Lessons from King David

One of my classes this semester is the second half to the Old Testament. It is a continuation of the class I took last semester. 

There is some overlap between the two, in order to give proper background to students who didn't take the first half. Our reading a few weeks ago was the story of how King David came to power and his victories and falls during his kingship. Reading this reminded me of how we ended the class, and the thoughts that I had as the semester was ending.

David was chosen over all of his strapping older brothers to be anointed as King. He defeated a 9 foot giant with a sling and divine help. He forgave Saul multiple times for attempting to take his life. He unified a disjointed and separated Israel. He wept for his enemies. 

David was an amazing man. No wonder the Lord selected him to lead Israel. David was loved by the Lord. David put the Lord first in his decisions and relationships. The Lord adored him and blessed him for his goodness.

But then he stumbled. He should have been with his armies in battle. He should have looked away from Bathsheba on the roof. He should have, he should have. I can sit here and list all of the things that he could have done or should have done. Let's be real here. David may have been an amazing man with a good relationship with the Lord. But he was also human. He still was subject to temptations and in this instance, he succumbed to it. I can't say I haven't made mistakes and fallen to temptation. I can't say I wouldn't have made similar decisions in his situation. Basically, it isn't our place to judge his mistakes. But the story is there for us to learn from, so that we can avoid and learn from his mistakes.

Lesson 1: It doesn't matter how good you have been, temptations are going to come, and come on strong. We have to always be prepared to withstand them.

There are many times that I have wished that once I receive a certain level of righteousness, all of my temptations would go away. That's just not how it works. The more that we practice saying no, the more strong and subtle the temptations will become. Satan knows us, he knows our weaknesses and how to use them to make us falter.

But that doesn't mean that we should just succumb to them because it's inevitable. That isn't the case. There is an example of one who was able to overcome all temptation.
Mosiah 3:7 states: "He shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst and fatigue, even more than man can suffer..."
He went through more temptations than what we will be able to go through, and he came out on the other side as the one perfect person to walk the earth. He knows how to overcome them. Studying his life and how he overcame the many temptations that came his way will help us learn the tools that he used.

One tool is one that we can use and should use it often is prayer. When he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prayed multiple times:
"Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me..."
He was in pain. He was tired. He didn't want to do what he was about to do. So much that he pleaded for another way. He was tempted to give up. But then he says the saving line:
"nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
He was humble enough to say, I will go through with it, if you want me to. I think the following verse tells us there was a little bit more to that prayer though.
"And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him" (Luke 22:42-44)
Whether or not he actually prayed for divine help, Heavenly Father knew that it was needed, and sent an angel to help him through it. The same can be with us. Whether it is through an actual angel, or someone on earth sent to help us, or just divine strength it doesn't matter. What matters is when we pray for strength to resist temptation, we will receive it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that we will not receive any temptation that is unique to us. And when we receive temptation, it is not what we can't handle, and there is a way for us to escape it.
Pretty cool, huh?
But how can we do that? Alma 13:28 gives us the answer:
"But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long suffering."

Keep a prayer in your heart to help you resist daily temptations. When something is really difficult to resist, say a quick, humble prayer, pleading for divine help and guidance. Ask to help know yourself, so that you can be aware of your weaknesses. This will help you to avoid tempting situations. If they are unavoidable, you can go into them with a protective prayer to strengthen you throughout the whole time you're subjected to the temptation. I personally have done this and testify that this works. But don't just take my word for it. Try it out for yourself and see how it turns out for you. If you do it will real intent, you will see for yourself that you can receive divine strength to avoid temptations.

And if worse comes to worse, and you need a last resort, there is always Amulek's approach.

Lesson 2: Consequences always come

After David committed adultery and then arranged the death of Uriah, there were some consequences that he faced. While he was alive, Bathsheba's first child was lost. Nathan, the prophet, promises a curse of evil into David's house. Then it came true, when things slowly began to fall apart. (See 2 Samuel 12)

To be honest, all of those things that David went through in the rest of his life, he could have handled without too much fuss. Yes, they were hard, but he came out alright. It is the spiritual consequences that proved to be too much.
D&C 132:29 tells us that from this mistake he lost his exaltation. It wasn't so much the adultery was the problem, even though that is a grave sin in and of itself.  David didn't follow the law that sanctified life. He had taken many lives before but it was in war, in the protection of his people, or righteously avenging lives. He had already displayed restraint when he spared Saul's life, even though his own was threatened by doing so. David knew that is was wrong to take Uriah's life, but still designed his death. Murder is one of the big three sins with God. So as a result of completing this act, he lost his exaltation.

