1 Nephi 8

Thursday, June 27, 2013

                        

In this particular chapter, Lehi sees a vision of the Tree of Life. Laman and Lemuel, refusing to entirely have faith in the Lord refuse to eat the fruit of the tree. The Tree of Life represents God’s love for us, the fruit represents eternal life and the iron rod symbolizes the Word of God – the Gospel. I believe in this chapter we can say that this is where Heavenly Father openly shows His love for Nephi and his brother Sam. They, throughout all of the hard times, have remained faithful to the Lord. They trusted him when He asked them to go to Laban’s house to get the plates and never doubted that he would safely deliver them back to their family. Laman and Lemuel on the other hand had a very hard time trusting the Lord. Even when an angel appeared to testify of the truth, they still doubted the Lord. Obviously, we do not want to be like Laman and Lemuel. Even when the trials of life are difficult, we need to remain faithful and trust that what the Lord says is the right thing to do.

My personal example for trusting the Lord is I have to trust that even with my parents, everything will turn out alright in the end. I have so much that I could easily lose simply by converting and I hope and trust the Lord will not only help me through this, but that He will also help my family see that this is the correct path and faith. Another part to this is my mom told me that while I am on vacation, I am not allowed to read The Book of Mormon. I have found that when I don’t read this book, my faith is easily moved; I have a much harder time standing my ground faith wise. So I asked Heavenly Father what I should do and the answer was to read The Book of Mormon, anyway, even if my mom does not approve.

In the chapter, where Sariah, Sam and Nephi are waiting unsure of where to go, I think it symbolizes how we are. We really aren’t sure what to go and road to follow unless we have someone telling us. Lehi is a prophet and he guides the three others so that they may come join him at the tree of life. The tree of life symbolizes eternal life. So, if we follow the commandments of Heavenly Father and do good acts as well as have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and be baptized by total immersion for the remission of sins, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end, we too can have eternal life.

Lehi beckoned Sariah, Sam and Nephi to come over to the tree to partake of the fruit, “And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the fruit also.” They listened to Lehi and have done all other things which makes them good in the eyes of Heavenly Father. Notice that Laman and Lemuel are not here. They don’t have faith in Heavenly Father and because of their stubbornness, they will not partake of this fruit.

When we look down at verses 19 and 20, it says “And I beheld a rod of iron… And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the iron rod, which led to the tree.” The iron rod symbolizes the Word of God or scriptures, like the Book of Mormon and the Bible. These books are our guide to lead us on a straight and narrow path, which is God’s path. The last part of that verse says that. The tree holds fruit which symbolize eternal life. So we are on a straight path to return to Heavenly Father as long as we do all that He says.

There were some people who did not or were not able to follow Lehi to the tree. Those that chose not to follow, once they did taste the fruit, were ashamed because of their actions. They saw all of the blessings following Heavenly Father would bring and yet, they did not do that before.

Those who were not able to find the path were lost. I think the path can symbolize the Word of God as well. I know that at the time when I was not listening to God, I was truly lost. I was also very, very unhappy with myself and everyone around me. Honestly, at the time, I did not think God was such a big deal. I did not think the Bible really meant anything or that it was anything to really care about. Heavenly Father gave me an opportunity to change that, and I can say that I’ve never been happier. It helps so much to have someone you can always rely on and trust. The missionaries have also been absolutely amazing. I would not trade for them. I think that if it had not been for all the help they’ve given me, through the power of the Holy Ghost, I would not have made it as far as I have.

As we continue to strive down the straight and narrow path the Lord has set for us, and as long as we do all that He says, we can one day be in His presence again. The trials and all may be tough now, but it will totally be worth it. I encourage all that have not given the Mormon faith a try to do so, it literally saved my life and I truly believe it can do the same for others. Heavenly Father will welcome you back with open arms no matter what you have done. He did for me, He will do it for you. Ask and you shall receive, that is a promise He made us. Ask for help and He will give it to you; ask for an opportunity and you will receive one. Take advantage of it and allow yourself to change your life for the better. It is entirely worth it, this I can promise. 

