"I pray the power of the Holy Ghost will be with each of us—that we may think what we need to think, feel what we need to feel, and learn what we need to learn so we can do what we know we should do and ultimately become what the Lord yearns for us to become." - David A. Bednar
I'm delighted to share what I found in my scriptures this morning and what I'll be pondering on for the week! Now, the verse I'm sharing is from a very modern translation of the Bible and I know that as members of the church we usually stick to the KJV but I really, really like how this verse comes to life with The Message version: "This is God’s Word on the subject... I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed. I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you—God’s Decree—bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it."
I also really like how it sounds in the first couple verses of the NIV version:
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord,”
- Jeremiah 29:11-13
I found a little song that seems fitting for the verse too. I find peace when I remember that God has everything under control. It will all work out! :)
This coming Sunday we will have the opportunity to participate in the dedication of the Provo City Center Temple. How fitting that this sacred and glorious dedication has been appointed to be on Palm Sunday. For FHE last night, we discussed the symbolism of Christ's entry into the ancient city and how He is entering our city today.
The Palm Branch = symbol of victory, triumph, peace and eternal life
Riding on a donkey = a symbol of peace and meekness. The horse was a symbol of war but donkeys were often used in peace treaties.
He came from the east and up into Jerusalem = The names of the cities listed in the Gospels are of such an order to show this direction. He also ascended upward into the city since Jerusalem is on a hill. (The rising sun also comes from the east.)
Hosanna - is a Greek form of the Hebrew expression for "Save us now," or "Save, we pray."... Note the rendering of the :Hosanna Shout: in the restored Church of Christ in the current dispensation on occasions of particular rejoicing before the Lord. (p. 523 Jesus the Christ)
The first thing Christ did after entering the city was cleanse the Temple.
"The people were jubilant over the spectacle of Jesus riding toward the holy city... For the time being He was their king, and they His adoring subjects. The voices of the mulititude sounded in reverberating harmony: ;Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the hightest'; and again: 'Hosanna to the son of David: blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.'" - James E. Talmage (Jesus the Christ p. 514)
We too feel blessed and are thrilled with the opportunity to rejoice and shout "Hosanna!" at this Temple dedication. To offer Him this Holy House and welcome Him to our city.
We really had a great time with the kids last night in our discussion but it has caused me some deeper reflection - so I want to take a little time to go slightly further into this story. You see, with the temple that Christ entered into in Jerusalem, it was a different event than ours here in Provo:
"Amidst all this jubilation, Jesus was sad as He came in sight of the great city wherin stood the House of the Lord; and He wept, because of the wickedness of His people, and of their refusal to accept Him as the Son of God; moreover He foresaw the awful scenes of destruction before which both city and temple were soon to fall. In anguish and tears, He thus apostrophized the doomed city: 'If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.' (Luke 19:42)" - James E. Talmage (Jesus the Christ p. 515)
In other words He lamented, "If you had only realized what would bring you peace, real peace... but you've closed your eyes and refuse to see."
How were their eyes closed?
Is there a clue to this answer by the Savior's first choice of action after he dismounts the donkey? What does He do? He immediately clears out the temple because they had turned it into a "den of thieves." - Luke 19:46 Perhaps He had some interest in real-estate, after-all, they had no right to do whatever they wanted in the Temple. This was HIS house. He was the owner, the possessor of this place.
Speaking of houses... what about the one we dwell in as a family.... Who is the rightful owner of our home? Is our home just a residence for ourselves or have we dedicated it to the Lord? What do we invite in on a daily basis and would He approve? How do we maintain the kind of atmosphere where His Spirit may dwell?
And what about our mortal tabernacle? Who possesses it?
Each day the Lord leaves it up to us to choose, but we must always remember Who bought us.
"The purchase price for our fullness of joy--body and spirit eternally united--is the pure and innocent blood of the Savior of this world. We cannot then say in ignorance or defiance, 'Well, it's my life,' or worse yet, 'It's my body.' It is not. 'Ye are not your own,' Paul said. 'Ye are bought with a price.'" - Jeffrey R. Holland
What kinds of things turn my own home "into a den of thieves"?
The way to peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come is to let the rightful Owner in our hearts, let Him in our home, and into our life! Let Him claim His rightful place and take ownership.... not partial... this isn't fractional real-estate.... but full and complete ownership.
How do I let Him in?
What does that look like in my daily choices?
