Nephi's Lament

 On my mission, 2 Nephi 4:15-35 was one of my favorite spots in the Book of Mormon, and it still is today. I love it because it shows us a really personal side of Nephi, a great prophet. It's comforting to me to know that even Nephi felt insecure, and that he too struggled with temptation and sins. And yet, we regard him as one of the most righteous figures in the Book of Mormon. I find great comfort in his psalm here, because it makes me realize that my experiences are shared by others, and if Nephi could make it and become a wonderful person, then so can I. I love the reminder that we can do all things because God will "lead me through mine afflictions" and He "will give liberally to him that asketh," for He loves us and will always be by our side ready to help.

A Bible! A Bible!

 This week I particularly liked reading 1 Nephi 13:23, which reads, 

"And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.

 I love this verse because it asserts the importance of the Bible and emphasizes the fact that we only have the Bible because of the Jews. It is of "great worth" to us. I think sometimes, as members of the Church especially, we emphasize the importance of the Book of Mormon and while it absolutely is the most critical book we have, the Bible is just as true and relevant for us today. The Bible and the Book of Mormon work in tandem with each other, and I think we subject ourselves to great loss if we fail to read His words as come forth by the mouth of the Jew. I know that the Bible holds so much value to me personally, and I think it wise and pertinent that I continue my studies in the Old and New Testaments to further my understanding of the Book of Mormon and my relationship with God.

Nobody Knows What They're Doing

In 1 Nephi 4:6 we read one of my favorite passages: 

"And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." 

​Being functional in Japanese, I always like to compare the English and Japanese translations, that I might gain any new meaning from the linguistic differences. In Japanese, the verse reads:

わたし​は、前もって​自分​の​なす​べき​こと​を​​知らない​まま、御霊​に​​導びかれて​行った。

For the most part, the meaning is virtually identical. However, there is a key change in syntax that shifts the emphasis of the sentence. Literally, the Japanese reads:

"I, while not knowing the things which I should do, went forth, being led by the Spirit."

While subtle, this translation places greater emphasis on Nephi and his state of being unsure of what he was meant to be doing at the time. The word  まま [mama] is a noun that is used in a sentence to express that an already give situation or condition remains unaltered. This is an important distinction of language because it tells us that Nephi did not know he was being led by the Spirit at the time because his state of not knowing what he should do remained unaltered even as he was led. 

Furthermore, while the English sentence implies that Nephi played a more passive role in this instance, saying simply that he "was led by the Spirit," the Japanese emphasizes that this was not the case with the word 行った [itta, "went"] which in conjunction with the modification 御霊​に​​導びかれて​ [seirei ni michibikarete, "being led by the Spirit"] implies grammatically that "being led by the Spirit" is the method of transportation, as it is written in the same exact way that you might say Nephi took a bus or a train to get where he was going. 

From this we learn that in our own lives, most of the time we are led by the Spirit without even knowing it's happening. However, when we actively go about our lives trying to do good things and trying to listen to the Lord and be His servants, we are able to go and do by the Spirit, and we can be led to where we need to be in the moments we need to be there, and upon reflection we realize that the Spirit has been guiding us the whole time. 

Lookin' At You America

Not gonna lie, I get extremely salty extremely easily when people spit nasty words at each other in the name of righteousness. I look around me and see so many good people, those who want to bring joy to others and continue to live up to the measure of light they've been given. Still, there are those who cross my path that seem to forget the verse I came across this week, 2 Nephi 31:20, which reads:

"Wherefore ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

In my experience, many seem to focus on the first part of this verse, the part about pressing forward. I mean, it is the youth theme this year. However, to me, what's equally important, if not more, is what follows. Pressing forward in your own faith isn't enough. A "perfect brightness of hope" is required, as is having a "love of God and of all men." I feel like people forget that loving all men is the second great commandment under heaven sometimes. I constantly see people looking at others with distaste, and sometimes even verbally expressing that distaste, simply because they have differing beliefs. I'm not completely innocent of this, but I'm cognizant of that, and I'm working to be better, to be more Christlike in my dealings with people who believe differently from me.

Christ never treated others with disrespect and venom. He was always kind, always understanding, and though he didn't go around telling people that their sins were okay, he never condemned them. He offered a hand, offered a way to repentance, expressed what he knew to be true, and then let them decide what to do, whether that be changing or continuing down the path they were on.

