Some Noble Cause

After Ammon taught the Lamanites and helped thousands of them come unto Christ, these valiant new converts showed their devotion to God by making a convenant with him to never shed blood again. The record states, "they did bury [their weapons] deep in the earth. And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man's blood...that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives" (Alma 24:18).

Some twenty years later, these same faithful saints were faced with iminent attack from the Lamanites. The Nephites who had been protecting them up to this point were weakened and under much tribulation such that Ammons converts "were moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms in the defence of their country" (Alma 53:13).

I believe that this cause under which the people of Ammon sought to justify going to war is a very noble cause. Throughout the Book of Mormon as well as Latter-day revelation, the Lord has revealed that we are justified in fighting to protect our families and our freedom. However, Helams feared that by "[breaking] the oath which they had made....by so doing they should lose their souls" (Alma 53:14-15).

As I read this the question came to my mind, "What convenants have I made which I might break for some noble cause?" For each of us the answer to that question will be different. Take for example the following things that we might place too much empahsis on. Each of these are worthwhile and character building activities. In fact the Lord has encouraged and in many cases commanded us to participate in all of these things in one way or another.

1. Quality time with our Families

2. Church callings

3. Temple Work

4. Exercise and healthy living

5. Job responsibilities

6. Caring for the sick and needy

7. Home teaching

8. Community volunteer work

9. Gaining an education

10. Yardwork

Do we spend so much time with our church calling that we neglect the convenants we have made to our family? Or is it the other way around. Do we spend so much time making our own yard look nice, that we fail to fufill our responsibilities as a home teacher to help the families we home teach with projects they may have? Do we get so busy serving others that we neglect our own yard? Are we so caught up with our job responsibilities that we don't find time to care for the needy and visit the sick?

This list could go on endlessly. For the people of Ammon the proper course of action was very clear. However for our daily lives which convenant should take top prioity may not be as clear. There are so many "noble" causes out there which we can pursue. At times, one of these may need to take a back seat to another. But if too much emphasis is placed on one or the other for too long, then the balance of our lives can be thrown into disequillibrium and our spiritual progress stops. By finding the proper balance, we are blessed abundantly and will one day partake of eternal life.

Waxing Bold in Prayer

Nephi speaks of "waxing bold in mighty prayer" (2 Nephi 4:24). What a great image. When a candle goes through the dipping process, the wick is dipped in melted wax over and over again. Each time it is removed it becomes a little larger and thus able to burn for a little longer. The same process was at play in Nephi's personal prayer. Each time he prayed, his faith grew a little stronger, setting him up to be able to show forth his light (Matt 5:14-16) brighter and longer. As he did so he became more "bold," meaning that each time he prayed his faith had grown a little stronger. This allowed him to ask for greater and greater things in his prayers. In the next verse it speaks of how he was carried away on mountains and saw great things (2 Nephi 4:25). These grand and miraculous occurances did not come immediately. I would venture to say that Nephi asked to be able to see these things. Because of his consistency in prayer his prayers were answered more often. Each time a prayer was answered his faith grew and he became more bold in his petitions to the Lord.

Nephi has experience to backup his claim that "[he knows] that God will give liberally to him that asketh...[our] God will give [us], if [we] ask not amiss" (2 Nephi 2:35). I would like to add my testimony to that of Nephi. I too know that if we exhibit our faith to the Lord by consistently pouring out our hearts to him in prayer, then he will not only grant our righteous desires, but our faith will grow, allowing us to receive even more answers to our prayers.

My Soul Delighteth

In 2 Nephi 4:16, Nephi makes a statement that is a great example of what it means to be holy. He says, "my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard." When I read this today, I had to take a step back and ask myself if I have the same attitude. I have listed just a few things that we might ask consider in answering this question for ourselves:

• Is Sunday a blessing or do I wish that I could be on the golf course instead of Sacrament meeting?
• When that new movie I want to see comes out, do I go anyway even though I would feel uncomfortable if the Savior sat in the seat next to me?
• Do I look forward to the time that I study my scriptures each day or do I find myself forcing myself to read them because it's what "I'm supposed to do?"
• When there is a service project, do I cheerfully give up my Saturday morning or do I stay home and do what I would "rather" do?

As I asked myself these questions, I realized that sometimes it is easy to be doing the right things. I believe that the Lord will bless us beyond what we could imagine simply for doing what we are supposed to do. As I pondered more, I was reminded of the Pharisees in the New Testament. They were perfectly obedient (at least they claimed to be) to the letter of the law. However, they missed out on the greatest blessings of obedience because they were simply going through the motions.

I know that as we strive to "delight" in the commandments, not only do we find greater joy but obedience becomes easier. This is so because as we delight in the things of the Lord, we understand that the commandments are to help and guide us to return to live with Heavenly Father. Nephi was able to "delight in the things of the Lord" because he understood this simple principle. He understood that even though it might be difficult and a lot of work now, it would pay off in the long run.

