With finals coming up, I've been having a rough time staying focused and motivated, and wondering if its even worth it. This feeling brought me to go to a scripture thats helped me out over and over again in 1 Nephi 10:19, "For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round."
While the mysteries of God are of course the spiritual things and involve personal revelation, I like to think of this in terms of school as well, and it's comforting to me to think that if I do all that I can, and seek for knowledge in every part of my life, the Lord will help me out and make me see what I need to. The course of the Lord is an eternal round that goes on forever, and He doesn't pick and choose who he is going to help. The love of the Lord can help me through every hard time I have, from the hardest things I'll have to go through to the simpler ones, like finals week, and I am so grateful for that.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Friday, April 14, 2017
Week 13
This week, I was reading in Alma and thinking a lot about obedience, something so simple yet something we sometimes make out as so hard. It was kind of a strange thing that led me to think so much about this. In Alma chapter 20 verses 5 and 6 it says, "And Ammon said unto him: No one hath told me, save it be God; and he said unto me- Go and deliver they brethren, for they are in prison in the land of Middoni. Now when Lamoni had heard this he caused that his servants should make ready his horses and his chariots."
King Lamoni was so simply and unquestionably obedient in this moment. He didn't ask questions or wonder if this was the smart thing to do, or suggest maybe having a slightly better plan first. God had told Ammon it needed to be done, and Lamoni trusted that God would help them to do it. This is the kind of obedience that we should all be striving for. In Sunday school this past week, someone was sharing how they were trying to work on acting on impulses. Not bad impulses, but any time he got the feeling to do something, instead of trying to decipher if it was his own head or the spirit, he just did it. He talked about how even though everything he acts on is from the spirit, he feels like the Lord can trust him to follow promptings more, because he is trying to train himself to leap up and do it the first time he feels something.
I think we can learn a lot about obedience from these two things. Obedience to the Lord is not something to be questioned. He's not going to ask us to do something bad, or something that is not going to help us or the ones around us in the long run, and He's not going to tell you to do something impossible. I've made a goal to become more obedient about the things I feel to do, as well as the commandments and guidance I might have some more trouble following. Being obedient can bless us and those around us in more ways we know.
King Lamoni was so simply and unquestionably obedient in this moment. He didn't ask questions or wonder if this was the smart thing to do, or suggest maybe having a slightly better plan first. God had told Ammon it needed to be done, and Lamoni trusted that God would help them to do it. This is the kind of obedience that we should all be striving for. In Sunday school this past week, someone was sharing how they were trying to work on acting on impulses. Not bad impulses, but any time he got the feeling to do something, instead of trying to decipher if it was his own head or the spirit, he just did it. He talked about how even though everything he acts on is from the spirit, he feels like the Lord can trust him to follow promptings more, because he is trying to train himself to leap up and do it the first time he feels something.
I think we can learn a lot about obedience from these two things. Obedience to the Lord is not something to be questioned. He's not going to ask us to do something bad, or something that is not going to help us or the ones around us in the long run, and He's not going to tell you to do something impossible. I've made a goal to become more obedient about the things I feel to do, as well as the commandments and guidance I might have some more trouble following. Being obedient can bless us and those around us in more ways we know.
Monday, April 10, 2017
Week 12
This week I was reading in Alma chapter 32, and verse 28 caught my attention. It says, "Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves- It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my sould; yea, it beginnith to enlighten my understanding, yea it beginneth to be delicious to me."
This verse stood out to me, it seems like I always think of seeds being planted in non-members hearts, or those who are inactive, never myself. However, reading this really struck something within me because it made me realize how much I relate to it. I feel like for most of my life I was kind of going along with what my parents believed, knowing it but not truly for myself. Only since being on my own and really having to build my own testimony have I felt this seed inside of me growing. I have had some of my most powerful experiences with the gospel this last year, each thing confirming my own testimony and beliefs. I've felt the swelling that is described in this verse, and I can look back and truly see how my seed of a testimony has grown since the end of my senior year.
I think that it is truly important to realize that this seed is within all of us, and can always be grown further. I have seen that it is good, and it has enlightened my life.
This verse stood out to me, it seems like I always think of seeds being planted in non-members hearts, or those who are inactive, never myself. However, reading this really struck something within me because it made me realize how much I relate to it. I feel like for most of my life I was kind of going along with what my parents believed, knowing it but not truly for myself. Only since being on my own and really having to build my own testimony have I felt this seed inside of me growing. I have had some of my most powerful experiences with the gospel this last year, each thing confirming my own testimony and beliefs. I've felt the swelling that is described in this verse, and I can look back and truly see how my seed of a testimony has grown since the end of my senior year.
I think that it is truly important to realize that this seed is within all of us, and can always be grown further. I have seen that it is good, and it has enlightened my life.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Week 11
This week I was reading in 2 Nephi, and read verse 27 which says, "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh, and all things are given them 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." This verse got me thinking a lot about agency, and how it affects us.
Agency is something that can be hard for me to fully accept, mostly because it is hard for me to see others use their agency so poorly. However, it is also a blessing in our lives because we are able to freely choose liberty and eternal life, and work for it in a way that is fulfilling and wonderful. I think agency is also something that we take for granted, not realizing how the choices we make using that agency truly affect ourselves and those around us.
We should be striving every day for all of our choices to be pointing us towards living with Heavenly Father again. Every choice we make takes us in one direction or the other, and I know I always want to be pointed towards Him. While we cannot force others to make the same choices as us, we can be an example of how the right decisions can positively affect a life. By living our truth and making as many good choices as we can, we can be headed back to our Heavenly Father, as well as showing others the light the gospel can bring.
Agency is something that can be hard for me to fully accept, mostly because it is hard for me to see others use their agency so poorly. However, it is also a blessing in our lives because we are able to freely choose liberty and eternal life, and work for it in a way that is fulfilling and wonderful. I think agency is also something that we take for granted, not realizing how the choices we make using that agency truly affect ourselves and those around us.
We should be striving every day for all of our choices to be pointing us towards living with Heavenly Father again. Every choice we make takes us in one direction or the other, and I know I always want to be pointed towards Him. While we cannot force others to make the same choices as us, we can be an example of how the right decisions can positively affect a life. By living our truth and making as many good choices as we can, we can be headed back to our Heavenly Father, as well as showing others the light the gospel can bring.
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