Now the joy of (Tova) was so great even that (she) was full; yea, (she) was swallowed up in the joy of (her) God, even to the exhausting of (her) strength; ...
Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.
2 Nephi 4 is one of my favorite chapters about Nephi. Because in that chapter, it really seems like Nephi just opens up his soul and pours his heart out on the "paper" (it was plates of metal back then).
In chapter 3, his father Lehi dies. Soon after that his brothers and brothers-in-law plan to kill Nephi, his family, and his other supporters. His brothers are planning this!!
That is Nephi's life when chapter 4 begins. He just lost his dad, they're in a strange land, and his own brothers want him dead.
When the chapter starts Nephi cries unto God. But not about his trials. He begs God to take away his sins and his weaknesses. That's one thing I love about Nephi; when he is in a tough situation he's not afraid to tough it out.
One of my favorite quotes is this... "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your power. Pray for power equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle." (~Phillips Brooks)
Then Nephi says "19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. 20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. 21 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh."
After he's asked for forgiveness, God gives it to him. The rest of the chapter is a beautiful prayer of praise to God.
Nephi spends three verses lamenting his sins very sincerely, but then he spends fifteen verses praising the source of his redemption.
Then comes chapter 5, verse 2: But behold, (my brothers') anger did increase against me, insomuch that they did seek to take away my life.
Nothing changed! His dad was still dead, he was still in a new country, and his brothers were still trying to kill him!
But now he had peace. He had God on his side, and he knew it. He'd received forgiveness and felt God's love. And God had given him the strength to continue on.
Nick Vujicic is another inspirational man. Here is one of his messages:
I loved this compilation of the Bible Videos the LDS Church has been putting out.
It is very long (almost three hours), but if you just pick a point and watch for a while it really portrays the life of Christ in a very understandable and moving way.
"The Living Christ" is a testimony published by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. It is a beautiful work, and one which my stake (a group of congregations) has been asked to memorize.
I extend that challenge to you: either read it and become familiar with it, or memorize it if you'd like.
What a beautiful Easter Video!! He is Here. In this little hotel room, when I'm far away from home and taking care of a rambunctious 4 year old at 11 pm He is still Here. I can feel the Spirit as I watch this video, and I hope you can, too.
(The next day...) I was thinking about this post during sacrament meeting and put together these thoughts. He is Here. Here in this Church. With the small babies, elderly couples, and the families. With the boys and girls, gentlemen and ladies. He is in this Room. He sees the sunflowers and hibiscus, the beautiful brown tiles, the dark blue seats. He is in the Music. As we sing His praises He joins our song. He comes closer to us than ever before. He comes through the Spirit. Comes to our hearts, to our minds. And we are able to feel His presence-- His Love. The Love that took Him to the garden. The Love that brought Him up the hill. The Love that carried Him to the Cross. His friends mourned Him and buried Him. They saw His body, but He was not there. Three days passed. "He is not here." No, He was no longer in the tomb. No longer in death
I love the Mormon Messages that come out just around Easter time :).
Because I was late tonight, and still want to post something, I'll simply share the link to a page where you can sign up to recieve the new Easter-based videos that will be coming out starting this Saturday: http://www.mormon.org/easter/teaser
Also, since Easter is all about Christ, here is a link to the Bible Videos that go through His life. They are truly beautiful, and I recommend them to people of all faiths.
There is a very inspiring, simple series on the Mormon Channel on which people tell their stories of how grace has affected their lives.
There are stories of addiction, pornography, immoral sins, and just changing into a better person.
Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAYgY8SPtEWG9lP4x8bbGgbUccxWmyzRk
D&C 76:22 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the atestimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he blives!
23 For we asaw him, even on the bright hand of cGod; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the dOnly Begotten of the Father—
24 That by ahim, and through him, and of him, the bworlds are and were created, and the cinhabitants thereof are begotten dsons and daughters unto God.
