Tag Archives: Trust

Day 41: Silver Linings

Posted in Book of Mormon Insights by

Alma 20:29

In Alma 20:29 we learn of the intense suffering of Ammon’s brother Aaron and some of his mission companions. After trying to teach different communities of Lamanites and being harshly rejected, the group ended up in prison where they experienced “hunger, thirst, and all kinds of afflictions.” “All kinds of afflictions.” We each know what it is like to suffer. Whether disappointment, chronic pain, abuse, uncertainty, fear, afflictions hound our mortal lives.

The circumstances of Aaron’s imprisonment and release put me in mind of a phrase from the Doctrine and Covenants: “all things shall work together for your good” (D&C 90:24). The Lord turned a terrible experience for Aaron and his companions to great good for King Lamoni and his father. Lamoni became an independent ruler and was able to proclaim religious freedom in his land. Aaron and his companions were able to teach King Lamoni’s father, help him repent, and then aid him in establishing Christ’s church among his people. Aaron and his brethren eventually “brought many to the knowledge of the truth” (Alma 21:17). If you look at the sequence of events in Alma 19-20, you can see the Lord’s hand.

I don’t want to minimize anyone’s suffering. But I do want infuse hope into your experience. The Lord promises that if you “[s]earch diligently, pray always, and be believing…[and] walk uprightly and remember” your covenants, “all things shall work together for your good” (D&C 90:24). Remember that the Lord is bound by His promises. When we keep the commandments and fulfill our covenants, the Lord can open the windows of heaven. If we will be “patient in all [our] sufferings” like Aaron and his brethren, we can move forward with our lives, trusting in the Lord to turn even the worst suffering into great good. No experience will be wasted. He is a God of miracles who will transform all suffering, all sorrow, ALL afflictions into something of great worth that will be for your good.

Day 40: Do all things through Christ

Posted in Book of Mormon Insights by

Alma 17

This time I’ve really bitten off more than I can chew. We are mere weeks out from closing on our very first home and in the past five months, I have undertaken and added to a list of increasingly intricate furniture refinishing projects. Now I’m running faster than I have strength, trying to get everything done before it’s time to pack up a truck and go.

It’s like that sometimes in church callings, isn’t it? We feel like we are given more to do than we can possibly accomplish, that we just don’t have enough time, strength, sleep, hands, or love. And the work to do is so much more important than refinishing furniture––it’s helping people cleanse and refine their souls.

The sons of Mosiah understood a little something about taking on Herculean challenges. As they entered Lamanite territory at the outset of their mission, “they separated themselves and departed one from another” (Alma 17:13). Then the Book of Mormon provides a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of the men: “they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken. And assuredly it was great, for they had undertaken to preach the word of God to a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering them” (Alma 17:13-14, emphasis added). Not only did the sons of Mosiah decide to go preach the Gospel in foreign lands, but they chose to teach the mortal enemies of their people; and they decided to split up! They had their work cut out for them as Nephite believers trying to teach the Gospel to wild, hardened, ferocious people who delighted in murdering, robbing, and plundering Nephites. How could the sons of Mosiah possibly accomplish their goal “to bring [the Lamanites] unto repentance…[to] bring them to know of the plan of redemption” (Alma 17:16)?

When the assignment comes from God, there is always a way to accomplish it. The scriptures record that after splitting up, the sons of Mosiah “went forth among [the Lamanites], every man alone, according to the word and power of God which was given unto him” (Alma 17:17, emphasis added). Armed with the word and power of God and a promise from God to their father (Mosiah) that He would protect them, they began their assignment, “trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest” (Alma 17:13). They trusted that God would keep them alive and they had faith that He would help them accomplish the work of saving souls.

When the church assignments begin piling up and we feel like we’re running faster than we have strength, remember the example of the sons of Mosiah. Seek the power of God in your work, trust in Him to give you the added strength you need to accomplish the most important aspects of your calling, have faith that you will accomplish the most vital work. Repeat to yourself as often as necessary, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13, NT).

Day 39: A Personal Ministry

Posted in Book of Mormon Insights by

Alma 17:12-13, 16-18

MTC Nov 6I want to share some of the positive and joyful results of my mission––especially considering that this month I celebrated the tenth anniversary of entering the Missionary Training Center.