What does that look like for me as a mother, a wife, a sister, and a neighbor?
I discovered a new song a few days ago. Whenever I listen to this, I imagine Enos and what a deep and soulful prayer looks and sounds like - To cry out to Father in Heaven, begging for answers, begging for the Spirit to guide, to open my eyes, to forgive me for everything I am blind to and for everything I lack, to take me out of my place or set me where I need to be. - To offer up all my gratitude for this moment of prayer, knowing I can empty out everything in my heart and lay it before Him and not feel condemned for any foolishness displayed. I'm grateful that He sees it all - He is my safe place. "He answers privately, Reaches my reachingIn my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend. Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching. Constant he is and kind, Love without end." (Where Can I Turn for Peace Hymn 129) When I think of hunger, I also think of Psalms 23 and how the Good Shepherd leads me to green pastures and streams of living water. In Him I have my everything. It is from Him, from His spirit where all goodness and mercy flows. His rod and staff (His word and Priesthood) comfort me.
I am weary but I know Your touch Restores my life.
So I wait for You,
Oh I wait for You.
I'm falling on my knees,
Offering all of me,
Jesus, You're all this heart is living for."
"My soul hungered and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto Him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto Him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.... And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest." - Enos 1:4, 17 -Alicia
Just some verses and a couple of quotes I've been focusing on in my studies. I'm grateful for the wisdom of God, for His all-knowing and all-seeing understanding. I'm grateful that I can put full confidence in the direction He points me and in the learning experiences He gives... for I know that He sees the bigger picture.
-Alicia
"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." - 1 Cor. 2:9-10 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9 "Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend." - Mosiah 4:9 "The Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people." - Alma 24:27 "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."- Alma 37:6 "The Lord will lead us along, just as promised. He balances giving to the Church and its people the needed, specific directions, with providing the relevant learning experiences, including having our faith and patience tried in order to be strengthened. Thus He leads us along, but He desires that during that process we take His yoke upon us in order to learn of Him by our personal experiences. We surely feel the weight of that yoke at times, but the path is clear." - Neal A. Maxwell "A universal God is actually involved with our small, individual universes of experience! In the midst of His vast dominions, yet He numbers us, knows us, and loves us perfectly."- Neal A. Maxwell
I've just finished the part in the Book of Mormon where Alma and Amulek are miraculously delivered out of prison. Prior to their own bondage, they were forced to watch the persecution and martyrdom of the believers who had been cast into the flames including many women and children.
Can you imagine the horror?
Amulek was pained so deeply and "said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames. But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto Himself, in glory." (Alma 14:10-11) He promises Amulek that God is just and that this moment will be noted for the righteous sake and for the wicked.
There may have been some comfort in this but I'm sure they still wondered why they were delivered and others were not. Then the guards brutally beat, mocked, and humiliated Alma and Amulek - scoffing that their faith was useless in a God they couldn't prove the existence of.
"Alma cried saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord? Give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance." (Alma 14:26)
God answered his prayer and they broke the bands... and the prison walls fell.
Still, how could one erase from memory all the terror and tragedy they had experienced? It must have weighed them down with crushing pain on more than one occasion.
This wasn't their only sorrow though... poor Amulek had forsaken everything for the ministry, "all his gold, and silver, and his precious things,... rejected by those who were once his friends and also his father and his kindred." ( Alma 15:16) Alma was well aware of the enormous sacrifice his mission companion was dealing with, he "having seen all these things, therefore... took Amulek...to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord." (Alma 15:18)
I have often wondered how exactly Alma administered unto his friend. Did he give him a priesthood blessing? And if he did...what did he say in that blessing?
I imagine that Alma shared great faith and testimony with him, that this was the Lord's work, that everything would be alright, and that God was keenly aware of their needs at that time.
One thing I've learned is that we can deal with all kinds of pain but it's the uncertainty that will kill us. The troubles were not taken away and they weren't given all the answers as to what? and how? and why? But there was peace...
Peace that gave them strength to let go of the anxiety and to trust their future with full submission to their Father in Heaven. Because amidst all the conflict, there was one thing that remained completely certain: They were in the Lord's hands.
Meekness and submissiveness are twin attributes we must learn in this life. They are the hallmark of true faith and the gateway to finding rest to the weary soul and peace to the troubled mind .