D&C 130:20-21 tells us:
"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated-
"And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."
Logic follows that if blessings are set forth from heaven before the world was, punishments must have too.

In our world today, the common culture is to want to be able to do whatever we want, get whatever we want and suffer no consequences for it. Have an unplanned baby because you decided to have sex out of wedlock? Make abortion legal. Make poor business choices? Have the government bail you out. Don't want to work? Get yourself fired and have the government pay you to not work.

Look at what David did. He tried to do the same thing. He tried to do whatever he wanted, and once he got it, he couldn't handle the consequences. Then he tried to cover it up, only to make it worse. It simply does not work to try to slip out of the consequences that are bound to come.

Moral of the story: get the good consequences. Be righteous and receive the blessings in consequence to your actions. If you slip up, own up to it, repent and move on.
After seeing what happened to David, I will gladly take the world's judgments over God's judgments. I want to be able to live in the presence of God, even if I have to deal with scornful gazes of those around me.

Lesson 3: Forgiveness and love can be attained from the Lord, no matter what.

So David's life has shown us the bad that can come from our poor choices. But his life can also give us hope for when we do slip up.

David could have easily fell all the way down the slippery slope he was on, and just stayed at the bottom. But when Nathan brought to his attention just how serious of a sin he committed, he began the process of repenting and trying to get back to the Lord. He wasn't perfect before the even with Uriah, and he wasn't perfect after. However, he did all that he could to be righteous.

That is evidence in his psalms and in the mercy he tried to extend to his enemies. He praises the Lord, and continually prays for forgiveness, mercy and protection. And he receives it.
In Psalm 13, David tells the Lord, I know that I have done wrong and you have removed your spirit from me, but I trust in your mercy and salvation because all that you have done for me before.
He tried to be faithful again. He knew what the Lord could do and so he trusted in Him again.

Then in Psalms 32:5, David says the unthinkable:
"I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forecast the iniquity of my sin."
David felt he was forgiven! Even after all that happened.

Did that remove the eternal consequences? No. He still lost his exaltation. That can't be removed, like the scripture says. But he was still forgiven.

We will make mistakes that we will have to repent from. And we will pay for the consequences of those mistakes. But no matter what, even if we commit very serious sins, we can still be forgiven and feel the love of the Lord in our lives once again.
I think that is the most important lesson that we can learn from David.
Forgiveness is available to us, if we work for it and turn our hearts back to the Lord.

Sometimes you have questions for a long time, then one day it just all makes sense

This post is going to be a little different than what I have done lately. My heart is full right now and I just need to write today's experience down. I'm not sure why I decided it needed to be here, but here it is.

A little bit of back story first. 

A little more than two years ago, I was sitting in the conference center, with my lovely roommates. As it was my freshman year, it was my first conference away from home. I was sitting in the balcony when President Monson announced that the age of eligibility for young men to serve a mission would now be 18, and young women could serve at 19. Those of whom were watching the conference session knew the buzz that immediately filled the conference center. But imagine the buzz that entered the hearts five 18 year old girls sitting together. That announcement was quickly the theme of every conversation that weekend, and pretty much the rest of that school year. 

None of my siblings have served a mission and I wanted so desperately to go, serve the Lord, and give my parents the blessings of having a missionary they deserved.

I prayed about it, really wanting to know if I should go. And the Lord, as he always does, answered. With a no.

I was in shock. Why couldn't I go? What was wrong with me? 

I'll have to admit it was hard to go to all of the mission call openings that I was invited to go to. But I went, living somewhat vicariously through my friends that were able to their calls. 

Throughout the rest of the school year I ended up saying goodbye to around 80% of my ward who answered the prophet's request for more missionaries. Including three of my roommates. 

Since that time, I've continued on at BYU. I realized that I needed to finish school and to continue on my dream to become an occupational therapist and adaptive sports coach. I graduate in April from BYU and last week turned in my applications for occupational therapy.

Also the other two of my freshman roommates got married. I couldn't be happier for them.

But at the same time I had this feeling that I hadn't accomplished anything because I hadn't completed the "Mormon" things to do as a young adult, serve a mission or get married. I tried to not let it get to me, but it was always in the back of my mind.

