He Beheld not the Filthiness...

Nephi was questioned by his brothers regarding the dream of their father. Nephi was asked what the river of water meant or symbolized.

Nephi's response is found in 1 Nephi 15:27 when he explains, "The water was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water."

Though there are layers of meaning and symbolism in the different analogies, I realized one profound interpretation from the previous scripture.

When his mind was swallowed up in other things, he didn't behold the filthiness of the water. Sometimes, some of us may be considered naive as to the latest slang, video games, or grievous sins of the world...is that a bad thing? Sometimes I'll learn of some horrific violence, someone who violated an office, or some secret work or combination and I'm amazed that such wickedness could actually transpire. How do such situations of awful wickedness ever develop in the first place?

Is our mind focused and oriented on Christ, such that we don't behold the filthiness which surrounds us on every side?

We live in a world of corruption...drugs, pornography, secret combinations, and so on. Although it's important to be aware of those traps and temptations, when we keep our minds focused on Christ and his gospel, we generally don't understand or behold the filthiness of the water - which is a blessing.

This is simply a reminder not to walk up to the waters edge and see how filthy it really is. We don't need to look at the water. Our concern should be to cling to the rod of iron and keep our focus on the tree and its fruit. When we keep our eyes and efforts focused on the tree and its fruit, our minds and spirit are more likely to be swallowed up and we won't behold the filthiness which surrounds us.

I Will Be Your Light in the Wilderness

I love the verse in 1 Nephi 17:13 when he says "I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led." This verse has great personal application:

- I will be your light in the wilderness: Each of us begins in the wilderness, a place where it's easy to get lost and wander. However, with his light, the way is sure. How many people have been led out of difficult circumstances through "a wilderness"...Moses, Abraham, Lehi, Mulek, Jared, etc.. We each have our own "wilderness".

- I will prepare the way before you: He did so in the case of each name mentioned above. I look back in my life and I'm amazed at how doors seemed to magically open before us in each phase of our life. I'm a living witness that this simple statement is true!

- If it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; This makes the previous statement conditional. When we keep his commandments, he will be our light in the wilderness and prepare the way before us. Do we keep his commandments? How can you and I do better?

- Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall be led towards the promised land: Using the names listed previously, their "promised land" was different for every one of them. Each were led by the Lord, yet ended up in different places. In our journey through mortality, when we keep his commandments, he will lead US to OUR promised land...whatever and wherever that may be. What's important to understand is that it's conditional upon our obedience. Wherever he leads us will be where he wants us and it will be the best place for us to be.

- And ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led: When we've felt his hand guide us and our family and watched the doors open, when the doors were otherwise closed, we CANNOT deny the guide and the source of the light. We can witness that it was by him that we were led.

During the past 14 years, we have moved around the United States and then moved back to Utah about 1 1/2 years ago. As we look back at our journey (even before the 14 years) it's so plain to see his hand leading us from place to place, even until we've ended up where we are now. In our case, doors open when they were closed. Miracles happened. Some may call it coincidence, I'm well past the point where I call things coincidence.

May we allow the Lord to be our light and guide by keeping his commandments and obeying that voice when we hear or feel it.

For He That Diligently Seeketh

I love the words of Nephi. He made a powerful statement in 1 Nephi 10:19 when he exclaimed,

 "For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost..."

I pose an introspective question for anyone who might read this:

What is "diligently" mean for you and me? Is it 5 or 10 minutes a day reading the scriptures? Is a few minutes of prayer morning and night sufficient?

If a team is diligently preparing for an upcoming game, they tend to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into their preparation...do we seek the Lord with that level of diligence?

Nephi later goes on to say in 2 Nephi 9:30,

 "Their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their God. And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also."

Where do you and I set our hearts? Do we have any "treasure" aside from the one true God? If so, does that treasure prevent us from diligently seeking him?

Nephi was able to see our day and the trials and tribulations we would pass through. His counsel is wise and inspired and we would be wise to hearken to these verses, set aside our "treasure", and diligently seek the Lord.