1 Nephi 7

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Nephi states that they “did speak unto him [Ishmael] the words of the Lord” (verse 4). This shows that Nephi was testifying to Ishmael and that Ishmael also felt the Spirit. From that, Ishmael knew the truthfulness of Nephi’s and Nephi’s brothers’ words. Each time we testify to someone, they can know the truth of our words by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can know the truthfulness of the words of others by this as well.

Laman, Lemuel, and two of the daughters of Ishmael rebelled against Nephi ad the others. The four that rebelled were having a hard time choosing between the words of the Lord and the comforts of home. I am sure that that had to have been a difficult decision especially because all four of them clearly lacked faith in Heavenly Father. A lot of times, though, we need to just give up our want for an understanding of all things and just do what the Lord tells us to. In verse 12, which states “Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him.”

After Nephi spoke these words, and a few others, his brothers became exceedingly mad at him for saying that they have no faith and it almost seems like Nephi is saying he is better than them. Nephi tells his brothers and the two daughters of Ishmael that they should not return to the land of Jerusalem because if they do, they will perish. Nephi’s brothers became overtly angry with him and bound him with cords. Their intent had been to leave Nephi in the wilderness for animals to eat him. Nephi, though, asks the Lord to give him strength so that he could break the cords which bound him. Nephi shows us that instead of asking the Lord to change our situation, we should instead ask to have the strength to get through the trial we are facing.  

Because Nephi was faithful and trusted the Lord entirely, the Lord helped him. Nephi knew that just having a little faith in the Lord is enough. Heavenly Father promises us that if we have just a little bit of faith, we can move mountains.

Nephi quickly forgave his brothers for trying to take his life. This is how we should be – quick to forgive one another. I think that if Nephi can forgive someone for trying to kill him, we can most certainly forgive someone for anything they do to us. Nephi then told them that even though he had forgiven them, they still needed to ask for the forgiveness of the Lord. Because of Christ, we can repent and be forgiven for our sins. The Lord has promised us that when we truly repent for our sins, we will be forgiven and He will forget the sin which we committed regardless of how bad it may seem. There is only one sin which He will not forgive and that sin is if you receive a direct witness and still deny Him and the truthfulness of the gospel, like what Laman and Lemuel have done. We should take advantage of the opportunity to repent for our sins. Life is so much easier when we can rid ourselves of unnecessary burdens of sin. One thing to remember is that only Heavenly Father’s opinion counts. So even if someone refuses to forgive you after you’ve truly repented, it doesn’t matter because only the forgiveness of Heavenly Father matters. If you’ve done your best to make up for what you did, the Atonement will make up for the rest and you can rest easy, because you’ve done all that you can do. 

1 Nephi 6

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Nephi tells us that it is his intent to “persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved” (verse 4). We know from reading and from The Plan of Salvation that the only way we can return to our Heavenly Father is to accept Him into our lives and do all that He has told us to do. Because of Christ, His only Begotten Son, we can be saved and return to Him. It is our job to make sure we try to give everyone a chance to accept God and follow the teachings of Christ. While we cannot force a person to do anything, we can ask them to pray and ask Heavenly Father with a sincere heard and real intent to know if these things are true. When they find for themselves that these things are true, we must hope that they will act on their findings. And though we cannot make anyone do anything, we can help guide them. Heavenly Father has promised us that if we look to Him for help, He will help us and will “make our paths straight.” Helping people and guiding them is the work of missionaries, but we have been told by Prophets and Apostles that even when we are not on a mission, we should always be doing missionary work and sharing the gospel with others.

Nephi also tells us in this chapter that he will only write about things which God tells him to. Nephi also tells us that what he writes will not be pleasing to us unless we want them to be.

