The Doctrine of Christ

2 Nephi 31-33

2 Nephi 31:13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall ^afollow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no ^bhypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real ^cintent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are ^dwilling to take upon you the ^ename of Christ, by ^fbaptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the ^gbaptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the ^htongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.
 
The doctrine of Christ is simple, and taught by Jesus Christ himself.  Have faith in Him.  Repent of your sins.  Follow Him into the waters of baptism.  Then receive the Holy Ghost.  Finally, endure to the end.

Many people believe it is enough to stop at the first step: to believe in Christ and His power to save.  They deny themselves the power of the process, the lifetime of healing and growth that He offers us.

The Holy Ghost tells us what we should do next.  It inspires us to live Christ-like lives.  It leads us to do good.  It illuminates weaknesses and inspires us to change.  It turns us to our Savior, the only one who can make the necessary changes to our hearts, to our nature.  Jesus Christ did not save us just once.  He saves us over and over again, as many times as we sin, as many times as we fail, as many times as we fall short of the person He knows we can be.  It is by drawing on that process -- having faith and repenting of our sins and weaknesses -- that we draw upon the power of the atonement.  It is that process that makes us more like Him.

I know that I want to feel the Holy Ghost more powerfully in my life.  Nephi taught the way is by prayer.  Pray always, morning and night, and sometimes in the middle of the day, too.  I know I do this.  A thought comes to mind -- oh, Johnette has a test today -- and I'll say a quick prayer in my mind, "Bless her to do her best."  When I'm suffering, I pray, "Lord, I'm having a really tough time."  When I think about our business struggling, I'll ask him to bless my husband and send an interesting customer to make him happy that day.  When somebody mentions that they or a loved one is sick or having a hard time, I pray in my mind, "Lord, bless them through their afflictions.  Help them like you've helped me."  Just quickies.  But I can make these prayers more frequent, and I can ask for help and invite the Holy Ghost to lead me better.

I want to be kind.  I want to find opportunities to do acts of kindness, even though I am pretty much housebound and isolated from the people I would normally be kind to.  I'll try to remember to say some quick prayers to help me see those opportunities.

Kind of along those lines, I've been praying for the family I don't much like in the neighborhood.  It's helping me to step away from my judgments.  What do I really know about them, anyway?  Only what I've seen from a distance.  My prayers are softening my heart, I believe.  It's a good step forward.

Apply and Live

2 Nephi 31

Am I humble?
I have promised to be obedient to His commandments.  Am I?
I have received the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Do I follow the promptings I receive?
Do I follow Christ with full purpose of heart?  Without hypocrisy?  With real intent?
Do I repent of my shortcomings?
Am I really willing to take His name upon me?  Do I honor His name by my thoughts and actions?
Am I effectively enduring to the end?
Am I pressing forward?  Or am I stagnant?
Am I steadfast?
Do I have a perfect brightness of hope?
Do I love God and my fellow man?  How do I show it?
Do I FEAST upon the word of Christ?

I can give an answer to each question, glibly perhaps, off the top of my head.  But I think I'll make this an exercise in pondering and prayer today.  Where am I weak?  How can I improve?

Comfort

2 Nephi 32:5   John 14:26-27   1 Corinthians 2:9

I have some Big Decisions looming on the horizon, and I have to admit that I have been fearful and emotional lately.  The Lord knows the secret feelings of my heart, and so He whispered words of comfort to my soul:

The Holy Ghost..."will show unto you all things what you should do."

How wonderful that Heavenly Father wants me to know that I don't have to make these decisions on my own.  I don't have to rely on my own understanding.  I don't have to worry that my fears and insecurities will cloud my judgment.  I don't have to worry that my decision will have tragic consequences, because the Lord would never allow that.

Then, my study led me to John 14:26, but my eyes strayed further to the following verse, just as it did a few days ago.

"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."

Hush, child, everything will be all right.  There, there, I'm here, and I always will be.  I'll take you by the hand, and we'll face this storm together.  You are not alone.  Peace.

And finally, this promise:

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."

I do love Him, and He knows how deeply I love Him.  Now it is time to turn my fears over to Him, having faith that my life is in His hands.  Come what may, there will be great blessings in store.

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.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

2 Nephi 31:10-21  3 Nephi 11:31-41  3 Nephi 27:13-22

Just reading the title of this section in my study this morning had a very strong effect on me.  My heart was full, and tears came to my eyes, just like right now as I'm typing this.  I love the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I love my Savior.  I love my relationship with Him as I have come unto Him, as I have learned of Him, as I have followed Him, as I have tried more and more to be like Him.  I have been blessed beyond measure as He has taken so much pain from my life -- and I have had so much pain in my life.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is very simple.  Come unto Christ.  Have faith in Him and His atonement.  Let that faith move you to want to be better, to be rid of the burdens you carry.  Repent.  Show your repentance by following Him into the waters of baptism.  Then He will purify you by the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost will be your companion, to show you how to continue the path to Christ, always following Him.

"These are not steps that [you] experience once in [your life]; rather, when repeated throughout life these principles become an increasingly rewarding pattern of living.

"Obedience to Jesus Christ is a lifelong commitment.  Through exercising faith, repenting, being baptized and committing to serve Christ, and then receiving the Holy Ghost, we can experience healing, forgiveness of sins, and complete conversion to the Savior and His gospel."  (Preach My Gospel, p. 6)

My experience is that this is true.  He always stands with open arms, ready to receive you.  It is a warm and wonderful place to be.