All Things have been done in the Wisdom of Him

This week my roommate showed me this scripture:

2 Nephi 2:24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

I'm sorry to say that though I have looked at verse 25 a million times, verse 24 hasn't stood out to me as much before, especially in how in connects to verse 25.

This scripture shows that all Heavenly Father does, in his perfect wisdom, is in the end for our benefit and happiness. In the midst of a busy and hard semester this is something that I have to remember. In my short-sited-ness sometimes I get so caught up in my "right now." I get upset that things don't go the way I want when I want them to. Throughout the scriptures (as well as church history) there are multiple examples of people going through hard times, not being able to understand why, but then seeing later how the hands of the Lord were involved even in the tiniest details of their lives. This scripture was a good reminder for me that the Lord is aware of me, and that if I just trust him even when I don't understand why (for example when he prompts me to take a really really hard class), eventually I will get through it. Maybe someday I'll even see the reason why. But even if I don't, I can know that Heavenly Father knows all things and that he loves me more then I can comprehend and therefore things will work out for my good if I only humble myself enough to trust him.

Sundrops through the Rain

There are some days that I am just so thankful for the Book of Mormon. Because Heavenly Father uses it to speak to each of us individually. Today was one of those days when he used one verse to speak specifically to me.

Alma 31:31
"O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me..."

The word affliction stood out to me because I am having the hardest semester I've ever had before, boy when it rains it pours. But when I reflected on this scripture and how it applies to me the spirit brought other scriptures to my mind (I love it when that happens ;) ).
First I was reminded of this scripture:
D&C 121: 7
"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;"

Then that scripture made me think of this one:
Isaiah 41:10
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

Using these three scriptures created a conversation between me and Heavenly Father in my head. Alma 31 was what I said, and D&C and Isaiah are what Heavenly Father said in reply. We all have these times in our lives where we cry out to Heavenly Father for help, comfort and strength, and the wonderful thing is, and that I testify of, is that he ALWAYS answers. Whether it is through the scriptures, thoughts to our minds or through the people around us he always answers. Life is still hard, and everyone once in awhile I'll probably be angry about it, but I'm grateful for the little sundrops that Heavenly Father sends down to us through the rain. That's why I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon today!

The Precious Things

Wow I haven't posted in a long time and I am very out of practice. My Book of Mormon class this semester is fantastic. It has been so long since I have done a good study of the Book of Mormon and I am learning a lot. There are so many little tidbits in the scriptures that are easy to miss but can mean so much! One such tidbit for me this week was Jacob 1:2 :

"And he gave me, Jacob, a commandment that I should write upon these plates a few of the things which I considered to be most precious;"

I wonder how Jacob felt to receive that charge. Overwhelmed I am sure. This made me wonder, what things would I write? What things would I consider to be most precious? This led me to think about two things; recording me life/spiritual impressions and experiences, and what is most important to me (as well as prioritizing those things). Being a family history major and all you'd think I'd be real good at keeping a personal history and journal right? Ha! My journal entries are very few and far between and rarely full of important information. I get overwhelmed at all the things I could write (and plus what crazy busy college student ever has time for that?) and when I do write is often ends up being about what I did that day. Jacob has taught me that focusing on writing the precious things (which for me is spiritual experiences or lessons I'm learning through my lifelong challenges). Because what we write should be real, and it should be things that we need to remember in the future. The second part, what is important to me and prioritizing was a good self check and a reminder that I need to be more active in making sure I put the Lord first in my life! Thanks for the lesson and reminder Jacob!