The Parable of the Snowmobile and the Forest

We've been visiting family in Bear Lake for a couple of days to celebrate the New Year. Yesterday afternoon, on a brisk and clear day, we took the snowmobiles into the beautiful mountains near Bear lake. It was to be a short ride, we rode away with only two hours of sunlight left.

As we continued to climb and go farther back in the mountains, we broke above the haze that lingered in the valley and the bright, deep-blue sky appeared. It was brilliant as the sun reflected off the snow.

We continued to go farther and deeper into the mountains, I was comfortable because I was with my brother-in-laws who knew the area very well. As we climbed up through some trees and came out on a ridge, I noticed that all the fresh snowmobile tracks disappeared. As we continued through the trees and up the ridge, I was thinking to myself, "I'm glad they know where we are, because I certainly have no idea." The entire ride we had seen fresh tracks everywhere, now it was just our tracks. After a few minutes, my brother-in-law pulled up and said that he had no idea where we were, even though they knew the general direction we needed to go, we were lost. This wouldn't have been a significant concern, except that the sun was setting and darkness wasn't far away from enveloping us.

I suggested we follow our own tracks out and so we turned around and started back. We had only gone for a few minutes and my brother-in-law, who was in the lead, made a U turn. I asked what we were doing and he said the tracks we had started to follow had turned into someone else's tracks. We were definitely lost. We chose a couple of directions and went for a few minutes before realizing that we were just making circles. I had always wondered how it was possible for people to get lost in what were normally totally familiar mountains, this was my answer!

We decided to simply start "down" the mountain, but after going for just a few minutes, we came upon a steep ravine and couldn't continue on that path - once again we had to turn around. Now the sun was low on the horizon and we didn't have much time before it was gone. We decided to say a prayer. We gathered in a circle, said a quick prayer asking for help and guidance and then closed the prayer. My brother-in-law decided to ride around a set of trees and see what was on the other side, we rode for one minute and discovered a large set of fresh tracks pointing the direction we needed to go. We followed those tracks for less than two minutes and as we went over one more ridge, the valley we were looking for opened into view - we knew we had made it and were safe! It took us 30 minutes to ride back home and the sun was below the horizon when we arrived at the house.

When we were lost, I couldn't help think of all the symbolism in this event.  We were closer  to a very dangerous situation than we probably realized, especially because we had no survival kit of any kind (matches, flares, etc.) and the temperatures that night would be below zero degrees.

Sometimes in life we cruise along on a path we think is safe. We think all is well and we're quite comfortable with our current situation. Some people go through their entire life, thinking they're on the right trail, when in reality they're going deeper and deeper into the forest where the return becomes even more difficult. Sometimes, we look around and suddenly realize "all is not well", and we try to get back to the true path. Even when we begin to awake, we sometimes try to do it on our own. We look for the path, but end up going in circles. It's not until we sincerely look to the Lord, that he alone can quickly lead us back to the true path and put us on the correct course leading to eternal life. There are many deceptive trails in life, we can choose to follow any one of them, but only when we look to the Lord, will he illuminate the correct path.

I'm grateful for prayer and the quick and immediate answer we received yesterday while snowmobiling. I'm grateful for the lesson taught to me by the Lord. He is the master teacher. I came home and hugged our children, the outcome could have been very different. Let us all look to the Lord and live. Let's be careful about complacency in the gospel or we may find ourselves in a place we never expected to be.

For God So Loved the World

I watch this video in wonder and awe at the majestic man who condescended to come down amongst men when he didn't have too. Here was a man who was already a God and the creator of the world, he had no need of himself to do what he did. In a fullness of charity and mercy, he chose to be born in the humblest circumstances, with no fanfare to laud his coming into this mortal realm. He was raised as a carpenter and then spent his time among the hungry, the "unclean", and those who sought him.

This video is a reminder of true and complete love. For whoever may read this, I know that Christ lives and the time draws near when he will return in majesty and glory. He offers a love and joy that isn't known on earth, only through him can it be found. The world as a whole continues to pull away, but he yet calls for those who are willing to lay down their lives and forget themselves, and in turn, find him.