Well my friends from my freshman ward are starting to come home now. The feelings I had during my freshman year of feeling inadequate for being told I wasn't to go on a mission started to resurface. I was the last one to do something, so to speak, from my freshman dorm. Most of my childhood friends are on missions, and are starting to come home. And I sat there in my room feeling like I had nothing to show for what I did when they were gone, that I had done nothing while they were out serving the Lord. 

That was when I had a much needed tender mercy.

This semester I am hardly ever on campus. Most of my classes are in the Smith Field House which is just below main part of campus. My religion classes even have to contained to the southwestern most part of campus. 

Last night I found a letter in my mailbox, that had sat for at least a week, from one of my friends on a mission. She comes home next week and I wanted to send her one last letter before she came home. I quickly rushed to write a response and get it ready to send to her today. I figured if it went into the mail today before collection, there was a possibility that she would get it before she was released. Due to the circumstances of the day, that meant that I needed to walk up to the bookstore post office after class. 

While I was there, I walked past the art that they sell in the basement. I had the thought to stop and take a peak to see if I could add to my Christmas present for my niece this year. Instead of finding a picture for my niece, I found this:

Photo by: Doc Christensen. Found on this website.

Since I was 16 I have had the dream to work with the physically disabled, and help them participate in sports. I want to help them learn that even though their life is different from that of abled bodied people, they can still do many of the same things. I want to help them learn to control and overcome their bodies that don't function properly. Most people who know me, know this has been my dream. What they don't know is that when I meet people with disabilities, I immediately dream of this exact moment this picture depicts. I imagine them meeting the Savior and him healing their bodies. I long for the day when they will be resurrected and made whole. As much as I want them to live a full life with the body they have been blessed with, I can't wait for this moment for them. 

So imagine how much this picture tugged on my heart strings. I pictured almost every person, especially the children, I have met during my various activities in that boy's spot. It reaffirmed my dream to become an occupational therapist and to bring the Savior's love and light to each of his sweet spirits he blessed with a deformed body. 

I told my mom about the picture and how I wanted to give it to the therapist I have been job shadowing that past couple of weeks. That picture summed up to me why occupational therapy existed. I wanted to share that with the therapist who had been sharing some of those experiences with me lately. 

My mom, being the amazing woman she is, called the bookstore and ordered two copies. One for him and one for me. Because it meant that much to me.

On my way to back to the bookstore to pick up those pictures, the feelings I had been feeling lately about missions mixed with the feelings I was experiencing about occupational therapy. 

All of the sudden it all made sense.

Due to when I took certain classes, if I had gone on a mission, my graduation would have been delayed even more than just the regular mission delay. The schools I have applied to have time constraints on some prerequisite classes and I would have broken them by taking 18 months off. That meant I would have had to take them over again. OT school would have been delayed for quite a few years if I had served. Even though I was willing to make that sacrifice, Heavenly Father wasn't. My mission was not to be with a name tag and scriptures. My mission was to serve him through Occupational Therapy. 

Yes, I would have served and touched a few people's lives if I had served. But that would have delayed the service I need to render to my future patients and athletes. My talents are needed elsewhere.

So why share all of that on this blog? There are three lessons that I've pulled out of this, besides the tender mercy of finding out what my mission truly is.

1) Sometimes the answer is no, but for a way good reason. The problem with mortality is we can only see what is right in front of us. We are not aware of all of the moving pieces in Heavenly Father's plan. But He knows. He knows us individually. He knows what our talents and who needs that specific talent in their lives. We are asked to do hard things, like go on a mission, move across the country, or stay right where we are. Because He has a plan. He has people he needs us to serve, and He knows who we need to serve us. So the answer might not be what you want it to be. But trust that answer to be better than what you want.

2) Heavenly Father knows your thoughts and feelings. He knew the adversary was starting to work on me. He was aware that I was starting to feel inadequate. So He put things in my path so that the events of today would happen. He wanted me to put them away and go out and serve him. It may not have been what I imagined, but I am so happy to do what I am asked to do. So if you're feeling alone, know that He is there, knowing exactly what you are thinking and feeling.