Nephi also makes it clear that all of the words on these plates are useful to us. So we can trust that reading the Book of Mormon will help us and is not a waste of our time. I personally can say that each time I read my scriptures, it helps me to feel closer to my Heavenly Father. There are times in my life where my faith and trust in Heavenly Father is really tested. I have found that if I stop and read my scriptures during this time, I feel much more at ease and the trial seems easier to endure. 

1 Nephi 5

Sunday, June 23, 2013

When Nephi and his brothers left to go into the wilderness and had not returned for several days, Sariah began to complain and murmur against her husband, Lehi. When Sariah does this, it shows her little faith in the Lord. The Lord was the one who commanded Nephi and his brothers to go out into the wilderness and get the plates from Laban. Since the Lord told them to do this, He will also protect them for being faithful and doing what He asked them to do.

Lehi, though, tries to comfort his wife and tells her “and I know that the Lord will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban and bring the down again unto us in the wilderness” (verse 5). When Lehi says this, he demonstrates his complete faith and trust in the Lord. In this manner, we should all strive to be like Lehi and trust the Lord will protect us and will help us in our times of need.

The sons, of course, do return from the wilderness and are fine. Sariah and her husband were overjoyed to see their sons again. In verse 8, Sariah tells them that she now believes and has faith in the Lord. But I don’t believe that truly is faith because to have faith is to trust in things that are not seen, which are true and Sariah had to see in order to believe. If she had really had faith, she would have trusted what she could not see, which was the Lord’s promise.

Lehi read through the records his sons had obtained. As Lehi read through the records, he “saw all these things, [and] he was filled with the Spirit” (verse 17). The Books of Moses were also with these records. I think it is so cool to think that the books of Moses which are located in the Pearl of Great Price are from this long ago. We can know that these things are true by prayer and also because of Joseph Smith. Heavenly Father would never allow a prophet to write something if it were not true. Nephi was a prophet and so was Joseph Smith. Nephi wrote this book (the Book of Nephi) and Joseph Smith put it into the English language (by writing it). So we now have two witnesses and God that these things are true. Therefore, they must be.

And in verse 22, Nephi tells us that the Lord had a purpose for the plates. We can conclude that there is a purpose for everything the Lord does and asks us to do. He really does know what He’s doing, so strive to trust Him completely, even when things are difficult. 

1 Nephi 4

Friday, June 21, 2013

In the first verse “And it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us to up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord,” we can see that Nephi tries his hardest to continuously have faith in the Lord despite his brothers and the other difficult circumstances. I feel like I can relate to Nephi in that my parents and family are constantly talking bad about the Church. It is difficult to be faithful to the Lord and to trust that everything will turn out alright when it seems so bad. One of my favorite scriptures comes from Doctrine and Covenants and it says “My son [or daughter], peace be unto thy soul: thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (D&C 121:7-8). I think Nephi realized, as we all should, that our situation is only temporary and that things will get better.

He then tells his brothers that they have seen an angel and that angel confirmed their actions to be correct, so why should they doubt? Doubt is like a disease. Once it starts it is difficult to stop, as you begin to question things to the point of where you stop believing and lose faith at the slightest challenges. I think this is what has happened to Laman and Lemuel. The started doubting so much that now they cannot stop.

In verse 6, Nephi tells us “And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.” This is while Nephi was going to Laban’s house. Often times, we don’t know why Heavenly Father asks us to do something and usually, we don’t end up seeing the rewards and blessings for our actions until afterwards. Sometimes we don’t understand why we are told by Heavenly Father to do something. But we have to trust the Lord and have faith in Him, especially because He sees everything in the bigger picture whereas we only see the present.

In the Mormon message video series by Elder Bednar called Patterns of Light, we learn that the Lord often gives us just a little bit of knowledge to act on and when we do act upon this knowledge, we receive more. And the process repeats. I think Nephi realized this and trusted that the Lord had given him just enough knowledge to complete the task which he was given.

