Christlike Attributes: Hope

Hope is the base attribute for other Christlike attributes. Both Alma and Moroni have said have said that  hope is when you don't need to see something in order to believe that it exists (Alma 32:21, Ether 12:6). In order to have faith in Christ and in Heavenly Father, you first have to hope that they live and are divine. That is the planting of the seed that Alma discusses in that same chapter.

 Moroni says that hope precedes faith. It is important to "have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal" (Moroni 7:41). Jacob discusses that we need to seek for Christ first, and when we exercise that hope, then we will be blessed with the things that we need (Jacob 2:18-19). 

It is easy to discuss hope here, outside of a situation. But exercising it during life, when things get tough it can be hard to hold on to it. Mormon gave Moroni some excellent advice for when despair might come. He said "may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing of his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever" (Moroni 9:25).
For the Anti-Lehi-Nephis, or the people of Ammon, hope was essential to how they lived their lives. They clung to their hope so much that they were willing to die for it.
"They never did look upon death with any degree of terror, for their hope and views of Christ and the resurrection; therefore, death was swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it" (Alma 27:28).
Hope helped this people hold strong to the oath that they made, as well as not fear the trials that were going to come their way. This came about because they had a hope in eternal salvation for keeping their oath. This is a lesson that we can apply to ourselves. We have made covenants to follow the gospel, and to be examples of Christ. If we hold tight to our hope that Christ lives, and act upon it, then we should not fear what trial and persecution that will come our way because Christ has had victory over it.
Nephi discusses of how this can be done. He sad, "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" (2 Nephi 31:20).
Scriptures for further study:
Why to have hope: Jacob 4:4, Alma 5:10(6-10), Alma 7:24, Alma 13:29, Alma 22:14, Alma 25:16, Alma 34:14, Alma 58:11, Ether 12:4, Moroni 8:14, Moroni 10:22-21

Christlike Attributes: Meekness

When it comes to talking about being meek, a lot of people think a synonym is weak. However that isn't the case. A person that is often thought of being the most meek is Moses. I don't know about you, but I definitely don't think of Moses being weak. 

Meekness is similar to humility, in the fact that you put others before yourself. Really, it is putting the wants and needs of what the Lord needs you to do ahead of your wants and needs. It takes recognizing that the Lord knows you better than you, and so his plan is better than yours. 

Christ displayed this by following the Lord's plan, even when it got hard. He said "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). He went through with the most difficult thing a person will ever pass through with strength and grace. That is perfect example of meekness.

Moroni 8:25-26 states that the way to gain meekness starts with forgiven of our sins. This means full and complete repentance. The reason why this is so important to developing meekness is it shows that we recognize that we did something wrong, and that we are willing to return to the path that Heavenly Father has in store for us. Just like repentance, meekness doesn't happen all at once. It takes time, effort and swallowing your pride in order for it to develop. It also says that after we have repented, continue in prayer and meaningful communication with the Lord. It isn't a one time thing, that once you get it, you have it forever. Like all good things, it takes continual work and effort to maintain and continue in meekness.

This verse also discusses a major blessing that comes from being meek is the Holy Ghost will come and fill you with love and hope. Having the Holy Ghost as a companion, helping you to receive these two attributes, will be a great blessing in life. 

When trials come, and they will definitely come, meekness will be a key in helping you to pass through them. Not only will you have the blessing of the Holy Ghost guiding you, you will be able to more perfectly exercise your faith and hope in Christ (Moroni 7:43-44). This will help you to be able to have the strength to take the hard load, as well as to see what you need to learn from the trial to become better. 

Something that is mentioned a lot in the Book of Mormon is "the meek will be reproved with equity" (2 Nephi 21:4). I was confused by this statement so I tried to look up reproved and equity in the bible dictionary but I couldn't find them. However in the topical guide, they had other things to search for, that helped me to understand what this means. Essentially, the statement means that the meek will be judged righteously by Christ at the judgement bar. If we are meekly seeking for him, we will be eligible for the power of the Atonement, and Christ will extend his mercy towards us (Ether 12:26).