3) We all have personal and divine missions to fulfill on this earth. This has been something that has been emphasized in my life since the mission announcement was made, but it has finally and fully clicked. There is something that I am supposed to do with occupational therapy that I could not do if I had served a mission. I don't understand that statement now, but one day it will make sense. But He gives us certain tasks and shapes our life so that we can fulfill our divine potential. Ours is the responsibility to respond to the call, and do all we can to do fulfill our callings. 

It has been said that no one can stop the work of the Lord. He has a larger plan for each of us that we would have never imagined for ourselves. And it is a great work. So stop questioning what his plans are, and "trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Wandering in the Wilderness

I've been reflecting a lot on spiritual wanderings in my life lately. There have been times in my life where in one way or another I felt like I was wondering through the wilderness like the children of Israel. I felt forgotten and forsaken. I had no idea what I was doing or why I was where I was. At times, I still feel that way. My scripture reading today helped me to understand why those times happen.

In my Old Testament class, we are in Deuteronomy. I used to think that this book was SO boring because it just listed the same commandments over and over again, ones that are fulfilled and not used today. As I have been studying though, I have been sucked in to the book. It is Moses' final words to the children of Israel before they go in to the promised land and he translated. And it is FULL of good stuff.

Today I read Deuteronomy 8:2-3. It says:

"And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou newest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."

The children of Israel were prevented from entering the promised land because of open rebellion and lack of faith. They could have been prevented from going in for 5 or 10 years. But the Lord chose 40. He wanted to see if the children of Israel would return to the commandments. It was time to test them, improve them, and prove to them the many things they can do through him.

The same goes with us and our trials. 

Sometimes we feel as though we are in the desert with nothing, forgotten and forsaken. For a long time too, maybe without realizing what we did wrong. 

He has not forgotten you. He wants to humble and prove you. He wants to to test your obedience. He wants to teach you that you need to live off the Bread of Life, your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

And if you look during your trials of wondering, you will see the hand of the Lord in your life. Maybe you will see it during these times more than the times of prosperity. He still feeds you spiritually despite feeling lost.

The children of Israel ate manna every day of those 40 years of wondering. Many of times, Moses brought forth water when there was none. There multiple occurrences when the Lord protected and provided for the children of Israel, and they weren't even aware of it happening.

The Lord knows you. He knows what you are going through. He knows the person that you can will become because of those things. He has not forgotten you, no matter how much you try to convince yourself he has. He wants you to become better and more like him. Like he did with the children of Israel, he wants to "humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no." 

Moses said it best when he said:

"Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, always. And know ye this: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretch out arm, and his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt... And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place... But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the Lord which he did. Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong. and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it."

We cannot see all of the miracles that are performed in our lives, but they happen. The Lord shapes your life so that you can become the best. Keep his commandments and prove worthy so that you can be strong. If you do this, then you will possess your promised blessings, exaltation. It is his "work and glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Your trials are doing just that. Helping you to become stronger in your faith and obedience so that you can enter into his rest when you have completed all that he has for you.

Joseph Smith: A Testimony of a Prophet of God

Once upon a time, I read something on Facebook that made me sad and worried. Ok maybe not just once. Let's try that again.

Many times, I read things on Facebook that make me sad and worried. But usually, I move on, hoping that the person behind the post(s) would have a better day. Recently, I had an experience reading a conversation between several people, that really made me think. Usually, I still move on. Obviously this time is different though because it has motivated this blog post.

So recently the church released a statement about a controversial subject of the church's history. It was from the church, and was as honest as possible. However, the sharing of the post by a person unleashed some comments about how this piece of history proved the Joseph's calling as a prophet, the truthfulness of the church, and realness of Heavenly Father did not deserve faith. Although I didn't know the people, this made me sad for them. I don't think they will see this post, but I want to share my testimony to the contrary in case they ever will.

For me to be able to give a specific experience explaining how I came to the knowledge of Joseph Smith being called as a prophet of God would be impossible. I learned as Christ and many others did; I did "receive not of the fulness at first, but received grace for grace; And he received not a fulness and first, but continued from grace for grace until he received a fullness" (D&C 93:12-13). I cannot say that I have received a fullness. No, I am far from it. But I have received grace for grace, and will do so until I receive it.

I read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know it was true. Although I didn't receive it right away, that prayer was answered. I visited where Joseph walked and died and felt the spirit that important men died there. I studied the history of the church, realizing that it could only happen with the help of a divine being. I heard numerous testimonies from others and each time I felt the Holy Spirit confirming it to be true. I am continually trying to learn of the things Joseph, and other prophets, did. And each new thing that I learn, I feel a confirmation that these things could only be done by men called of God to carry out the restoration of this gospel.

