motivations" to run ourselves ragged.  That course is simply not in the program.  And if I DO have more to accomplish than time to do it, then I have to count on the Lord to magnify my efforts.  I love Him.
• Alma 1:29 taught me that as I am steady, I will receive an abundance. As I work diligently and listen to God, He will help me to receive all the blessings I need, and I must use that abundance to share liberally with others.  
• Alma 2:1 taught me that people need an "order" to follow.  Some people receive that kind of order from church.  Others like to follow celebrity fan clubs or sports teams.  Whatever it is, people enjoy having an "order," a group, or a leader with which to align themselves.  That's what we're trying to do with The Power of Moms--create an order of deliberate mothers who can be a "team" or a community with which others may be aligned.  

I know that each of us have great things that are required of us.  The Lord wants us to thrive.  He wants us to feel His power in our lives every day.  I am incredibly grateful for Him, and I will do all I can to be worthy of His great love and mercy.

Advancement vs. Contentment

Today I'm studying the word "content."  Sometimes my husband thinks I'm too content.  I'm pretty much happy on any budget.  I rarely want to buy new clothes--or new make-up--or fancy products of any kind (even if money isn't an issue).  I'm fine if everything isn't "just how I imagined it."  I'm even okay eating pizza for Thanksgiving dinner.

My husband is a very content person, too, but he also has this incredible drive to make life better--not just for us, but for everyone.  

My question for today is, "Are advancement and contentment opposites?"  After I've done some thinking and reading, I don't think they are.  In Alma 29:3-7, there are some very powerful principles. 

Alma is wishing that he were an angel, so he could "go forth and speak with the trump of God."  Then he says, "I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me."  I can only imagine he's talking about his mortal body, his role on earth, and his specific mission in life.  I'm sure there are many more layers to that statement, though (I'd love to study those more).

That got me thinking, "What has the Lord allotted to ME?"  I have a healthy body.  I have a family.  I have the knowledge of the gospel.  I have certain talents and skills that are being developed.  I have potential to serve in many capacities. 

But being content with the fact that I wasn't given other blessings or attributes (that I would like to have) doesn't mean that I can't keep striving for more.

Verse 4 says, "I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life. "  He lets us choose what we really want to do/be in life.  I love that.

It also says, "I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction."  Okay, this one takes a little more dissecting to figure out.  The best I can see is that we have agency to choose how we spend our time, and as we "advance," we choose salvation or destruction.  We can't have a will that's contrary to God, make choices based on that misguided will, and then expect salvation.  Our desires lead to the results we're going to achieve.

Verse 5 teaches that good and evil come before all of us.  If we make choices--with our eyes wide open--we, in essence, choose our rewards.  Joy or remorse. 

I want to be content with all that I have.  I don't want to waste one minute thinking, "If only I had more ___________."  I also want to bring my will in harmony with the Lord's.  I want to desire His glory, and I want to serve His children with everything I have.  And as I do that, I am choosing Him--which is equal to joy, salvation, and goodness. 

So how do I do this?  Each day, I ask Him how I can better serve Him.  I behave as a disciple of Christ needs to behave.  I keep my life pure.  I spread His love.  I keep my temper.  I stop doubting. (I'm writing these as thought I already do them, but I'm still working.)  I love Him.

Patience

Tonight I'm recording a podcast about patience, so I thought I would focus my scripture study on that this morning.  Here's what I'm learning:

(1) "He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding" Proverbs 14:29.  As soon as I read that, I thought, "Well, isn't that the truth?"  Whenever I've been quick to get upset, it's usually because I didn't understand the reason the person was behaving in a particular way. 

One time I got really upset with Grace for shutting Ethan in the closet (she was 3 and he was 2).  After I finally calmed down, I talked with them and learned that Ethan had shut himself in the closet, and Grace was trying to help him out.  I felt terrible.

When I was in elementary school, I would often come home upset about what someone said or did to me in the playground.  My mom was very wise, and she would always sit me down and ask me to look at it from the other person's perspective.  "Maybe they're not getting enough love at home.  Or maybe they had a bad day or they're not feeling good about themselves.  When someone treats you unkindly, that's there SDB (self-defeating behavior)."

I grew up hearing "SDB" all the time.  We seriously had the above conversation at least 50 times, and what's happened is that now I use that same technique as a mother.  My child is being disrespectful?  Well, what's going on?  Is he/she tired? Feeling unloved? Feeling frustrated about something?  I've learned to look beyond the action and "consider the source."

(2) Patience is really about self-mastery.  The Topical Guide has a whole series of scriptures about this.  The one that stuck out to me was Proverbs 25:28 (loving those Proverbs today!) which talks about having "rule over [our] own spirit."

When we are patient with ourselves, with others, and with the Lord, we are showing that we have mastery over ourselves.   It's the exact same principle that applies to dieting or financial budgeting.  Can I control myself?

(3) Patience means we turn our lives over to God.  Matthew 16:24 tells us that we need to say, "not as I will, but as thou wilt."  I want to have a clean and tidy house with no runs in the carpet or chips in the paint.  I don't like crumbs on the kitchen floor or portions of cookies in our gallon of milk (because one child thought it would be fun to "dip" into the tiny little hole at the top and dropped the cookie and then couldn't get it out again).  However, God wants me to raise children and love them, and so I will put my dreams of a spotless house aside for now and focus on HIS will for my life.  I have to learn to get rid of all the selfishness that's naturally inside me.

(4) Patience requires faith.  Doctrine and Covenants 76:53 uses the phrase, "overcome by faith."  When I want to have more patience in my life, I simply increase my faith.  When my toddler screamed every three minutes and destroyed everything in his path, I had to say, "Heavenly Father, I know that all things can be overcome.  I know I will get through this time.  Please help me know how to teach my son and how to be patient with him."