Ether 2

The brother of Jared is chastised in this chapter for not calling on the Lord more through prayer. It always hits me to think how important it is to pray to our Heavenly Father. It is easy for us to go about our daily lives and neglect that divine communication. And yet... the Lord speaks of this as a sin.

Verse 14 states:
"And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a could and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord.

Reading this is a chastisement to me. I know that I need to pray more often to my Father in Heaven. It is not my intention to neglect communicating with Him; however, I know that I do. I am going to pray for help to pray more .

Ether 3

PRAYERS

In verse 9, the Lord explains that because of the faith of the brother of Jared, he was able to see the Lord's finger. He then said that "never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast..."

I think about my own life and my quest for faith. Sometimes I think I have great faith, but then I realize just how far I have to go. It definitely is a quest of a lifetime that I am willing to continue to endeavor. When I was newly married, I remember believing that God was there, and believing that
He helped His children; however, I struggled to believe that He would directly help me. Then, one day I was in need. I knelt down and prayed. I told Him that I knew He was real. I knew He could hear me. And then I told Him how I desperately needed help.

I had promised to bring a meal to a family in need that day. I had thought I had the materials to prepare the meal, but as I began the task, I realized I did not. I was without a car, and the nearest store was miles away. If I walked to the store, I would not be home in time to prepare the meal for the family. I searched through my pantry for something different, but I was low on groceries. It was at this moment, I knelt in prayer. I desired to help the family in need, but I had no idea how I was going to accomplish it without help.

As soon as I finished my prayer, I began calling people in the ward. I hoped to find someone who had the ingredient; however, nobody seemed to answer my phone call. Then while I was still on the phone, the operator came through the line (I didn't know that happened), and asked if I was willing to accept a call from someone. This person was in my ward. I didn't know them well, but I knew of them. I immediately accepted the call to hear what this person may need wondering if there something I could do to help them and curious to find out why they would use an operator to get a hold of me. To my surprise, this person was calling as an answer to my prayer. She said that she did not know why it was so important to get a hold of me, but that she knew I was in need. She asked what she could do to help me? As I heard her explanation, I felt overwhelmed with love and gratitude. I knew the Lord had heard my prayers. I immediately knelt down and thanked my Heavenly Father for hearing my need.

From this moment on, I knew the Lord was aware of me individually. My faith began to grow in this thing and it continues to grow to this day. Someday, I want to have the faith of the Brother of Jared.

Ether 1

THE POWER OF PRAYER

I was touched as I read in the account of Ether today about the power of prayer. The brother of Jared continuously instructs his brother to ask of the Lord, and each time--the Lord answers. I was first impressed with the faith to seek the Lord, and second impressed with power of prayer. I keep thinking that because they first had the faith to seek the Lord, they must have had complete trust that the Lord would direct and answer.


Faith in the Lord is a powerful thing. There is a difference between believing in the Lord and believing that the Lord will direct our path. Many times in my life I lean more on the simply believing in the Lord, and then I go about my activities trying to accomplish all that I must without the Lord's divine intervention. It requires great faith to stop and realize how much better we would be with the Lord directing our path, and then to trust that He can and He will. It seems to me to be a circle of faith: to first have the faith to stop and counsel with the Lord, to then listen for His direction, and then to move froward with faith.

For me, I have the faith that this pattern in life works; however, I don't often use it. When I have exhausted all other scenarios, I then seem to turn to the Lord. Why not begin with the Lord? Why must I struggle on my own? I do believe the Lord trusts us in orchestrating our lives, but I don't think that means that we can't counsel with him in all things. In fact, in Nephi we are instructed to ...counsel with the Lord in all dealings...(1 Nephi 37:37).

At the end of this chapter two powerful messages seemed to cap off my original impressions. First, in verse 42 it states, "I will go before thee." This simply promise of the Lord reminds me that the Lord is willing to be with us. However, we must first seek Him in order to have that companionship. The second phrase that hit home was in verse 43 it states, "And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me." The Lord here tells us that He will bless us when we seek Him. When we choose to allow Him in to our lives, He will make things happen to our benefit, but WE MUST trust in Him enough to first ask.

Scriptures

This past year has been a journey unlike any other I have experienced. I think the last time I posted was right before I had a skiing accident. And although the skiing accident only resulted in a torn ACL, I still found myself in a trial that was manufactured for me. After 7 months of recovery, I am looking into the face of another surgery, and although that is hard too--my determination to face it is resolute. I know it is through the Lord, Jesus Christ, that we can be carried through all of our afflictions. He is the answer to all of our trials. As we turn to Him, He will carry us. He is our balm in Gilead.
Through this trial, I have often turned to my scriptures. I haven't recorded my impressions as I did in year's past; however, the scriptures have truly been a source of peace that my Savior has offered to me. As I have turned each page, my spirit has been lifted and carried. I have found peace and comfort. I have been healed with each new realization. I almost feel saddened that I didn't record this journey as I should have; however, I do testify now of my gratitude of the scriptures. I am so grateful. So very grateful.

2 Nephi 9

There is so much in this chapter that it is difficult to be able to touch on everything. The main idea of this chapter is the Plan of Salvation--God's plan for us. One thing that seems to stand out in my mind is verse 21:

And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.

My heart rejoices as I read these scriptures. My heart is full towards my Savior. Because of Him, we can live again. Because of Him, we can be clean. Because of Him, we have eternal families. Because of Him, we are not captive to the devil, but rather we can have eternal life. Words cannot describe the miraculous atonement. I am so grateful to my Savior. My God. My King.

In counseling our hearts, I love how it reads in verse 39, "...Remember to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.

In verse 41 it reads, "O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it b by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name."

And in verse 42 it reads, "And whoso knocketh, to him will he open...

In verse 50, "Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price."

My Lord my God. I am so grateful for the condescension of my Savior. My heart is full. My heart rejoiceth. I am humbled, and I pray for His hand in my life.

1 Nephi 18

vs. 9: And after we had been driven forth before the wind for the space of many days, behold, my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and also their wives began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began to dance, and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness, yea, even that they did forget by what power they had been brought thither; yea, they were lifted up unto exceeding rudeness.

Sometimes I think it easy to become casual in everything. The way we are and the way we act. Could we be so casual that at times our actions can be called rude? Perhaps.

In our home, fart jokes and burping occasionally exist. Is it so far stretched to assume that this kind of behavior invites the exit of the spirit? Could we ask ourselves to become more refined even in the seemingly unimportant things of life?

vs. 12 And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the compass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to work.

I love that the compass works according to their righteousness. Isn't that exactly what the scriptures do for us? And aren't the scriptures are compass?

Think about it. If we simply read the scriptures without any effort to absorb them into our lives, without any desire behind our reading--can they guide us? Perhaps. I'm sure there might be a case or two where this act of simply reading has changed hearts. However, can we argue that diving into the scriptures with full purpose of heart can serve as a guide for our lives? Could the scriptures then become a compass to us as we live righteously? It is our actions or our intents in which allow the things of the Lord to guide us. These things  are there. They exist. However, they only serve to our benefit when we open our hearts to the Lord.