3 Nephi 2 - Remember

It’s disturbing to me how fast the people have forgotten the miracle of one day, one night and a day of light that signified the coming of Christ.  Why is that so hard for them to wrap their brains around?  What happened that caused them to forget?  How can I avoid such a fate?  I know I’ve seen miracles and felt the Lord’s presence in my life.  Could I possibly explain it away as my own frenzied mind?  Never!

They “forgot the signs and wonders. . . and began to less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven. . .”  Their hearts became hard and they were blind in their minds and began to disbelieve the things they had heard and seen (v1).  They somehow imagined in their minds that men of the devil had created these things to deceive them.  Really?  That man could keep the sun from giving its light - even in the night?  The key word here is “forget”.  The signs and wonders they experienced became commonplace to them – somehow.  Is this one reason the brethren remind us over and over again that “remember” is the most important word in the scriptures?  Is this one reason we have been given the commandment to renew our baptismal covenants weekly by partaking of the sacrament? 

It grieves me to see people I love take casually their Sabbath worship.  Church seems to be optional, or they have stopped going completely.  That is definitely the beginning of a fast spiral down into the depths of despair and disbelief.  Why do I put those two words together in this context?  I put these words together because for myself, when I got to the point of no activity at all, my life was in a state of hopelessness – aka despair.  There really wasn’t much that brought joy into my life.  It is the participation I have each Sabbath day in partaking the sacrament, remembering my Savior and the price He paid for the blessings I enjoy, that help me remember that it isn’t a hoax.  The miracles I’ve experienced are real.  The Lord is mindful of me and rescued me from a state of unhappiness for which I will ever be grateful.  I will never forget the joy I felt as I came out of that darkness and into the light. 

Is it my Sunday worship that helps me remember?  It is the promises I make weekly that help me remember.  I want to always be worthy of those blessings and protections that come from serving the Lord.  In so doing, I remember to serve and help others, read my scriptures and pray, thus joy is brought into my life.  It is a perfect plan.  It is the Lord’s plan to keep us safe so we can return to Him.  Oh, how I love my Sundays!!!

3 Nephi 1 - Daily Seven

Never in my life (and the prophets and apostles tell us in history), has there been such an obvious distance between good and evil.  In 3 Nephi 1: 30, it says “And thus were the Lamanites afflicted also, and began to decrease as to their faith and righteousness, because of the wickedness of the rising generation.”  Their children!  They were decreasing in their faith because of the poor choices of their children?  This is so contrary to what I’m experiencing.  As my children are making poor choices, it makes me want to dig my heels in even deeper.  So I don’t know that I really understand this behavior in the Lamanites, who are the people we’re talking about in this particular chapter.

The Gadianton Robbers were still quite prevalent in the land but were hiding in the hills and coming down to create havoc.  Is this not similar to what the gangs are doing?  Their numbers were growing, as are the gangs.  Why?  What do they have to offer?  What makes so many of our youth vulnerable to their evil ways?

It amazes me that the Lamanites, in just a few short years,  had slippery testimonies after having witnessed a miracle like the sky staying light for a day, a night and a day.  Had this not been a direct fulfillment of prophecy, maybe they could argue it away.  But the prophets told them this was going to happen. How can faith be so unstable?  

Our prophets and leaders today have told us repeatedly how to avoid this lack of faith, i.e. personal and family scripture and prayers, FHE, dinners as a family, regular temple attendance and service to others.  I’m putting a whole lot of faith in this counsel.  We will have trials and troubles.  That is why we’re on this earth.

Alma 36:27 says "And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me."  I believe we can expect this same kind of support from our Heavenly Father as we encounter life’s buffetings provided we heed the counsel of the prophets.  Our faith and actions to strengthen that faith will protect us.

That makes me think of this cute young woman, age 15, Cassidy Stay, whose entire family was executed in front of her this week.  Not only does she have the appearance of being supported under her trials, but also she seems to be strengthened because of them.  I would love to know what her home life was like, though I think I can guess.  She is solid in her belief that her family will be together again.  She is using this as an opportunity to share her faith with the world, and the eyes of the world are definitely upon her.  There is little doubt in my mind that her family prayed together, studied the scriptures together and had Family Home Evening.  She has been taught Gospel Principles and she is definitely drawing strength from the teachings of the Gospel.

