Following the Savior

I love that Isaiah described Jesus Christ as "The Prince of Peace." I have often felt His peace in my life in times of turmoil. I would like to feel it more often. Elder Hales in the last General Conference reminded us that,

"Throughout His life our Savior showed us how to use our agency. As a boy in Jerusalem, He deliberately chose to 'be about [His] Father’s business.' In His ministry, He obediently chose 'to do the will of [His] Father.' In Gethsemane, He chose to suffer all things, saying, 'Not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.' On the cross, He chose to love His enemies, praying, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.' And then, so that He could finally demonstrate that He was choosing for Himself, He was left alone. '[Father,] why hast thou forsaken me?' He asked. At last, He exercised His agency to act, enduring to the end, until He could say, 'It is finished.'" (Nov. 2010 p.25)

I usually consider His ways so much higher than mine that it is difficult to make any comparisons. After reading the words above I was struck by the way His choices were like mine.

• I can choose to be about my Father's business.
• I can choose to do the will of my Father and minister to others.
• That choice is even harder when I hurt but I can still choose His will. I know for sure that he has sent people to strengthen me.
• I can choose to forgive others when they don't understand the harm they have done to me and those I love.
• Even when I feel alone I can choose to finish work that I have been given.

"Though He 'was in all points tempted like as we are,' with every choice and every action He exercised the agency to be our Savior—to break the chains of sin and death for us. And by His perfect life, He taught us that when we choose to do the will of our Heavenly Father, our agency is preserved, our opportunities increase, and we progress." (ibid.)

I will add that peace comes more often.  What a joy it is to follow Him, to "come unto Christ, and be perfected in him." (Moroni 10:32) For His example and for my life I am grateful for Jesus Christ, my Elder Brother, my Savior.

Finding Answers in the Book of Mormon

Captain Maroni protected the Nephites by "building walls of stone to encircle them about" Alma 48:8

These are financially shaky times. What is the metaphorical wall that we might build to protect our families? The answers are in the same chapter.

"And this was their faith, that by so doing [never giving offense] God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land."

So to be o.k. financially I need to be careful about my obedience.

"...yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger; And also, that God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves." Alma 48:15-16

Sometimes the money we need is in the place where we are and the job we presently hold. Sometimes not. We can rely on Him to give us guidance.

President Monson advised us this way "To those within the sound of my voice who are struggling with challenges and difficulties large and small, prayer is the provider of spiritual strength; it is the passport to peace. Prayer is the means by which we approach our Father in Heaven, who loves us. Speak to Him in prayer and then listen for the answer. Miracles are wrought through prayer."

"...and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it...in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity." Alma 48:16

We need to glory in doing good. We need to be excited about our chances and have eyes and ears for the help Heavenly Father gives us when we pray to him. To glory in doing good means we will recognize the good we are already doing and look for opportunities to do more. Doing good feels good.

I love my job. I haven't always been able to say that. Heavenly Father has blessed me richly to be able to see what needed to be done and how it might be accomplished more effectively. Since they told us of the reduction in pay we would receive next year He has helped me see possibilities in related fields where I might do good in a second job. For this I am grateful. Because of this I am happy.

(The views written in this post are the views of the author and do not necessarily represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

Remembering Captivity

As a History major, remembering all sorts of things about our forefathers has been a priority. When I came across a Book of Mormon scripture that said we needed to remember the captivity of our fathers I wondered what the purpose was. Surely it wasn't to encourage self-pity or a blaming outlook. I found the answers in the next two lines. All three start identically: "have you sufficiently retained in remembrance..." The second line shows that when we remember the captivity, we should also remember God's mercy in releasing them from captivity.

My forefathers are not the ones mentioned in the Book of Mormon but they too were protected. They were chased from Missouri and Illinois by mobs. They were delivered from suffering and the threat of violence by a loving Heavenly Father. They where led by a prophet of God to the safety of the Rocky Mountains.

The Jews have memories of the Holocaust and pogroms. They remember God's mercy in the web pages recounting the stories of the rescuers and by placing monuments to their kindness in Israel.

The third line reminds us to remember that God has "delivered their souls from hell." So He has provided them with a physical and a spiritual deliverance. Because He is the same yesterday, today and forever, we know that he will treat us the same way He treated them.

Finally, the word "sufficiently" means to remember enough. If I remember enough, I will be motivated to seek his deliverance in my life, from my sins. In other words, I will repent. "President Joseph F. Smith said: 'When [we receive] the truth [we] will be saved by it. [We] will not be saved merely because someone taught it to [us], but because [we] received and acted upon it'” (see "Teaching Helps Saves Lives")

(The views written in this post are the views of the author and do not necessarily represent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)