Strength According to Our Faith

Since starting this blog, I have noticed how much personal guidance I receive during my scripture reading.  Not personal, as in secret, but personal as in many of my thoughts wouldn't apply to others.  It is often answers to questions I have posed regarding my life.  I have also noticed that it is much more time consuming to write a post that is (hopefully) understood by others than it is to jot a few notes in my scripture journal.  For both reasons I haven't posted anything for a while.  But, although driving kids to seminary has been inserted into my morning routine, I would like to get back on track with this blog.  I'm thinking maybe a couple of posts a week.  It is kind of nice for me to be forced to express my thoughts so that others can understand them. 

Enough about that...

In Alma 14, Alma and Amulek are in prison.  They have been roughly treated and made to watch those who believe in Christ killed.  The believers are burned along with their "sacred records."

After enduring much, Alma 14:26-28 tells us this:

"And Alma cried, saying:  How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord?  O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance.  And they broke the cords with which they were bound...and the earth shook mightily, and the walls of the prison were rent in twain, so that they fell to the earth...and Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted them power, according to their faith which was in Christ..."
 

As I read this account recently, it struck me that the language is similar to that of 1 Nephi 7:17 which says:

"...O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound."
 

I had never noticed before how, in each of these instances, power/strength was granted according to the faith of the one asking.  And not just according to their faith, but more specifically, it was according to their faith in Christ.  This might seem a very small thing, but to me it isn't.

I have always been told to pray in faith.  That faith and doubt cannot both exist at the same time.  It made me wonder how I could get such faith in things I was unsure of.  For example, how do I pray in faith that I would get into the college I wanted?  How can I eradicate all doubt about something like that?  To me--praying in faith sounded like it required a super-sized ego, or at the very least a small departure from reality.  But the thing we are praying about is not what we are asked not to doubt. We are asked to pray with faith in Christ and our Father in Heaven.  I can do that.  I can know that they hear me, that they listen and care.  Whether I receive what I am asking for is not what is most important (although it really did seem that way when I was praying about college.)  What is most important is my relationship with my Heavenly Father and my Savior.

Finally, finally, years later another gospel question of mine has been answered.  I finally get it.  I must admit that at times I feel rather slow, but I guess what really matters is that I didn't let my failure to understand stop me from doing the best I could with the knowledge I had.

When There Are Wolves, Stay Close to the Shepard

Alma 5 is a chapter full of Alma' words to the people of Zarahemla.  He has given the job of Chief Judge to another so that he, as High Priest in the church, can have time to travel and preach the word of God.  He is trying to offset the damage done by a man named Nehor, who preached false doctrine and caused many to fall away from the church.

In Alma 5:60, Alma says:

"...if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed."

He, of course, is talking about becoming part of the fold of Jesus Christ and how that protects us from people like Nehor.  If you are listening to Christ's voice, you will not be taken in by other voices that will destroy you spiritually.

It made me think of other things that can be "ravenous wolves" in our lives.  Being a stay-at-home mom I have noticed that I have less outside influences on me than at other times in my life, such as when I was in school or going to work daily.  This particular time in life is kind of nice that way.  And yet, lately I have been feeling the pull of so many different things on my time that I feel as though I may come apart.  I have felt that I don't have time for the little things I love like a big chunk of time to study scriptures, a bedtime book shared with the kids, or a long talk with my husband about an interesting book.  These things may get done some days, but they have felt rushed and so the joy in them is diminished.  I don't want to feel pulled apart.  I am not fighting really bad influences like priestcrafts, but just the pace of my modern life as a mother, wife, daughter, friend, visiting teacher, PTO Treasurer, writer, aunt, sister, Relief Society counselor, and on and on.

It was said to me this week that we can always do more.  That is so true.  People will ask it, I will demand it of myself, and I will never be able to do it all.  There will always be more.  So, I think a re-evaluation is in order.  I think I need to sit quietly and seek to listen to the voice of my Savior who loves me.  I need to seek for guidance on balancing all these good things in life so that they do not become the ravenous wolves that I allow to tear me away from that which truly matters.

I am very grateful for Alma's words this morning.

Yoked

Alma 1:26 says:  "...for the preacher is no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength."

I like that scripture a lot.  It makes me feel like we are all in this together, striving to do our part.

What makes me feel even better is knowing that when we feel like all our striving and pushing and pulling isn't getting it done, we can remember that we can choose to take upon our shoulders a yoke that also rests upon the shoulders of the Savior.  In this we can find rest.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:  and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  Matt. 11:28-30

Kings and Contracts

In Mosiah 29:30 it says:  "ye have no king; that if these people commit sins and iniquities they shall be answered upon their own heads."