I'm thankful for the scriptures and words of the prophets that remind me of this. I'll close this post with some great quotes from Elder Neal A. Maxwell
"Submissiveness also checks our tendency to demand advance explanations of the Lord as a perplexed yet trusting Nephi understood: “I know that [God] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” (1 Ne. 11:17.) So did a wondering but submissive Mary: “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38.) Just as the capacity to defer gratification is a sign of real maturity, likewise the willingness to wait for deferred explanation is a sign of real faith and of trust spread over time. If faithful, we end up acknowledging that we are in the Lord’s hands and should surrender to the Lord on His terms—not ours. It is total surrender, no negotiating; it is yielding with no preconditions.... The tilt of our souls in first moments is so vital. Will what follows be viewed with disdain or as having some design? Which will we do most, murmur or ponder?... For the faithful, what finally emerges is an understanding of “things as they really are” (Jacob 4:13), such as the reassuring realization that we are in the Lord’s hands! But, brothers and sisters, we were never really anywhere else!" - Elder Neal A. Maxwell (Willing to Submit)
-Alicia
All is well. :)
I'm a little late in posting my Ponderize scripture again but trust me, I've been thinking of this one since Sunday. Sometimes through prayer and fasting, the Lord gives you certain verses that apply so perfectly to your life and mission. The verses become treasures in your heart and you draw upon them again and again. The entire section of D&C 6 has become quite meaningful to me for several months now because it came after "much fasting and prayer" at just the right moment in my life.
This whole week I've been thinking of these verses: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time.... I say unto you , if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" - D&C 6: 15, 22-23
-Alicia
"The Lord seeth fit to chasten His people; yea, He trieth their patience and their faith."
- Mosiah 23:21
This is where I am in my personal study of the Book of Mormon right now. My goal is to finish the whole book before the first of June. I'm a little hung up because I feel like I've circled around this verse over and over for the last several days like a hawk anxious to devour that one word I desire so greatly. I can't really say it has slowed my progress in my scripture study because it's led me to search out more scriptures and words of the prophets that relate to patience.
As a result, this BYU speech from Neal A. Maxwell has been on repeat all week for me.
We learn in Romans 5 that "tribulation worketh patience."
Go look up tribulation in a thesaurus and tell me if that's something you want?
(adversity, grief, heartache, burden, persecution, sorrow, suffering, trial, affliction, and more)
But it says right there in the scriptures that these are the very things that "worketh patience."
These tribulations come into each of our lives in various ways. We all have them but they take different forms. They break us and bring us to our knees causing us to "seek the face of the Lord".... for it is only in Him we find peace and strength beyond our own.
Let's go back to Romans 5:3,4 and take a closer look: "we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;and patience, experience; and experience, hope"
I can't help but notice that "work" and "experience" are in the same sentence and when I see that, I envision some sort of Godly resume. "What is your 'work experience?' What skills have you acquired through your opportunities to practice? How much training have you had?"
The answer may go something like this:
"Well, Father, every time I have come against some sort of tribulation, be it grief, heartache, sorrow, burden, persecution, or suffering of any kind... I have sought Thy face through deep and sincere prayer. through fasting, through searching Thy word. I have learned of the Savior, that He has experienced this exact same thing, that He understands completely, that He is mighty to save and will help me and make me stronger through it all. I have come to know something of His omniscience. As I look back on all of the other trials of my past, I can see so clearly that He knew what was best and that His timing was perfect, absolutely perfect. I've had opportunities to 'lose myself' to evaluate my motives and see where I have been selfish and correct that. Most of all, I have come to feel of Your love, Your grace. I've witnessed how personal and involved You have always been in my life and it has caused me to want to be more personal and involved with those who I have committed to love. THIS has been my experience time and time again... and I have hope... I am filled with hope! Because of these things, my faith has grown, deeper, taller, and stronger... Because of Thee, I can be patient in any circumstance."
In other words, Romans 5:1-6 is a cyclical ascending pattern:
Tribulation >> Seek the Lord in faith >> experience (and everything that entails) >> Greater faith and awareness of His grace >> Hope >> Patience >> Tribulation
" In your patience possess ye your souls." - Luke 21:19 "Those with true hope often see their personal circumstances shaken, like kaleidoscopes, again and again. Yet with the “eye of faith,” they still see divine pattern and purpose (Alma 5:15)." - Neal A. Maxwell - A Perfect Brightness of Hope
I know that God sees the bigger picture. His plan is perfect and He knows what is best for me at just the right moment, at just the right time in my life. It's all about the experience.
