Planes Planes Planes

So Saturday we took the family to the Mt. Home Airforce Base Airshow. it was wonderful, but I thought of an analogy I wanted to remember and record.

We had the opportunity to stand inside a  B-52 Bomber.  It was huge and amazing. It was amazing how many people actually fly that huge plane- only a crew of 5. Then we watched small planes do skywriting in the sky as they did loops and dives, and then we watched jets speed by doing rolls and quick manuvers. It was facinating, but the thing I found my self reflecting on, was how each and every plane was unique with it's own purpose and design. They weren't created equal for very specific reasons. The B-52 carries bombs, the jet plane for speed, the smaller plane for crop dusting.

Each of us are like these planes. We all have been created in a particular way with a particular mission here on earth and we have been given the design, the talents, the capacity, the skills, to do just that.  God wouldn't ask a crop duster plane to carry a 100 ton bomb across the ocean, nor would he ask a B-52 to take a joy ride to draw a smiley face in the sky.  We all have a purpose and mission. Each one unique- instead of worrying that we aren't like the others around us, we should test our own skills, and see what we are capable of.  The pilots were very skilled and knew exactly how to get their planes to do what they were suppose to do. I am sure that didn't happen overnight.  they had to work at it.  We have skills, abilities and talents that if we too will work at it, we will find exactly what we can do, and what God would have us do. And we like these planes can "complete our mission" on earth.

Keep the Sabbath Day Holy- gospel Principles class

Sunday we had a wonderful lesson on Keeping the Sabbath day holy.  I wanted to remember the three questions they suggest we ask ourselves to recognize if we are doing what we should be doing on the Sabath day.

Those questions were:

Will it uplift and inspire me? Does it show respect for the Lord? Does it direct my thoughts to Him?

I think these are a wonderful guides for how to determine what is appropriate for Sunday activities.

The Great and Spacious building 1 nephi 11::

I gained an interesting insight today. The angel is showing Nephi the condensention of God, and is giving an interpretation of Lehi's dream.  So in the beginning of chapter 11 the angel gives Nephi an understanding of the fruit of the tree, the fruit that is most desireable above all is the Love of God. 

22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the ^alove of God, which ^bsheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the ^cmost desirable above all things.

 23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most ^ajoyous to the soul.

The angel then goes on to show Nephi the Love of God. How it is manifest. He shows Christ and his apostles going forth among the children of men, healing the sick, casting out devils, and teaching.  And then he shows Nephi how Christ is taken and judged of the world. How he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.   The ultimate manifestation of God's love.  The angel shows this to him to not only tell nephi how much god loves his children, but to show what God is willing to do for his children.   

But then, as we continue to read, the next section, we learn how the multitude of the Earth was gathered together, in a large and spacious building. Nephi is taught that the large and spacious building represents the pride of the world, and the wisdom thereof.

 

As I read this today, i had the thought that we are being given two very extreme examples to help us define the other.  First we are given the example of a men (Saviour and apostles) that are willing to do anything, even lay down their own lives, to help lift and build others. Lives devoted to serving others, and helping others partake of the fruit of the tree, and feel God's love.

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Then we are given the example of a world of pride- possibly defined by the very opposite example. When I asked Josh this morning how do we avoid pride, his answer was very matter of fact as he said, we serve others.  (Go Josh!!!! Great Answer!!!)

Pride is thinking that we are better, or know more than those around us so we don't serve or help them, we become selfish and don't see their needs or learn who they are. . It was the pride of the world that killed the Savior and apostles. Men that blinded by pride, wouldn't listen to the teachings of Chirst.  They were so busy focusing on them and their desires, etc.  that they didn't have time to share the gospel, let alone listen to him.  Pride is alive and well today, . Nephi warns that the great and spacious building will fall, and great shall be the fall there of.

So how do we avoid Pride?  How can I learn from this.  I think the answer is given in verse 36 

 And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

I think with conference coming up in two weeks, this is perfect.  We avoid pride by listening to the council of the twelve apostles. We don't know better than they do what the lord would have us do. Those that are prideful fight against the teachings of the twelve apostles. I liked Josh's answer too, the way to overcome that pride is to serve, to share and to listen. 

ACT: Look for ways in my life where I may not be following the council of the twelve apostles as closely as I should and work on changing that. 

The Lords Tender Mercies

Day 2
Tender Mercies

One of my favorite scriptures is here. Nephi shares his testimony of the tender mercies of the Lord.  For him, it is even in the wilderness...Lamen and Lemuel still continue to complain, they have it no easier that Nephi, yet their attitude is so much worse. Nephi continues to recognize the Lords hand, and his tender mercies. 

