Promises of Support

How often do you feel like you are outnumbered two, or even three or four, to one?  How often do you beat yourself up trying to wrap your head around another concept that is difficult for you to swallow?  How often are you tempted to just throw in the towel?

I've been there.  We all have. We don't all have the same experience with pain and sorrow and trials, but we have all felt at sometime or another that we are all alone.

It was in a time like this that I found new hope in the war chapters, yes, the war chapters!  In Alma 44:4 it states: "Now ye see...that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion."  In the midst of battle with Zerahemnah, Moroni stops to state this simple truth.  In this battle the Lamanite army was double the size of the Nephite army.  Even with all their armor, the Nephites shouldn't have stood a chance.  Indeed, at one point they even began to fail until they were reminded that true strength comes not from swords or shields or earthly courage, but from the one and only true God, Our Father in Heaven.

We must remember that this life is not just about seeing who can make it through the easiest...that was the plan of the adversary.  If I were to truly consider which experiences mean the most to me and make me who I am, it would not be the ease at which I breezed through some classes, nor the simplicity of the easy decisions I have made.  It is the rough and tumble of life that creates us. 

In the midst of trials it is always difficult to see the promised blessings or the growth we are achieving.  President Henry B. Eyring said this: "If the foundation of faith is not embedded in our hearts, the power to endure will crumble."  In the midst of our trials this sturdy foundation is essential to remembering the marvelous support God is willing to give us.  When life is at its worst and I am tempted to become ornery and bitter scriptures like the one in Alma 44 remind me to be faithful and trust in my God for aid and support.  Without such hope I would give in, becoming an unhappy and angry person, a person I never want to be.

Though sorrow and trouble may befall you and you feel about to fail, I pray that you may find a little reminder, as I did, that your trials can never outnumber you when you are one with God. Our body is a temple where the spirit of the Lord my dwell, not much different from the Holy Temple where we worship.  Just like Earthly temples, no matter what may rage around us, our Heavenly Father stands as beacon to guide, comfort, and preserve us.  I know that as we keep our Heavenly Father, His Gospel, our faith, and our religion as our main motivation that endurance will be easier and we will find happiness through the storms of life.

Who is your Enemy?

On May 19, 2012 my Stake Presidency challenge the Young Single Adults in my stake to study the Book of Mormon for 30 minutes a day.  As I have done this many thoughts have come to me.  Some have been very personal revelations but there have been many that I have just been aching to share.  I loved companion study on my mission and I hope each of you will be my companions and share your insights with me as I share mine with you.

I was in the middle of Alma when the challenge was issued and on the brink of my very favorite set of scriptures...The War Chapters.  I don't know why in all my youth these chapters got such a bad reputation, I have learned so much about life, its challenges, and the safety measure I need to put into place to keep myself safe.  For instance, in Alma 43:25-46 we experience one of the first battles of the Nephites versus the Lamanites egged on by the dissenting Zoramites.  Being thus threatened by the Lamanites, Moroni seeks the will of the Lord in destroying them--not for destruction's sake, but for the sake of their wives, children, religion, and freedom.  This being the case and the Lamanites having such an opposite purpose (that of tyranny and power) the Book of Mormon states in verse 30 that Moroni "thought it no sin that he should defend them (the Nephites) by stratagem..."  In verse 46 we gain further insight into his reasoning, "for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies."  This same justification for Earthly judgement and punishment is repeated in Alma 48:14 and in Doctrine & Covenants 98:23-36.

As I pondered these verses in Doctrine & Covenants 98, two words stood out: ENEMY and PATIENTLY.  The verses urge us to be patient with the afflictions placed on us by our enemies, and that by doing so, we would be rewarded.

It occurred to me that I have no physical enemies.  No specific person that I am aware of seeks to harm me physically or mentally.  I guess in this knowledge I have been great blessed.  However, it also occurred to me that my enemy does not always need to be a who; it can also be a what.

The enemies we fight or patiently bear are those of jealousy, loneliness, sorrow, fear, and unkind thoughts. At times we may find that we can patiently bear these enemies attacks and temptations.  Other times it may be all that we can do to keep our mouths shut and our thoughts to ourselves.  It is easy to lash out irrationally as a result of these adversaries.  We choose to fight jealousy with bitterness, loneliness and sorrow with hermitage and depression, fear with anger and frustration, and unkind thoughts by unleashing them, often at those who do not deserve their sting.  It would be better to fight jealousy with kindness, loneliness and sorrow with services, fear with prayer and faith, and unkind thoughts with compliments and bitten tongues.

But if we are to bear the attacks from our enemies patiently, how was Moroni able to receive the Lord's permission in fighting back?  I found the answer in section 98:29, 31, "And then, if he shall come upon you or your children, or your children’s children unto the third and fourth generation, I have delivered thine enemy into thine hands;...Nevertheless, thine enemy is in thine hands; and if thou rewardest him according to his works thou art justified; if he has sought thy life, and thy life is endangered by him, thine enemy is in thine hands and thou art justified."  The instruction is to choose our battles wisely.  It is not given unto us to rush against every enemy or lash back foolishly against temptation.  It would be easy for us to give in and let our non-physical compulsions overpower us because we chose to fight them before we chose to think about them.  Think of the blessings we could miss out on if we left our patience at the entrance of the arena.  As we patiently seek the Lord's will in the timing and stratagem these, our battles, we will be blessed as the armies of Moroni to conquer with His blessing.  And like the armies of Moroni, we will not be "slain by the hands of [our] enemies."

My Joy in Life

3 Nephi 5:13--"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."


In the MTC (Missionary Training Center) one of our teachers had us recite this verse each morning.  As I restart my journey into the "Blog-o-sphere", I feel once again that I can fulfill my calling as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to share the Gospel to all who wish to seek it that all my beloved brothers and sisters might have the everlasting life promised to the humble saints of God.

There are so many thoughts that go through my head sometimes as I study the scriptures and the words of the prophets that all too often my mind races so fast from one thought to the next that I forget the importance of writing it all down and sharing it with others.  My first post had some of these deep thoughts and while I didn't start this blog with the intention of sharing my testimony on it all the time, I've decided that is what it shall become.

That being said, I wish to point out that the contents of this blog reflect MY thoughts in MY study.  They are to be taken as inspiration I have received and connections I have made through scripture which I wish to share.  The contents of this blog are NOT to be taken as official declarations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  For any who are not currently members of said church who may be seeking truth I urge you to read The Book of Mormon, visit www.Mormon.org, and accept visits from full-time missionaries  assigned in your area to teach you and your neighbors the basic principles and doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I know Jesus Christ is my Savior.  That his miraculous birth, tragic death, and triumphant resurrection were all done for me and for you.  I know that he is the Only Begotten Son of our Heavenly Father.  I know they have called prophets anciently and today which have and do lead us to learn and follow the good news, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know that we may return to live with them by following their words given by ancient and modern prophets.  Last but most certainly not least, I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we are loved by our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  I know that of all we do wrong in this life that we can receive forgiveness and They want that more than we can even imagine.

All right, here it goes!