He is Risen; John the Beloved's Witness of the Resurrection
There are many more, of course. If you go to this page, each Conference there has been something about Him and His Sacrifice. After all, this is His Church :).
Mary is a hero to many. She is to me! She was worthy to be the Mother of Christ. And she had the courage to accept that calling from the Angel.
Luke 1:37 For with God, nothing is impossible.
In the culture back then, if you were pregnant outside of marriage, you would be severly punished. Both Mary and Joseph must've struggled.
And then the glorious night in Bethlehem!
To sum up, this is one of my favorite songs, and the video is really powerful, too: "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant
I know that Mary was chosen to bear Jesus, and that she had great courage and faith to accept that, and follow through. I know that she is a daughter of God, and that she played an important part in His plan.
Leonardo
da Vinci was a man of many talents. He was a botanist, an inventor, an
astronomer, a painter, a writer. But what would have happened if he
hadn't developed those talents? Think of how much would have been
wasted. Look at all he did. If he hadn't tried, and committed to his
education we wouldn't have Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, or any of his
notebooks! We also need to develop our talents.
In
the parable of the Talents, the Lord (symbolic of Heavenly Father)
gives his servants (us) talents. Some of the servant use their talents,
and gain more. Because of their work, the Lord gives them places in his
house. But one of the servants was afraid, and hid his talent. When he
showed the one talent to the Lord, the Lord was angry with him for
wasting it. He didn't waste it by losing it, he'd lost it by not using
it. Why would Jesus share this parable with His followers, and with us?
He did it because He knew that we would be afraid; that we would want
to hide our talents. Maybe we think that we don't have talents. Maybe we
see others developing their talents, and they seem to be the best, and
there's no way we can catch up with them. All those reasons show fear,
but we don't have to be afraid. We need to pursue our talents. Dr. Posin said, "Perhaps the development of whatever talent there is counts for more than just having a talent."
What are some talents that i
want to develop? Well, I want to learn the constellations; I want to
read a lot of books; I want to be a writer and a teacher. In order to
develop these, I need to look for people who have those talents, or
books that teach about those talents. I also need to commit to develop
them, otherwise I could just drop them any time, and that is not what
talents are for.
Every agoodbgift and every perfect cgift is from above, and dcometh down from the eFather of lights. ... (-James 1:17KJV)
Isn't that a nice thought. Your talent, your gift, has come from God.
He gave it to you to use, to develop. If you don't use it, it's like
throwing a present, unopened, into the garbage. So develop your talents,
and I'll develop mine, and together, we can become like da Vinci. Even better, we can give some of our talents to our Heavenly Father, and help His other children do the same.
(this is a video about a young man who worked at a talent he wanted, and really succeeded with it)
I recently had the awesome experience of having my oldest cousin leave on her mission!
Now, what a missionary for the Church does is leave home for 2yrs for boys, and 18 months for girls. They live there life totally for other people-- inviting them to come to Christ, and serving them.
I personally am preparing for my mission. You need to pay for it yourself, so I am saving up my money. I'm also doing my best to live a life that would make my Heavenly Father proud of me, and that sets a good example to others.
The message of the missionaries (and of the church) is that through Christ you cam make it to Heaven, and be with Heavenly Father again. Even if you're imperfect, Christ has performed the Atonement for us, and we can change.