But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender ^cmercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of ^ddeliverance.


We have this same promise, and power of deliverance.

ACT:  Look for the Lord's Tender Mercies in my life- how does he give me power of deliverance.

It was wisdom that we should carry them with us into the wilderness 1 Nephi 5

I love every chapter of the Book of Mormon, but this one is one of my favorites. I think here I can relate to Sariah whole heartedly.  As she has had to leave her home, and has now just sent her children back to Jeruselem where there were people that wanted to kill them, across the wilderness.  It has taken them longer than planned to get the plates, and she is afraid they have been killed (they were in grave danger at times- I think a mother knows when her children are in danger-just a sixth sense). She begins to take her frustration and fear out on Lehi, she begins to doubt his "revelations" and wonder if they made the right choice.  I don't blame her. I can totally understand as a woman and mother how difficult the situation was that she was placed in. How many times have I complained when things weren't even close to that BUT, what I love about this chapter is two fold- Her relationship with her husband, and her humility.  Lehi lets her complain, and even empathizes with her, and tries to comfort her when she so clearly has just called him out. I can tell Lehi is a very wise man, and a good husband.
 
But then I also love Sariah's humility after her children have returned and she recognizes that her testimony has been stregnthened.

8 And she spake, saying: Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath ^acommanded my husband to ^bflee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could ^caccomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them. And after this manner of language did she speak.

It made me think about how sometimes, oftentimes, the trials that we go through are to do just that- to allow us to see the Lord's arm in our lives.  How simple would it have been for the Lord to remind Lehi to grab the plates before he left. But the very fact they had to go back to get them was a stretching/growth opportunity for the whole family. The "small" trial or test, which allowed Sariah to see the Lord's hand quickly, gave her faith and confidence in the Lord for the "larger" trial ahead.
Sometimes the smaller trials are just "weight lifting" for later when we will really need to rely on it (8 years later in the wilderness- for Sariah, or 3 years down the road when a husband still doesn't have a job, or 10 years later when a child is still struggling with an illness, etc.)  We have been promised he will never give us more than we can handle, however, that doesn't mean he won't stretch us to the limits of capabilities. 
 
Another thing I appreciate in this story is the fact that Sariah is willing to admit her weakness and to testify of the Lord. She doesn't hold onto it, or say "Well, yes they are back now, by the skin of their teeth, they could have died, look at the danger they were in, or I knew it was a bad idea, you just got lucky it worked this time."  No, she let go of her pride and recognized the Lords hand in their deliverance.  

ACT:  When given trials that test, watch for the Lord's arm of deliverance and testify of it. Even if it means sacrificing my own pride or being embarrassed because I was worried. Recognize the "stretching" opportunities that can be mine. 

Nephi's pattern- More than just doing- 1st Nephi 10 & 11

Josh and I have been diligently reading however, I find it difficult to find time to sit down and write each day. When i start writing, I want to write for hours at a time, and I can't do that, so i don't write, and that isn't working either....so I have decided each morning I will set a timer for 15 minutes to write my thoughts and ACT for the day. But when that timer goes off, I have to publish whether it's perfect or not....so bear with me my readers. I am sure I will get better as time goes on, but for the first couple it make take me time to figure this out.

So my post today is actually in response to my ACT from 1Nephi 10 &11. I am always impressed at Nephi's williness to not only do what the Lord asks, but to go above and beyone and SEEK to find understanding so he is not only going through the motions, but is understanding why the Lord is having them do what they are doing. He does this a couple times in the past few chapters. Once when Lehi asks them to leave, he seeks to understand and have his heart softened so he is not like his brethern. Also when they return to get the scriptures he understands that it is for his children and future posterity, and then again with the tree of life - Nephi desires to understand.  Today we read where he lays out his pattern again.


1 Nephi 10-

 17 And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the ^awords of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a ^bvision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the ^cMessiah who should come—I, Nephi, was ^ddesirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the ^eHoly Ghost, which is the ^fgift of God unto ^gall those who diligently seek him, as well in times of ^hold as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.

 18 For he is the ^asame yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.

 19 For he that diligently ^aseeketh shall find; and the ^bmysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the ^cHoly Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the ^dcourse of the Lord is one eternal round.

So first of all Nephi is testifying that he knows that if we need an answer- we have every right and opportunity to find it. God will answer us if we seek DILIGENTLY.  Nephi promises us that if we do our part the Lord will answer, and his mysteries shall be unfolded to us by the power of the holy ghost.  The power of revelation is on the earth now, just as it was in times of old.

