Day 11: Scripture Challenge

July 11, 2012

2 Nephi 26:29-30

He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.

Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; 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. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.

I've been thinking lately about how hungry I am to be heard and how my interest to hear others has diminished in the last year or so. I'm not sure when this started, but I suspect it's related to my move to Madison. I left my family and friends who I had spent many years building relationships with and came to a place where I need to start fresh. In this situation, there just aren't as many ready listeners as there used to be--at least not listeners who I know are sincerely interested. 

I have become tired from all the social niceties of asking people about themselves and hungry for someone to ask about my thoughts and my life. Somehow that has slowly morphed into a desire to "set myself up for a light unto the world" to "get gain and praise of the world," or at least, it's in the same spirit of these attitudes.

I searched for this scripture because I know that I have needed to work on charity lately, but as I write about it, it's easier for me to see where the problem lies. I am going to be praying for a more sincere love for my fellow man.

Day 10: Scripture Challenge

July 10, 2012

I love Lehi's dream of the tree of life for several reasons. One of my favorite things about it, though, is the fact that it was a dream and that the description of it feels very dream-like. As a person who has had a few life-changing dreams, I have a deep gratitude for this form of revelation.

In the April 2012 General Conference, Elder Scott spoke about dreams as a form of revelation in his talk, "How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life." The following quote is exactly what I have observed about dreams as a form of personal revelation:

"Revelation can also be given in a dream when there is an almost imperceptible transition from sleep to wakefulness. If you strive to capture the content immediately, you can record great detail, but otherwise it fades rapidly. Inspired communication in the night is generally accompanied by a sacred feeling for the entire experience. The Lord uses individuals for whom we have great respect to teach us truths in a dream because we trust them and will listen to their counsel. It is the Lord doing the teaching through the Holy Ghost. However, He may in a dream make it both easier to understand and more likely to touch our hearts by teaching us through someone we love and respect."

Why do you think the Lord speaks to us in so many different ways? What are the benefits of having a variety of ways to speak to His children?

Day 9: Scripture Challenge

July 9, 2012

On day nine I again spent the majority of my study time catching up on blogging my previous study days. It's interesting how much more I got out of those studies as I blogged them. Sure I was keeping notes in my study notebook as I read, but having to make a post describing those study days is like adding yet another level of meditation to my study and it made a huge difference.

When I read something, I rarely get much more than the most basic storyline out of my study. When I read with a notebook and take notes, I get a slightly clearer picture of how the storyline applies to me in general terms and when I write a journal entry or blog post about it, I find my focus sharpening on what I specifically need to learn at this moment of my life.

I have been feeling so many promptings for so long lately that I need to keep a journal again, but I have ignored them all. This blog is the closest I've come to doing it. (Potential future "Perfect Month?")

Day 8: Scripture Challenge

July 8, 2012

For the majority of my scripture study on day eight, I chose to get caught up on my blog entries and I reviewed notes that I had taken on previous nights and wrote up my posts. I took about an hour doing that, then spend ten minutes reading from 1 Nephi 7.

This chapter is the lovely one where Nephi prays that he would have power to burst the chains that his brothers had bound him with and God kindly loosens them instead. I have always thought this was a bit of a reminder to Nephi to keep his pride in check. Honestly, I've never really loved Nephi because his pride does seem to be such an annoying flaw throughout his story (it's the same with Joseph of Egypt--his ancestor).

I've been thinking, though, about Dad's comment on my post for day four: "We needn't require perfection of our heros. We can be inspired by imperfect people who do some things perfectly." I think that part of the reason that I don't have many heroes is that I do require perfection of them. I feel that a clear character flaw like pride completely clouds their good characteristics. As I've pondered on Dad's comment, I've begun to question my requirements of others. I think Christ is a much more forgiving judge and if I am hoping for His forgiveness, I better start seeing heroes in imperfect people.

Day 7: Scripture Challenge

July 7, 2012

Today I read about Nephi's purpose in writing in the plates: to persuade people to come unto Christ and be saved. As I thought about this, I wanted to listen to hymn 117: Come unto Jesus. Because lds.org is awesome, I went there and was listening to it within a few seconds of that whim. I often find myself zoning out during the hymns at church, so I particularly enjoyed listening at home and carefully reading the words as they played. (I decided not to sing because the technical aspects of singing sometimes distract me from the words themselves).

I have decided to incorporate hymns and music into my study whenever I feel so inspired. I am finding that my study is much more productive when I allow it to be dynamic. Lately, the more flexible my study plan, the better my experience.

Day 6: Scripture Challenge

July 6, 2012

Lately I've been struggling with faith. It's not that I have lost my faith, but that I am beginning to ask more questions. I've been thinking about this a lot lately and have decided that it's not a bad thing. I am at a plateau and in order to have the spiritual growth spurt that I feel is coming, I need to let myself ask these questions and learn to let the spirit guide me in finding the answers. I also realize that the spirit may guide me to simply have faith that the answers will not disappoint me and allow that to be my answer for now.

On day six I read a talk by James O. Mason, the President of the Bountiful temple, entitled "Faith in Jesus Christ." It is one of the talks listed under "Gospel Topics: Faith" on lds.org.

According to this article, faith is inhibited by fear and doubt and it is often interwoven with hope and charity. Matt and I were talking the other night about scary movies. At one point in our lives, we both individually decided that we no longer enjoyed them. Matt pointed out that he believes that it's not only the gore or the demons, but the entire concept of fear itself that the spirit dislikes. I thought this was an interesting point in the context of this talk because fear is described as the absence of faith.

Specifically, faith should be centered on the Savior. According to President Mason, this faith requires an acknowledgment of his divine attributes, including His infinite love for innocent and sinner and His infinite capacity to forgive and heal. For me, this kind of faith is the ultimate source of hope and the greatest thing I can hope for is this kind of faith.

Day 5: Scripture Challenge

July 5, 2012

When I was in the Primary Presidency in my last ward, the church came out with new leadership manuals. I'd never even seen the old ones, and there was a ton of hype in the Worldwide Leadership Training for these new manuals. I was extremely pumped to read my brand spanking new red manual from cover to cover.

About two weeks later I still hadn't even read the entirety of the small section that related directly to Primary. This is what I thought of when I read 1 Nephi 5 on day five. The boys finally returned from Jerusalem to the wilderness with the brass plates in tow. What do you suppose Lehi did when they got home? First, as always, he praised God that they were safe and well. Next, he "search[ed] them from the beginning." You go, Lehi!

It seems like a "duh" response to getting the brass plates after all the sacrifice that went into obtaining them, but is it really what we would do? Maybe Lehi is becoming one of my heroes. (Oh boy!)