Nephi’s faith is once again challenged when he finds Laban drunk from wine. The Spirit tells Nephi that he needs to slay Laban even though Nephi’s heart tells him not to. The Spirit tells him that he needs to and Nephi remembers the words which the Lord had spoken to him earlier and proceeds to kill Laban. The reason Laban is slayed is because those who are wicked produce more who are wicked. They too are like a disease that needs to be diminished.

Those who are wicked like Laban and his servant greatly fear the Lord and want nothing to do with Him. I learned the hard way that a life without Heavenly Father actively in it is awful and not worth living. It truly does lead to nothing but misery.

Nephi testified of the Lord to Laban’s servant. The servant made an oath to Nephi saying that he would follow the ways of the Lord if his life was spared. Nephi spared the servant’s life and the servant joined their group.

Because of Nephi’s faith in the Lord, Nephi and his brothers got the plates of brass containing the genealogy records and made it safely back to their father. This, though, would not have happened if Nephi had not trusted and had faith in the Lord. 

1 Nephi 3

Friday, June 21, 2013


The Lord appeared to their father in a dream and told him that Nephi and his brothers were to go to the house of Laban so that they could receive the genealogy of their forefathers. When the father told Laman and Lemuel this, they said that it could not be done because it is too hard. But the Lord would never give us something if He is not willing to help us with it. And in Luke 1:37, we are told "for with God nothing shall be impossible." So Laman and Lemuel are incorrect, nothing is too difficult for the Lord to accomplish. 
Nephi, on the other hand knows this and says to his father "I will go and do  the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." Nephi literally tells us that the Lord will never give us something which we cannot accomplish. That is not saying that it will be easy, but it will at least be possible. 
After reading this section, the one which is stated above, I felt a massive lift in my faith. With this, I have faith that the Lord can soften my parents' hearts even though it seems impossible right now. I think so often, we are tempted to be unfaithful because a challenge we face is difficult. But this is the time we need to rely on the Lord the most.
Nephi and his brothers head down to the house of Laban and Laman is chosen to ask Laban for the genealogy records. Laban got extremely mad and said that Laman was a thief and chased him off. When Laman returned to his brothers, he said the task was impossible and that they should return to the tent of their father. Lemuel agrees, but Nephi says they cannot return because they have not completed their task. I am sure it must be extremely difficult for Laman and Lemuel at this time. They have also lost everything and without faith in the Lord, they really have nothing. I think we can view Laban as the thing that weakens our faith here in our everyday lives. He's like the mountain that stops us from continuing to where we want to be. For Laman, Lemuel, and us, if we trust and have faith in the Lord, these challenges will not be or seem near as difficult. Also, we cannot give up on our first attempt to overcome something hard. Sometimes persistence and perseverance is the key. 
Nephi tells his brothers "Let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord." So he's basically telling his brothers to have faith. In Alma 32:21, we are told that "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." While they do not know or have knowledge as to why this task is so difficult, Nephi knows and has testified to his brothers that the Lord exists and will help them. 
Laman and Lemuel were finally convinced by Nephi (who, by the way is their youngest brother) to go visit Laban again. He also convinces his brothers to trust the Lord. Nephi took all of their property, silver, gold, and all to Laban's house to trade. Laban began to lust for what they had. So Laban sent a servant to kill them (don't worry, they lived). They did end up losing all they had to the hands of Laban. At this time, Laman and Lemuel were extremely angry with their brother and father. They also, once again, hardened their hearts again the Lord. 
I think Laban is an example of how many people of this world are today. They, like Laban, lust after the possessions of others; they are obsessed with material items. I find this quite sad because material items will not bring you happiness and they most certainly will not help you return to your Father in Heaven. 
The Lord sent an angel to tell them that they needed to return to the house of Laban and that he, Laban, would be delivered into their hands. Even with the angel, Laman and Lemuel talked badly of the Lord and doubted His abilities. I don't understand how they could do that after having seen and heard an angel.   