So my  ACT was to ask myself if there was a question to which I needed an answer.  And was I willing to DILIGENTLY SEEK that answer. So I asked myself the next queston- What does it mean to Diligently Seek?  I beleive Nephi shares that with us in 1 Nephi 11

1 For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat ^apondering in mine heart I was ^bcaught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high ^cmountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.

Here Nephi shares his pattern-  To Diligently Seek we must 

1) DESIRE to know

2) Believe that God can Answer us

3) Ponder for our selves in our heart

4) Be patient and willing to listen so we can be  "caught away" in the spirit.

5) Finally, the spirit took him to an exceedingly high mountain- often this is symbolic of the temple, so I would suggest that the last part is to Go to the Temple- or at least be worthy enough to go.

So my ACT this week was to diliengently seek help in how to manage all the "various things" I feel prompted to do. This blog being one of them.  I did recieve an answer, a small simple prompting that if I manage my time well, by assigning "time frames" to the various areas I will have the time and focus to be able to accomplish all that has been asked (Six kids, calling, support husband, small business, write a book, blog, scripture study, family history, missionary work, keeping a house of order, food storage, budgeting, etc. the list goes on.). I may not spend hours a day on any one thing, but slowly and consistently I will grow to be able to accomplish all that I desire to do. Everything has their season and time where it may take more of my time, but 10-15 minutes a day is better than nothing, until I can spend the full time I would like to on it.  

I know the Lord does answer prayers as we diligently seek him. Just like Nephi set forth in his pattern, and as Nephi said, the course of the Lord is one eternal round, in times of old, and in times now, and in times to come, he will answer his children as we diligently seek him.

It is all about the ATTITUDE 1 Nephi 2-3

I was impress as I read about Nephi in these chapters, just how important attitude plays in our lives. As we think, so we become.  But I also learned from Nephi that we can change our attitude and have our hearts softened, if we choose to.
When Lehi asked the family to pick up and go, even though he was a prophet, that was a hard thing for teenagers to do. I am sure they all (including Sariah) struggled with it. But they did it, because they were a righteous family willing to follow the prophet at the time.  But there were different ways in which they handled it.  Laman and Lemuel murmured ....

12 And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their ^afather. And they did ^bmurmur because they ^cknew not the dealings of that God who had ^dcreated them.


But Nephi, on the other hand, desiring to know what God wanted him to do, took the time to ask, to receive his own witness and to seek to have his heart softened.
 
6 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the ^amysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did ^bvisit me, and did ^csoften my heart that I did ^dbelieve all the words which had been spoken by my ^efather; wherefore, I did not ^frebel against him like unto my brothers.

I think there are a number of lessons for us here in these two simple verses.  One- Knowledge can change hearts. The more we learn about the gospel and seek to understand it, the more we come to understand the mysteries of god, and that makes it easier to live the gospel- If we don't understand something, we can ask God and receive our own answer. But Two, even more importantly, when i struggle with something that I have been asked to do, be it a calling, service, or even working through a trial in my life, I can follow Nephi's example and get down on my knees and ask for understanding and to have my heart softened.  Nephi did recieve great wisdom and inspiration, but it came AFTER he got down on his knees and asked, and then allowed the spirit to soften his heart. I think I have experienced that softening of heart before, but I think i have also experienced (unfortunately) the spirit trying to soften my heart, and my mind justifying my hardheartedness.

How often too, do I seek understanding through the world's eyes. Sometimes I ask my friends what they think rather then relying on the spirit, or studying it out in the scriptures or conference talks.

 I was impressed also, that Laman and Lemual still came with their family.  They didn't stay behind in Jeruselum- they could have lived happily there for a while I am sure, taking care of themselves, I think they appear to be old enough to have done so....they may have been in danger, but if they just denied everything their father taught they probably would have been just fine.  BUT, they didn't, they still came, and then when asked to go back and get they plates, they went then too....both times complaining and murmuring that it is a hard thing asked of them- but yet they went......  I think the thing that struck me, was that Laman and Lemuel were "enough righteous" that they were still willing to come with Lehi, and Nephi, but complained the whole time and had a stinky attitude- afraid of what might happen. Nephi CHOSE to have a good attitude by turning to the Lord. How often do people go through the motions of the gospel, thinking that alone will save them.  It doesn't work to just go through the motions, our attitude, faith and heart has to be there as well.


A.C.T. Today when I do the things I have been blessed to be able to do (i.e. cleaning, cooking, running kids around, my calling, etc.) I will watch my attitude, and if I feel it slipping I will turn to the Lord in prayer rather then mumur and complain.