"...that shall ye also do..."

One of my favorite sections of the Book of Mormon is when Christ visits the Nephites in the Americas.  For me one of the most powerful chapters to relate this event is in 3 Nephi chapter 27.  I would like to emphasize mostly in verse 21 of the chapter.  It reads,

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do…”

As I read this verse it hits me hard to think that all Christ's gospel is, is to do as He did!  It is such a simple yet complex solution to our everyday lifestyles.   I for one find it extremely daunting and tiring at times to compare my every action to that of Christ and ask myself if I am doing exactly what He would do.

As I was studying this verse I did some research online to find some amazing material.  On the website BookofMormonCentral.org I found a section talking exactly about this verse!  It made me think more about what Christ really wants us to do in His church as well as in our own lives.  As the verse says we are to do what we have seen HIM do….if we really study Christ's ministry among the Nephites we can answer this question.  We can analyze what we do as members of the church and really understand why we do what we do.  Why do we read the scriptures, whey do we have FHE every week?  The article hits on this very point, and explains it way better than I can.  It says,

“For example, why do church members regularly attend sacrament meetings and bear their testimonies? That is what Jesus did on His first day in Bountiful, proclaiming “this shall ye always do” (3 Nephi 18:11; 3 Nephi 11:10–11).  Why do church members regularly read their scriptures? That is what Jesus did, reciting the words of Isaiah to the people and commanding them to “search these things diligently” (3 Nephi 23:1). Why do church members pray often in their families? That is what Jesus did, saying “as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my church” (3 Nephi 18:16). Why do church members sustain living prophets and apostles? That is what Jesus did, declaring that the people should “give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen” (3 Nephi 12:1). Jesus’ visitation among the Nephites gives an extended portrait of his life and teachings.”

As you can see everything we do within as well as outside of the church is to follow Christ's example. I knew that we didn’t do things blindly, but it has been so heartwarming to me to see how perfect God’s master plan is.  How he chose and sent Christ to lay before us the way, literal instructions to success and not only point the way before us but hold our hand the whole way.

I am extremely grateful to know that my life has a purpose, my life has a plan.  We all can gain more direction in what steps we should take as we study more on Christ's life and teachings.  As President Nelson counseled in his last BYU devotional, we should all learn as much about Christ's life as possible through earnest study.  I know that to be true.

Power and Great Glory

In First Nephi chapter 14 verse 14; Nephi sees our day and says “...I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.”  In the world we live in we are combated and confronted by Satan on every side, there is almost nowhere to turn.  So like Nephi prophesied, we are armed with righteousness and power and with great glory to battle against the numberless attacks of the adversary.

The principle that stuck out to me is that this “power of the Lamb of God” descended on certain groups of people.  The scripture doesn’t say, “and the power descended upon every living soul” yet it uses descriptive adjectives such as: “covenant people” and “saints of the church.”  If we want this great power to protect and arm ourselves we should find out how to become the covenant people, and the saints of His church.  It is not merely being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints that guarantees this power.

President Eyring chimes in on this topic and comments that, “We also arm ourselves with righteousness and power as we ‘treasure up in [our] minds continually the words of life’ (D/C 84:85).”  We are to do the small and simple things in life; read scriptures, attend the temple, etc.

Eyring goes further to state that we are not alone in this battle.  He goes on to say that, “In our battle against evil, we must always remember that we have help from both sides of the veil.”  As I feel stressed and burdened and weighed down during my week it is extremely comforting and heartening to know how much help and POWER I really do have backing me up.  It is far greater than any temptation, attack, bad thought, or problem Satan can send our way.  We can rejoice to know that Christ and our Father in heaven will never abandon us, never.

Depths of Humility

Humility. In the 1828 Edition of the Webster Dictionary part of the definition states; “...a modest estimate of one’s own worth...a deep sense of one’s own unworthiness in the sight of God, and submission to the divine will.”

We can read of a strong example of humility in The Book of Mormon.  In Mosiah 21:1-14 the King Limhi and his people have been enslaved by the Lamanites and are required to pay a high tax by the Lamanite King.  After a time the afflictions became almost unbearable and in verse five it says that the people claimed that there was “no way that they could deliver themselves out of their hands….”  The Nephites then turned to war.  They wanted to fight their way out of the afflictions they were in, with their own strength.  After THREE consecutive lost battles the Nephites “humble themselves even unto the dust…”  I find this pattern so insightful and can be applicable to my own life.  It begs so many questions such as:  How did Limhi’s people humble themselves even to the dust?  Did they get liberated?  What was their process of change?

We learn in these verses a model on how WE as individuals and a people as a whole can humble ourselves.  After three consecutive losses at battle they had a change and  in verses 13-14 it states,

“13 And they did humble themselves even to the dust, subjecting themselves to the yoke of bondage, submitting themselves to be smitten, and to be driven to and fro, and burdened, according to the desires of their enemies.

14 And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility; and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions.”

A few things that jumped out to me were that they, “subjected themselves to the yoke of bondage…” and that “they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God…”  I found that humility is not merely subjecting yourself to others in bondage, or being weak and not fighting back.  It is much more than that.  Humility is understanding your reliance on God and submitting to his will.  And almost more importantly; as we submit ourselves we are to “cry unto (our) God...even all the day long…”  We are to rely on HIS arm, not ours in moments of affliction.  In this part of the Book of Mormon the people of Limhi had to pass through this moment; it was God’s divine will at that moment.

How many times do we, do I, find ourselves trying to rely on OUR own arm or strength, to be able to “pull through” the week or “ace an exam” without crying unto the Lord?  I find it a common pattern in my own life: studying, eating and social life all come before scripture study or deep personal revelation and meditation.  Just as the people of Limhi sometimes I try to fight harder and harder to keep my head above water, when all I have to do is counsel with my loving Father.  Just like the people of Limhi the Lord will help us “...begin to prosper by degrees in the land.”

Immediate Gratification?

Being self-reliant is more than merely having enough money to pay the bills and buy the groceries.  Self-reliance is a way of life; it is both temporal and spiritual.  We are to become better stewards of what the Lord has given us and like the parable of the Talents; we are to diligently seek to increase what he has given us.  When we become self-reliant we are able to not only provide for our own needs but also able aid in building the kingdom of God here on earth.

I am blessed to be apart of the Self-reliance program in my stake and we have been learning and applying principle of the gospel to become self-reliant.  This past week we were discussing budgets and how they help us be better stewards of our blessings.  We read a scripture in 2 Nephi 9:51 that says, “Do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy.”  This scripture almost sounds common sense, but I started to ponder on what I spend my money on; what I spend my labors on.  Do they have worth?  Or are they just fleeting desires and appetites?

Many times I find myself wanting things now.  That is the world we live in!  Food now, entertainment now, gratification now, blessings now.  And there is an attribute that we can develop that will aid us in putting things into a real perspective.  That is patience.  President Uchtdorf in a talk titled “Continue in Patience” says something powerful, “Patience means staying with something until the end.  It means delaying immediate gratification for future blessings.”

As we develop patience, and learn to delay immediate gratification of desires and appetites we will become more self governing and therefore be self-reliant.  Putting off buying or doing what you want now that may be of little worth for something much greater in the future is an essential principle to develop in mortality.  Patience not only applies to the principle of self-reliance but to almost every aspect of our lives.  As students we are practicing this principle.  We study, work, and put off many “entertaining” things the world has to offer with hope of better employment and greater happiness in an eternal family.  We should not lose this perspective and “labor for that which cannot satisfy.”  Patience is a principle of Godliness.