1 Nephi 2

Thursday, June 20, 2013


As verse 1 tells us, sometimes the Lord speaks to us in dreams. I've had this happen once or twice and I began to wonder why. In a brief conversation with a returned missionary, we were able to conclude that perhaps this is because it is one of the few times in our lives where we are not distracted by worldly events. One of the other things with dreams is we can sometimes receive a divine gift by this. I've also had that happen before. The night going into Valentine's Day, I had a dream that I saw my Opa again. He was standing there smiling and he seemed truly happy. He was not sick or hurting, just very happy. He was also looking at me as though he could see me. I was overjoyed to get to see him again. 
Lehi has always been one that has displayed great faith in the lord. The Lord, as He promised in 1 Nephi 1:20, protected Lehi because he was faithful, by telling Lehi in a dream that he needed to leave Jerusalem. And we find in verse 3, Lehi obeyed. 
When Lehi left for the wilderness, he took nothing with him save his family and a few necessities. Lehi left behind his wealth, house, and land. I think it would take a ton of faith and trust to leave behind all of your possessions. Lehi pretty much lost all that he gained in his life, materialistically at least. And yet he still trusted the Lord entirely. 
In verse 7, we find that even after losing so much, Lehi still gave thanks to the Lord. Honestly, I think I would probably have been pretty upset if I were asked to just give up everything I own and then journey into the wilderness. This also shows us that Lehi is not a selfish person at all. Lehi was a very wealthy man who had a lot of possessions, so we can assume that he lived in great comfort. When he left his house we find that in both verse 7 and it is stated in verse 15 that Lehi dwelled in a tent (which is quite a step down from living in a luxurious house). But he still trusted the Lord and did all the Lord asked him to. 
I think Laman and Lemuel demonstrate how we as people, in general, are. They did not trust or really believe in the Lord. And they were also absorbed in material items. As Laman and Lemuel  did, people sometimes say that the Lord is not real, and seek to convince us of this (verse 11). But you must stand firm in your beliefs and hold onto what you know to be true. This is why you need a personal testimony, so that when this happens, you have something to hold onto. Trust what you know, not what others tell you. If someone ever tells you something that is questionable, you can always look to your scriptures, or you can pray and ask Heavenly Father concerning the validity of the statement. Heavenly Father is always willing to help us. 
Something to also remember is that when we testify to people, they will know by the power of the Holy Spirit that the words which we speak are true (verses 14 and 17). I think we can also use this when people are telling us something that is spiritually related. I think when they speak the truth, we can know by the power of the Holy Spirit whether it is true or not. 
In verse 16, Nephi prayed and told the Lord that he wanted to know the mysteries of the Lord, so Nephi wanted to know more about the Lord and he wanted to gain a better understanding of the ways of the Lord. While the Lord may not actually visit us like He visited Nephi, we will know in our hearts, by the power of the Spirit, what is true. 
The final thing I'd like to draw attention to is something I know from experience and that is when we harden our hearts against the Lord, He cannot help us. This is because we have been given the gift of agency, which allows us to make our own decisions, so we are entirely independent of the Lord. It is also something the Lord will never interfere with. He will not make decisions for us. With that being said, we need to be wise and careful when making decisions. 

