I Love the Scriptures!

Yesterday in my reading I came across this scripture:
Genesis 18:19 "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him."

I really like this message, I want the Lord to be able to say this of me. I want to teach my children correct principles so that the Lord knows that He can trust me to do His will and then He will be able to do all that He has promised me He will.

I also came across this one:
D&C 38:4 "I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom; and verily, I say, even as many as have believed in my name, for I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood which I have spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them."

How wonderful to have reaffirmed to me that my prayers are heard and the Savior is my advocate with Heavenly Father. I imagine that in my low times when I cry out He goes to Heavenly Father and pleads my case for me. This just gives me great comfort to know that He cares for me that much.

Hope in Tribulation

Our bishop gave an excellent talk yesterday. There are a lot of people really struggling in our ward, probably in every ward, in every city, in every nation, times right now are hard. He reminded us of the scripture "Adam fell that man might be and men are that they might have joy." It's a short scripture but it has a lot of meaning. He said that because of the fall we naturally experience sorrows and pain but Heavenly Father intended for us to have joy in spite of the other hardships that we face. He out lined 5 steps to increase our joy in hard times:

1. Attend the temple
D&C 109:22 "And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them; "

I think that it is a beautiful blessing to have the promise of angels to have charge over us, if we are true to covenants that we have made in the temple.




2. Be grateful
D&C 59:20-21 "And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.
And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.

I think that we can usually spot the silver lining even in the clouds, especially if you have lived any amount of time in the pacific northwest, being grateful for even what seem to be the smallest blessings will help us be happy.

3. Serve others
Forget yourself and your problems and reach out ot someone who has even less than you do. This always works for me.

4. Take the longview
We are sometimes limited in our perspective. We should pray to see things from God's view. We know that the things that we experience here will really be just a small moment compared to eternity.

5. Stay close to family and friends
Its not good to isolate ourselves in hard times thinking that we may spare our family and friends from what we are going through. I isolation just makes it easier for the adversary to work on us and keep us from the true source of joy Jesus Christ our Savior.

These were all really good things for me to think about and to remember. Today in my scripture study I found a couple other things that I would like to share.

1 Nephi 7:12 "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. "

All things are in the Lords power. We must be faithful, I know that there is happiness in being faithful.

D&C 31:9 "Be patient in afflictions, revile not against those that revile. Govern your house in meekness, and be steadfast. "

meek
1. Showing patience and humility; gentle.
2. Easily imposed on; submissive.

Having patience in afflictions is one that I still struggle with, but I am working on it. The other reminder that I like is to be meek, another one that I am working on. I know that things in my household will run smoother the closer that I get to mastering these things.

The last thing that I want to share is a qhote from C.S Lewis "God knows quite well how hard we find it to love Him more than anyone or anything else, and He won't be angry with us as long as we are trying. And He will help us" (The Quotable Lewis, 409)

God our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ know us perfectly, its important to remember this, they understand all of our motivations and understand perfectly why we do the things that we do. They are perfectly loving and understanding. I am so grateful to know this.

Murmuring.

1 Nephi 2:12
And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.

This is probably my fourth time reading the Book of Mormon and for some reason this scripture just stood out to me. Maybe its because I tend to be a complainer and even if I am not complaining out loud its generally happening in my mind, well I want to be different so I am practicing not complaining. Laman and Lemuel complained because they didn't know the dealings of God, I know somewhat of His dealings, I definitely know of His blessings... so I am really going to try harder not to complain and murmur.

Scripture Of the Day

This is my favorite scripture today. 1 Nephi 1:20:
(This is the last half of the scripture and I can't read it with out thinking about Elder Bednar's talk in conference.)
"...But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that 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."

I really love this scripture. I see the tender mercies of the Lord in my life, I am so grateful that Elder Bednar gave his talk because it makes me look for those tender mercies. Even when times have been tough, when I have made it to the other side of the challenge I look back and see the Lords hand.