The Power of Music

Last night my Wife and I attended the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas concert.  It was a beautiful event and the music was incredible. That's one of the primary reasons I love the Christmas season, the music!

For some reason, there is a power to music that can cut through the hardest heart and tear down the thickest walls. Music has pierced hearts when nothing else could.

I scanned the scriptures last night when we returned home, it was interesting to see that many times when people glimpsed and saw the throne of God, he was surrounded by concourses of angels singing.

These are just a few notable times when music was part of a sacred event:

1 Nephi 1:8 "He saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God."

2 Nephi 8:11 "Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads."

Mosiah 2:28 "I am about to go down to my grave, that I might go down in peace, and my immortal spirit may join the choirs above in singing the praises of a just God."

D&C 138:24 "Their countenances shone, and the radiance from the presence of the Lord rested upon them, and they sang praises unto his holy name."

D&C 128:22"Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel,"


And there are countless more verses, but these are a good sampling. I would encourage all of us to bring music into our homes, especially during Christmas. If there's just two people, sing as a couple - it's still powerful! I would encourage us to sing hymns with our children in our home. We've found that our children will hum the tune of the hymns we sing with them as they randomly walk around the house.

I love music and the power it brings into our lives. I look forward to the day when we can join the heavenly choirs above where everything is amplified to a degree we can only faintly comprehend.

Have a great week!

Grace For Grace

In reading the first few verses of 1 Nephi, I noticed a similar pattern of great men through history. These men (and women as well) who have been ministered to by Christ and seen marvellous things in vision seem to have shared a similar "heart" or "desire".

1. We know Lehi was already a good man, so stated Nephi. It wasn't until he went forth to the people and prayed with all his heart on their behalf that a vision opened up to him which was so tremendous it caused this good man to "quake and tremble exceedingly" (1 Nephi 1:5-6).

2. When Enos prayed in mighty prayer and was pronounced clean by the Lord, he could have stopped there. But, his heart turned to his brethren, even his enemies the Lamanites, and he continued to pray until another marvellous vision was opened to him.

3. The three Nephites who asked to stay and minister were "more blessed" than the nine because of their love for their brethren and desire to minister. Read the Lord's words to them in contrast to his words to the other nine (3 Nephi 28:3-10).

4. The Lord received not of the fullness at first, but received grace for grace. The master of us all grew until he received a fullness, in part because of his unconditional love and service to others. He received grace as he extended grace and continued until he received a fullness. (D&C 93:11-14).

We should embody the spirit of Christ if we are to become like him. It's my hope that we can extend grace and love to those around us - especially during the Christmas season (although it shouldn't stop on December 25th). As we prayerfully consider how we can serve and lift others, marvellous experiences await us. Many times the greatest blessings come when we forget ourselves and find ourselves in the service of others. We will receive grace for grace!

Thine Angels Have Charge Over Them

There are great and wonderful blessings to be had in Temple worship. If you've found this blog and are taking the time to read it, most likely you already share that same feeling and knowledge. In the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple, Joseph spoke these words found in D&C 109:22:

"We ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them."

I've underlined four separate parts, but I only want to discuss the last six words of the verse, "Thine angels have charge over them." There are different ways this can be understood, one of those ways is that his angels will literally look after and protect us and those around us until our mission is finished. I want to share a journal entry about an amazing story from a Sister in Florida. This isn't to sensationalize the promise, but to illustrate one facet of its literal interpretation.

This account was shared in a testimony meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida. This is the story as written in my journal:

This sister is a worker in the Orlando Temple and as the sisters in the Temple were having there prayer meeting, Sister Hessi (another temple worker) recounted a story from her life that goes something like this:

One day Sister Hessi was doing names in the Temple. She was finishing up her session and was going to go home, however, she felt prompted to stay and do another name.  She hesitated because she had a baby sitter at home and gave the babysitter the time in which she would return.  But, she decided to stay and follow the prompting. She did the name for one more sister.

