Christ is the Way
In this chapter, Nephi teaches that Jesus did what he did to show us the way of happiness. Christ baptized to show us that everyone must be baptized. Even though he did not need it, he still did it to show us that all men must be baptized to enter in the Kingdom of God. He simply states in verse 12, “follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.”
Nephi lists what we must do to follow Christ. We must:
· follow with full purpose of heart
· not act hypocritical
· not deceive God
· intently repent of our sins
· witness to the Father that we are willing to take upon us the name of Christ
· be baptized
If we do these things, then we will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and be baptized by fire and have the ability to speak with the tongue of angels.
Then after all that, we must endure to the end.
Enduring to the End
Only after we repent and begin to follow Christ by being baptized have we entered the gate to the straight and narrow path. Next, Nephi poses a question in verse 19, "after ye have gotten into this straight and narrow path, I would ask if all is done?" He answers his own question, "nay."
To endure to the end, we must:
· press forward with a steadfastness in Christ
· have a perfect brightness of hope
· have a love of God
· have a love of all men
· feast on the words of Christ
Press forward with a Steadfastness in Christ
When I read the words "press forward," I am reminded of those people in Lehi's dream who pressed forward "that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree." Or those people who pressed forward, caught hold of the rod and then press forward even more through the mist of darkness "clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree. (1 Nephi 8:21, 24, 30) Pressing forward is not walking or striding. To me it means that a person is advancing forward only with effort … that if that person did not make a concerted effort to move, he would fall back.
I imagine a person trying to walk into a strong wind. Without an anchor or something to hold on to in order to move forward, that person would not advance. Holding onto that anchor or rod of iron is what Nephi meant when he said "with a steadfastness in Christ." We may make an individual effort to move forward, but without that anchor or without Christ in our lives, our efforts are in vain. We would constantly be blown off course without an anchor.
Elder Ballard gave a good analogy when he referred to this scripture.
"Have you ever watched a large ship weigh anchor? It is fascinating to see and hear the massive links of chain screeching against the metal bow of the ship as the anchor is raised. Now, the metal links of the anchor chain are incredibly heavy, but their weight is slight when compared to the total weight of the ship. Still, if an anchor is placed properly on the bottom of the sea, it can a hold a giant ship fast, even in rough seas.
"Just as ships need anchors to keep them from drifting away on the open seas, people need spiritual anchors in their lives if they are to remain steadfast and not drift into the sea of temptation and sin. Faith in God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the main anchor we must have in our lives to hold us fast during times of social turbulence and wickedness that seem to be everywhere today." (“Steadfast in Christ,” Ensign, Dec 1993, 50)
A Perfect Brightness of Hope
Without hope, there is despair. When despair creeps into our lives, we become less and less motivated to move forward until at last we stop and die. Entering into the straight and narrow path means difficult times are ahead … temptations. This is why Christ tells us we must enter the path with full purpose of heart and why we are constantly reminded to endure to the end. In order to endure to the end, we must have hope that we will arrive at our destination.
We must always hope. We must never give up on the Gospel of Christ.
President Hinckley gave a wonderful talk to those who have entered the path. In it, he referred to three things that everyone in the Church needs. 1) A friend, 2) an assignment and 3) constant nourishment by the good word of God (Moroni 6:4). ("A Perfect Brightness of Hope: To New Members of the Church,” Ensign, Oct 2006, 2–5)
Don't ever be afraid to offer hope to others. There are plenty of people who offer the seeming realities of despair. We must fight these depressing opinions and be a light to all those around us. Offer a positive and bright testimony of the gospel the next time you have a chance to share your testimony in fast and testimony meeting or wherever you feel inspired to do so. Be hopeful!
A Love of God and all Men
The first great commandment is to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all they soul, and with all thy mind" (Matthew 22:37).
The second commandment is to "love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:39).
We must strive to develop charity as Moroni taught us, then we will love God and all men (Moroni 7:44-47).
Feast on the Words of Christ
In today's society, it seems as though we feast on food for our bodies yet fast from food for our souls. Not only should we feast on the words of Christ, but we should "delight in fatness" (2 Nephi 9:51).
