Ether 2:25 – Thanks for The Miracles!

Ether 2:25 – “ . . . what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light. . .?”

As I read this last verse in chapter 2 of Ether, the words “what will ye that I should prepare for you” rang in my ears.  I’m currently in a lot of trials and tribulations with many family members that apparently is affecting me personally.  I feel like I’m handling it well enough, but tale-tale signs of the body speak otherwise. 

I sat here for a moment and thought about those words: “What will ye that I should prepare for you?”  I try to avoid counseling the Lord in what I would that He should do.  This is because of experience.  His ideas are so much better than my own.  When I ask for help, I make sure to let Him know I really don’t have the answer.  Oh, I’d love to have everybody peacefully living righteous, healthy and productive lives in my family.  But that would eliminate the trials that will allow that to happen.  What would I have the Lord do?  He is doing it!  We have seen numerous tender mercies, as my two daughters have miraculously been able to come together in the fight of my one daughter’s life to break loose from an abusive husband and a battered life that has left her with no self-confidence or self-esteem.  This is hard to watch.  I don’t believe for a second that the “helping” daughter being laid off from a job that was extremely stressful was mere chance.  The timing was perfect for her to offer her help to her little sister.  Job searching has continued while she’s been there, so it’s been nothing but a good thing.  She doesn’t do idleness well and the things she’s done have been what we could not have done.  She’s exhausted, but happy to be useful.

The Lord put in place two friends (my other daughter and her friend) to meet who rarely see other.  Their conversation led to the retention of a lawyer who seems to be made for this type of complicated event.  He is very caring and available to them.  His schedule on the first meeting was packed.  A cancelation of a deposition left him with an empty calendar all afternoon.  Chance?  You won’t convince me of that!

A young mom with tattoos and a testimony stopped by to visit with my two daughters.  They took an instant liking to her as she said she was just looking for the new girl she heard had moved in.  She wasn’t there to pass judgment or try to pester her to come to church, but she hoped to be her friend.  This will be such a blessing when my daughter leaves her little sister to return home.

There are other things in my life that need solutions, but I know the Lord will provide a way when we get to the point of making decisions.  My mother is in a rehab center recovering from a broken femur.  As hard as this is on her, I know it’s all for a purpose and the Lord will show us how to navigate through these tough decisions when we get to them.  I don’t think I spend a lot of time worrying about it.  The Lord knows my heart and my needs.  It’s his deal and I’ll do whatever is required of me.

So there you have it.  What would I have the Lord do?  Let my eyes see the tender mercies he is placing before me.  Let me continue to enjoy good health so I can help those I love.  Let my light shine for my family that they’ll want to seek out the warmth that fills my life.  I guess you could say, “Father in Heaven, thanks for the miracles.  Please let me be worthy of their continuance.” 

Mormon 9 – Enduring to the End

Since I’ve read the Book of Mormon many times, I know this isn’t the last we’ll hear from Moroni, but if I did think so, it would be a sobering book to end his writings on.  At this time he believes he’s done, or so it would seem.

What is his counsel to me? 

• To believe in Jesus Christ who is powerful to save me from my sins, my trials and tribulations.
• Believe that Christ created the earth and everything that is in it – including me. 
• Don’t deny Jesus Christ, or despise him or doubt him, but rather to come unto Christ and work out my own salvation with fear and trembling before him. V27
• Be wise. 
• Strip myself of uncleanness. 
• Ask in prayer for things that will help me accomplish what I came here to do – not to satisfy my own lusts.  Serve the true and living God. V28
• Be sincere and worthy of baptism. 
• Partake of the sacrament of Christ worthily. 
• Endure to the end.

This list is very similar to the list of things we were told to do this weekend in conference.  Enduring to the end is a big one.  This is especially pertinent if we have taken Christ’s name on us through baptism.  When we are keeping the covenants we have made and serving others, keeping on is the big thing.