As she was driving home she noticed the emergency response vehicles in the area and realized they were at her house.  As she walked in the front door the babysitter said “I’m so sorry, I only turned away for a second”.  Her child had been swept away in the stream behind the house and had been swept under the culvert, they still hadn’t found the body.  She was going to go help look for her daughter when she felt like she should look in her room.  As she opened the door to her room, there was her daughter  all wet and dirty.  Sister Hessi asked her daughter how she got to her room and her duaghter didn't remember how she got out of the river, only that a nice lady brought her back to the room.  Sister Hessi asked what the nice lady's name was and it was the same name that she had just done in the Temple prior to going home that day."

There are MANY incredible blessings to be had with sincere and frequent temple worship. In addition, to this wonderful story of a mother in Orlando, it's my witness that when we attend to this great work, his angels WILL have charge over us - I know that to be true. I would encourage all of us to consider our temple worship. Is it just another ritual or is it something much deeper for you and I individually?

The Return of a Father

A close friend shared this story (and I share it with her permission) of her Father's return to the Gospel. Although it's long, it's well worth reading the entire story. There are many lessons to be learned from this story. Before reading it, I only pose one question - What would have happened if Ron didn't follow that prompting? Ron was an angel to this man!

Enjoy the story:

"My Dad was an only child who grew up in a rather non-religious family in California.  When he was 19 a friend introduced him to the gospel.  He hooked right on, was baptized and was religiously on fire.  He enlisted in the Navy for 2 years where everyone knew he was Mormon.  He was well liked and shared the gospel with anyone who was willing to listen.  After the Navy he was called to serve a mission in Preston, England. (Contemporary missionaries included Elder Cook and Elder Holland).  He returned home, finished his schooling at BYU where he met my Mom.

Although I do not remember it, my Mom has told me on several occasions that my Dad was very well versed in the scriptures.  His personality lends him to be a fantastic teacher and he had many happy years as an active member of the church. Around 1980 my Dad was introduced to some anit-Mormon literature.  At first he set off to prove it all wrong with his knowledge, but the more he read, the more questions he had the more and more he felt unsettled.  Around this same time he had a couple of close friends who were treated unkindly by church leadership, or at least that is how he viewed it.  A stake president had done some really bad things and wasn't excommunicated while other "lay" members of the church were excommunicated for what seemed like trivial matters. To be honest, I don't know that much about the situation.  My Dad has never wanted to "taint" the kids with his bad experiences with the church.  Finally, my Dad started to travel a lot during that time period.  He was gone from Thursday to Sunday night for about 5 months out of the year.  He fell out of the habit of going to church and quite frankly didn't want to be there.  I can remember going to church with Dad when I was little and he would bring a Robert Ludlum book to read in sacrament.  He went to appease my Mom, but obviously his heart wasn't in it.

At some point, he fell away completely...started drinking, never seriously, but wine and beer here and there.  As you can imagine it put a lot of stress on my parents relationship.

My Dad had been blessed with lots of people who love him and look out for him.  He has had bishops and home teachers reach out to him.  Sometimes he has treated these people VERY poorly and has not been kind and other times he has opened his door to them, but not his heart.  

My parents divorced in fall of 1999 and my Dad ended up living in his woodshop.  The last decade has been a really rough one for my Dad.  He has had terrible money problems what has been even more difficult for him is the loneliness that he has felt.  He has openly talked to me about suicide on many occasions.

About 6 months ago a man named Ron who lives in Logan, stopped in to see my Dad.  Ron is a Stake President on the USU campus, a former mission president and has been a bishop twice.  He bought a black walnut box from my Dad about three years ago, but has not had any contact with him since.  So about 6 months ago, Ron was driving by my Dad's shop and he had this feeling that he should stop in and visit with him.  So began their friendship. Ron has been down to visit my Dad at his shop 2 or 3 times a week for the past 6 months.  I think  Ron was the right man to help my Dad and I think my Dad was finally ready to open his heart.  Ron and Dad would talk about everything...religion, work, politics, their gardens, their life experiences, their families etc...they truly became good friends.  Plus my Dad really respected Ron.