Do I understand everything that Joseph did? No. Do I understand every aspect of the gospel? Not even close. But I can say, without a doubt in my mind, that Joseph did see God and Jesus Christ. I know that through divine inspiration he translated the Book of Mormon, restored God's authority to this Earth, and restored the church that Christ built while on this Earth. 

Like Nephi in the Book of Mormon, "I know that [God] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things" (1 Nephi 11:17). 

In studying the Old Testament and the History of the Church, I have many of times scratched my head in confusion. There are many things that God has commanded that doesn't make sense to me. But I have learned that they don't have too. I have seen enough resolve of his commandments to know that even if it doesn't make sense to me, it does to him. When he commands something, he has a divine purpose to it. As was said in Isaiah 55:8-9:

"For as my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

God knows what he is doing. And he has placed men on this earth to be his mouthpieces so that his works will go forth. I believe with all of my heart that Joseph Smith was one of them. With Joseph's life and many others, Heavenly Father brought the fulness of the truth back to the earth. I am so grateful to be apart of it and the blessings that is has brought into my life.

But it is not my hope that you read that testimony and think, "Oh, that's nice for her," and move on. There is something more I wish to share.

This past General Conference, Elder Andersen gave an AMAZING and powerful testimony to the divine calling of Joseph Smith, and how we can come to that same knowledge.

How did Joseph come to have the first vision? He humbly knelt in a grove, away from all distractions, and asked a question. He wanted to know which church to join. 

Elder Andersen said that we too, will receive answers to our questions, when we kneel in faith truly wanting to know the truth. They may not all be an answer as grand as Joseph's, but there will be an answer.

Elder Christofferson shared what happened for him:

At the age of 17 David O. McKay, 9th president of the church, decided to pray alone in a field, until he knew for himself the church to be true. He prayed as long as he could, but still received no answer. It wasn't until many years later and he had a few months left in his mission that he received an answer to the prayer. It came through the words of his mission president and a spiritual confirmation.

In each of these experiences the answers came in different ways. The point is, the answer always came.

If you truly want to know the truth, kneel in faith, asking if it is true. If the answer doesn't come, keep seeking until it does come. And when it comes, make that a foundation of faith. Then build on that foundation, strengthening it always. If your foundation has crumbled, that is okay. Find and fill the cracks, but searching the scriptures and words of the prophets, asking for spiritual confirmation along the way. But I challenge you to seek for the truth. I cannot describe all of the blessings my faith has brought me. They are so numerous, that I can't even recognize them all. My wish is for all that read this post to have the same opportunity.

Talks for further study:

Safety for the Soul by Elder Holland October 2009

Can You Feel So Now? by Elder Cook October 2012

"Lord, I Believe" by Elder Holland April 2013

The Prophet Joseph Smith by Elder Corbridge April 2014

Having Our Strength Faithened

General Conference was awesome wasn't it?

Every speaker said something that I needed to hear and work on. I look forward to the coming months to be able to study their words again and be reminded of the good messages that were shared. 

There was one thing though that I have been really thinking about.

I'm not sure how many of you caught it, but one of the opening prayers was given by a nervous member of the seventy. While attempting to pray for the members faith to be strengthened, he got a little mixed up and first prayed for our strength to be faithened. He stopped, corrected his mistake and finished his beautiful prayer. 

At first when I heard this I chuckled, because I do that ALL the time. But when he corrected himself a thought came to me. Maybe we need to have our strength faithened too. I thought about that a little bit the next couple of days and then put it in the back of my mind. 

But then this appeared on my Facebook feed:

Then my thoughts about that statement came back to me all over again. I realize that this is a joke but maybe there could be more to it.

"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in the heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." -1 Peter 1:6-7

Trials are meant to test and strengthen our faith. They help us to turn to Our Savior and rely on the enabling power of the atonement. This phrase of having our strength faithened made me think. How many times do I go through trials relying more on strength than faith?

When I go through rough patches and struggles, I have a tendency to tuck my head in, grit my teeth, and just fight my way through. Which is not a bad thing, but it isn't the best thing. It is not my ability to get through it that is being tested.