In Matthew 11:28 Christ invites us to come unto Him.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
This rest is the Grace of God. The definition of "rest" is what grace feels like.
This morning in my studies I read these words,
"Come, my brethren [and sisters, come Alicia], every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters... Come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not...
Remember the words of your God; Pray unto Him continually by day, and give thanks unto His holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice." - 2 Nephi 9:50-52
To come to God means to approach Him, to access Him through the avenue of expression, through the opening and pouring out to Him our heart, mind, and spirit.
In Hebrews 4:12-16 the Apostle Paul teaches that God knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts even before we approach Him and that our Savior has felt every weakness, pain, heartache, or sorrow that we have ever felt.
There is no emotion or thought that is hidden from Him. He sees within us even what we cannot discern. In verse 13 Paul says "all things are naked and open unto His eyes." A couple of modern versions of this verse describe it this way: "everything is uncovered and laid bare" and "all things are open and exposed"
This raw and vulnerable painful place of weakness is our Gethsemane, and in verse 15 Paul testifies that Christ reaches us there. Because of His Gethsemane, the God of all creation is perfectly approachable in our nakedness.
I know from personal experience that the throne of God is the most safe place to be our true selves to hold nothing back. Why? Because He knows. He has experienced everything, every temptation, every emotion, every heartache, and every sorrow that we have felt. He who was horribly abused and crucified, He who hung naked on a cross, He is the one who clothes me.
"He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness."- Isaiah 61:10
I rejoice in knowing there is One who will always know me, One who is always accessible, that I can speak to Him, approach Him, any time, anywhere, any place, whether my heart is weak or strong. He knows!
"Let us therefore come boldly [with full confidence] unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."- Hebrews 4:16
In 3 Nephi Chapter 27, the Savior speaks a great deal about baptism. I love the imagery of surrendering our whole souls to God as one is baptized. I've been thinking a great deal about other places where we find symbols of surrender.
In 3 Nephi 24, the Savior quotes Malachi 3 when He invites the multitude to be refined and purified through Him like silver and purged as gold. In verse 10, He testifies of tithes and offerings. (Hearing this, I also think of fasting.) Personally trusting and acting upon these truths are symbols of surrender.
The Savior laying prostrate on the ground as He prayed in Gethsemane pouring out blood and soul, both there and on the cross; bruised, broken, and torn for us, is a beautiful symbol of the most humble surrender. Matt 26:36-46Matt 27:32-56
Where else in the scriptures can we see these symbols? Do we see other symbols of surrender in the Temple besides just baptism?
In the Conference Report of October 1966 President Howard W. Hunter said, "One of the great writers has penned: 'Peace does not dwell in outward things, but within the soul; we may preserve it in the midst of the bitterest pain, if our will remains firm and submissive. Peace in this life springs from acquiescence, not in an exemption from suffering.' (Fenelon.) Emerson wrote: 'Nothing can bring you peace but yourself; nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.' (Essay, 'Self-Reliance.') These principles are incorporated into the gospel of Jesus Christ. Indifference to the Savior or failure to keep the commandments of God brings about insecurity, inner turmoil, and contention. These are the opposite of peace. Peace can come to an individual only by an unconditional surrender—surrender to him who is the Prince of peace (Isa. 9:6), who has the power to confer peace."
Interesting that there is the pattern again about how to find rest and peace to our soul.
...Just some things I'll be thinking about today.
As I was studying in Moroni, I noticed chapters 7, 9, and 10 all mention the word "rest." Upon reading this word, I felt a desire to extract it off the page, swallow it like a pill, and have its remedial effects penetrate deep into every fiber of my heart. While contemplating its consumption, I remembered that I had already been taught how to obtain rest. I have written about this before - Rest comes from coming unto Christ and "learning meekness." - Matthew 11:29-30
To have this rest I so desperately desire, I must become meek. I began to search as many conference talks or BYU speeches I could find on meekness. I found several and saved quotes from each of them. I hit a gold mine when I opened up this one by Neal A. Maxwell - "Meek and Lowly"
I took down some portions that really struck me.
