One thing I
constantly see as I read through each chapter of the Book of Mormon is the
constant emphasis of being a part of the right church. But what exactly is the
"right" church? Most people wouldn't know which church is the one and
true church because they haven't been searching for an answer. From all of the
missionaries I've talked to, most say that we only receive an answer to this
question when we are truly looking for one. I know that one way we can find
which church is the true church is by reading our scriptures. We can then take
what we've learned from them and ask Heavenly Father with a sincere desire to
know if what we've read is true. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, He will
testify the truth to our hearts.
I think one thing
that is so awesome about the Church of Christ is that nothing is complicated.
The last two words of the first verse of this chapter are "stumbling
blocks." When I see these words, the first thing I think of is an obstacle
that's trying to prevent us from doing what we want or need to do. When we read
this verse, it talks about how Christ will help take away the "stumbling
blocks." To me, this means that He will help us get through the tough
times and raise us up when we fall.
The angel speaks to
Nephi and says "Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall
be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of
the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that
whoso repenteth not must perish." One thing we need to remember
as we go through our daily lives is that in the final day, our actions will be
judged. With this being said, we need to make sure we consciously trying to
make the very best decisions we can. If we fail to do so, we need to make sure
we repent. The repentance process is incredibly simple. We first need to
acknowledge that what we did is wrong. We need to ask for forgiveness from
Heavenly Father and try to make things right. Then, we need to make the
commitment and promise to our Heavenly Father to try our very hardest not to
make the same mistake again. He knows we are not perfect, but He does expect us
to make the effort. I think one way to look at the word "perish" is
to think of what happens when we do something wrong. Each of us has the Light
of Christ which lets us know good from evil, or right from wrong. The more
wrong decisions we make, the smaller and smaller this light gets. When we make
good decisions, this light grows brighter and brighter. I remember listening to
a video Elder Bednar made in the Patterns of Light series. At one point, he
says that if we continuously make wrong decisions, the Light can ultimately be
diminished. We really don't want this because this light is what gives us
guidance and help. With it, we grow closer to our Heavenly Father.
I think verse 10
really has a massive impact on this section "Behold there are
save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and
the other is the church of the devil;
wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God
belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is
the whore of all the earth." It pretty much tells us that we
will have to make a decision as to which church we want to be a part of.
Ultimately the decision comes down to whether or not we want to follow
Christ. For me, this is not a difficult
decision at all. Perhaps, though, that is because I've experienced what it's
like to not have Him as an active part of my life. I think as we go through our
daily lives, if we open our eyes, we can truly see how much He does for us and
how much He helps us. It truly is incredible. So if He's trying to help and
make things easier for us, why not follow Him?
As it
says in Joshua 24:15 "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will
serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the
flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord." Follow the Lord and He will help us and give us the
guidance we desperately need.
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