Trust in God No Matter What the Timing

I've been studying the topic of trust in the Book of Mormon lately. I've had a desire to know what trust means, what my part of trust is, and what God's part is. As I read the story of the people of Alma and the burdens placed on their backs in Mosiah 24, I was struck with how much faith they had. They cried "mightily to God" (Mosiah 24:10) unlike the people of Limhi who tried to "deliver themselves out of bondage" (Mosiah 22:1). The people of Limhi waited patiently upon the Lord to not only lighten their burdens in His timing, but also to deliver them in His timing.
This time in reading chapter 24 I realized that it doesn't say how long they were in bondage to Amulon and the Lamanites. It could have been a long time, but however long it was, they trusted that all things were in God's control, and it was. Sometimes it is easy to feel that we have to "fix" our lives by ourselves, especially when it seams that God is not listening, or when we want things fixed NOW. But this story is a good reminder that if we "hush our fears, and cry unto the Lord" (Mosiah 24:28) then things will really work out in the best way, His way.

The Book of Mormon

"If you do not have a firm testimony of these things, do that which is necessary to obtain one. It is essential for you to have your own testimony in these difficult times, for the testimonies of others will carry you only so far. However, once obtained, a testimony needs to be kept vital and alive through continued obedience to the commandments of God and through daily prayer and scripture study." - President Thomas S. Monson

For some reason (I hardly know why) that last couple of years I haven't enjoyed reading the Book of Mormon. I've NEVER doubted that it was true, but for some reason I've felt more connected to the Four Gospel and the Doctrine and Covenants, and often chose to read those over reading the Book of Mormon.

However, after hearing the above said by President Monson last Saturday during General Conference, the spirit very directly showed me that I needed to change. It also reminded of when Elder Bednar came to my mission and promised that if we read the Book of Mormon EVERY day that we would never fall away from the gospel.

This last week I have tried to be more diligent in not only reading, but STUDYING the Book of Mormon every day. Though it has only been 5 days, I can already feel a noticeable difference inside myself, reiterating to me how important studying the Book of Mormon every day is.

I know of people who say they are struggling with their testimony of the church.
Sometimes I think we forget, that while it is good, our testimony of the "Church" isn't what is most important and focusing on that distracts us from the most important thing. What is most important is our testimony of Christ and the church is merely the vehicle to keep that strong. Because the Book of Mormon is a testament of Christ. What better way to gain, or to strengthen your testimony of Christ then by reading the Book of Mormon.

If you are struggling with your testimony of the church I invite you to put that aside for now and focus instead on your testimony of the Savior. Whatever may bother you about the church, let it go for a little while and instead put all your effort into making the Savior your best friend. Think about Him, learn about Him, try to feel His love for you because it is always there. Learning about the Savior will always lead you to our Heavenly Father (and I would also add Heavenly Mother because I feel sure they are very alike and one in purpose, as my own parents are), whose love for you is without end.

I know that through reading the Book of Mormon we can get answers to ANY questions, and that you will gain more peace through it than any other way.

Happiness

Alma 41:10 Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.

I've been thinking about the peace that comes from living the commandments. True peace and happiness comes through living the gospel. Even When life gets hard, when trials come, we can still have that peace that comes from knowing the Heavenly Father is on your side and that you have done your part so that Heavenly Father can trust you. It reminds me of the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants that says when virtue garnishes our thoughts we can have confidence in the presence of the Lord. When keep the commandments, we can be happy because God is on our side.

Come Lord Jesus

D&C 35
26 Lift up your hearts and be glad, your redemption draweth nigh.
27 Fear not, little flock, the kingdom is yours until I come. Behold, I come quickly. Even so. Amen.

One of my favorite musicals is "Savior of the World" put on every year at the Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake City. In it is a beautiful song entitled "Come Lord Jesus." The worlds beautifully illustrate how the coming of the Savior is a wonderful day to be looked forward to.

The General Women's Meeting today was beautiful. My favorite talk was by Sister Carol McConkie who talked about becoming holy. She mentioned that we must become more holy to better receive the Savior when he comes. Being holy does not mean that we are perfect or sinless. It means that our desires are focused on the Savior. Through his help and atonement we are sanctified. It is a processed that will never be "finished" in this life. We keep working, we keep repenting, we keep trying. And when we do that then we can look forward to the Savior's coming, and like He asks us to, we can "life up [our] hearts and be glad."