1 Nephi 1

Thursday, June 20, 2013


In verse 4, we learn that repentance is a necessity. Heavenly Father through the grace of His Son, Jesus Christ, has given us a way so that we may repent for our sins. Something to remember is that no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God. The really cool thing is once we repent for our sins, Heavenly Father promises us that those sins will be forgotten. One thing to remember about the repentance process that when we repent, we are making a promise to both Heavenly Father and ourselves that we will try not to commit that sin again. If we continually commit the same sin, it means we have not really repented for what we did wrong. We must put forth the effort to not make the same mistake again and again. 
Through prayer and faith, we know that the Book of Mormon is true. With that being said, sometimes it is difficult to hold on to the testimony we each individually have gained. When we feel like our own testimony is weakening, we can rely on another's testimony to get us through that rough time. We can use the vision Lehi had (in verse 8) to strengthen our testimony with his testimony; we can help ourselves remember that God is real and will help us. One thing you can do is count the blessings you have. By doing this, you can see all the good things God has done for you. Something else to remember, though, is that when you draw strength for a time from another's testimony, you can never completely rely on theirs. A testimony is personal and it is something you need to develop on your own. Prayer is a great way to do this, as is daily study of the scriptures. 
Like what happened to Lehi in verse 12, when we do things that the Lord tells us to or that pleases Him, we allow ourselves to draw closer to our Heavenly Father, which enables us to also have a stronger relationship with the Spirit. Heavenly Father encourages us to read scriptures daily. By doing so, we develop a stronger relationship with both Him and the Spirit. 
The coming of the Messiah is also mentioned in this chapter. Christ came to save us of our sins. This allows us to be forgiven for the mistakes we make. This also supports what verse 14 says about the Lord being merciful. 
The last verse I'd like to point out is verse 20 which says "the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." This verse tells us that the Lord shall protect all who are faithful unto Him. So when we have even just a little bit of faith in the Lord, He will help us and protect us in our time of need. 

Introduction to the Book of Mormon

Thursday, June 20, 2013


In the very first line in the Book of Mormon, we are told that the Book is comparable to the Bible and contains "the fulness of the everlasting gospel." By this we know that the words that are spoken in here, just like the words contained in the Bible, are true forever and that time will not change the truthfulness of these books. 
The Book of Mormon is different from that of the Bible especially in that it explains parts that the Bible is quite vague on. For example, the Bible tells us that we need to be baptized, the Book of Mormon clarifies how we should be. There is a line in the introduction that says "[The Book of Mormon] puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come." This means this book tells us how to come closer to our Heavenly Father and what we need to do so that we may one day return to Him. 
We can know that the Book of Mormon is true through prayer. The Holy Spirit will testify of the truth. When you pray, you must be asking sincerely and with real intent or you will not receive an answer. You also must be willing to act on the answer you receive. 

Question from reading: What is eternal salvation? 
Answer: Eternal happiness. Sometimes The Plan of Salvation is called The Plan of Happiness, so we can therefore conclude that eternal salvation is eternal happiness. 