I'm going to end by sharing this poem (again):
After All We Can Do
By Robbie PierceI had been in that hole for a very long time- In the dark and the damp, in the cold and the slime. The shaft was above me; I saw it quite clear, But there's no way I ever could reach it from here. I could not remember the world way up there, So I lost every hope and gave in to despair. I knew nothing but darkness, the floor, and the wall. Then from off in the distance I heard someone call: "Get up! Get ready! There's nothing the matter! Take rocks and take sticks and build up a fine ladder!" This was a thought that had not crossed my mind, I started to stack all the stones I could find. When I ran out of stones, then old sticks were my goal, For some way or another I'd climb from that hole. I soon had a ladder that stood very tall, And I thought, I'll soon leave this place once and for all! I climbed up my ladder, a difficult chore, For from lifting those boulders, my shoulders were sore. I climbed up the ladder, but soon had to stop, For my ladder stopped short, some ten feet from the top. I went back down my ladder and felt all around, But there were no more boulders, nor sticks to be found. I sat down in the darkness and started to cry. I'd done all I could do, and I gave my best try. But in spite of my work, in this hole I must die. And all I could do was to sit and think, Why? Was my ladder too short? Was my hole much too deep? Then from way up on high came a voice: "Do not weep." And then faith, hope, and love entered into my chest As the voice calmly told me that I'd done my best. He said, You have worked hard, and your labor's been rough, But the ladder you've built is at last tall enough. So do not despair there is reason to hope, Just climb up my ladder; I'll throw down my rope. I climbed up my ladder, then climbed up the cored. When I got to the top of it, there stood the Lord. I've never been happier; my struggle was done. I blinked in the brightness that came from the Son. I fell to the ground as His feet I did kiss. I cried, "Lord, can I ever repay Thee for this?" He looked all about. There were holes in the ground. They had people inside, and were seen all around. There were thousands of holes that were damp dark and deep. Then the Lord looked at me, and He said: "Feed my sheep," And He went on his way to save other lost souls. So I got right to work, calling down to the holes, "Get up! Get ready! There is nothing the matter! Take rocks, and take sticks, and build up a fine ladder!" It now was my calling to spread the good word, The most glorious message that man ever heard: That there's one who is coming to save one and all, And we need to be ready when He gives the call. He'll pull us all out of the holes that we're in And save all our souls from cold, death, and from sin. So do not lose faith; there is reason to hope: Just climb up your ladder; He'll throw down His rope
Our Heavenly Father created us. He loves each of us soooooooo much! He wanted us all to be the best that we could be. Since He is perfect, being like Him is the best we could be.
He knew this (of course) and so He told us that we would all have a chance to prove that we could be like Him. That is why He sent us to earth.
We got our bodies when we came to earth, before that, we were spirits. Those who chose not to follow the Father's plan didn't get bodies. They remained as spirits.
The reason we have trials here on earth is because those are the times we prove ourselves. It's like exercising. You have to feel the burn to know you're getting better :).
I know that Heavenly Father loves ALL OF US! WE ARE EACH SPECIAL TO HIM. HE LOVES US EACH MORE THAN WE COULD IMAGINE.
If He loves us so much, why does He let us experience trials. It's like that exercise analogy, and He's like the coach, or the running partner. He pushes us, and tries to help us through it.
He wants us all to return to Him in heaven, but in order to do that, we need to be perfectly clean from all sin. (we can be this way through the Atonement)
That is another reason why He gives us trials, "even though" He loves us. If we prove ourselves, He will be able to live with us again, and we will be like Him.
A very important man in the church was Joseph Smith jr. He was the man who organized the church after the Apostasy, when it had left the earth.
Here is a movie about him. It brings up major times in his life, and shows how hard he worked to build up God's Church.
I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, and that he led His church in righteousness. I know that he had trials, but he still pressed on, and was able to find comfort in his faith.
I am very grateful for all he did.
One of the most comforting beliefs in the LDS church is that families can live together FOREVER!! If you are sealed in the temple, and stay faithful to each other and to God then you can be together even after you die.
These are a few stories about people who have found comfort, and grown through this belief:
While
Catherine and Kimball Herrod and their four young children, ages nine
months to seven years, were driving home from a family dinner at their
grandparents’ place, a double wheel from a huge semitruck on the
opposite side of the freeway suddenly sprang loose, flew across the
median, and pounded into the driver’s side of the family van. Kimball,
the driver, husband, and father, was severely injured and unconscious.