Isaiah 41:10 says: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”  We will feel of that same support as we face our trials and troubles.  Of this I have no doubt.  Cassidy says there were angels surrounding her preventing her from even making a noise as she pretended to have been fatally wounded while the murderer of her family finished up in their home and then left with the intent to murder others in her family.  She was given the strength to call 911 and not only report her own situation, but tell them the murderer was on his way to destroy her grandparents and other family members.  What an amazing feat!  Again, there is little doubt in my mind that she was being supported by angels – perhaps even her recently executed parents and siblings. 

We must be strong in our daily efforts to follow the counsel of our prophets – The Daily Seven:  Personal and private prayer and scriptures, FHE, family meals, and temple attendance.  In so doing, it is my testimony we will provide a shield of protection not only for ourselves, but also for our families. 

Helaman 14 – How Would I Have Responded?

I had an interesting thought this morning as I was reading about Samuel the Lamanite preaching to the Nephites of their evil and destructive ways.  In verse 10 it says:  “And now, because I am a Lamanite, and have spoken unto you the words which the Lord hath commanded me, and because it was hard against you, ye are angry with me and do seek to destroy me, and have cast me out from among you.”

Would I be like the Nephites if someone I felt were evil started preaching to me to repent?  Occasionally, my ex-husband admonishes me to do more, and I’m really quick to let him know just exactly what I am doing.  Just this week he sent a video of a music school that is free to the kids in Mexico.  Children can bring their instruments and learn to play – for free.  Because he knows I’m musical, he suggested I think about doing something like this even though I’m probably busy with my family and callings.  What was my response?  I bristled a little because he was very righteous in his approach.  I told him about our mission at the Volunteer Care Clinic and that we intend to serve as many missions as we can after my husband’s retirement.  I wonder how I would deal with him preaching the words of Christ to me in an authoritative manner as did Samuel the Lamanite. 

So how does this contribute to anything spiritual?  For sure I need to seek the advice and counsel of our Prophet and Apostles and humble myself enough to make corrections when necessary.  I think if I do this, I won’t need to worry about men of the world counseling me to repent.  I will be doing as much as I can.  At least that is the case for now.

Helaman 11 – Must it Hurt?

Nephi prays to God for a famine in the land so the people will be more occupied in the sustenance of life than the destruction of it.  It seemed to work.  They suffered for three years and went to Nephi, a prophet of the Lord, and asked him to ask Heavenly Father to bring rain so they won’t perish.  They were repenting!  Nephi did as they asked and told the Lord they had learned their lesson.  It rained.  The famine ended.  The Lamanites and Nephites were of the same mind again – for a short period of time, about 5 years to be exact.  The Gadianton robbers began to have power in the land again and in seven years, the dissenters were many and the people began to “wax strong in iniquity (v36)”. 

Over and over in the Book of Mormon we read of the highs and lows.  The people are righteous and blessed, and then they become proud because they are blessed, then they become evil because they are proud.  There really is no shortage of examples. 

We see this today in the individual lives of many.  We see people leave the Church for whatever reason.  They could have a difference of opinion, be offended, be weak to the things of the flesh and then feel unworthy, or they could just be indifferent and fall into activity.  It is only a matter of time before the offender misses the blessings they are missing out on because they are not keeping all the commandments.  Sometimes it is dramatic like an accident, death, illness, broken relationships, etc.  Those blessings they are missing are like the shocks in our vehicle through life.  To those living righteously, these blessings prevent utter destruction when things don’t go right.  The Savior’s love is felt as we have our trials.  The Holy Ghost navigates us around those trials or comforts us so that we may endure them.  So far, as a Church, we have been blessed not to suffer as did the Nephites.

Our RS lesson yesterday was most interesting.  We were told of a young man in the teacher’s family who was outstanding as a youth in every way and had such great promise for his future.  He told his parents he was leaving the church, and they are of course devastated.  He just couldn’t buy it anymore.  The family has called all their extended family to pray for him and send him notes or call him and ask him to reconsider.  I couldn’t help but reflect on my own life.  Would that have worked for me?  I had plenty of “reminders” from my own parents that I wasn’t living a life that would bring me happiness.  Did I need a truckload of reminders?  I think probably not.  I am of the mind that the two most valuable things we can do as family and friends is 1) pray for our loved ones and 2) love them perfectly – as the Savior loves them.  We are to accept them without accepting their behavior.  This isn’t an easy thing to do, but it is critical to the end result.  I believe covenant children will feel the tug of these prayers as they try to navigate their own way through a very harsh world.  Eventually, it will hurt.  Like the Prodigal Son and the Nephites, the dissenter will remember the things he/she was taught as a child and desire change that will bring happiness.  We must be there for them.  We must keep that relationship strong so they will feel comfortable reaching out for help.  We can’t return without the help of friends and loved ones.  We need the strength of each other to break old habits and establish new.  It is just the way it is.  This is my experience, and testimony.