Matthew 4

Tuesday, June 11, 2013


"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (verse 4) This verse tells us that we must live by the principles and words of the gospel. They are what will guide us, not the words of man alone. I think this is a very significant verse because it helps remind us that we do not have all of the answers. Our friends and family likewise do not have all of the answers. Often times, the best thing to do is ask Heavenly Father for help or search our scriptures for an answer. When you read scriptures, you set yourself up in a position in which you can receive personal revelation for a solution to your problem or the comfort and guidance you need. Occasionally you can receive a divine gift from Heavenly Father. But we need not look to man for an answer, but to those who have the divine power to help us. 
"Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." (verse 7) This is what Christ responded to Satan when He was tempted by Satan to prove His power. The first thing you must answer when you read this verse is 'What does it mean to tempt the Lord?' It has actually taken me much time and thought to come up with an answer, but I suppose we could think of it as asking the Lord to do some miracle when it is of no worth to us, like when we don't need it. Just asking the Lord to do something for the sake of doing it. Heavenly Father has already blessed us with so much, we really should not try to tempt Him in any way, shape, form, or fashion. We need to live worthy to Him. 
"And saith unto him, All these things I will give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." (verse 9) Satan was trying to convince Christ to come and worship him. I think it is amazing that Satan would try to even make these promises knowing that there was and is no way he could fulfill his promises. They are worthless and best left ignored. We can relate this to a lot of temptations we experience in life. Often times they seem appealing in the moment, but many times we will regret the particular decision later. With this being said, it is easier not to allow yourself to fall to the temptation. If you need help and the strength to resist the temptation, you can always call upon Heavenly Father for assistance and He will happily help you. 
I think verse 10 "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" serves as a reminder to us that there is only one God and we should only worship Him. So often people fall into the typical life and end up forgetting or ignoring their religious connections and affiliations, which can really hinder us spiritually. I will admit that there was a point in time in my life for about seven years where I allowed God to play little to no part in my life. It was the biggest mistake of my life because I am now having to learn everything, so everything is quite new. All that has been posted on here, all of the references on here are from what I've learned and applied to my life in the past five months, nothing more. But for those seven years, they were some of the most miserable years ever. I didn't know why then, but I do now. I encourage anyone who has fallen away from God and the gospel to go and seek a better relationship with Him now. Do not wait another day, do it today and you will appreciate it. You can be healed spiritually, emotionally, and physically by doing this. 
The story of the men with being turned into fishermen (in the following verses) shows us that Christ is a fisher of men. He wants to enable us to be saved. So He goes and fishes out the wounded and the hurt, the helpless and the weak, the brokenhearted and all those that need help. And He invites them to come unto Him. He tells us that by doing so, we allow ourselves to have the opportunity to be free of all sins and to one day rejoin our Heavenly Father in heaven. 
I think in this story, Christ shows an amazing amount of faith and dedication, as well as love. He loves us enough to come out and search for those of us who truly feel the need to have Him in our lives. He also stays with us through everything. No matter how bad or complicated things get, He is always there welcoming us with open arms. When we pray, He can allow us to receive comfort from our Heavenly Father; comfort that we sometimes so desperately need. Heavenly Father and Christ love us more than anything. They also have a complete understanding of all the pain we go through. They are the best to look to when times get tough. Not friends, Google, or anywhere else. But to them and the scriptures. In both we can find our answers and the guidance we need. 

Matthew 3

Monday, June 10, 2013


We are told to repent (verse 2). There were people who were trying to be baptized who had not yet repented of their sins. Before we can be baptized, we must first repent of our sins. This is essential and is what we are told to do. It allows us to be "clean" before we are baptized (verse 7). 
In verse 11, we learn that without the Atonement, we could not be able to receive the Holy Ghost. Heavenly Father has provided us with a way to receive extra guidance from Him. This is through the gift of the Holy Ghost. But we cannot receive this gift until we are baptized. Through this verse, we learn that without Christ, we would not be able to receive this gift.
Something I think that is essential to remember and is also referred to in verse 11 is that God is mightier than us all. He knows everything and loves each and every one of us dearly. It often helps me to remember that Heavenly Father can accomplish far more than man. Things we find impossible are possible for Him to accomplish. In Luke 1:37 we are told "For with God nothing shall be impossible." We know that if we have faith in our Heavenly Father and trust Him even when we are afraid and unsure, all things can be accomplished. Faith is something we all need to have. We are told that even if we have faith just the size of a grain of mustard seed, we can move mountains. This is incredibly reassuring because that is barely any faith at all and yet, Heavenly Father is satisfied with that. He also realizes that we are not perfect and trials can seem like absolute mountains in our lives. A returned missionary once told me to not look at the mountain (or trial) that is right in front of me. He said to look ten feet in front of it. So look beyond our trials and know that Heavenly Father will help us. He will never ask us to do something if He is not willing to help us. 
We all need to be baptized just as Christ was. He came to set an example for us in hope that we would all follow it. When we follow the example of Christ, we may one day be able to return to our Father in Heaven.

Matthew 2

Thursday, June 6, 2013

In this chapter, King Herod seeks to deceive the people who serve him. He asked to know where Christ was being born, but it was not for good things. The king was seeking to kill the baby Jesus.