Scriptures to Study:

Blessings in being Meek: 2 Nephi 21:4, 27:29-30, Alma 13:28-29, 3 Nephi 12:5, Ether 12:26, 

What will happen if you aren't meek: 2 Nephi 9:30, Mosiah 3:19, Helaman 6:39-40, Moroni 7:43-44

Christlike Atributes: Humility

This semester I am taking a Book of Mormon class and in this class we spend all semester on a Book of Mormon project. This project is to specify study so that we better understand the Book of Mormon. 

My favorite way to study the Book of Mormon is by topic. So I decided to use this opportunity to better understand the attributes of Christ. The Book of Mormon testifies of Christ. We are to try to become like Christ in this life. Seemed like a perfect combination.

The first attribute that I studied was Humility.

2 Nephi 31:7 says: "Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy,  he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnessesth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments."

Christ is the Only Begotten. This entitled him to power. He is holy, as Nephi said. However, he still humbled himself and submitted to the Father. What does that say for us?

We are children of our Heavenly Father. We have been given power through the Holy Ghost and Priesthood power. In order to have the "power of the Lord with [us]" we need to "humble [ourselves] before the Lord" (1 Nephi 13:16). 

How do we become humble? Many think that it means that we need to be down on ourselves all of the time and to be a welcome mat for others to walk all over. But that isn't really the case. 

Really what is recognizing that we have blessings, where they come from, and where our strength and abilities come from (1 Nephi 16:32, 1 Nephi 18:4).

One of the major themes of the Book of Mormon is the pride cycle. This is where the people start out humble, they receive blessings, so they become prideful. As a result, they are chastened, then they become humble again. A way to counteract that? Be humble "be in whatsoever circumstances [you] might (Alma 32:25) and don't let prosperity get in your way (Alma 62:49).

This does not mean that because you are humble, life will always be prosperous and you will never have trouble. I wish that were the case but that is not true. Another theme that we read a lot in the Book of Mormon is afflictions that the humble received from the wicked. However, that is not to discourage being humble. A perfect response comes from Helman 3:34-35: fast and pray oft, wax stronger in humility, wax firmer in the faith, and yielding your heart unto God. Doing this will  result in joy and consolation, purifying and sanctification of your heart. The people of Alma at the waters of Mormon were delivered from their trials and heavy afflictions because of their humility and mighty prayers (Mosiah 24:13-17). See also Mosiah 29:20.

Ultimately, the reason why we should be humble comes from Mosiah 3:18: "men drink damnation unto their souls, except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent."

When we are humble through this life, we are worthy of the atoning blood of Christ and will receive exaltation. That is why we need to be humble.

Scriptures for further reading (sorry I am not linking all of these):

Why be humble: 1 Nephi 16:5, 1 Nephi 16:24, 2 Nephi 12:9, Mosiah 4:10-11, Alma 5:54, Alma 7:3,23, Alma 13:13-14,28, Alma 15:17, Alma 32:12-16, Alma 34:38, Helaman 11:9-11, 3 Nephi 4:33, Ether 6:12,17, Ether 9:35, Ether 12:27

How to be humble:

1 Nephi 15:20, Mosiah 3:19, Alma 5:13,27, Mosiah 21:13-14, Alma 32:6, Alma 42:30, Alma 48:20, Helaman 6:5, 3 Nephi 6:13, 3 Nephi 12:2, Mormon 5:24, Ether 6:30, Moroni 8:10

Letting someone back into the fold

"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which is lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner which repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." -Luke 15:4-7

When we think of this parable we think of two things.

First, the Lord is the Good Shepherd, who loves all of his sheep and will seek after them.

Most of the time through his servants.

The second, we have to seek after those under our care who have gone astray.

Whether we are the young women's president with one girl who hasn't been to church since she was baptized and you haven't met.

Or we are the elder's quorum president with 25% attendance.

(I really hope no one has that statistic)

We are to seek after them.

But I want to look at this parable, and another with a different perspective.

Let's pretend for a second we can understand sheep communication.

We hear about how the Shepherd calls together all of his friends to celebrate the sheep's return, but how do you think the ninety and nine sheep react?

Sheep can be kind of stubborn so I think that they would tease that lost sheep. 