I have found that often times when I am doing a hard workout, taking a hard class, or needing to do a difficult thing, it is not my ability to do that is lacking. It is my mental ability to let myself get through it that is struggling. I don't trust myself or others and then I fall short. The same can happen in trials.

When I am in big trials and I feel like I can't go any further, I pray for help to go through it. Then I wake up the next day, and go about my business. I usually go another few days before asking for help again. In between relying on my own faith. What usually occurs are my days and weeks rise and fall with the use of my faith in conjunction with my strength. A graph of good times peak and fall like a boat in a storm. I have always come out on the other side of my life's storms, but with a little bit more sea sickness and trembling knees than I probably needed. 

It is not my strength that needs added to. I can get through things. It is my faith that needs added to, in order to best be refined to the person that Heavenly Father needs me to be.

One of my favorite Hymns is Lead, Kindly Light:

What I love about this song is it is turning both the will and the lead to the Father. It is saying, I can't do this on my own anymore, take me to where I need to be. How many times do we say to ourselves, "I can do this. I can do this. I can do this," and then fall flat?

Sister Dalton once said:

"Prior to this calling, I had a small plate inscribed with a motto that said, 'I can do hard things.' That little plate bearing that simple motto gave me courage. But now if I could change that motto, it would read: 'In the strength of the Lord, I can do all things.'"

There are two components for going through trials. Strength and faith. Having one without the other can alter the outcome from what the Lord had intended to teach us. 

Paul wrote to Timothy:

I want to be able to look back on my life and not only be able to say that I have fought the good fight, but also to say, I have kept the faith.

It is my testimony that when we pray for strength to go through our trials, fight temptation, and conquer weaknesses, that the prayer is answered. We do not, and should not, have to go through it alone. Gritting our teeth until it is over is ok, but not the best. When we combine our strength with the enabling power of the atonement, we can have the ability to learn and grow through the tumultuous times in our lives. We can be as Nephi, through our faith and strength, be able to break the bounds that others try to put on our righteousness (In the Strength of the Lord). We can be as Abraham, through our faith and strength, and give over everything to the Lord (Genesis 22). 

The trials of our faith may not be to go into the wilderness and have our siblings turn on us or to sacrifice a child, but they will still demand similar things. Strong faith and faith filled strength. The Lord knows what it is that he wants us to learn and become. Heavenly Father has provided ways for us to make it through the storms and the calms of life without having to be alone. The Savior is there for us, and wants us to succeed in overcoming the difficult parts of life. If we put our faith and strength in him, we can overcome anything.

A lesson learned from the Creation

Today was the first day of classes for BYU. The great thing about starting on a Tuesday is that means that I had my religion classes first. And may I say, it was a great way to start the year. One of my classes is the Old Testament, the first half. I confess, the reason why I am taking the class is because there are too many weird stories for me to be able to understand on my own, so I am taking the opportunity to take from a Bible scholar a class explaining all of these things.

So with the beginning of classes, where do you always start with the Old testament? The creation.

This is like the equivalent of reading 1 Nephi for me. I have read it and gone through it so many times, that I dread starting there because I know. Or at least that is what I thought when I went to read it today. But I decided to slow down and actually look at what I can learn from it. And surprise! 

There was something to learn from it. Maybe these Prophets know what they're saying when they promise there is something new to learn from the scriptures each day.

This is what I learned from Genesis 1. Read through it first for a refresher so that you can understand what I am referring to.

It was interesting to me the process in which God created the Earth and Heavens.

First, He said. He gave a commandment to the materials under his power, and it happened. But he didn't just sit there after He gave his orders. After he commanded, he made, divided, and created. When He created life, He blessed it. He put in His hands and worked so that things went according to His plan. Then after all of that, He saw that it was good. 

This teaches me a powerful lesson for me, one of his tools on the earth.

When God commands something to be done, it happens. Now, as man, we are fortunate to have a choice to listen. Regardless of our choice however, it happens. It happens because He goes to work to fulfill His commandments. He makes, divides, and creates so that there is a change. When He does that it is always good. He does not create bad. The difference with us is if we get the blessing He has in store for us. If we follow His commandments, we have the chance to feel His hands going to work to change things for the better. Regardless of the difficulty, it is for the better. Everything He created was good. 

So even if they seem more difficult than ever, it it doesn't make sense, or require more effort than you think you could possibly give, it will turn out good if we follow His commandments. Because He is right there, working along side us.