About 3 months ago Ron called my Dad to be on High Council!!!  I don't know who was more shocked...my Dad, or myself when my Dad told me about it.  My Dad turned down the calling, citing that he was not worthy.  He didn't go to church, and he still liked to have a beer every now and then.  Ron said that was fine, but told him he was going to ask him again in the future.  Ron asked him again about a month later, again my Dad refused.  My Dad still hasn't accepted the calling, but he told me he is working towards it.

A week ago I had just returned from taking my Dad to a VA appointment for his Parkinson's.  While we were driving he told me that he had been to church for the past 3 weeks and had even gone to General Conference.  He said he was working to return to the temple.  I asked him where this change of heart had come from.  He told me that the doctrinal questions that bothered him so much all those years ago really didn't seem to mater that much to him now.  He said "it's easier to be in the church than out of the church.  I could have been swimming in the blessings of the gospel all of these years."  Isn't it true what he said?  Although life is hard even when you are living the principles of the gospel, life really is a lot easier when you live close to the Lord as opposed to living far from Him.  

My Dad will turned 73 years-old in January   Many many people have prayed for him for years.  I feel that I have been so blessed through this experience.  The Lord truly is merciful and prayers are answered. I' haven't seen him this happy for many years!"

Ether 12

Although I've read Ether 12 dozens of times, this morning something stood out that never has before. This is one of the rare instances in scripture where a two way conversation with the Lord is shared with us. I encourage you to read Ether 12 and listen to this conversation. Moroni had several different concerns he brought to the Lord, all of which the Lord resolved. Of note:

- Moroni was concerned about his weakness in writing and the Lord comforted him.
- Moroni prayed that we (the Gentiles) might have charity and grace. He was essentially told that it mattereth not to Moroni what the Gentiles do because his garments are clean from our blood.

This is a powerful conversation and it should give us great insight into both Moroni's personality and the Lord.

A couple of points:
- When we have a weakness, where do we go to seek comfort and strength? The reality is, rarely to the Lord, and more often to the world.
- The Lord told Moroni, "Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness."  Fools take advantage of the weakness of others. The humble and meek will learn from and lift others and seek the Lord, who will identify our own weaknesses and make those strong.

Friends

This weekend we had some of our closest friends visit...it was a wonderful time! After they left, I took a few minutes to reminisce on the blessings of such good friends. There are a lot of people who have touched our lives and there are a handful of people who have had a deep and profound impact, I can't imagine what our lives would have been like without having those associations.

I want to cite a few examples from scriptures of the powerful impact friends have had on some of my heroes throughout history:

2 Nephi 1:30 "And now, Zoram, I speak unto you: Behold, thou art the servant of Laban; nevertheless, thou hast been brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and I know that thou art a true friend unto my son, Nephi, forever." Imagine the strength and bond that existed between Zoram and Nephi, we only get hints into what a strength they were for each other.

Alma 62:37 "Now it came to pass that when Lehi and Moroni knew that Teancum was dead they were exceedingly sorrowful." Imagine fighting side-by-side and all the experiences they shared together. Imagine the incredible respect and love these three men had for each other. I'm sure they trusted their lives and everything they had to each other.

Alma 27:16-17 "And it came to pass that as Ammon was going forth into the land, that he and his brethren met Alma, over in the place of which has been spoken; and behold, this was a joyful meeting. Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth." After more than a decade of being apart, these men who had once rebelled and repented, were united again. So great was there joy that Ammon lost his strength and fell to the ground.

D&C 121:9 "Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands. During four arduous months in Liberty Jail when Joseph felt abandoned at times, the Lord reminded him that his friends still stand by him and will greet him with warm hearts. This had to provide encouragement for Joseph when he felt alone and in despair.

D&C 135:3 "He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated! Joseph and Hyrum were brothers and relied on each other on many different occasions. There was a bond and a trust. I love the phrase, "in life they were not divided." Joseph lost many of his "friends", but he never lost that bond and friendship with Hyrum.

