3 Nephi 18

In 3 Nephi 18, Christ has stayed to teach the Nephites because he had compassion on them.  He has just taught them about the sacrament. (By the way, 3 Nephi 18 is a great chapter to read if you are having trouble concentrating while taking the sacrament at church.)  But today I want to focus on something else that Christ says in verses 24 and 25 which read::

"Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world.  Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up--that which ye have seen me do.  Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed.  And ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever breaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation."

I like that so very much.  We are told so often to do missionary work, to let our light shine.  I love that this verse says that the light we hold up is Christ's light.  I guess that should be obvious, but I forget.  And so, I feel inadequate to share the gospel.  After all, I'm not perfect.  Why should anyone listen to me?

I love how Christ says we should do what we have seen him do and then goes on to explain what he means.  I have often been frustrated by the thought that we should do what Jesus would do.  How on earth can I do that? I think to myself.  I am neither that wise nor that powerful.  But I can do as Jesus says here.  I can pray to my Heavenly Father as he has taught.  I can include.  I can follow his example.

3 Nephi 17

I love these few verses in 3 Nephi 17.  As Jesus prepares to leave the Nephites, verses 2-4 demonstrates how much Jesus is guided by his Father.  It is a reminder of why Jesus does all that he does.  It is because he loves his Father.

"I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time.  Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again.  But now I go unto the Father, and also to show myself unto the lost tribes of Israel, for they are not lost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath taken them."

He also loves us.  3 Nephi 5-8 reads:

"And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them.  Have ye any that are sick among you?  Bring them hither.  Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner?  Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.  For I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you." 

He wants to heal us, those who live in 2013, as well.  We too need to look to him and demonstrate faith and we can be healed of those things which ail us.  The dictionary definition of "ail" is this:  to cause pain, uneasiness, or trouble to.  It covers quite a lot I think.  What burdens are we bearing that we could take to him and find relief?

Ask

Most children ask for what they need and then some.  It has been interesting to me, as I have worked with a couple of my kids, to learn that some children need to be taught to ask.  It is not in their nature to ask for help.  It is not a given that they look inside themselves when they are uncomfortable and find out what they need, and then turn around and seek for someone that can provide for their need.  I remember one day when we were on vacation in Utah touring the Conference Center Isaac was very upset.  Crying, throwing himself on the floor, miserable.  When we finally stopped for lunch, Isaac ordered juice and water with his lunch.  As soon as it arrived he grabbed both drinks, stuffed the two straws in his mouth and drained the cups in record time.  The reason for the mornings suffering became clear.  He had been thirsty.  He never asked for a drink.  In fact, when the other kids stopped at water fountains, he cried and refused the water, perhaps it was simply because he wasn't used to water fountains.  Who knows, but my point is this:  Judging from some of the things the scriptures say, I think at times Heavenly Father sees us, His children, doing this same thing.  I think he sometimes marvels at our unwillingness to ask.  In 3 Nephi 16:4 Jesus says:

"...my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen me and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost..."

The people at Jerusalem were told that Jesus had other sheep, but they didn't think to ask for understanding, or clarification of his words.  I believe it says they assumed Jesus meant the Gentiles.  I'm sure there are many instances in my own life when Heavenly Father was just waiting for me to ask so he could help me to understand.

Matthew 7:7-8 says:

"Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; For every one  that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

We have to be taught to ask.  It goes along with learning faith.  We ask.  We receive.  We learn to trust Heavenly Father.  But if we never ask...we will continue to thirst.

Light

I have been gaining a lot of understanding through studying the words of modern church leaders this past month.  Maybe that is why reading these verses made me pause and take a moment to remember that General Conference is coming up.

Christ is speaking to the Nephites in 3 Nephi 15:10-12 when he says:

"Behold, I have given unto you the commandments; therefore keep my commandments...And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he said unto those twelve whom he had chosen.  Ye are my disciples; and ye are a light unto this people..."