Attaining Perfection

Perfection. It is something that we are all striving for. Or is it? It is easy to get caught up in this idea that we have to do everything just right. We have to be perfect visiting teachers by preparing a lesson each month and offering our help each visit to our teachees. We aren't a good teacher if we don't spend hours on cute, frilly handouts. Little slips ups in our day are what sends us to condemnation. After all, a little sin is still a sin. We get this idea that being righteous means that every second of every day we need 100% faith, 100% perfect choices, and are to never question, doubt, or slip up. And we have to do it all on our own.

I used to have this distorted view that in order for me to reach exaltation, I need to be perfect on all of the commandments, even the small ones. Then, I will qualify for the atonement, which will let me to be resurrected and ready for the celestial kingdom. I know that I am not alone in this thought. Brad Wilcox, in his talk "HIs Grace is Sufficient", told a story of one of his students who shared similar feelings. I remember when I was younger wishing that I should have been baptized when I was 80, because I felt I had messed up too much, I had ruined my baptism at 8. And I was going to continually mess up. So I should have postponed it until my life and mess ups we near over. Then I could wash them all away and I could be perfect when I died.

After all, aren't we commanded to be perfect?

In 3 Nephi 12:48 the Savior says to the Nephites, "Therefore, I would that ye should be perfect, even as I, or your Father who is in Heaven is perfect." He continues on to say in 3 Nephi 27:27, "Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."

Yes, righteousness is needed for the celestial kingdom. Worthiness is required to make covenants in the saving ordinances performed on Earth. However, sometimes our views of righteousness and what is required of us can get distorted. Satan likes to work on us. He wants us to believe that because we make mistakes and aren't perfect, we are not worthy at all. No matter how small the mistake is. But if this were true, then we would be set up for failure. A loving Father in Heaven would not set us up for failure. And we know that He is loving in two ways. The first is he asked us to call him Father. The being seth all powers of earth and heaven does not ask us to call him a power hungry name, but Father.

The other way is actually the key to attaining perfection. 

John 3:16 states: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

This is the scripture that is on a poster at every major sporting event for a reason. Believing in Christ is what power by which we return back to Him and Heavenly Father. But merely believing is not enough. Acting upon that belief, or having faith, is what brings us back. So the question is, what exactly do we have to do?

2 Nephi 31:20 gives us the keys to eternal life.

"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."

Notice that is doesn't say, "Be perfect, make all the correct decisions and then you can return." It can't say that . That was essentially Satan's plan. He wanted to remove the power of choice and making your own decision. Agency was advocated, even though Heavenly Father knew that meant that we would make mistakes. If we weren't to make mistakes, He would not have sent Christ. So if we think that our own personal perfection is demanded, isn't that rejecting the atonement?

Ok, so perfection is not demanded, but it is still used in the verse.  A little confused? "Having a perfect brightness of hope." Does that mean our faith has to be 100% perfect all the time? I think that is a little bit of wishful thinking. A perfect brightness of hope means that you always hope that God is there loving you and answering your prayers.

So what is the difference?

I remember a time when I was 14 and I didn't exactly believe Heavenly Father was there, but I hoped that He was. So I got down on my knees, praying and pleading until He gave me answer. It was my hope, in a time of lacking faith, that drove me to pray.

Elder Snow of the Seventy, said, "This 'perfect brightness of hope' of which Nephi speaks of is the hope in the Atonement, eternal salvation made possible by the sacrifice of our Savior."

So it is our hope in the atonement that perfects us. This leaded to the question, "How can something that redeems me from my sins help me to become better when I am not sinning?" Being redeemed is just one aspect of the atonement. While very important, there is so much more to help good people become better ones. 

Elder Bednar gave an awesome talk at BYU on this very subject. This is a clip of his words. 

Have you ever embarked on a project, having no idea what you are doing? What is your first action? Some might pridefully say to themselves, "I can do this. I am smart. I can figure it out on my own." And then after falling short a couple of times, what do they do? They realize that they need to ask for help.

When you fail, or are lost, you ask for help. Usually you ask someone who knows what they are doing. After receiving guidance, you realize that you can do it. 

Who better to go to when trials, problems and temptations arise than the Master. The one who resisted all temptations, overcame all challenges, and solved all problems. The one who felt your every "pains and afflictions and temptations," who took upon him your "pains and sicknesses," so that he could "know according to the flesh how to succor [you] according to [your] infirmities" (Alma 7:11-12). He learned how to succor you, so let him.