Probably with something like:

Baaaa ba ba ba baaaaaaaa

Interpreted as: "Silly sheep. Going off and getting lost."

Or:

Bababababa baaaabaaaa

Which means: "Selfish jerk. I can't believe you made the Shepherd leave all of us just for you."

Some might even say: 

Bababababa baaabaaabaaa Babababababa

In English: "You are so dumb. And will always be that way."

And they would turn their backs on that poor guy, who didn't know the way, and was lost, cold, and scared.

But in the scriptures we also talk about how sheep are meek and humble. 

So some could also say "Welcome back. I am so happy to see you." Or even "You are shivering, here, take my warmth. Let's get you some food." One might even say, "You've been gone all day, come join us. I am so glad our Shepherd brought you home. We have been worried."

(Sorry, my sheep is rusty so I can't give you the translation)

These sheep have a choice on how to help the one who was lost.

Can you see where this is going?

In middle school I made some different choices. I didn't know who I was and didn't quite have a testimony yet. I was lost. And while I was lost I made some dumb choices.

When I finally decided to find my testimony, I came back and tried my best to repent of the mistakes that I made. 

Now I didn't exactly leave the church, but most of the LDS kids my age knew how I acted. I had to make some big changes when I finally found my testimony.

Some of those kids saw the choices I made and saw me one way. And then when I had changed, they kept me in that view. Never forgiving me for falling away and not really wanting to let me back in.

I know there are many people who feel the same way. They were lost, and when they came back, members only saw them for the choices that they made, not for who they are and who they can be.

Let's face it. At one point in time we are all going to be the lost sheep. We are all going to be the prodigal son. And the eruption in heaven that happens when we come back is astounding. But on earth, it may not be the same. And it makes it really hard to come back, because you aren't welcomed back into the fold. But we still come back.

We will be lost in one way or another. We aren't perfect. That's a fact.

While we are going to be the prodigal son. We get to choose whether or not we will be the elder brother when another prodigal son returns. 

We get to choose whether or not we are going to be upset over the joy of the prodigal son's return. We get to choose to let our pride stand in the way of helping another into the fold and stay there. We get to choose whether or not we see other's for their choices or who they really are. Sons and daughters of God, who can share with us in exaltation. 

A recent Mormon Message helps to illustrate how:

We all have the same goal. The return to our Heavenly Father. That is why we are all here.

It isn't a competition. We all have the opportunity to get there. So why not help another out? Why not help a fellow lost sheep get there?

We all have a desire to be forgiven and given a chance. 

We need to pass that on to others.

Allow them to come back. Allow them to repent. Allow them to prove their willingness to contribute to the church.

Don't hold them in this eternal pit of being condemned for their choices.

"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all me."

D&C 64:10

Even if they don't wrong us, we still have to be there for them to improve. 

President Monson said "We need to bear in mind that people can change. They can put behind them bad habits. They can repent from transgression. They can bear the priesthood worthily. And they can serve the Lord diligently… It is our responsibility to give them opportunities to live as they should. We can help them overcome their shortcomings. We must develop a capacity to see men not as they are at present but as they may become when they receive testimonies of the gospel of Christ."

"See Others as They May Become"

They're going to mess up. They won't change right away. But that is why they need our help to return. They can't do it alone. We need to be tools in the hands of Christ to help them come back on that path.

Don't be the other prodigal son. It is hard enough that we once were or will be the first prodigal son. 

Help others to return. 

And let them come back.

After all, what fun will the celestial kingdom be if our friends and family aren't there?

Notwithstanding my weakness

This weekend I was faced with a difficult decision. My doctor wanted to do a really expensive test because every other test has come back clear. 

When I had heard that yet another test claimed I was normal, I immediately got angry. I was so done with hearing nothing. I just wanted an answer.

But I couldn't do anything because I had to go meet with clients and be nice and professional. 

Which is really difficult when all you want to do is cry.

So I waited until that night. Which was dumb because I had a long day of work in the morning. 

But I prayed. I told Heavenly Father that I was angry with him. I had been patient and trying to use both spiritual and temporal medicine. I was improving on doing what I was supposed to. Now things were effecting my work. 