In 2007, nearing graduation from Brigham Young University, I listened to Bonnie D. Parkin speak at a regular Tuesday devotional. Her message on finding one’s personal ministry struck, thrilled, and terrified me. “Ministering involves extending charity—that pure love of Christ—to others, one person at a time. By doing so, we offer a kind, generous, peaceful, and pure heart.” I felt her message resonate with my spirit, telling me this was something I needed to do! She continued, “Opportunities to minister may come within the formal stewardship of a calling or assignment, or they may come as we spontaneously extend ourselves to someone in need” (Parkin, “Personal Ministry: Sacred and Precious,” BYU Devotional [Feb 2007]). Spontaneously extend myself to someone in need?! For years I had feared reaching out in this way despite feeling the Spirit nudge me many times to do just that. I needed some courage and confidence in my ability to follow the promptings of the Spirit.

Four sons of Mosiah, filled with the pure love of Christ, left the comfort and safety of their Nephite community along with several other missionaries and traveled into the lands of the Lamanites hoping “that perhaps they might bring them unto repentance; that perhaps they might bring them to know of the plan of redemption” (Alma 17:16). They felt this incredibly strong conviction about Jesus Christ and the need for EVERYONE to know about Him and the Plan of Salvation. So much so that they risked their lives to go on this mission. The group, ministered to by Ammon (Alma 17:18), “took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites…trusting in the Lord (Alma 17:12-13, emphasis added). This is what I lacked!

One of the greatest blessings of my mission was developing the courage to act, the trust in the Lord to move forward with ANY assignment, the gumption to get out of my comfort zone, and the self-confidence to act on the promptings of the Spirit. The Lord provided me experience after experience to teach me these principles and help me develop these characteristics. I felt many times that God designed all these lessons to prepare me for my lifelong personal ministry. I see how He helped me on the path to becoming a reliable and effective instrument in His hands (Alma 17:9). And He taught me what it takes to be an excellent disciple of Christ. I’m not perfect in this by any means but the Lord also taught me how to further improve throughout my life. I wouldn’t trade those lessons for anything.

Day 30: Trusting in the Lord

Posted in Book of Mormon Insights by

Mosiah 21-24

There is so much to admire in Alma the elder who risked his life to try and save Abinadi, then defied King Noah to teach the Gospel, and eventually become a prophet in turn. Mosiah 23-24 present a neat parallel to Mosiah 21-22. These chapters compare how Alma’s people deal with the same challenges as Limhi’s people, both groups having become client kingdoms in servitude to the Lamanites. Where Limhi’s people feared the Lamanites and tried to fight their way out of bondage, Alma’s people replaced their fear of man with trust in the Lord, prayers for help, and patience in His plan.

Nine and a half years ago my mission companions and I created a lesson based on Mosiah 24:13-16. The message really touched our friend (for whom we originally planned the lesson): she identified with Alma’s people in bondage (she was in advanced schooling at the time and studying for a difficult exam), and felt strengthened by their example of faith in God, the promise of eventual deliverance, and the help God provided in the midst of their trial while waiting for the right timing.

What I really want to share, though, is that as our week progressed, we taught this lesson no less than four other times in different appointments. It seemed everyone we met with needed this message that week! I have seen this happen in other settings where multiple people I know are going through the same or similar difficulties at the same time. But I also want to highlight the universality of the challenges explored in Mosiah 21-24. So much of mortality is a fight against bondage. Our spirits are in bondage to sin, our mortal bodies are predisposed to doing things that create additional scenarios of bondage/limitation of freedom. My takeaway from Mosiah 21-24 is that I can either rely on my own strength to free myself (like Limhi’s people), or I can ask God for help and trust in His mercy and timing (like Alma’s people). Both groups were eventually freed but Alma’s group shines in their faith, patience, attitude, and the comparative ease with which they succeeded––all because they trusted in God and waited for Him to work His miracles.

Day 21: A Personal Relationship with God

Posted in Book of Mormon Insights by

Enos 1

The Book of Enos has so much to offer, even in its brevity it is chock full of Gospel insights, not to mention the implicit example of Enos living the Gospel. This time around, I really honed in on Enos’ personal relationship with God, which provides a striking example of the relationship we could each individually foster.

The first part of the Book of Enos records his conversion and calling as a prophet. In this experience Enos prays for his own salvation, the salvation of his people the Nephites, and the salvation of his enemies the Lamanites. It is in the process of seeking for a confirmation from God that He will do everything possible to redeem the Lamanites that we see a pattern for our own relationships with God.