The examples go on and on. In most cases, where there are great men, they've had close friends who were an anchor and rod of support for them. I'm grateful for all the people we've associated with in this life who have blessed us. I'm especially grateful for some close friends who (to us) are like Zoram, Ammon, and Hyrum were to their associates in these examples. These type of friendships are a tender mercy from the Lord!

A Time of Election and Awareness

With politics and all the national issues on the forefront of our minds, it should cause us to be quite concerned about our country and the world. If the establishment of this nation had the hand of the Lord in it, then it makes sense the adversary would try to overthrow it.

As Moroni abridged the Jaredite plates, he inserted what he saw in the last days (Ether 8:22-25):


"22 And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations [do we?], to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not.

 23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles [this refers to us], it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you [What is shown unto us - the fall of a nation?], that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you [How do we prevent them from getting above us?], which are built up to get power and gain [Do we see the desire for power and gain in our local and federal government? Are elected leaders still servants of the people?]—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be [We've just been told that if we sit idly by and do nothing, the sword of justice will fall upon us!].

 24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you [to do something is a commandment from the Lord, not a request or suggestion], when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation [are we as a country awake when we are dependent on the government, taking God out of every public place, murdering hundreds of thousands of unborn children annually, approximately 55% of the population won't vote, etc.?], because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or [The word "or" indicates we can do something about it, IF we awake to sense of our awful situation] wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.

 25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people [Satan is a person who uses the same tactics through the ages. He's overthrown countless nations by the use of secret combination and wickedness], for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning."

We should have ample evidence around us of what is happening to our nation. Moroni and many others saw it and his concern was that we sit idly by while the secret combinations and wickedness overthrow our freedom and bring upon us our destruction. He's warning us that it's not too late, but that these things originate from the devil and if we do nothing, wo unto us! This isn't doom and gloom, this is a prophetic reality and has been seen and foretold for a very long time.

After Many Days

My wife and I attended the Mt. Timpanogos temple last night and had a wonderful experience. I was reminded of a truth which should be applied to every one one of us.

Nephi shares with us how he applies the scriptures in 1 Nephi 19:23 when he states, "for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning." Likewise, in the temple we are to consider ourselves as if we were Adam and Eve - in other words, it should be a personal and individual journey. It's likening and applying all of these teachings to ourselves for our "profit and learning".

After Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden, they built an altar and offered sacrifices. After many days an angel of the Lord appeared to them and asked them why they offered sacrifices? Adam responded, "I know not save the Lord commanded me." The angel then began to teach them the purpose of the sacrifice and other important doctrines. (Moses 5:4-6)

It was that experience that began a journey of progression and preparation for Adam and Eve. Additional angels appeared to them without revealing their identity to test and evaluate them, then angels returned disclosing their identity and casting out the adversary, over a period of time and other experiences they were prepared in all things to meet the Lord.

Among several interesting lessons in this endowment, I want to share just one:

Adam and Eve followed divine direction, even when they didn't know WHY they were doing it. They continued to perform this labor (offer sacrifice, with little understanding why they were doing it) for many days. For a couple who lived for more than 900 years, many days could be weeks, months, years, or decades. It was this act of faith that started a journey of progression until they were pulled into the presence of the Lord.

- How many of us obey the commandments of the Lord, even when we don't understand all the reasons?
- How many of us get impatient with the Lord, especially after MANY DAYS?
- How many of us continue to humbly seek the Lord to better understand how all things point to him?

I love the temple and all it has to offer. It points the way to Christ. It teaches us how to seek him and humbly serve him. It should remind us that he is in all things. We should patiently and humbly seek him and never weary of obeying his word, even if it requires MANY DAYS of sacrifice. What we learn in the temple is that he does hear those prayers and he will teach us when we obey his voice (D&C 93).

Ancient Book of Mormon Characters and Humility

A prophecy from Isaiah (2 Nephi 27:15-20) was fulfilled when Martin Harris carried a facsimile of some of the characters from the Book of Mormon to the "learned" professors in the East. The intent of Joseph and Martin were to see if these learned men could authenticate and translate these characters.

