Ether 8

WHAT ARE OUR DESIRES & Where will they LEAD US?

Omer was a friend to Akish, and yet he was willing to kill Akish to obtain his desires. How did his desires ever bring him to that point:

The son of the king (Jared) wanted to reign in his father's stead, so his daughter devised a plan to dance in front of Akish so that she might please him enough, so that he would desire her to be his wife. After this was accomplished, Jared agreed to allow Akish to wed his daughter IF he delivered the head of Omer.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said:

1. “Desire denotes a real longing or craving...
   “… What we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity” (“According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts,” Ensign, Nov. 1996, 21).
   Akish allowed his desire of the daughter of Jared to work within him so much so that he was willing to give up on what mattered most to obtain that desire. In fact, as he was executing his plan, he and his followers swore an oath to conceal the killing. The interesting thing about this procedure is that the swore and oath by the God of heaven (vs. 14). This very act convinces me that they knew God existed. It blows my mind that they created a secret combination to kill someone and part of that process was to swear it on God's throne. The very being that had taught them "Thou shall not kill". They swore an oath to follow through with one of the greatest sins of mankind against our Eternal Father????
2. This is a direct example of what happens when we allow ourselves to desire things of the world over things of God. In verse 7, it speaks of Jared desiring for the glory of the world. When we set our hearts on things contrary to God, we can convince ourselves that God will be okay with us committing a little sin, and maybe even swearing by his name and evil oath...that might be okay too.
3. There are so many things in our society today that wants to draw our desires away from the God we love. Some of these things are clothed in "the love of all men" that it can be difficult to see the right course. As I contemplate same sex marriage and planned parenthood, I think of how conniving Satan is in causing us to doubt. We must be diligent in keeping our desires focused on God. We must control the desires of our hearts. 

Ether 6

Ether 6

I love the gratitude expressed in this chapter. As the Jaredites traveled towards the promised land the did "sing praises unto the Lord..., and did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord" (vs 9). Then in verse 12 it states that "when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord" (vs. 12).

How many times in my life do I shed tears of gratitude towards the Lord? I know the Lord blesses me. I know it happens on a daily basis. However, I think it's easy to neglect those blessings in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Someday I am positive that I will be accountable for my lack of gratitude towards my Heavenly Father. I am humbled at my lack of gratitude. In my heart, I am grateful, but I don't often express that gratitude. I know that I am sinning by not expressing gratitude for my blessings. Please Heavenly Father, help me to become better in expressing a sincere thanks for all that I know thou does for me. Help me to stop and express a sincere expression of gratitude. Help me to take the time. Help me to not allow the busyness of our daily lives to get in the way of what matters most. Help me.

Ether 4

Ether 4

I love the counsel we receive in this chapter. I love that in verse 13 it states that knowledge is hid up because of unbelief; however, in verse 15 it then states that "when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know...". It further states that we need to "rend" (vs. 15) the veil of unbelief in order to receive all that the Father wants to give unto us.

Choice is key in our salvation. WE choose faith. We choose to hope. We choose charity. Whether we obey the principles of the Gospel is truly a choice. We get to choose whether we will follow the commandments or nowt. We get to choose whether we will make it home again, or whether we will allow our minds to be blinded by the temptations of the devil. It seems pretty straightforward--choose good or choose evil; however, it's easy to allow our views be tainted by Satan's cunning perspective. I truly have a testimony of the need of constant diligence. We need to be constantly reading our scriptures, constantly praying, and constantly seeking God. If we do not, we can be deceived, and be heading towards the pathways of destruction prior to our realization.

We must be believing, and then all things will work together for our good. We must trust in God. Trust that He is, and trust that He is good. As we place our trust in Him, He will direct our paths.

Ether 3

Ether 3

|I have continued studying the scriptures, but I haven't kept as faithful of a journal as in times past. I am attempting to repent of that today with this entry.

There were several things that touched me about Ether 3.

I loved that in verse 14 it describes Christ through Christ's own words:
"Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters."

We are God's children. Jesus Christ loves us. He paid the price for our sins so that we might be redeemed.

I also love the faith demonstrated by the Brother of Jared. He had the faith to believe that if he asked God to touch the stones, then he would. He had the faith to ask. He had the faith to trust. He gave us an example of how we can pray to our Heavenly Father when we are faced with trials. And probably more poignant was what God taught us through this interchange. We can learn from this account that answers to our prayers do not always come in the same way. Sometimes Heavenly Father will tell us; however, sometimes we will need to come up with a solution on our own, and then move forward with faith--just like the Brother of Jared moved forward.