I'm very thankful for my testimony that Heavenly Father has given us apostles and a living prophet today.  I'm grateful for all those who serve in leadership of this church--Christ's church in the Latter-Days.  And so I ask myself:  Am I grateful enough to listen when they speak?  Do I take the time to receive the light?

Really Believe

3 Nephi 14:21 says:

"Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven." (emphasis added)

 This scripture reminds me of the reason I enjoy sign language so much.  This scripture reminds me of the sign for "believe."  In order to say "believe" in sign language you touch your index finger to your forehead and then bring that hand down to clasp your other hand in front of you.  I remember it easily because to me the sign says more than the spoken word.  To me is says belief starts in your mind but needs to continue to your hands, or in other words, your actions to really make a difference.

Questions Are Marvelous Things Part 2

As I prepared for my Relief Society lesson last week, I was searching for a quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell and stumbled on a very fun part of the lds.org website.  You can bookmark talks and article as well as highlight quotes and keep them by signing in with your regular password.  There is room for comments and journal entries too.  So fun!  I'm sure you can do the same for the scriptures too. I just haven't tried it yet.

Anyway, I found a quote that I really liked because it went along with what I was saying about questioning being a good, maybe even necessary, way to learn the gospel.  Elder Maxwell said:

"Puzzlement, for instance, is often the knob on the door of insight. The knob must be firmly grasped and deliberately turned with faith."  (Endure It Well, General Conference April 1990)

 Of course Elder Maxwell said it better and more succinctly than I did.  I love his use of the word "puzzlement" because it suggests the moving around of pieces of knowledge until you see the bigger picture.  And it is true that faith must be demonstrated.  Without it some of the questions we have that are not answered right away can become the things that drive us away from our Father in Heaven.

Amazing

3 Nephi 13:7-8 says:

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.  Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him."

I have thought a lot about this counsel as I have taught my children to pray.  When my oldest son first began to talk, I helped him say his prayers. They were simple.  They had to be because he could not say a great many things, but without me realizing it, his vocabulary grew while the prayers stayed simple.  Then, one day I realized he said the same thing every night.  I was appalled that I had unwittingly taught him to pray from his memory instead of from his heart.  I have taught many a Family Home Evening lesson on prayer to try to help my children learn what prayer is actually for, but every once in a while I realize that one of them, or even I myself, has gotten into a rut.  The funny thing is that it usually starts out very meaningful, like when the Stake Presidency asked all the primary children to pray for the Ft. Collins temple.  The kids remembered more than I did to pray for that.  I'm not sure when a prayer that is repeated often becomes just words, with little thought behind it, but it seems to happen unless we are really paying attention.

Prayer is a direct line to our Father in Heaven.  It is a truly amazing thing that a being of such great power really cares about all of our little bumps and bruises, about all our hopes and dreams, and takes the time to answer all of our questions if we will take the time to ask and listen.  When we pray we have Heavenly Father's undivided attention (so to speak), but do we give him ours?  I must admit at times I'm thinking about the family schedule, or the fact that I'm tired and cant' wait to get into bed, while I offer up a distracted prayer.  Or perhaps worse, I poor out my heart with questions, or plead for help with a specific things and then get up and wander away shaking my head with thoughts of how hard life can be.  I didn't even give Him a chance to answer me!

It reminds me of a friend I had in high school.  She would often ask me questions and then forget to listen for an answer.  It floored me when she would do this and this practice quickly got a prominent place on my Pet Peeve's List.  It saddens me to think of how often I have done that to my Heavenly Father.  I'm grateful He is such a loving, forgiving, and patient being.

One day, as a frazzled mother of young children who was trying to do everything right, I counted up the number of prayers we are counseled to have on any given day and realized that it as at least seven.  (Morning and night personal and family prayer = 4 plus 3 mealtime prayers...I'm not even going to mention that 'have a prayer always in your heart' counsel)  It seemed an impossible number to me.  I still don't know how often I actually reach that number, but I know that I am grateful for the reminders to reach out to a Father who loves me and is willing and able to help with whatever I have to say as long as it comes from my heart.