These were my thoughts as I read Helaman 11 this morning.  The Nephites and Lamanites remembered Nephi was a prophet and went to him when it became too hard to bear.  I believe it is a natural process and a blessing that comes attached to the consequences of breaking the commandments.  If you look at the commandments carefully, the consequence of breaking each one is painful.  It was meant to be that way.  That said, what parent in their wisdom would dare to pray those consequences away?  Shouldn’t our prayers be more that their actions will lead them quickly back to the path that will lead back to their Heavenly Father, realizing that it will have to hurt sometime?  Better in this life than to have to wait for the next, which is a big possibility if life is just too easy.

I know our Heavenly Father has a Plan for each of us.  I remind myself of this daily as I ache for those of my own children and nieces and nephews who have let go of the Iron Rod.  I’m grateful there were people waiting to help me when it became too painful to continue in the direction I was going.  I pray that I will be at the ready when someone I love is at that point in his or her life as well.

I would be interested in feedback on this.  My data base is small and maybe there are other ways.  I'm not aware of them though.

Helaman 5 – Pray for Angels to Attend

Nephi and Lehi decide it is time to preach the word to the people because nothing else seemed to be working.  The people had become corrupted (v2).  They remembered the words of their father, Helaman.  He gave them counsel that is good for us today:

• Keep the commandments of God
• Declare the gospel (aka bear testimony often)
• Remember your names (For us, it is Christians)
• Remember the teachings of Christ and His goodness
• Do good works as did Jesus
• Do not boast
• Remember – Christ is the only way to be saved
• Remember Christ came to redeem the world

Nephi and Lehi had tremendous success among the Lamanites and baptized eight thousand people.  This is huge!  You would think that’s enough to protect them from being put in prison, but apparently the Lord wanted to put an exclamation point on their success.  They went into the land of Nephi and were taken by an army of the Lamanites and cast into prison (v21).  I have a note in my scriptures that what happens next is a temple experience. 

They were encircled about as if by fire yet they were not consumed (v23).  When they noticed this, their hearts gained courage for they saw that the Lamanites were powerless to harm them.  In this state, they bore testimony to the power that was protecting them and showing them as well that they were powerless to harm them.  If this wasn’t enough, those who were dissenters were overshadowed by darkness and an “awful solemn fear came upon them”.  Was it fear that created the darkness?  We’ve been told faith and fear cannot coexist.  Yet, because of their evil doings, fear could be all they would have at this point.

And now for the climax!  They heard a voice above the darkness telling them to repent.  The voice told them things that “cannot be uttered by man”.  What did it say?  It’s hard not to speculate.  In spite of the darkness, one Nephite who was a dissenter saw the faces of Nephi and Lehi shown like angels.  The Lamanites asked what they could do to have the darkness that was overshadowing them disperse.  (When we are in a state of darkness, do we usually have the presence of mind to ask someone what we can do to have the darkness removed?  Not usually.)  The dissenter Nephite said: “You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you (v41).  This is wise counsel to anyone who feels their life has become dark and not much to live for.   The people did as the dissenter Nephite told them, and the darkness dispersed!

Then a real tender mercy unfolds.  The heavens opened and angels came and ministered to them (v48).  I have a sticky note in my scriptures that gives me hope that my children could be taught by angels – perhaps their grandpa.  It is from Gospel Doctrine, pp. 435-37 Millet & McConkie BOM Commentary Vol. 3, p. 360:  They say “there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it” (D&C 130:5).  “In like manner (speaking of this experience) our fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and friends who have passed away from the earth, having been faithful and worthy to enjoy these rights and privileges, may have a mission given them to visit their relatives and friends upon the earth again bringing from the divine Presence message of love, of warning, of reproof and instruction, to those whom they had learned to love in the flesh.” 

I love this teaching, which makes me wonder if it would be appropriate for my dad (their grandpa) to minister to them.  Certainly it couldn’t hurt.  That said, when I am in distress or need of any kind, it would be appropriate to pray for angels to attend me.