One of the counselors in our stake (Riding) spoke in our ward, one Sunday, about reading the scriptures. I have always remembered one point he made during this talk. He prefaced his point by saying that he didn't want us to feel guilty about not reading the scriptures. Yes, we ought to feel guilt for not reading the scriptures, but he wanted us to set that aside for the moment. He gave an example of how sometimes we catch the end of a favorite song on the radio and we only hear the last 20 seconds of it. We might think, "shoot, I just missed my favorite song." He compared that to missing opportunities to read the scriptures. I think what he was trying to say is that we shouldn't feel guilty for missing our scripture study time, but we should feel let down that we missed an opportunity to read the scriptures … it is a subtle difference and I hope I'm making sense in describing his point.
In that subtle difference lays the difference between reading the scriptures and feasting. We should want to read and study the scriptures.
Showing posts with label Hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hope. Show all posts
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
2 Nephi 9
In this chapter, there are many verses which if not meditated and passed over lightly, one will miss a tremendous amount of knowledge, not to mention the feelings one will receive from the Spirit. Many of these verses seem to contain common knowledge, but as you read them over and over again and ponder them, you will begin to see the deeper meaning. I still don’t clearly understand all of what the verses say. I pray that as I read them over again, I will understand a little more.
Hope
In verse 3, Jacob explains to the people that he is telling them these things that they may rejoice and lift up their heads. Once we realize what our fate is if Christ had not fulfilled his mission, we become very grateful for what he has done. The Nephites were grateful for the mission of Christ. They realized their position better than we do because Christ had not yet come and they had to believe that he would come. As for us, we know that he came and it now becomes our duty to find out for ourselves that what Christ taught really is true. We must gain a testimony for ourselves that the resurrection will come and that if we repent we can be forgiven of our sins and return to God’s presence. Not all is lost! We have much to hope for and look forward to.
Christ's Sacrifice
In verse 5, Jacob explains the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. Christ subjected himself to men in order that men may be subject unto him. Christ showed his charity to all men by sacrificing himself for our salvation. He provides for us an escape from the everlasting chains of hell. We no longer have to be subject to the devil and his misery. We can choose to obey Christ and live.
Our Eternity Equals the Sum of Our Actions
We will not achieve righteousness in one day, nor will we become all evil and miserable in one day. Our daily actions are the sum of our individual. Sow your thoughts, reap your actions, sow your actions, reap your habits, sow your habits, reap your character, sow your character reap your eternity. Just as verse 16 states, those who are righteous will still be righteous and those who are wicked will still be wicked for the eternities. I heard a saying that has reference to this concept. I believe I heard it from watching the movie Gladiator. It says, “What we do in this life will echo in the eternities.” It is true with all of us. What we choose to think and consequently do will eventually be the outcome of our eternity.
God is Consistent
As I have written before, one of the characteristics of God is that he does what he says he will do. This is one of the attributes I am trying to develop. Call it responsibility, honesty, discipline or whatever; doing what you say you will do is powerful. Jacob recognizes the significance of doing what you say you will do. In verse 17 he says, “O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be fulfilled.”
Carnally Minded vs. Spiritually Minded
Verse 39: What does it mean to be carnally minded? What does it mean to be spiritually minded? To be carnally minded is to think like the world does. At work, some people are constantly cracking jokes that are crude. Sometimes I don’t understand them and I hope that the reason I don’t understand them is because I am not thinking like they do. To be carnally minded is to have your mind in the gutter. The only way to counter act this is to be spiritually minded or in other words to constantly think of spiritual things. This is not as hard as it sounds. If you delight in the scriptures like Nephi did, then your mind will naturally be thinking of the Lord’s words. You will derive great joy from being spiritually minded and you will not fear. As you think of the scriptures and the teachings of the prophets during the day, you will become more confident in doing what is right and you will be truly happy. “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven” (D&C 121:45). This is a prime example of trying to be spiritually minded. I have memorized most of section 121. As I was writing this, I remembered that part of section 121. When we have the scriptures and teachings of the prophets written on our hearts, we will remember them and we will be spiritually minded.