I’m watching my mother struggle with old age and now a broken femur that is really testing her metal.  She is feeling pretty worthless and wondering why she’s still hanging around.  I can see the “enduring to the end” as a big deal in her life currently, and wonder how I would be handling a similar situation in my own life.  My day will come, no doubt. 

Most of the brethren who counseled “enduring to the end” are men in their 80’s as well.  One spoke of Pres. Grant praying for the courage to “endure to the end” at the end of his life.  Will I have the presence of mind to pray for strength to endure the trials?  Will I have the courage to do the things necessary to gain that strength?  Will I have the courage to let go and let God bear my burdens?  I think that’s a big one.  There are some things we cannot fix.  Letting go of them is a big step and probably very necessary. 

And so goes my life.  There are many things in my life currently over which I have no control.  Am I’m giving them to my Savior?  I believe I am.  I’m trying hard not to carry “stuff” that is not mine.  It is a mother’s desire to “fix” her children. But that is the Savior’s unique assignment.  I can only love them for who they are and trust that when they feel that love, they will desire more.  I’m incapable of giving the “more” love they will seek eventually.  Only the Savior can satisfy that need.  I trust in that one as I went through it myself.  The Savior’s love so exceeds any love we can experience in this life that anything I’m asked to do is worth feeling that love.  And that is what I pray for my children.

Sing Praises

Mormon 7: 7  My Soul Delighteth in the Sound of Music

Okay, that’s not what that verse says at all.  But my soul does delight in the sound of good music.  What this verse does say however, is that if I am “. . . found guiltless before him (God) at the judgment day. . .” and I’m able to “. . . dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom,. . .” I will “. . .sing praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end.”  Sing with the ultimate choir?  Sign me up!  

I find such great joy in my participation in ward and stake choirs.  Since I have become an active adult member, I have been in ward choir.  Choir activity was the "hook" that got me to church on a regular basis.  I’ve always participated in stake choirs when invited.  For the last two years I’ve been serving as the choir director in our ward and I have loved all of it.  Getting participation is a real challenge, but they always pull through at the end.  Lately I’ve been blessed to write arrangements of hymns they have sung and it brings me such joy!  I can only imagine the joy I will feel when I am in the presence of God in his kingdom and singing praises to him eternally.  What a happy day that will be!

Mormon 3 - God is Merciful!

Discover the beauty of Repentence!

I don’t really expect much time to write, but the thoughts I had this morning are influenced by the events of my daughter’s life currently.  The Book of Mormon is such a powerful tool in helping us know how to live our lives.  If everyone would believe that and live it, what a wonderful world we would live in!

I read Mormon 3 this morning.  Mormon is disgusted with the Nephites and their behavior and unwillingness to see the Lord’s hand in their successes.  They had a little success in battle against the Lamanites and “. . . they began to boast in their own strength, and began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren who had been slain by their enemies. (v9)  I have written in my margin D&C 3:4-11, so I read it this morning as well.  This is Joseph’s chastisement for having lost the 116 pages of manuscript of the Book of Mormon.  Of course, the Lord was displeased.  This was not news to Him though, and a backup was in place hundreds of years before this event.  What I found great comfort in was the last two verses of this reference. 

“10 But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou has done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work;  11 Except Thou do this, thou shalt be delivered up and become as other men, and have no more gift.”

I believe with all my heart this applies to each of us as we travel life’s road of adversity.  We will make mistakes.  We all do.  But the Lord has put in place a beautiful plan for us to return to safety.  Our Savior has paid the price for our mistakes and when we repent and “Come Unto Him”, miracles begin to happen and the darkness disappears and we are able to see the Lord’s hand in the affairs of our lives.  I’ve seen it happen enough that I know this is a truth.  I pray for each of my children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews to discover this truth.  Life is a dark place without the light of Christ leading the way.  This is not preaching!  This is a fact.