The Fruits of Prayer

In Alma 34:17-27, Amulek counsels us to pray constnatly both for ourselves and for those around us. The prayer that Amulek is speaking of is not simply I thank thee...., I ask thee.... type of prayer. Rather, he teaches us that we "must pour out [our] souls." I know that when we pray in faith, our Heavenly Father will hear and answer our prayers. But pouring out our souls is not the only thing we need to do in order for our "prayers to find access to [Heavenly Father" (Hymn #172, In Humility our Savior). In verse 28, Amulek teaches us a very important principle to prayer. He teaches that if we "turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart not of [our] substance, if [we] have, to those who stand in need....behold, [our] prayer is in vain and [we] are as hypocrites who do deny the faith." In other words there are two parts to our prayer. The first is speaking to the Lord in faith. The second part is to have charity for others by going forth and serving them. Amulek gives some great examples of how we can show forth charity, but I think there are many more. The most beautiful part of prayer is that as we pray in faith, the Lord will reveal to us the things that we should DO after we ASK. As we go forth and do those things, as Ammon we will be able to rejoice in the Lord because "we [will] be made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work" (Alma 26:3) which we have been called to do as holders of the Priesthood of God.

Days of Greatest Sorrow - Hope or Despair?

Despite knowing that his course in life was according to the will of the Lord, Lehi still recognized that leaving Jerusalem was a difficult and trying thing to do. This is evidenced by a statement that he made to his youngest son Joseph. He said, "thou wast born in the wilderness of mine afflictions; yea, in the days of my greatest sorrow did thy mother bear thee" (2 Nephi 3:1). That is pretty strong indication of how difficult the journey was for him and his family. The thing that I love about this statement is that he does not dwell on it. He acknowledges that it was difficult, but it stops at that. This is a great example of hope. Hope is not to create a dillusion of the mind that "everything is okay" when it is not. Our Heavenly Father expects us to acknowledge that sometimes the things he commands us to do are hard; that his commandments require sacrifice of the things that we enjoy or are comfortable doing. Rather, hope is a knowledge that no matter what happens, in the long-run we will obtain that which we are seeking --- Eternal Life.

Immediately after making this statement about the trials he endured, Lehi goes on to teach his son about Joseph "who was carried away into Egypt" (2 Nephi 3:4). This leads into a great prophesy about the restoration of the gospel. I would suggest that had Lehi taken his first statement further by murmuring about the trials rather than just acknowledging them, he would not have had the Spirit open his mind to the vision of Joesph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Likewise, when we murmur about our trials and how hard they are, we close ourselves off to the Spirit and deny ourselves simliar spiritual experiences. In this instance, Lehi gave his son a great faith promoting experience which I am sure strengthened his testimony and helped him grow closer to the Lord. May each of us follow the example of Lehi and provide faith promoting rather than faith destroying experiences by acknowledging the trials through which we pass instead of complaining about and dwelling on them. If we can learn to do so, we will be much happier and so will our friends, families and associates.

Simplicity

I have been reading 2 Nephi 2 for the last couple of weeks. I have read only a few verses each day, spending a lot of time just pondering what I read. It is one of the greatest discourses ever given on the plan of salvation. As I have been reading, I have been waiting for some grand mystery to pop out and enlighten me. I have been reading it and pondering it for over a week now and that still has not happened. In other words, I haven't really learned anything that I didn't already know. There have been a couple of new insights that have reminded me, but even those I could not put into words to communicate the ideas in any other way than simply quoting the verse. As a result I really haven't had anything to post for the last couple of weeks.

Well, I just finished the chapter and was still trying to find some grand mystery, but nothing was coming. At that point I realized that is exactly what I needed to learn. The plan of salvation is so simple and it logically makes so much sense. We all left the presence of God, sin so we can't re-enter his presence on our own, and finally we must rely on the Savior to overcome the effects of sin. That's all! The plan is so simple and so beautiful. Like I mentioned earlier, I have not learned anything new, but I have felt the Spirit. My testimony of the Savior has been strengthened. I can say with greater confidence now that I know Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know that as we follow Him, we can return to live with our Father. It is our choice whether we want to obtain that blessing or not. I know that the Book of Mormon was truly a record that Joseph Smith translated. He could not have made it up on his own. This chapter that I just read is proof of that. The doctrine is so simple, yet so profound and full of wisdom.

A Vision and a Tender Mercy

In 1 Nephi 1:20, Nephi says, "[I] will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosed, because of their faith." Today in my reading I found one of the tender mercies which the Lord bestowed upon Lehi. After great tribulation, the family finally made it to the promise land. Upon arriving there Lehi spoke to his sons concerning "how merciful the Lord had been in warning [them] that they should flee out of Jerusalem" (1 Nephi 1:3). In the next verse, he tells them why the Lord was merciful despite the great afflictions which they bore during that time. I'm sure that as his sons rebelled against him during the journey in the wilderness or when the ship was about to be swallowed up in the sea, that Lehi had some doubts about the decision to leave Jerusalem. When his familiy is in danger or is suffering, any father must wonder if his decision to be obedient to the Lord's commandment is the proper course in life. Thus, the Lord gave Lehi a tender mercy to help him as he would face the decision to continue the course or to turn back. To use Lehi's words, "I have seen a vision in which I know that Jerusalem is destroyed" (1 Nephi 1:4). The record does not say when that vision was received, but it must have been welcomed by Lehi and gave him the strength to continue when times were tough. I would suggest that each of us are entitled to similar tender mercies. They may not come through a vision. However, I would suggest that if we pray in faith, the Lord will reveal in a very personal way that our course of action is according to his will and for our benefit. That confirmation will come differently to each person, but I know that those who seek it will find it (Matthew 7:7).