Spending Time and Money
Jacob’s counsel in verse 51 is timeless. He admonishes, “do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy.” What is of true worth? Everything we buy and acquire on this earth will not come with us to the eternities. Our home, our books, our possessions – we cannot truly keep with us. The only thing that we can keep with us is our character, our testimony, our knowledge, our family relationships. Yet, why do we spend our money and time on things which we cannot keep? We need to spend our time and money on developing our character, our testimony and family and also on building up the kingdom of God on the Earth. Consequently, we need to labor on building up the kingdom of God and our family. I work to provide for my family. When I am not at work, I spend my time studying the scriptures, playing with my kids and talking with my wife. These are the things which are most important.
Remember to Pray
Lastly, Jacob counsels us to pray continually and to thank God for all that we have.
Hope
In verse 3, Jacob explains to the people that he is telling them these things that they may rejoice and lift up their heads. Once we realize what our fate is if Christ had not fulfilled his mission, we become very grateful for what he has done. The Nephites were grateful for the mission of Christ. They realized their position better than we do because Christ had not yet come and they had to believe that he would come. As for us, we know that he came and it now becomes our duty to find out for ourselves that what Christ taught really is true. We must gain a testimony for ourselves that the resurrection will come and that if we repent we can be forgiven of our sins and return to God’s presence. Not all is lost! We have much to hope for and look forward to.
Christ's Sacrifice
In verse 5, Jacob explains the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. Christ subjected himself to men in order that men may be subject unto him. Christ showed his charity to all men by sacrificing himself for our salvation. He provides for us an escape from the everlasting chains of hell. We no longer have to be subject to the devil and his misery. We can choose to obey Christ and live.
Our Eternity Equals the Sum of Our Actions
We will not achieve righteousness in one day, nor will we become all evil and miserable in one day. Our daily actions are the sum of our individual. Sow your thoughts, reap your actions, sow your actions, reap your habits, sow your habits, reap your character, sow your character reap your eternity. Just as verse 16 states, those who are righteous will still be righteous and those who are wicked will still be wicked for the eternities. I heard a saying that has reference to this concept. I believe I heard it from watching the movie Gladiator. It says, “What we do in this life will echo in the eternities.” It is true with all of us. What we choose to think and consequently do will eventually be the outcome of our eternity.
God is Consistent
As I have written before, one of the characteristics of God is that he does what he says he will do. This is one of the attributes I am trying to develop. Call it responsibility, honesty, discipline or whatever; doing what you say you will do is powerful. Jacob recognizes the significance of doing what you say you will do. In verse 17 he says, “O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be fulfilled.”
Carnally Minded vs. Spiritually Minded
Verse 39: What does it mean to be carnally minded? What does it mean to be spiritually minded? To be carnally minded is to think like the world does. At work, some people are constantly cracking jokes that are crude. Sometimes I don’t understand them and I hope that the reason I don’t understand them is because I am not thinking like they do. To be carnally minded is to have your mind in the gutter. The only way to counter act this is to be spiritually minded or in other words to constantly think of spiritual things. This is not as hard as it sounds. If you delight in the scriptures like Nephi did, then your mind will naturally be thinking of the Lord’s words. You will derive great joy from being spiritually minded and you will not fear. As you think of the scriptures and the teachings of the prophets during the day, you will become more confident in doing what is right and you will be truly happy. “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven” (D&C 121:45). This is a prime example of trying to be spiritually minded. I have memorized most of section 121. As I was writing this, I remembered that part of section 121. When we have the scriptures and teachings of the prophets written on our hearts, we will remember them and we will be spiritually minded.
Spending Time and Money
Jacob’s counsel in verse 51 is timeless. He admonishes, “do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy.” What is of true worth? Everything we buy and acquire on this earth will not come with us to the eternities. Our home, our books, our possessions – we cannot truly keep with us. The only thing that we can keep with us is our character, our testimony, our knowledge, our family relationships. Yet, why do we spend our money and time on things which we cannot keep? We need to spend our time and money on developing our character, our testimony and family and also on building up the kingdom of God on the Earth. Consequently, we need to labor on building up the kingdom of God and our family. I work to provide for my family. When I am not at work, I spend my time studying the scriptures, playing with my kids and talking with my wife. These are the things which are most important.
Remember to Pray
Lastly, Jacob counsels us to pray continually and to thank God for all that we have.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)