Hold on!

3 Nephi 22 – Jesus is speaking to the multitude about the last days. He talks of Zion and her stakes being established, mercy, tenderness and triumph.

Verse 2 talks about enlarging the tent; strengthening the stakes. I went to an institute class that talked about this at length. In its literal sense, it is the stakes of zion that need enlarging and strengthening. As we sit in counsel with our leaders, it is strengthening the stake that needs to be considered – especially in these latter days.

Verse 4 says “Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; . . . forget the shame of thy youth. . .” I'm not certain if this is to be taken literally, but don't we all do stupid things in our youth that we wish we hadn't done? I have seen people not be able to get past those stupid mistakes. The Lord has given us His Son, even Jesus Christ, who suffered for our mistakes – our shames, so to speak. He is our “maker” (v5) and Redeemer. In other words, He made us; He can fix us. Things might get tough for us, but [his] “kindness shall not depart” (v10).

V11 - “O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.” What makes us afflicted, tossed and not comforted? It is the mistakes we make and the direction those mistakes take us. We can choose to continue walking this afflicted path or we can lay it with the foundation of sapphires. In the margin of this verse, I noted that “sapphires” are covenants. The covenants we make and keep will change the path we take.

I love V17 - “. . .This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord” What would be the heritage of the servants of the Lord? “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall revile against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.” What a promise! Certainly there are lies told about us (tongues) – especially those who were once with us in the gospel and have apostatized. These lies hurt, but the Lord will be with us. Our righteousness is only because of the Atonement and our Savior's love because we couldn't do it otherwise.

So how does this apply to me today? Don't look back and let my mistakes be a stumbling block. Continue serving the Lord and realize that it is only because of His love for me that I am given this amazing blessing in my life – the blessing to serve. Were it not for the Atonement and being cleansed by reaching out to my Savior, I could not experience the amazing blessings that are afforded to me.