Light in the Darkness

Ether 3

v. 1 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the ^amount, which they called the mount ^bShelem, because of its exceeding height, and did ^cmolten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent ^dglass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord, saying:

v. 2 O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be ^aangry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are ^bunworthy before thee; because of the ^cfall our ^dnatures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.

v. 3 Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been ^amerciful unto us. O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these ^bthings which I have molten out of the rock.

v. 4 And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all ^apower, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy ^bfinger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have ^clight while we shall cross the sea.

v. 5 Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which ^alooks small unto the understanding of men.

Everybody passes through dark times, trials and tribulations.  That is the nature of this life. "A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." Ecclesiastes 3:4  If you don't know bitter, you can't know the sweet.

So, I have to ask myself, have I done enough to prepare myself for this journey, for the storms that I knew would come?  And what am I doing now to provide light during these dark times?

I'm responsible for providing the light.  It's up to me to look for it and find it, and if I do, the Lord will bless it.  I suppose that's one of the lessons I am to learn from this. 

My lighted stones are:

My husband

My children

Prayer

Scripture study

My writing

My friends

Good music

The flowers in my garden

The birds that visit me

The abundant sunshine outside

My internet supportive community

Stories from General Conference online

Good books

These are the things that bring me joy every day, that make me smile and feel happy, that make my burdens seem much smaller and less significant.  These things outshine my suffering and push it into the background of a very happy life. 

The Holy Ghost: The Greatest Gift

3 Nephi 19:1-13   Doctrine and Covenants 45:56-57   John 3:5   John 14:26-27  Galatians 5:22-25

Why is the Holy Ghost the greatest gift?

The Holy Ghost teaches you the truth of all things.  It allows you to discern between truth and error, good and bad, that you will not be deceived.  It is your personal guide to a life of happiness.  By following the Spirit, you are led to develop Christ-like attributes, and you are then blessed with the fruits of the Spirit, which are numerous.

I like how the 14th chapter of John begins, "Let not your heart be troubled."  These are troubling times, and I am besought with troubling challenges.  How do I face them, in a world like this?  Verse 26th gives me the answer:  "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  I turn myself and all my troubles and cares to the Lord, and through the gift of the Holy Ghost, He sends me peace.

The fruits of the Spirit are:
love
joy
peace
longsuffering
gentleness
goodness
faith
meekness
temperance

And this reminds me of another of my favorite scriptures, James 3:17-18:
"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
"And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace."

I use this scripture as a yardstick to see how well I'm following the Spirit.  It shows up first in the home.  If I am gentle, easy to be intreated, and merciful in the home, then our home is peaceful, and I know I'm on the right track.

Blessings for the Faithful

Doctrine and Covenants 109
The dedicatory prayer for the Kirtland temple.

What blessings did Joseph Smith request for the faithful?
* God's assistance
* That they might feel His power
* That they may be taught from the best books
* That they may grow up in Him
* That they may receive a fullness of the Holy Ghost
* That they may be organized
* That they may be prepared to obtain every needful thing
* That they might speedily repent
* And be restored to the blessings ordained to be poured out upon them
* That they might be armed with power
* That they may be the bearers of exceedingly great and glorious tidings
* That no weapon formed against them shall prosper
* That no combination of wickedness shall prevail over them
* That there may be an end to lying reports
* Deliverance from under the yoke of persecution
* Forgiveness of transgressions
* The gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues
* Testimony
* Deliverance from the calamity of the wicked
* That they may be prepared for the last day
* That their garments may be pure
* That they may be clothed with robes of righteousness
* That He may hear and answer their prayers
* That they may be lifted up at the last day
* That they may ever be with the Lord

The Tree of Life

1 Nephi 8 and 1 Nephi 11

I've always loved Lehi's vision of the tree of life.  As a parent, I've felt his feelings of wanting my children to experience the joy I know through the gospel.  I've always thought of the fruit of the tree in big picture terms, as The Gospel, or The Love of God, or Eternal Life.  This time, while reading, the smaller, individual things that I love about the gospel came to mind.

I've often thought of the fruit of the tree of life as a pear.  I don't know why, but I guess because pears are white inside, and I think they're delicious.  Now, I'm thinking of it more like a cluster of grapes, and each tiny morsel contributes cumulatively to the joy of the whole.

There's a reason I wanted my daughter to go to BYU.  It's because I had so much fun there.  I enjoyed wholesome, fun relationships, and wholesome, fun activities.  I learned critical thinking.  I developed a thirst for knowledge.  I learned to think for myself.  I strengthened my testimony there.  I want my own kids to experience these things for themselves.

I really want my children, all of my children, to serve a mission like I did.  My capacity to love expanded beyond measure.  My understanding of the gospel grew.  I learned to love unconditionally.  I learned to love different personalities.  I learned problem solving skills.  I learned time management and organizational skills.  I learned how much my Heavenly Father loves me.  I learned how much I love Him.  I learned how to serve and how to work.  It made me so happy, and the preparation it gave me has made me so much happier in my marriage and as a mother.  I want my own kids to experience these things.

I think about individual principles of the gospel.  Like when I was a lonely, confused, hurt 15-year old, feeling like nobody loved me.  I knelt to pray and asked, "Heavenly Father, do you love me?"  And an immediate, overwhelming feeling of warmth, physical like a hug, rushed through my body.  I never doubted again.  I want my own kids to experience that feeling.

Or when I was an older teen, and I went through the repentance process, and it hurt like hell, but when I came out of it, I realized that not only had my burdens been lifted, but through the atonement of Jesus Christ, I was healed.  Not just healed from the pain of my sins, but healed from the pain and loneliness and self-loathing that drove me to sin in the first place.  And I found a friend who would always be with me to heal me from pain and loneliness and self-doubt.  I want my own kids to experience that healing.

I want them to feel good about their bodies when they obey the word of wisdom, and exercise, and eat properly, and feel physical and spiritual strength.  I want them to have their minds set at ease because they've learned to pay tithing and have learned that no matter how it adds up on paper, the Lord will provide.  I want them to feel good when they serve.  I want my own kids to experience these things.