Ether

The brother of Jared pled with the Lord to preserve the language of his worthy friends and family at the tower of Babel.The brother of Jared led his group to another land. This took great faith, trust and many lessons were learned.  The brother of Jared was not a perfect man, but he continued to try and do good.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that God loves those whom He chastens: “The Lord is truly there to chastise those whom He loves, including the spiritually preeminent. The Brother of Jared for too long had failed to pray (see Ether 2:14). Even the good can become careless without the Lord’s being there to chasten. Later, the chastened Brother of Jared saw Christ!

The Lord explained to the brother of Jared that blessings had come to his people as a result of prayers offered over a long time. Enduring obedience coupled with frequent and persistent prayers is powerful. 

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) similarly taught that we must put great effort into our prayers and that we must pray frequently:

“Do you get answers to your prayers? If not, perhaps you did not pay the price. Do you offer a few trite words and worn-out phrases, or do you talk intimately to the Lord? Do you pray occasionally when you should be praying regularly, often, constantly? Do you offer pennies to pay heavy debts when you should give dollars to erase that obligation?

Another great lesson learned was in how our Heavenly Father answers prayers.  He wants us to think for ourselves and find solutions for our problems, then take the solutions to Him for confirmation.  President Lee concluded: “This is the principle in action. If you want the blessing, don’t just kneel down and pray about it. Prepare yourselves in every conceivable way you can in order to make yourselves worthy to receive the blessing you seek”

 Such faith the brother of Jared had!  Ether 3:9 The Lord said, "never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast" And in Ether 3:10, the brother of Jared said, "Show thyself unto me" The trust that the brother of Jared had of our Lord is such a great example to me.  I am amazing at what I continue to learn as I study the scriptures daily.  I have read the Book of Mormon many times and still learn something more each time I read it.  

3 Nephi 23-30

One thing that I haven't been good at in my lifetime, that I realize is more and more important as I get older, is journal keeping.  In this block of scripture it is mentioned multiple times how important it is to keep records.  My sister Jeri Kay and her husband Steve gave me a journal when I got baptized.  I have written in it maybe 20 times, all posts from 8 years old to middle school age.  After I got married, I started scrapbooking, and that was my form of journaling. For a few years I kept a blog of our family going ons.  While all these things are something, I am realizing that importance of keeping a journal of my spiritual and more meaningful experiences, and those where lessons were learned and my faith was deepened. My dear friend Melissa is a great example of keeping a journal.  She faithfully writes every day and has got back time and time again to find answers to questions.  She has found answers to her prayers in her own past experiences.  This is something I am going to work on.  I love reading the words of my grandparents and parents, and know that my memories and experiences will be a great source of joy to my children and grandchildren.

27: 20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.

27: 21 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;

Jesus so plainly tells us what we need to do, and he is our greatest example of how to act.  I have a simple faith and am grateful for that.  I am not one to question or research things out to prove them wrong.  I try my best to live worthy of the Spirit and trust in the Holy Ghost to confirm the truths of the gospel to me.  
 27:29 Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

I have put this scripture to the test many times, and have always received an answer.  It isn't always on my time schedule, or the answer I think I want, but in looking back at the more challenging times I can see the Lord's work in all things.

30: 1 Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak concerning you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write, saying:

30: 2 Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel.

I am grateful for this gospel.  I am grateful for the promises of the Savior and the love that He has for me.  

Alma 43-63

Alma 48:8-10

 8 Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land.

 9 And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites.

 10 And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of Christians.

After reading this scripture passage, it made me think, "What am I doing to fortify my home? My neighborhood? My ward?"

My sweet little O always worries when we have a big storm and I remind him that we have a nice home that protects us, keeps us warm and safe.  We have food, blankets, water and supplies so that even if we lose power, we are still safe inside.  Of course there are things much bigger than a snow storm that can cause damage to our home but we do what we can to maintain our home and be prepared for emergencies and leave the rest in the Lord's hands.  

We live in an awesome neighborhood with wonderful neighbors.  We help each other, check on each other and know that we are there for one another. We live in a very safe place in the world, in fact, one of the safest of the nation.  We have a wonderful ward, bishop and leaders. We have a system in place within our ward for emergencies that go hand in hand with the city plan.  I really don't worry for when the emergencies come knowing it is out of my hands.  

So then, why does this scripture hit me so hard?  Because I wonder if I am doing all I can to fortify my home SPIRITUALLY?  I have a wonderful husband and four of the very best children that look to me as an example, a protector and a teacher.  Am I doing all I can for them?  Are we united as a family?  Is our home a place of refuge from the evils of the world?

In our last stake conference, President Erickson discussed being consistent in our Holy Habits. 

