Mosiah16
1 And now, it came to pass that after Abinadi had spoken these words he stretched forth his hand and said: The time shall come when all shall see the asalvation of the Lord; when bevery nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall see eye to eye and shall cconfess before God that his djudgments are just.
The time will come when all men will know that the words spoken by the prophets are true, that Jesus Christ is our Savior and the Redeemer of all mankind. Denial will no longer be a luxury they can maintain.
12 Having gone according to their own carnal wills and desires; having never called upon the Lord while the arms of mercy were extended towards them; for the arms of mercy were extended towards them, and they would anot; they being warned of their iniquities and yet they would not depart from them; and they were commanded to repent and yet they would not repent.
I think of my Savior, His arms outstretched, inviting. I think about the times I have received His invitation and thrown myself into His arms in tears. I think about how every time, He has comforted and healed me. I know that each time I come unto Him, He will comfort and heal me. And then I think of all the people who "would not." Those who choose their own willfulness over the rest He offers. It makes me feel sad.
The gospel is simple. The plan of happiness is simple. Love God. Turn to His Son. Do your best. Love others. Be happy, be happy, be happy.
Today, I choose to be happy.
Showing posts with label Repentance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Repentance. Show all posts
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
With His Stripes We Are Healed
Mosiah 14
3 He is adespised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
3 He is adespised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
5 But he was awounded for our btransgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are chealed.
I can read these verses over and over again. They make me feel so much love for my Savior. A man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, who has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Sometimes, in my darkest trials, the Spirit whispers to me that there is someone who understands exactly what I'm going through. Only one. He alone knows just how painful this is, just how much strength and courage it takes to get through this day, or even through this one moment. He has already borne this grief. He knows.
There is something amazingly comforting knowing you are not alone, that you don't have to carry your burdens alone. It is like being yoked to Him; He takes the weight off your shoulders just enough that you can bear it. Without Him, it is crushing. Just too much.
This is what I think about when I try to understand the atonement. This is how I strive to apply the atonement in my life. I come to my Savior, Jesus Christ, with my burdens, and I lay them at His feet. He whispers to my heart, "I know. I understand. Follow me, and we'll get through this." And then the miracle occurs. I am healed.
I've explained to my children the miracle of the atonement isn't just that Christ has taken away our sins. It is that He heals us from the pain in our lives that drove us to sin in the first place. The evil that we do, the sins that we commit are usually a poor attempt to muffle the pain in our lives. It is because we are healed that we have no more desire to do evil, that we can find joy in doing good continually.
Friday, October 29, 2010
One Step At A Time
2 Nephi 9
v. 41 "Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel."
The path for man is narrow, so narrow that there is only room to put one foot in front of the other, step by step, always moving toward Christ. It's a journey, this path, and a constant discovery. I become aware of some flaw in me, at times a very big flaw, sometimes just something small and bothersome. With faith, I take the first step and acknowledge it. I want to change. I believe that my Savior will help me. I look to His life and see how to do it. I take a step in His direction. I feel His love and encouragement. Encouragement. Giving me courage. As I move away from my flaw and toward my Savior, He heals me. Happiness floods that area in my life where pain used to be. I am lighter, I am stronger. I can see clearer. See another flaw. Take another step. Just one step at a time.
v. 41 "Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel."
The path for man is narrow, so narrow that there is only room to put one foot in front of the other, step by step, always moving toward Christ. It's a journey, this path, and a constant discovery. I become aware of some flaw in me, at times a very big flaw, sometimes just something small and bothersome. With faith, I take the first step and acknowledge it. I want to change. I believe that my Savior will help me. I look to His life and see how to do it. I take a step in His direction. I feel His love and encouragement. Encouragement. Giving me courage. As I move away from my flaw and toward my Savior, He heals me. Happiness floods that area in my life where pain used to be. I am lighter, I am stronger. I can see clearer. See another flaw. Take another step. Just one step at a time.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
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?
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?
Friday, September 10, 2010
Repentance
Alma 29:1-4 Alma 42:31 Alma 62:45 Doctrine and Covenants 14:8 Doctrine and Covenants 15:6 Doctrine and Covenants 16:6
"Oh, that I were an angel," cried Alma, "and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!"
And why did he wish to be an angel? For glory, for power? No, it was "that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth."
As a mom, I sometimes wish that I could speak with a voice that would shake my children. "Look. You're not happy. This is the way."
When I was growing up, whenever repentance was taught in church, the lesson was accompanied by a picture of a man in agony on his knees. Perhaps you remember this picture. It was heart wrenching, and you could see the man was in great pain. It taught me that repentance was hard, and it was painful.
Once I had learned to repent, however, I realized that this picture was wrong, wrong, wrong. Sure, there's a measure of difficulty and pain involved, but it comes from the sins you are forsaking, not from the repentance process itself.
The picture that comes to my mind when I think about repentance is my old home teacher, a relatively young man with tattoos up and down his arms that peeked out from the sleeves of his white shirt, who taught with humility and love, and when he looked at you, he looked you in the eyes with a clear, blameless gaze. He talked about the life that Christ saved him from. I felt the gratitude in his voice. He was happy. He was free.
You can see a person's burdens in their eyes, in the corners of their mouths, in lines burrowed in their foreheads, in shoulders bent and arms hanging down. You can see repentance in the twinkling of their eyes, the smile of their mouths, their shoulders back and strong, their arms reaching out to others.
Oh, that I were an angel, and could give this gift to others, that there would be no more sorrow in the world.
"Oh, that I were an angel," cried Alma, "and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!"
And why did he wish to be an angel? For glory, for power? No, it was "that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth."
As a mom, I sometimes wish that I could speak with a voice that would shake my children. "Look. You're not happy. This is the way."
When I was growing up, whenever repentance was taught in church, the lesson was accompanied by a picture of a man in agony on his knees. Perhaps you remember this picture. It was heart wrenching, and you could see the man was in great pain. It taught me that repentance was hard, and it was painful.
Once I had learned to repent, however, I realized that this picture was wrong, wrong, wrong. Sure, there's a measure of difficulty and pain involved, but it comes from the sins you are forsaking, not from the repentance process itself.
The picture that comes to my mind when I think about repentance is my old home teacher, a relatively young man with tattoos up and down his arms that peeked out from the sleeves of his white shirt, who taught with humility and love, and when he looked at you, he looked you in the eyes with a clear, blameless gaze. He talked about the life that Christ saved him from. I felt the gratitude in his voice. He was happy. He was free.
You can see a person's burdens in their eyes, in the corners of their mouths, in lines burrowed in their foreheads, in shoulders bent and arms hanging down. You can see repentance in the twinkling of their eyes, the smile of their mouths, their shoulders back and strong, their arms reaching out to others.
Oh, that I were an angel, and could give this gift to others, that there would be no more sorrow in the world.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
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.
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.
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