In verse 15 Enos states that he has an initial knowledge on which to act, born of faith in God. He knows that, “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive it in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.” He knows this because the Lord told him directly: “for he had said unto me…” (emphasis added). Enos did NOT write “the Lord said” or “he had said,” but rather “he had said unto me.” And because Enos had this direct knowledge from the Lord––that if he exercised faith in Jesus Christ and believed that he could receive from God what he asked for, then he would get it––he acted on this knowledge to ask for something specific: “I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records” (v. 16). Enos fostered his relationship with God by praying “continually,” he acted on the knowledge he had already received, and he communed with God directly: “and he covenanted with me that he would bring them [the records] forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time” (v. 16).

Enos had developed his knowledge of and relationship with God so thoroughly that his “faith began to be unshaken in the Lord” (v. 11). So much so that by verse 17 Enos KNOWS beyond a shadow of a doubt that God does everything He says He will. “And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant with he had made….” What a powerful testimony from Enos that we can trust in the Lord because He will fulfill all His words and promises. In a way, Enos’ pattern of faith, knowledge, ask for more was a way of “proving” the Lord, or creating the opportunity for Him to demonstrate His existence, power, and integrity.

Following Enos’ example, we, too, can develop unshaken faith in God and have a personal relationship with Him. Like Enos, we can use our faith and knowledge to partner with God in serving His children and helping them gain salvation.

Day 11: In the shadow of His hand

Posted in Book of Mormon Insights by

2 Nephi 8:12-13

Several weeks ago I gave a talk in sacrament meeting in which I told the congregation that my default emotions are fear and anxiety. Ever since I was young I have worried (to an almost debilitating degree) about what people think of me. I fear their judgment, treatment, potential insults, attitude; and then I fear repeated contact. Serving a mission helped me overcome some of this fear but I have found recently that much of my social and interpersonal fears still prevent me from sharing the Gospel the way I should. Fear is a problem for me. This is probably one of my crosses to bear in mortality but many of us wrestle with fear, whatever form it takes on an individual level.

Which is why I find Jacob’s quotation from Isaiah so poignant! The Lord questions, “who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of man, who shall die” (v. 12)? I perked up when I read this. Isn’t God always reminding us in the scriptures that man is nothing (see Moses 1:10)? Why should I fear man who will die considering that God is eternal? And He further reminds us that “the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, He is “the Lord thy God, whose waves roared” (v. 13, 15). God is all powerful, He created the Earth and all humankind. He is the only being in the universe we should fear. But this fear that He asks of us is respect and obedience. Even though He could reach out and destroy anything He wanted, instead God has “covered thee in the shadow of [His] hand” (v. 16). God wants to protect, preserve, and bless us. He is merciful and kind. Like the Psalmist, we can say with absolute confidence, “The Lord is on my side” (Psalm 118:6).

 

Day 7: Patience and Timing

Posted in Book of Mormon Insights by

1 Nephi 18:8-23

Nephi, ever stalwart, records in 1 Nephi 18:23 that “after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the promised land.” The preceding verses tell of the family’s embarkation and the beginning of their journey to the promised land. The Liahona shows Nephi where to steer, they have plenty of provisions, and everything is going well, fair weather and all. But then Laman and Lemuel stir things up, eventually getting mad enough at Nephi that they tie him up. Bad weather engulfs the ship and the Liahona stops working. After four days of tempest tossed seas, Laman and Lemuel finally release Nephi.

In the midst of this family drama at sea, and even while tied up in a lot of pain, Nephi maintains his faith and trust in God: “I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions” (v. 16). I remember years ago when God made me a promise at the outset of my mission that everything in my life would work out afterwards. Everything working out was my promised land. And even though I could literally count the days until then, I couldn’t have fathomed what lay between the delivery of the promise and its fulfillment. I in no way anticipated the challenges of those months, thinking and then wishing that I had already finished and reached my promised land.

Nephi’s perspective is so much healthier (temporally and spiritually) than mine was. Where I felt a tremendous amount of bitterness and impatience, Nephi felt gratitude and trust. Where I asked “why me?”, Nephi prayed for his oppressors and for the power of God to be made manifest. It will always be true that when the Lord makes a promise, He will fulfill it in His time. It is up to us to live worthy of the fulfillment no matter what challenges or length of time lies between.