Read the Instructions

A Humble Person Refuses to Get Angry

2011-06-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Alma 60:20-21 & 61:9 are passages from the "War Chapters", where Alma records the letters of Captain Moroni to the government and the reply of the chief judge, Pahoran:

60:20 Have ye forgotten the commandments of the Lord your God? Yea, have ye forgotten the captivity of our fathers? Have ye forgotten the many times we have been delivered out of the hands of our enemies?

60:21 Or do ye suppose that the Lord will still deliver us, while we sit upon our thrones and do not make use of the means which the Lord has provided for us?

61:9 And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I, Pahoran, do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat that I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free.

I really enjoy those two chapters because they show how even a great man like Moroni can get things mixed up because he doesn't have the whole story. We get like that, too. (At least I have done that in the past.) Then, the chapters show how we should respond to such an accusation against us: with love and humility. Pahoran is as much a hero to me as Moroni is because of Pahoran's positive response to such a scathing letter. Moroni and Pahoran are amazing men! I love the messages that they both have left for us all.

I know that the messages are for us and that makes me appreciate even more what the Book of Mormon prophets--especially Mormon--went through to preserve the records for our day.

Allow the Seed of Testimony to Sprout and Grow

2011-04-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

Alma 32:30-34 (Comparing faith to a seed):

30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.

31 And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness.

32 Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.

33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.

34 And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand.

These verses have always meant a lot to me and recently have touched me deeply. I have felt all my life that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and that it contains the fullness of the Gospel, but sometimes, I forget why I know that. It is because I have experimented on the word and allowed the seed to grow. And everywhere I look in the Church, those who have tried the same experiment are happy and feel the same thing. The seeds are all good and the fruit is delicious. What a blessing to have the restored Gospel on the Earth!

Internalizing the Scriptures

2011-03-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

Doctrine & Covenants 84:85 - …treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.

Doctrine & Covenants 100:5 - …I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men…

Words of life = thoughts I shall put into your hearts = The Scriptures

I appreciate those verses more now that I understand how big a part the Scriptures and words of the prophets play in our lives. I testify that the scriptures are the Word of God and reading them and internalizing them will enable us to have the Spirit with us in any situation.

Keeping Faith Active

2011-03-13T04:46:00.000-07:00

Enos 1:15-17 (Enos was concerned because the Lamanites swore they would destroy all the records)

15 Wherefore, I knowing that the Lord God was able to preserve our records, I cried unto him continually, for he had said unto me: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.

16 And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time.

17 And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest.

Two things struck me about this passage:

1) Enos knew the Lord could preserve the records, (faith)

2) but he also knew that he needed to ask for the Lord to do it. (acting on his faith through prayer)

Faith is active, not passive. Just like Joseph Smith's revelations during the Restoration--they came after he pondered and prayed.

It is my prayer that we will keep faith active in our lives.

Looking Inside

2011-03-11T16:42:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 16:2

2 All the ways of man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.

This scripture helps us realize that we ought to examine our lives carefully, because we sometimes tend to trivialize or rationalize our sins. I know that happens with me.

May the Lord bless us to continue to do better.

Qualifications for the Gift of the Holy Ghost

2011-03-09T11:59:00.000-08:00

2 Nephi 31:13

13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—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 baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.

Notice that nothing in this scripture talks about being perfect--just having a real willingness to follow Christ, sincerely repent and take upon us His name. Basically, doing everything we can to keep His name sacred in our lives. May the Lord help us all to do so.

Charity is the opposite of pride

2007-07-31T18:03:00.000-07:00

Moroni 7:47-48:

47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

I heard this scripture in a talk at Church one Sunday. Two things that I learned about charity from the talk:
1- Having charity allows us to realize our heritage ("that ye may become the sons [and daughters] of God")
2- Charity is the opposite of pride and may be measured like the scale on the right:

It is my prayer that we will all keep the charitometer needle moving toward the charity side.

Chastening can be hard to take

2007-07-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

Doctrine and Covenants 101:4-5 -

4 Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son.

5 For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified.

I'm posting this passage for me mostly--I have to remember that chastening by the Lord is good, as long as I learn from it. To me, chastening is like receiving a *big* dose of humility. That is not an easy concept to learn. Many of the early apostles didn't learn it at first, so it must be hard. It seems to me that one of the signs of a truly mature person is that they can take constructive criticism without becoming defensive. I'm still working on that, but it is getting easier as I get older.

The "Read the Instructions" Poster

2007-07-27T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is the poster I referred to in my initial entry.

What's behind the blog?

2007-07-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

"Read the Instructions" refers to an insert in "The New Era," a magazine for LDS youth. The poster contains a photo of an open set of scriptures with various hand tools around it. The full text is:

Before all else fails, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. (See Mosiah 1:6-7)

I plan to use this blog as a place to add my thoughts on various passages of scripture. I may end up with more than that, but that will be the blog's main purpose.