I think that in order to truly be Christlike and to return to the Father, we must remember the principle of agency and the principle of unconditional love. People can choose what they do with their lives, and as a result, there will be those who choose to do things that we disagree with or consider sinful. We can express our views, offer our light, and extend a helping hand, but if they choose not to accept, that's okay. Everyone receives light at a different pace. If we try to force our beliefs on people, regardless of how true we know them to be, we are subscribing to Satan's plan. Love and understanding of people must come before we try to educate and bring them closer to God, else they push back harder and we lose them for even longer.

Hold Fast

I came across a scripture this week that was kind of vague, but nevertheless important to me. In Revelation 2:25 we read:

"But that which ye have already hold fast till I come."

It's short and kind of confusing at first, yes, but I felt impressed by it all the same. The context is Christ speaking about trials and enduring. In this particular verse, I feel He is reassuring us and giving us courage in our trials. He will come and relieve us, so we must hold fast and press on until he comes, and blessed be the day when He does.

I found this particularly striking because I have several friends who really struggle with depression and anxiety. It's difficult and many feel like just waking up is more than they can do. They can sink into very very low and dark places. This scripture, I feel, can be a salve to people in those situations. Yes, things are extremely difficult. Yes, it feels like the world is crashing down around us, but Christ will come. He will help us. He will carry us home. Just make it one more day, take it step by step, and hold fast until He comes.

Royalty

My boyfriend recommended me a fascinating scripture this week: Hebrews 7:2

"To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;"

At first it seemed kind of meh, but upon closer inspection, it reveals an interesting and powerful truth: righteousness precedes peace, or peace is the fruit of righteousness. Oftentimes, we struggle to obey commandments or do the little things that come with being a disciple when we are feeling awful in any number of ways. We become preoccupied with figuring out how to feel less crappy that praying and reading scriptures become difficult. Nevertheless, as we learn from this scripture, it is during these times that we need these things the most. If we want peace in our lives, we must be righteous, and though righteousness doesn't mean we'll have completely stress-free lives with no problems, it does help us find a place in ourselves that allows us to cope and find peace.

Go and Do

This week I wanted to take a look at a common, yet still very good and rich verse of scripture: 1 Nephi 3:7,

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my 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."

It's scripture mastery, yes, I know, but I find it still very important to me. I think a lot of times we read this scripture and think, "Oh this is about the big huge mountains we have to climb and whatnot" but I think it's important to remember that it also applies to the little things. We all get bogged down with little day-to-day responsibilities and sometimes that stress can feel insurmountable, and we feel dumb or silly because we should be able to accomplish these things easily, but we aren't, and it's hard. Yet, this scripture teaches us that we don't have to do all these things alone. We can consult Him and ask for His help even in the little things, because He has prepared a way for us to accomplish them. He knows we can do it, but He also knows we may not be able to without His help, and most of the time, these things aren't big and crazy like losing your job or getting cancer. Most of the time it's just trying to figure out how to finish an essay on time, or trying to find fall housing. These things aren't too small for the Lord to help us with. He is our Father and He will help us with all things that burden us, no matter how insignificant they may seem.

Do in Faith

This week, I had a rather intense discussion with my friend Dylan about the Word of Wisdom and how he felt it is likely instituted because we as humans are weak and imperfect and incapable of a higher law, such as a more "moderation in all things" approach without any real specific guidelines. In response to this, when studying with Dallin, we found Romans 14:14, which reads:

"I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean."

This suggests to me that none of God's creations are inherently bad and "unclean." In moderation, most things are good for you. However, everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has different physical needs, and because of this, certain people shouldn't consume certain things. In application to Dylan's feelings on the subject, this verse and the rest of the chapter seem to say that we ought to know for ourselves what is good for us personally, but also as verse 21 says, "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." We ought to be respectful of others and their life choices, and they to ours. Everyone is different, and that's okay. We don't all have to worship and edify the Lord through our bodies in the same way. Our personal relationship with the Lord is what really matters.

The Soul of Man

While working on my essay option this week, I came across a very interesting scripture, D&C 88:15, which reads,

"And the spirit and the body are the soul of man."

This is really interesting to me because it necessitates that for our souls to remain healthy and strong, both our bodies and our spirits must be in balance. Fragmentation of the soul, focusing on only one aspect of it, is detrimental to our well-being because we need both parts to become celestial. In light of this doctrine, it then makes sense that the commandments of God, which are designed to exalt us, should have both a physical and spiritual aspect to them that are inseparable from each other. By keeping this perspective on the commandments, it is much easier to understand them and understand why they have been instituted, which then gives us greater motivation to obey.

All Quiet

This week I came across 2 Nephi 24:4-11 which reads:

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: How hath the oppressor ceased, the golden city ceased! The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, the scepters of the rulers. He who smoke the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindered. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing."