Catherine somehow guided the car to the shoulder and called for
emergency help. While she watched the paramedics work on her husband and
two older children, she sat in a police car with her two little ones on
her lap and prayed vocally, “Heavenly Father, we know that Thou hast
the power to heal Kimball if it is Thy will, but if not, we have faith
that somehow Thou wilt sustain us through this.” Kimball was
life-flighted to the hospital, but he did not make it there alive.
After
the children were treated for cuts, bruises, and other minor injuries,
dismissed from the hospital, and safely home in bed, Catherine returned
to the hospital to say her final earthly good-bye to her husband. As
difficult as it was, she declared to her parents, who were with her, “I
know that Kimball and I are sealed by our temple covenants, and we will
be together again someday.” In the most terrible trial of a young
mother’s life, her covenants sustained her.
At
the funeral, we were reminded of the power of covenants to sustain us
in moments of distress and grief. As we joined in the closing song, we
all heard above the crowd the voice of Taylor, the five-year-old son,
loudly singing, “Families Can Be Together Forever” (Hymns, no.
300). It was joyous for the congregation to know that a child had been
taught of the sealing covenants that would bind him to his father and
mother. --Susan B Tanner (former YW's president)
I know that we can live forever with our families. I know that I can be with my little brother again, and remember him, know him, and love him.
"I wish every young woman assembled here tonight would know and
understand that your beauty—your “shine”—does not lie in makeup, gooey
cream, or the latest clothing or hairstyles. It lies in your personal
purity." -Elaine S Dalton
What does it take to get beauty? Elaine S Dalton tells us in this video, "Deep Beauty"
Jenny Philips said it, too. In her song "Beauty Is" she shares that "beauty is found in the girl that believes in the power of her divinity."
You can show your beauty by the quiet things you do, but in the end, you will be noticed; and now you will be admired by those whose admiration counts
Have you ever heard the old saying that people who get lost tend to walk in circles?
Jan L.
Souman, a German psychologist, wanted to determine scientifically if
this was true. He took participants of an experiment to a large forest
area and to the Sahara desert and used a global positioning system to
track where they went. They had no compass or any other device.
Instructions to them were simple: walk in a straight line in the
direction indicated.
Dr. Souman
later described what happened. “[Some] of them walked on a cloudy day,
with the sun hidden behind the clouds [and with no reference points in
view]. … [They] all walked in circles, with [several] of them repeatedly
crossing their own path without noticing it.” Other participants walked
while the sun was shining, with faraway reference points in view.
“These … followed an almost perfectly straight course"
Without visible landmarks, human beings tend to walk in circles.
(Quoted by Eder Uchtdorf, Jan L. Souman and others, “Walking Straight into Circles,” Current Biology vol. 19 [Sept. 29, 2009], 1538–42)
There is a story in the Book of Mormon about the Tree of Life. It is a story that gives you a metaphor. There is a dark wasteland, with a narrow path going through it. Along this path there is a rod that people can grab, like a railing. Both the path and the rod lead to a BEAUTIFUL Tree, with DELICIOUS Fruit! But, as people came walking down the path, they soon encountered a dark mist, that blinded them. There was also a river close by, a filthy river.
As the people are walking through the wasteland, some get onto the path and some of those on the path hold onto the rod. As they are walking on the path, (and those walking OFF the path, as well) they come into the mist of darkness. Many who are on the path lose their way and wander off, unless they're holding onto the rod. Some might stumble across the path, and grab onto the rod. Maybe some of the people holding the rod call out to friends, and strangers to come and join them. Some of the people wandering around drown in the river.
The people holding the rod finally come to the Tree of Life, and eat the fruit. Some are happy there, and stay at the tree, forever happy with the fruit. Some look around, and see something that makes them ashamed to be at the tree. They see a HUGE building full of people. This building is floating in the air, and the people inside are dressed in very stylish clothes. They are also laughing, laughing at the people who are at the tree. The people who are ashamed leave the tree, and try to get to the building, but many are drowned in the process.