I wanted an answer and I wanted it now. Well I shouldn't talk in past tense. I want an answer.

I prayed and cried until I fell asleep. Which was like 1:30 in the morning.

Like I said. Dumb. But very helpful.

The next day I had a talk with my sister to discuss what to do. 

Do I ask my parent to sink more rent and tuition money into another test that will probably say everything is normal, or do I keep going and do whatever it takes to find an answer? It has been six months this has gone on. But every other test has come back normal, this one will likely be no different.

Yesterday was fast Sunday. 

So of course that was what I fasted for. What to do?

The more I thought about it, the more I was like I am done with the disappointment of a test telling me that my body was lying. The more I wanted my parents money to go into schooling where it wouldn't be wasted. 

I decided to call the doctor's office and ask more about the test and why they ordered it. If he had something he had an idea of what was going on and just needed a picture to confirm it, or if he wanted more fun pictures of my insides just to see if this time it was different. If it's the former, I'd go through with it. If it was the latter, I would say, uh no let's do something else. And by something else, I meant find a doctor with a different specialty that could give me help, because this one was pretty much out of ideas.

Amidst all of this, I was experiencing a lot of pain, so I didn't do a whole lot. 

On bad pain days, I can only really sit in bed and watch movies or TV. I can't focus, I'm not fun to be around, and I have zero motivation. So all weekend that's all I did.

That includes being bad about scripture study. I know. I'm working on it. 

So last night as I went to bed, I was like I at least need to read a little bit, even if it isn't my reading goal. 

I read 1 Nephi 21. 

If you aren't familiar with Nephi's writings, he likes to quote Isaiah. A lot. Which means brain confusion. A lot. Especially when you're trying to cram in reading at 12:30 at night.

But I knew that if you had a question before reading, it would be answered so I was like ok, I am going to put it to the test.

So this is what I am reading.

Verse 5: "And now, saith the Lord-that formed me from the womb that I should be his servant….yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength."

And I was like "Yes, yes, I have been relying on you throughout this. I know this already. Not really answering my question here."

But I kept reading.

Verse 8: "…in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee my servant for a covenant of the people…"

I was like "Ok, good to know this isn't going to kill. But seriously, answer the question."

Read some more. 

"They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted."

Me: "…you aren't telling me what I think you're telling me."

More reading.

"But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me-but he will show that he hath not. For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee, O house of Israel. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

The answer was trust me? With what?

"Lift up thine eyes round about and behold; al these gather themselves together, and they shall come to thee. And as I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothier thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on even as a bride. For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitations; and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away."

At this point, at 12:45 in the morning, I realized what my answer was. I'm sure you're thinking, I don't get it. 

Even though these words are talking about the gathering of Israel will have a power to overcome enemies, the Spirit told me something else.

I have been swallowed up with this…whatever it is. But I need to trust the Lord and he will take care of it. He hasn't left me alone and will know what to do. It will work out, so stop worrying about it. I need to focus on helping others, through school and work.

So I went to bed realizing my answer is to not do anything. Not go through with that test. Not find a different doctor. Not go find a shrink. I just need to stop. With everything having to do with this…thing.

I woke this morning going, how in the world am I supposed to do that? I can't focus on anything when I am in pain, and it has been bad and consistent lately. 

Today I was catching up on reading for my Book of Mormon class and we're in the war chapters in the end of Alma. And I am in the very best part. The stripling warriors and Helaman's perspective on how awesome they are.

At the end of the story, Helaman is telling Moroni about how they don't have any supplies or reinforcements. And says this:

"But behold, it mattereth not- we trust God will deliver us, notwithstanding the weakness of our armies, yea, and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies."

Alma 58:37

And I was like boom. That is how I am going focus on school and not my stomach. Heavenly Father is going to take care of it. I just need to put in my part. Believe. Do homework. And study! Even when I don't want to. 

You can do the same. We all have a weakness that is plaguing us. Trust Heavenly Father. Turn to him with all heart and effort. Put everything on him. Believe. Do everything you can. And he will take care of it. Even if it doesn't seem possible. I promise you it is. It will happen. Just needs your faith.