I like this a lot, as it applies to our lives in multiple ways. I know lots of people feel unheard, unloved, oppressed by their situations and circumstances. This feeling is extremely scary and disheartening, and may even cause some to fear for their safety. These verses, I feel, can help us take a moment and remember that though hope may sleep, it will never die, for the Lord has promised us peace in the second coming. 

While that larger perspective is true, so too is a narrower one. Sometimes we may feel very stressed out by daily occurrences. We may feel beaten down and trapped by the craziness of life quite often actually. However, we learn in these verses that the Lord will cause our oppressors to cease and we will have peace. I feel that this equally applies to stress, and if we keep that in mind and ask the Lord for help, we will be able to feel peace.

Let There Be Light

My mother recommended a really good scripture this week, D&C 50:24, "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in a God, receiveth more light; and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."

I really enjoyed this scripture as it is not only applicable to spiritual light. The same works for temporal things. If we continue diligently in whatever we are studying, using whatever knowledge we already have, the Lord will give us increase. Knowledge and intelligence is godly, and temporal knowledge is part of that, though I feel that sometimes we forget that. He will help us with our desires to know, just as He helped Joseph Smith.

Light is everywhere, and it is always possible for us to gain more. We can never fully understand anything as mortals, and I actually consider this a blessing. There is always something new to learn and always something for the Lord to reveal to us. We are curious and driven to learn by nature, we are created to find light, and I think that's amazing.

The Lord Will Give

This week, my boyfriend showed me his very favorite passage of scripture: 2 Nephi 4:16-35. The entirety of the section is great, but I was most inspired by verse 35.

"Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask, not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen."

I love this passage because it is so joyful and filled with the Spirit and testimony. Nephi is glorifying God, and he gives a great truth as he does so. The Lord will gladly pour out blessings upon us if we just ask in righteousness. They may not be exactly what we think we need, but they will be what we need nevertheless. If we cry unto the Lord as Nephi does, we too can feel His love and desire for us to be happy. We can better be open to His blessings, and He will be our rock, our safe place; the thing that keeps us going, especially when everything feels like it's going wrong.

He Denieth None

During my reading this week, I came across several verses in 2 Nephi 26 that I really enjoyed because they talk so much about the nature of God and His love for us. I particularly like verse 24:

"He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation."

This verse speaks to me because it is so all-encompassing. The Lord loves all his children, every single one. It doesn't matter who they are or what their background is, or what they've done, He loves them. He loves me. He wants all of us to come unto Him and keep His commandments so we can be happy and safe. I know many people who often feel super lost and alone, like there's no way that God could ever love someone like them. I have a friend who deals with homosexuality and he's had to deal with so much internal turmoil because of that and his faith. For people like my friend, and any others dealing with trials and anxiety of their own, I feel like this principle is so important, that "he inviteth all to come unto him and partake of his goodness;"(33) He wants to help us at every stage of our lives, no matter how many mistakes we have made. He is our Father and He loves us perfectly and absolutely.

My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee

I was having a bit of a rough time this week with stress of getting everything done, and was not feeling very well at all. Me, being my overly dramatic and stressed self, I cried and whined a lot to my boyfriend, and in order to help me feel better, he read Romans 8:15-18 to me.

 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

I love these verses because they remind me of all the blessings in store for me, and they help me keep things in perspective. Certainly, life is full of stress and sorrow, and sometimes all you can do is cry, but the magnitude of our joy and happiness in the eternities completely overshadows and eclipses any negativity we will ever feel combined. If you take a minute and think of just flexibility, love, and trust, we can remember all that the Lord has in store for us and be happy.

When She Saw

In class, we talked about Eve and the Fall, and how the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was sweet to the taste and the Tree of Life was bitter, at least when Adam and Eve were in the Garden. This was really cool to me and I loved that insight. However, when I was reading the same chapter with my love last night, something else caught my eye. 

In Moses 4:12, we read: "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it became pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make her wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat."

I noticed that while Satan tempted Eve with half-truths and lies about the Tree, she only partook when she "saw that the tree was good for food." This indicates to me that it was less about Satan's words about the Tree and more about Eve deciding that it was time for her and Adam to leave the Garden. I think that Eve was much more aware of the situation and its consequences than we are led to believe, and that makes me happy because it affirms the necessity and power of agency and intelligence.

Called to Serve

Over the weekend, some friends and I decided to take a trip to Las Vegas. It so happened that Elder Bednar was speaking in stake conference there where we were staying and we got the amazing opportunity to hear him. He said at one point that missionaries are called to serve, not called to go to a place. The focus of a mission is to serve the Lord, and missionaries are assigned to labor in a location. However, everybody seems to forget that a little and gets hyped about going to a new place instead.