What does this big metaphor mean? (there's this cool part int he Book of Mormon where Nephi asks the same thing, and an angel appears, and shows him different scenes from the future, and Nephi figures it out, but I'll just tell you :))
The dark wasteland is the world. I think that there are some beautiful parts of the world, but compared to heaven... I'm sure is seems to be a wasteland.
As we travel through the world, some find the path, which is the way to happiness. The rod represents the Gospel ("The Iron Rod is the Word of God"). The people on the path had a better chance of staying on the path if they knew the gospel/held on to the rod. The river is worldliness. Some people get lost (or drowned) in it. The tree is the Love of God, and Eternal Life
The people who make it to the tree,who actually BELIEVE the gospel stay at the tree, and are happy there. But some people look into the building, which represents the pride of the world. They look at these popular people, and they want to be like them more than they want to be with God, and so they leave the tree (and maybe they gradually do it, just a little step at a time), but they will most likely just get drowned in worldliness.
But is that the end? Are there only a few who get to make it to the tree?
No.
Because there is a one-man rescue party that can go away from the path and rescue those who are lost. It's Christ, and he sacrificed himself to bring people back.
Here is a video showing people who were drowning in worldliness before they found the gospel.
This life can have purpose and can have joy, but it's sooo much easier to find lasting joy when you are on the path.
After All We Can Do
By Robbie Pierce
I had been in that hole for a very long time-
In the dark and the damp, in the cold and the slime.
The shaft was above me; I saw it quite clear,
But there's no way I ever could reach it from here.
I could not remember the world way up there,
So I lost every hope and gave in to despair.
I knew nothing but darkness, the floor, and the wall.
Then from off in the distance I heard someone call:
"Get up! Get ready! There's nothing the matter!
Take rocks and take sticks and build up a fine ladder!"
This was a thought that had not crossed my mind,
I started to stack all the stones I could find.
When I ran out of stones, then old sticks were my goal,
For some way or another I'd climb from that hole.
I soon had a ladder that stood very tall,
And I thought, I'll soon leave this place once and for all!
I climbed up my ladder, a difficult chore,
For from lifting those boulders, my shoulders were sore.
I climbed up the ladder, but soon had to stop,
For my ladder stopped short, some ten feet from the top.
I went back down my ladder and felt all around,
But there were no more boulders, nor sticks to be found.
I sat down in the darkness and started to cry.
I'd done all I could do, and I gave my best try.
But in spite of my work, in this hole I must die.
And all I could do was to sit and think, Why?
Was my ladder too short? Was my hole much too deep?
Then from way up on high came a voice: "Do not weep."
And then faith, hope, and love entered into my chest
As the voice calmly told me that I'd done my best.
He said, You have worked hard, and your labor's been rough,
But the ladder you've built is at last tall enough.
So do not despair there is reason to hope,
Just climb up my ladder; I'll throw down my rope.
I climbed up my ladder, then climbed up the cored.
When I got to the top of it, there stood the Lord.
I've never been happier; my struggle was done.
I blinked in the brightness that came from the Son.
I fell to the ground as His feet I did kiss.
I cried, "Lord, can I ever repay Thee for this?"
He looked all about. There were holes in the ground.
They had people inside, and were seen all around.
There were thousands of holes that were damp dark and deep.
Then the Lord looked at me, and He said: "Feed my sheep,"
And He went on his way to save other lost souls.
So I got right to work, calling down to the holes,
"Get up! Get ready! There is nothing the matter!
Take rocks, and take sticks, and build up a fine ladder!"
It now was my calling to spread the good word,
The most glorious message that man ever heard:
That there's one who is coming to save one and all,
And we need to be ready when He gives the call.
He'll pull us all out of the holes that we're in
And save all our souls from cold, death, and from sin.
So do not lose faith; there is reason to hope:
Just climb up your ladder; He'll throw down His rope.