"The full witness often does not come 'until after the trial of your faith' (Ether 12:6). Those trials may be very focused. President Lorenzo Snow once said to the Twelve of his day, 'Every one of us who has not already had the experience must yet meet it of being tested in every place where we are weak' (Abraham H. Cannon journal, April 9, 1890). Indeed, did not the Lord specifically promise the meek that he would make 'weak things become strong unto them' (Ether 12:27)
“Did Paul not speak knowingly of the ‘fellowship of [Christ’s] sufferings’ (Philippians 3:10)? Are we not told that meekness is so vital that God actually gives us certain challenges in order to keep us humble (Ether 12:27)? Did not Peter write regarding how Christians should expect to be familiar with fiery trials (1 Peter 4:12)? Furthermore, as the disciple enriches his relationship with the Lord, he is apt to have periodic ‘public relations’ problems with others, being misrepresented and misunderstood . He or she will have to 'take it' at times. Meekness, therefore, is a key to deepening discipleship.” - Elder Neal A. Maxwell - BYU Oct. 21, 1986 - Meek and Lowly
After reading these, It occurred to me that meekness is meant to grow out of weakness. Grateful for this imagery, such a realization helps me embrace the pain that accompanies areas where I am weak - like fully embracing the cutting, yet skillful, blade in the hands of the Master Physician. In striving to sincerely submit my will to His, I may be misrepresented or misunderstood by others and whatever comes of that, I must "take it!" To renforce this principle of pain being part of the proceedure, C.S. Lewis said:
"[So God is, then, something like a divine physician.] A cruel man might be bribed—might grow tired of his vile sport—might have a temporary fit of mercy, as alcoholics have [temporary] fits of sobriety. But suppose that what you are up against is a [wonderfully skilled] surgeon whose intentions are [solely and absolutely] good. [Then], the kinder and more conscientious he is, [the more he cares about you,] the more inexorably he will go on cutting [in spite of the suffering it may cause. And] if he yielded to your entreaties, if he stopped before the operation was complete, all the pain up to that point would have been useless. . . . [pp. 49–50]
[So I am, you see, one] of God’s patients, not yet cured. I know there are not only tears [yet] to be dried but stains [yet] to be scoured. [My] sword will be made even brighter. [C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed (New York: Seabury Press, Inc., 1961 p. 49]"
In Elder Neal A. Maxwell's talk, he lists characteristics of the truly meek. I laid them out and read them over and over again, wanting to burn them into memory. I have so much to learn! I'm grateful the Lord is patient with me as I stumble and fall along the way. He kindly guides me and brings healing to my heart. In Him, I truly do find rest to my soul. -Alicia
Characteristics of the Truly Meek
Serious disciples are not only urged to do good but also to avoid growing weary of doing good (see Galatians 6:9 and Helaman 10:5).
They are not only urged to speak the truth but also to speak the truth in love (see Ephesians 4:15).
They are not only urged to endure all things but also to endure them well (see D&C 121:8).
They are not only urged to be devoted to God’s cause but also to be prepared to sacrifice all things, giving, if necessary, the last full measure of devotion (see Lectures on Faith 6:7).
They are not only to do many things of worth but are also to focus on the weightier matters, the things of most worth (see Matthew 23:23).
They are not only urged to forgive but also to forgive seventy times seven (see Matthew 18:21–22).
They are not only to be engaged in good causes, but also they are to be “anxiously engaged” (see D&C 58:27).
They are not only to do right but also to do right for the right reasons.
They are told to get on the strait and narrow path, but then are told that this is only the beginning, not the end (see 2 Nephi 31:19–20).
They are not only to endure enemies but also to pray for them and to love them (see Matthew 5:44).
They are urged not only to worship God but, astoundingly, they are instructed to strive to become like him! (See Matthew 5:48; 3 Nephi 12:48, 27:27.)
In the midst of all these things,” they are given a Sabbath day for rest, during which they do the sweetest but often the hardest work of all.
The meek individual may not, to be sure, always fully decipher what is happening to him or around him. However, even though he does not “know the meaning of all things,” he knows that the Lord loves him (see 1 Nephi 11:17).
He may feel overwhelmed, but, unlike the proud, he is not out of control. In fact, in some moments it is important for us to “Be still, and know that [he is] God” (Psalms 46:10). Even articulate discipleship has its side of silent certitude!
True meekness has a metabolism that actually requires very little praise or recognition.
The greater his knowledge, the greater his meekness. The more he strives to become like Jesus and the more he wishes to declare his gospel, the more he rejoices exceedingly when Christ’s message is heeded.- Elder Neal A. Maxwell - BYU Oct. 21, 1986 - Meek and Lowly