1. Prayers ( both personal and family)

2. Scripture study (both personal and family)

3. Church attendance and especially focusing on the Sacrament

4. Temple Attendance

5. Service

I absolutely believe that being consistent in these 5 habits can bless our lives greatly as well as the lives of our children.  I have seen it first hand!  In addition, I have been thinking about how busy we can become in our every day lives.  I am always taken back to the conference talk titled "Good, Better, Best" by Elder Dallin H. Oaks.  Where are our priorities?  Do my kids know how much I love them by my words and more importantly, by my actions?  Do I give them my time?  Am I teaching them the gospel?  Am I teaching them how to be kind and good citizens? 

S will soon be 15 and is looking these years are flying by.  Before I know it, she will be headed off to college.  As she repeats the Young Women's theme every week, I wonder if she realizes who she really is?  That she is a daughter of our Heavenly Father and He loves her? Does she understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ and know that He really has suffered all things just for her?

I is 12 and a priesthood holder.  Does he understand how important his role is in his Deacons quorum? Does he grasp what a special power he holds?  Does he understand how important it is to be clean and pure for the woman that he will take to the temple?  And that as a husband someday, he has such a great responsibility to love and cherish that daughter of God and honor his covenants?

O is 8 and seems doesn't seem to grasp a lot these days.  He is a busy boy with too much world to explore and too many fun things to do to be concerned with serious stuff.  How do I show him that the scriptures can be fun?  That they hold the answers to so many of life's questions, and will be a guide for him?  How do I help him understand how important the covenants he made at baptism are, and that he now has the gift of the Holy Ghost - one of the greatest gifts?  

A is just 3 and as sassy as can be.  She loves Sunbeams and insists on us singing "I Am A Child of God" every single night.  She is growing up in a crazy world that is only getting more evil.  Do I have what it takes to raise her in righteousness?

So many questions, and sometimes it is quite overwhelming.  It is then that I feel the Holy Ghost testify that my best is good enough.  That my children are resilient, strong, and good and most importantly, they have a very loving Heavenly Father that is aware of our every day going-ons.  We are not a perfect family, but boy do we love each other, and love the Lord.  I will choose to trust in Him, keep my covenants and work every day to be a better daughter of God, a better neighbor and friend, a better missionary, a better disciple of Christ, a better daughter and sister and especially a better wife and mother.  And that is how I will fortify my home.  As a family we will keep on loving and laughing, learning and growing, serving and sharing.

Alma 30-35

What a great week!  I studied Alma 30-35 this week and loved the discussion we had at our gathering.  A few things in particular stuck out to me.

* Alma 31:5 was shared using the substitution study skill and I loved that once you personalize it, it brings so much more meaning to our family.
 5 And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the 
Mecham family to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the Mecham family than yelling, threatening, bribing, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore mom and dad thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.
As we keep things simple and focus on the Word of God, and the results that come from this, we will know for ourselves the truth testified by the Holy Ghost.  We don't need all the bells and whistles, in fact, sometimes I feel those get in the way of the true message Heavenly Father wants us to hear.

* Alma 32:14
 And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be humble ye
 were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble 
themselves because of the word?
I think of my scripture study and realize that when I am compelled to be humble and read daily because that is "what I am supposed" to do, I am certainly blessed.  However, when I pray for guidance and a desire to read the word of God, and truly study His teachings, the blessings are greater in that I am able to retain more, focus on the teachings and get answers to questions, and am more comfortable to teach to those around me.  Someone in class brought up the difference that when we are compelled to be humble it is usually from an outside source; we do it because we know it is right, someone tells us that is what we need to do, etc.  However when we truly humble ourselves we have a willing heart and a greater desire to do these things -it comes from within and we don't need convincing from anyone else.  

* Alma 32:21
And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye 
hope for things which are not seen, which are true.
 I have always had a very simple faith.  I do not need all the answers now.  I know that I have a Heavenly Father that loves me because of all the many tender mercies in my life.  I am a glass half full kind of girl and believe that part of being happy comes from counting our blessings.  I also know that there is a peace that comes from being obedient and keeping the commandments.  

 *Alma 34:17-29
 17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to
 exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;

 18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.

 19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.

 20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.

 21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.

 22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.

 23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.

 24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.

 25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.

 26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.

 27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.

 28 And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you,do not suppose that  this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and  the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and  availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.

 29 Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the   refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men.

 Love this passage of scripture! Heavenly Father cares so much about us and wants us to confide in him with our joys, sorrows, stresses and for those around us.  He loves us.  He is our Father.  He is loving and merciful and all we have to do is ask.  And the other reason I love this passage of scripture is because right here it tells us that we have to live the gospel.  Not just believe, but LIVE it.  Our Savior is our greatest example in how we should live and it is our responsibility to to love one another, as He does.  We need to care for others, lift them up, be a good friend and neighbor, go out of our way to help others.  And as we are doing this we will learn to love those we struggle with.  So lets love, not judge.