There are many times when we are deceived much like the servants of King Herod. There are temptations in our lives that make us second guess what would normally be viewed as good decisions. Sometimes temptations come from friends and family, asking you to do something that goes against your beliefs. Other times, it can be your own doing. One such example would be questioning your testimony or an answer you have received from Heavenly Father. It is easy to do these things because sometimes life can be really challenging. Sometimes we feel like we may not make it through to the next day. A few months ago, I saw a post that was talking about death. It said we would not leave this earth until all was well (with ourselves). That does not mean the world is perfect. But when Heavenly Father calls us back home, it will be because our time is up and we have done what we could do in our lifetimes. And as the text up there says, when we leave the earth, all will be well in our lives.

President Monson had a video awhile back talking about how we need to stand steadfast in our beliefs. We need to listen to Heavenly Father and uphold our values even when we don’t understand our particular situation.

For me, one of my greatest challenges has just been sticking by my testimony of the gospel. It can be incredibly difficult without support from family and friends. When we are especially vulnerable like this, Satan tries to take advantage and wants to get us to do things we shouldn't. The practice of not following the gospel will lead you farther and farther away from Heavenly Father. If you aren't listening to Him and doing what He tells you to do, He can’t help you.

When you need help with something, pray and ask Heavenly Father for help. He is by far a better person to ask then google or friends. He knows what we are doing to do in our lives and He knows where we need to be and what decisions we need to make at all times. Whether or not we do what He wants is our decision. But He is there to guide us when we do sincerely seek for His help. Trust Heavenly Father and listen to Him. 

Abraham 3

Monday, June 3, 2013

In the beginning of chapter 3, Heavenly Father talks about the creation of the moon and the sun. He shows Abraham how the earth was created. Abraham saw the things the Lord had created (verse 12). Abraham’s trust in Heavenly Father shows a great amount of faith. It means that Abraham was able to have enough faith and trust in the Lord that everything would be alright. And for Abraham, everything turned out quite well. Heavenly Father promised that He would allow Abraham’s seed to multiply to that people would be on the earth.

A few verses down, Heavenly Father tells Abraham that He showed these things to him before he went into Egypt so that Abraham could declare that God does exist. For Abraham, it would seem that his faith was unwavering in the Lord. He had so much trust that Heavenly Father would provide for him and show him all he needed to know.

In the following passages, the Lord talks about there being two spirits that exist, one more intelligent than the other. (Verse 19) He says He is the more intelligent one “than they all.” I think it is very reassuring to know that it is Heavenly Father who is the higher of the two spirits described here. I could not imagine serving someone other than Him. It is through the grace of Heavenly Father that we are able to learn. He provides us with the intelligence we possess and He guides us through every day. Heavenly Father shows true wisdom as we walk through our life day by day. I once saw a poem called “Footsteps in the Sand” where it talks about a guy who has died and is now looking back on his life. At one point, he told Heavenly Father that he only saw one set of footsteps in the sand. He noticed that these were the points where he felt the very lowest in his life. He then asked Heavenly Father why He wasn't there during those times. Heavenly Father replied that He was and the one set of footsteps the man saw were His. It was during that time Heavenly Father carried him. This shows that Heavenly Father never leaves us, He is always there.

Heavenly Father goes on to talk about how we all once lived with Him. This completely relates to The Plan of Salvation, which says that in the very beginning, we all lived with Heavenly Father. In Moses, it talks about how we were all created spiritually, or as spirits, before we were created naturally, as we see ourselves today. This is proof that we once lived with our Heavenly Father.  Heavenly Father created The Plan of Salvation and the earth so that we could be tested to see if we are fit to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

Almost as a continuation of this, in verse 23, Heavenly Father tells us that our path and place in life has been chosen before we were born. Heavenly Father knows all things. He also allows us through this to know that He already knows our path and what our place is, what decisions we will make, and what type of life we will live. This can be quite comforting because we know that He knows exactly what we are going through on a daily basis because He already knows what our entire life will be like.

I think, for me personally, I like knowing that Heavenly Father knows exactly how each of our lives are going to be. It means that we can know He really does have a plan for each and every one of us. It also reassures us that He knows we exist and that He is there to guide us. After all, He created us and completely knows our lives.