It is interesting to me...this answered on whose head business.  Lehi blessed his grandchildren, the sons and daughters of Laman and Lemuel, that their sins would be answered upon the heads of their fathers because he was sure if they were taught correctly that they would follow the commandments.  I'm glad I'm not the one judging everything--that is definitely a job for an omnipotent being.  But I do know that I need to teach my children about the gospel so that I know I have provided them with the tools to make right choices.  I tell them that sometimes when they are looking at me like 'Yeah, Mom, we've heard it before.'  I tell them that teaching them certain things is a requirement for parenting.  It's found in Clause A, paragraph 2 of the contract they made me sign before leaving the hospital with them.

I have referenced the Parenting Contract since Kimball was very little and didn't want his finger nails cut or his hair combed.  At first he believed me.  He thought that I had agreed to a pretty hefty list of stuff before being able to walk out the hospital doors with him.  He and the other kids have since figured out that I'm joking about the contract, but not about what I'm telling them needs doing.  They know that when I bring up the contract, whatever I'm talking about is not on the table for discussion, and they should stop all negotiations for the sake of saving time.

I am grateful that we don't have a king, but freedom does mean that I have a pretty good-sized chunk of responsibility for what goes on in my home.  It weighs heavy at times.  So heavy that sometimes, especially around bedtime, I forget about Section 1, paragraph 1 of my contract:  'I agree to love these children in such a manner as to allow them no doubts in their minds of said love.  I will be the shoulder they can lean on and the touchstone they require no matter how tired or busy I feel.  And, I will honor this most important paragraph as I endeavor to sort out the many additional lines of this imaginary and ever changing contract for as long as I can keep a thought in my head.'  (Did you notice the built in loop-hole?  All contracts have them and, as many of my friends can attest to, sometimes I truly cannot keep a thought in my head.)

I suppose this particular post is an example of the fact that sometimes I get off track as I try to follow the advice to liken the scriptures to my own life.  My apologies.

Reminder to Me

Life this summer has become overwhelmingly busy.  As I watched my gospel study time become diverted away from the actual scriptures into other important, but not vital, things I have felt the loss.  It is amazing to me how reading other gospel centered things for lessons doesn't quite give me the same peace and guidance that reading in the scriptures does.  It seems there really is nothing that can replace in my life the pure and simple pleasure of being able to spend time with the scriptures.  I'm so grateful that I live in this time in history that we each can have the scriptures in our home, at our fingertips, and available to us each and every day!

I'm grateful for the example of Alma the Younger.  As I read of him being High Priest in the church and Chief Judge over the Nephites (Mosiah 29:42), my meager responsibilities don't feel quite so heavy.  Why is it that I so often forget that when I feel that my time is crunched, it is then that it is most vital for me to open my scriptures and read?

Mosiah 29:7

As I thought yesterday about giving my children confidence in themselves a favorite scripture came to mind.  Doctrine and Covenants 121:45-46 says:

"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and 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 they soul as the dews from heaven.  The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever."

I think that scripture is another thing I need to remember when worrying about what is most important for my kids.  And, I need to remember that I'm in good company when I worry.  I noticed recently that King Mosiah worried about whether his son Aaron, who was heir to the throne, had truly had a lasting change of heart.  He worried that someday he might turn back to his wicked ways and demand the throne once again.  Aaron actually became a wonderfully devoted and successful missionary to the Lamanites, but his father still worried a little and it was one reason he gave for establishing judges as rulers of the people of Nephi.  In Mosiah 29:7 he says:

"And now if there should be another appointed in his stead, behold I fear there would rise contentions among you.  And who knoweth but what my son, to whom the kingdom doth belong, should turn to be angry and draw away a part of this people after him, which would cause wars and contentions among you, which would be the cause of shedding much blood and perverting the way of the Lord, yea, and destroy the souls of many people."

As my little niece said yesterday, "Parenting is hard work."  I'm very grateful that I have the scriptures to help me.

Time Out

I found this quote wherein President Hinckley is encouraging us to "constantly nourish the testimony of our people concerning the Savior...[and to instill] a true witness in [each] heart of the living reality of the Lord Jesus Christ, all else will come together as it should." Ensign, August 1997, p.3

Being newly called into the Relief Society presidency, I thought of the sisters of our ward, I thought of my family, and I thought of myself.

I cherish this guidance and hope that I can remember it as I am floundering and fussing over what is to be done when day seems full to bursting with plans and there is not enough time for everything, nor any way to solve all the problems at hand.  I need to remember what is important and choose wisely as to where my time is spent.  I need to remember, and let peace enter my heart knowing that if I am striving to nourish a testimony of the Savior in myself and those around me that "all else will come together as it should."

Sometimes I want proof of that.  I want to call a time out, visit heaven for a bit and look down here with a new perspective.  I want it to be just long enough that I can nod my head, smile, and say, "Yep, some of that stuff just doesn't matter a whole lot."  I want to see exactly what those things are.  Some of the things I used to think were less important matter more than I realized, and yet I wonder if eternally they truly are of less importance.  Like children's activities for example--as a young mom, they were a big deal.  Then, I saw that they weren't that important.  Now, I can see that children gain confidence as they improve themselves...which matters.  But, does that mean that some of my kids that aren't involved in much are missing out on a huge piece of life?  I don't know...I need a time out.