All Christ Does For Us

I have always known that Christ suffered for our sins and died for us. The great struggle he went through is something that we all look to with a great deal of gratitude. Something that I seem to look past however, is that he is still doing so much for us!

In 2 Nephi 26: 24-25 it says, "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. Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth..."

Jesus Christ works every day to help each and every one of us. We are so lucky to have a brother who loves us so much. I know he lives!

Awake My Soul

"O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me...My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions... He hath filled me with his love... He hath confounded mine enemies... Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge... And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high... O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions? And why should I yield to sin...? Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.... O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness...O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever!"    -Nephi  (2 Nephi 4 17-34)

Often over the past few months I have thought of this scripture and applied it to my own life. Why do I do the things that I know will not make me happy? Why is it hard to do what the Lord has asked of me? I feel like I can relate with Nephi when he talks about all the great things that the Lord has done for him. All the things that Nephi has learned from the Lord. But despite this, I still am not perfect.

I like towards the end however, where despite his faults, Nephi looks forward with faith and a desire to be better. This is what the Lord wants from us and is asking us to do. Leave behind the things that we have done wrong. Learn from them and trust in the Lord! Jesus Christ lives, and he is our redeemer! I know he is there for us. Herein lies true happiness!

The Assist

 I love to play basketball, and I love to score points. Sometimes however, you have to pass up a good opportunity for someone else to have a better opportunity. When this happens, and you pass the ball to someone who scores, it is called an assist. The principle of this is that you sacrifice something good (your shot), for something better (the higher chance to get points for your team).

We talked about sacrifice this past Sunday in class. At first I came in with the impression that sacrifice is something that is hard to do, but must be done because the Lord commands it. By the end of the class my perspective had changed. I want to focus mostly on attending church.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, "We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families." There are many good things that we could be doing on Sundays. Spending time with families, helping provide for our families, etc... But our Heavenly Father has told us that the best thing we could be doing is to keep the Sabbath Day holy, and attend church. It may be a sacrifice to give up some things that are helping us, but if we do sacrifice, we will gain a much greater blessing.

I now know that while sacrifices seem hard, they really aren't. If we can have the faith and trust in the Lord, we personally may not get the points, but we assist the Lord (the best shooter on our team) and he can make the basket for us. Because we sacrifice we and our families come out on top. I now know that the chance to sacrifice is a blessing, not a burden.

Parable of the Sower

Today in my scripture study I was reading about the Parable of the Sower in Mark chapter 4. Christ tells about a a sower who spreads seeds across the ground. Some of the seeds go off to the side and birds come and eat them. Some of the seeds landed on hard ground, and immediately started growing, but then because they had no roots they withered and died when the sun came. Some of the seeds were surrounded by weeds and were choked off. Some of the seeds however, found good ground, grew strong, and brought forth fruit.

It was really interesting to me, and so I tried to figure out what it meant. I had a few ideas, but as a read on I found the true meaning. People sow the word of Christ. Sometimes as soon as people hear Christ's gospel, Satan comes and immediately takes it from them and it does not enter into their hearts. Sometimes the gospel enters into people's hearts, they receive it with gladness, but they don't strengthen their roots. When the trials and hardships come, they aren't stalwart and are offended. Some of the people are "choked off" by the riches and lusts of the world. Then there are the people who receive Christ's gospel and endure to the end.

At first I related this to missionary work. There are going to be the people who don't want to hear and who don't accept it, but then there are the people who embrace it with their whole hearts. To watch that seed of faith grow and blossom in people is an amazing experience. Missionaries aren't the only ones who have the opportunity to see this. We can all share the gospel with our friends. But we can't be discouraged when one of the seeds we sow doesn't land in the right place. If we keep sowing seeds we will be able to find those who are prepared to nurture it and allow it to bless their life!

Then I applied it to myself. What type of ground am I? I think sometimes I am good ground, but other times I harden a little. Or maybe I allow some weeds to come in and harm the word of Christ inside of me. It was a great experience to look within and find the things that keep me from being fertile ground. There are some great things to learn from this parable and I hope we will all take a look at the ways we can be better sowers and receivers!

Keep The Commandments

In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2: 24 it says, "And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?"

If we ever don't know what to do, turn to the Lord. Keep his commandments and he will bless you immediately. This is one of the greatest promises that we are given. It is also a plea given by a prophet. I also hope that we can all do the same. It isn't always easy, but it is always worth it!