In D&C 43:6, we read:

 "And ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit, preaching my gospel, two by two, in my name, lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, declaring my word like unto angels of God."

This verse and the words of Elder Bednar confirm to me the nature of missionary work, that its whole purpose is to spread the word of God. People ask me where I want to go on my mission, but really, where I labor doesn't matter. What matters is the work and blessing the lives of the children of God.

Get Thee Hence

When we went over Moses 1 in class early this week, I felt that Moses' experience with Satan is extremely important to learning to combat temptation in our daily lives. Moses tries from verse 16-20 to banish Satan, but he is unable to do so. Satan remains despite Moses' best efforts to get him to leave. However, in verse 21, Moses is finally able to banish Satan, but only by invoking the power of the Lord:

"...and Moses received strength, and called upon God, saying: In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan."

This means a lot to me because it goes to show how much we need to rely on the Lord for assistance with the things that plague us. We can try and do our best, but often it is not enough to conquer whatever we are trying to overcome. We need the Lord to aid us, and He is more than willing to do so if only we will ask him. If we remain faithful and do not fear to call upon Him, He will help us become far greater than we could ever be on our own.

What Child is This?

In the BYU Choirs' concert, Celebrations of Christmas, Women's Chorus sang a familiar Christmas song: What Child is This? The third verse in particular is very poignant. It goes as follows:

So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh

Come peasant, king, to own Him

The King of Kings salvation brings

Let loving hearts enthrone Him

For me, to "bring him incense, gold, and myrrh" is less about bringing Christ gifts, and more about showing our love for him by serving Him, and the way we do that is by serving others. When we love each other and share His light, we "enthrone him" and place Him at our head as our guide and leader. Everyone has the opportunity to gain salvation through Him, and when we share that beautiful, joyous message, we truly are giving Him the greatest gift we possibly can. 

Christmas is the season of giving, and as Christ gave us the ultimate gift of the atonement, it is only natural that we celebrate that gift by giving what we can to others with Christlike love and kindness.

2 Nephi 26:30

...wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment

that all men should have charity, which charity is love.

And except they should have charity they were nothing.

Truth Lay Dead

All that I hear from the devil’s mouth

Is never question what I said

Oh, when I try to find

Where I’ve been lead

And the assault won’t stop

Until the truth lay dead

-The Echo Era

This is half of the chorus from one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands, The Echo Era. I love these lyrics a lot, and it's mostly because of how spiritually applicable they are. In 3 Nephi 18:18, it says "ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat."

Satan is bitter and angry, and he will never stop his assault on us, not until "the truth lay dead." He seeks to destroy our happiness and to pervert the simple truths the Lord gives us in the form of scripture and prophetic counsel. We are all trying to find our way, and we can choose whether to follow the Lord or not, and that choice decides what path we are going to allow ourselves to go down. 

Because the assault won't stop, we must defend ourselves. We must protect truth and light, and never, ever let them die in us. 

Ich Liebe Dich, Ti Amo, Je T'aime Cheri, I Love You So

So because of recent developments in certain areas of my life, I found a lovely section of the Topical Guide that makes me very happy: Family, Love within. This section obviously focuses on love between married couples and in the family unit, and I was interested in what the scriptures describe as a healthy, loving relationship. What do the prophets say about "true love?"

In Ecclesiastes 9:9, we find that husband and wife should "live joyfully." Titus 2:4-5 teaches us that women ought to "love their husbands...[and be] keepers at home."
I did notice, however, that when the scriptures talk about love and marriage, it seems to be somewhat of an unequal relationship, where women are nearly always describes as being subservient to their husbands. This never made any sense to me, because I've been taught my whole life that marriage is an equal partnership, a team.

So naturally, I looked deeper and ended up finding small phrases that really change the perspective of all of these seemingly unbalanced relationships. In Titus 2:5, after listing all the things a good wife should be, it is mentioned that all of it is so "that the word of God be not blasphemed." This indicates that it is the wife's job to make sure that in guarding and making her home, she also ensures that her family is aligned with God, and that includes her husband. This idea is further confirmed by D&C 121:41, "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned." After all, "the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and...the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness." (36)

This puts all the other scriptures in a different light. Everything that women and men are counselled to do as husband and wife require the righteousness of the priesthood first and foremost. If the man is unrighteous in his dominion, then the woman has no obligation to follow him because her duty is to the Lord. I love this principle because it affirms the nature of marriage and how husband and wife work as a team. Neither is above the other, and they are one in purpose. It's about accomplishing things together and drawing closer to God, and that is what it should always come down to.