In the famous account from Martin Harris, he said,
"I went to the city of New York, and presented the characters which had been translated, with the translation thereof, to Professor Charles Anthon, a gentleman celebrated for his literary attainments. Professor Anthon stated that the translation was correct, more so than any he had before seen translated from Egyptian. I then showed him those which were not yet translated, and he said that they were Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyric, and Arabic; and he said they were true characters.

He gave me a certificate, certifying to the people of Palmyra that they were true characters, and that the translation of such of them as had been translated was also correct. I took the certificate and put it into my pocket, and was just leaving the house, when Mr. Anthon called me back, and asked me how the young man found out that there were gold plates in the place where he found them. I answered that an angel of God had revealed it unto him.

He then said to me, "Let me see that certificate." I accordingly took it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and tore it to pieces, saying, that there was no such thing now as ministering of angels, and that if I would bring the plates to him, he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates were sealed and I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, "I cannot read a sealed book." 

And thus was an ancient prophecy fulfilled. A small piece of that facsimile carried by Martin is shown above.

There are several great lessons to be learned in this story. I'll share one of them here:

We're taught in 2 Nephi 9:29 that "To be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God."
I read it exactly that way, when we hearken to the counsels of God and are truly humble before him, we can be the instruments to bring about his work. When we rely solely on our learning, rather than him, we are stuck and make no progress. To be instruments in his hands, it necessitates our humility before him, which comes from sincere prayer and a contrite heart!

A great example of this is found when Joseph could make no progress in translating the plates. I quote from David Whitmer as he recounted,
"At times when Brother Joseph would attempt to translate...he found he was spiritually blind and could not translate. He told us that his mind dwelt too much on earthly things, and various causes would make him incapable of proceeding with the translation. When in this condition he would go out and pray, and when he became sufficiently humble before God, he could proceed with the translation." 
David Whitmer went on to recount an experience when Joseph had a disagreement with Emma and immediately went upstairs to translate, but couldn't decipher a single letter. Joseph then went out and prayed for an hour in a grove, returned and asked Emma for forgiveness, and continued to translate.

Not only was this post an example of prophecy fulfilled, but the lessons contained should teach you and I a great lesson. We can be learned, and that is good, IF we hearken to the counsels of God. No man has ever accomplished the work of God by their learning alone, it was ONLY when they were humble and diligently sought his counsel in sincere prayer!

General Conference

This is an interesting time. It seems like following conference, there's people who find ways to critique and find what was "missing" or find those points that don't coincide with their own understanding.

That's fine. But, it seems those people miss out on something so uplifting and inspiring.

Referring to the scriptures, Nephi said, "I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning." (1 Nephi 19:23).

I try to approach conference the same way. What can I liken and apply to myself, for my profit and learning. In other words, how can I repent and be a better instrument in the hands of the Lord. I've listed just a couple of questions that I liken to myself:

1. President Monson shared stories of receving a prompting and acting immediately. How often do I look for those whispering's? Am I living quietly in a way in which I can hear those promptings when they come? Do I respond immediately and act on them?
        -- What would our church be like if everyone listened and responded immediately to direction from the Spirit?

2. What type of spiritual leader am I in the home? Do I lead the family in some of the outward expressions of the Gospel such as scripture study, FHE, prayer, etc.? More importantly, do I work with my Wife to lead with love and kindness in the home? Have I sought the Lord to have him reveal the potential of our children, he certainly sees them in a different way than I do?

3. Regarding Church Service. Do I serve as I've committed to serve? How can I help the young men and others become fully converted to the GOSPEL?

4. Elder Holland.  When was the last time I shared my testimony or feelings about the gospel with someone outside the church? How often do I go "back to my fishing nets" rather than focus on our true mission?

There are numerous other opportunities for revelation and inspiration as we reflect on how we could be better servants to our Master. There will always be opportunities to find faults and "pick' at others - we'll find what we search for!

I'm grateful for a weekend of reflection, a weekend which allows us to recommit to the Savior, and a weekend that inspires me to be a better person. I personally walked away with several specific things in which I can do and act on now. I love the gospel and the organization of the church, despite its imperfections and the weakness of man!