So that brings on the next question. How?

Elder Bednar gave an example from Nephi in the same talk.

"Nephi is an example of one who knew and understood and relied upon the enabling power of the Savior. In Nephi 7 we recall that the sons of Lehi had returned to Jerusalem to enlist Ishmael and his household in their cause. Laman and others in the party traveling with Nephi from Jerusalem back to the wilderness rebelled, and Nephi exhorted his brethren to have faith in the Lord. It was at this point in their trip that Nephi's brothers bound him with cords and planned his destruction. Now please note Nephi's prayer in verse 17: 'O Lord, according to my faith, which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound.'

"Brothers and Sisters, do you know what I likely would have prayed for if I had been tied up by my brothers? My prayer would shave included a request for something bad to happen to my brothers and end with the phrase 'wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of my brethren' or, in other words, 'Please get me out of this mess now!' It is especially interesting to me that Nephi did not pray, as I probably would have prayed, to have his circumstances changed. Rather he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And may I suggest that he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew and understood and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement of the Savior. 

"I personally do not believe the bands with which Nephi was bound just magically fell from his hands and wrists. Rather, I suspect that he was blessed with both persistence and personal strength beyond his natural capacity, that he then 'in the strength of the Lord' (Mosiah 9:17) worked and twisted and tugged on the cords and ultimately and literally was enabled to break the bands."

I remember as I was really starting to get sick, I would pray to remove the illness. When that didn't work, I prayed for an answer to fix it. When that didn't work, I realized that my prayers had been all wrong. I began to pray for the strength to make it through the day. And I was able to. I realized I could focus on my class, then have the energy to come home and do homework.

Another example to apply this to weakness and spiritual struggles. I struggled when I was younger for a spiritual weakness for a long time. It was something that I had struggled with for as long as I could remember. One day, I was fed up with it. I started to pray to Heavenly Father to help me to stop. When I did this, the situations when I struggled with saying no didn't stop coming. It was the strength to say no and change directions that came to me each time that I prayed for it.

Going back to Brad Wilcox's talk, he said, "When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don't say he is not worthy to keep practicing. We don't expect him to be flawless. We expect him to keep trying. Perfection may be his ultimate goal, but for now we can be content with progress in the right direction. Why is this perspective so easy to see in the context of learning piano but so hard to see in context of learning heaven?"

I took a class on the current apostles from Lloyd Newell (the voice of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and General Conference). He emphasized that we didn't believe the prophets and apostles to be infallible. They were still men and it was okay for them to make mistakes as men. So if the men who are called as especial witnesses of Christ are allowed to still be human, why do we demand ourselves to not be?

I used to get very down and hard on myself whenever I would make mistakes. Everyone would know it too because I would become very withdrawn, and I wouldn't look anyone in the eye because I was trying not to cry. Now I am beginning to understand that it is okay that I am not perfect. Heavenly Father asked us to be perfected, not perfect. That means that I need to put forth my best effort, and ask of His help along the way. 

2 Nephi 25:23 says "for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." After all we can do is not when we are done with this life. It is meaning as we put forth our best effort. Be our best selves, and Christ will make us enough. It is not only after we want to give up pulling the hand cart, but it is in each step we took with the hand cart, that Christ has his hands on our backs, guiding us along. It is not only when we are at our whit's end with a friend or family member from giving all of our help with no return, but in each action of mercy and help we give them that we are guided in what to do and say.

One of the last scriptures in the Book of Mormon sums up its entire message:

"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all of your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye shall be perfected in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God (Moroni 10:32).

Too often we think the order is be perfect, then Christ will receive you. He will receive you no matter what. The order of how we do things is to come to Him first, then he will perfect you.

Once you come to him, then will his power begin to make you the person He knows you can be. Love him with all you have. Love him throughout all of your missteps, failings, and strugglings. That is when his grace will pick you up, dust you off, and say, "Let's do this, together." When you feel yourself walking into darkness, let your "perfect brightness of hope" in His atonement and grace light the way. I believe with every fiber of my being this to be true. He cares with all of the love possible and then some about you, He wants to help you. Let him in, then you will begin to see the changes you wish to see.

For further study:
Becoming Perfect in Christ by Elder Gong in the July 2014 Ensign
Forget Me Not by President Uchtdorf in the October 2011 Conference