Keep The Commandments - 4th Nephi

Today I read the last page of 3^rd Nephi and 4^th Nephi.  Given my circumstances currently, it was a chilling experience.  My time in the scriptures has a broad background brush that paints every page.  It is the brush of the paths of my children, nieces and nephews who have turned from the teachings of their youth, who have broken their covenants (and their parents’ and grandparents’ hearts) and followed the path of inactivity, indifference and some even spurning things of the Lord.  The entire time I’m reading I can’t help but think, “And how is this working for you?”  Every one of them has heavy burdens of either divorce, individual health, ill health of a family member.  Of course, my biggest concern is my own two daughters - one losing one job after nothing – never of her own fault, according to her account, the other in the throws of a divorce.

3 Nephi 29:5 “Wo unto him that spurneth at the doing of the Lord; yea, wo unto him that shall deny the Christ and his works!”  Yikes!  Why would that not breathe a little fear into your soul? Of course, it is because you aren’t reading it regularly and don’t really believe the Lord is good on His promises. The dictionary defines woe as “great sorrow or distress: they had a complicated tale of woe;  (woes) things that cause sorrow or distress; troubles. 

I was reminded as I was reading that my son-in-law declined to have my granddaughter baptized because he wanted to wait until she was old enough to “choose for herself” so she’ll know what she’s doing.  When I was told this, I felt like a glass of ice water has been thrown on my face.  This from a young man who less than ten years previous I could easily see as a bishop, stake president or general authority because he was so knowledgeable in the gospel. He has totally forgotten the covenants he made with the Lord. He was heaped a whole lot of woes on him and his family, the effects to be felt for a very long time. 

4^th Nephi is a short chapter with a long history starting out with the people of Nephi having all things in common and worshipping God and keeping all the commandments.  It starts out as a happy time never to be equaled in the history of man.  There was peace in the land. They were strong and powerful as a people and built beautiful cities. They worshipped the Lord and did His will in all things.  Then Satan began to have sway with some of them and they began to fall away from the church.  What caused this? It would seem to me that one of the biggest hurdles we have to jump as members of the Church is “prosperity”. The Lord blesses us when we do His will and part of those blessings can sometimes mean financial success.  It is critical that success be credited to the Lord and that we continue serving – even pump it up - and keep the commandments so that we don’t misuse our prosperity.

Pride is the next one.  Those who are prosperous begin wearing costly apparel, build nicer homes, and focus on themselves more.  Ugh!  Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. 

The next step is division among the people, aka “classes”.  The “haves” and the “have nots” are not comfortable in each other’s company and the chasm becomes greater and greater. It’s a fast decline and easy to understand.  The Lord makes it clear in the scriptures that the way to avoid this class distinction is serving each other and keeping the commandments of God. 

This includes the covenants we made in the temple of the Lord.  Again, my son-in-law told me the Lord didn’t really expect everyone to go to the temple every week or even every month.  It is a suggestion to go regularly, but He knows people in far-reaching parts of the world are going to have to make huge sacrifices to get there.  The point is being “temple focused”.  Well, consequently we can count on two hands the times she has been to the temple since their marriage.  How can we remember the promises we’ve made if we don’t keep hearing those promises? 

The way to stay safely on the Lord’s side of the line is clear and consistent. We’ve been told over and over in conference talks, read how in the Book of Mormon and there are sermons walking around us freely daily.  Keep the commandments.  Read your scriptures daily individually and as a family.  Have individual and family prayer.  Have Family Home Evening, and attend the temple frequently.  If you can’t attend the temple frequently because of distance, then focus on saving and planning for the next possible trip, having that be a focus of your family worship. It seems like such an easy formula. Why do so many lose that focus? 

I could go on and on and I have a day to tackle.  I know the things I’ve written are true.  I’ve applied them to my life.  When I get casual in any one of the things I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I have noticed it is easier to relax in another one.  These are all items that need to be attended to regularly – daily even.  Oh how I pray for my children and loved ones to have the epiphany necessary to stop in their tracks and ask themselves this question “What am I thinking?”  And then have the courage to make the changes – one step at a time, steady and consistently moving forward and back to the “path that will lead to happiness in the life and eternal life in the world to come.” This comes from Proclamation on the Family, and is a truth of which I can testify.