We've been listening to John Bytheway talks when we drive in the car (because Kasen thought the first one was hilarious and keeps asking to play another one) and one of his talks was about 5 scriptures to help you get through almost everything and it got me thinking about what my own five favorite scriptures are and so I wanted to write them down.
1. 1 Nephi 11:17 "I know that he loveth His children, nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." We are meant to have questions, they are good and help us learn. But we don't have to always have all of the answers in order to move forward. We can trust the God loves us and wants what is best for us. We know can know enough to trust God and that He will reveal the answers that we most need.
2. 1 Nephi 21:15-16 (Isaiah 49) "...yet will I not forget thee... I have graven thee on the palms of my hands." Hard things will always be there, but so will Christ. He will NEVER leave us comfortless. He will never forget us. He shed His blood for me in a supreme act of love and will exercise all the love, mercy and grace He has, to bring me back home.
3. 3 Nephi 11:15 "...thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth ONE by ONE until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record." I believe that our Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ love each of us individually, one by one. He hears one by one, loves one by one, he knows one by one. He notices it all. (song by Hilary Weeks) And one day I will feel the prints of the nails in his hands and it is my hope that I will recognize Him and can really know now that He lives just like I will know it then.
4. D&C 122:7 "...all these things shall give thee experience and be for thy good." Bad things will always happen. Whether because of our own choices, the choices of others or things nobody can control, bad things happen. We can choose to ask why OR we can ask what can we learn? We can turn bad things into something good when we try to learn and grow and then offer help and empathy to others along their way.
5. John 16:33 "...in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Because of Him, we can have hope in all things! We aren't supposed to just endure to the end, but endure WELL. Find joy in the journey and prepare for that joy eternally. I believe God wants us to be happy and that His plan is a plan of happiness. Because of Him everything will be okay in the end.
I also just finished reading a book by John Bytheway called 'Golden Answers: Why We Need the Book of Mormon' and 100% recommend it! I even liked it better than 'A Case for The Book of Mormon'
It was perfect timing too because I used a chunk of the No Gap Atonement chapter for most of my talk on Sunday. Kyle and I both got to speak in Sacrament Meeting. My topic was Mosiah 14 Heavenly Father sent Jesus Christ to lead me back to Him.
But Chapter 9 was probably my favorite. Of the 10 references to conversion in the Book of Mormon none of them use the phrase "convert to the church". All of them tell us to be converted unto the LORD. The last example says, "they were converted unto the Lord, and were united unto the church of Christ."
"If the object of our conversion is the Church, then we might be shaken when we find imperfections in the Church, its members, or its policies, because the object of our conversion is on imperfect ground. If our conversion is to the Lord, we will be on solid ground when imperfections of members of the Church are manifest."
Then what is the Church for? Can't kindness and love be my religion? Can't I just be spiritual without being religious, avoiding all the rules and obligations? If we are sincerely interested in finding out more about God and if He knows us and cares about us, we begin to ask deeper questions and see that the Church preaches, teaches and testifies of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to administer ordinances of salvation for all of God's children, create community and opportunities to serve, experience application of divine doctrine, be strengthened, lift one another and also be reproved of error, safeguard and publish God's revelations and prepare for the second coming of Christ. But the object of our conversation should always be to the Lord.
He talked about a book by Steven R. Covey called 6 Events: The Restoration Model for Solving Life's Problems. He said that the very order that the events of the restoration occurred in has a message for our most important priorities. 1. The First Vision answering: "Who is God, and who am I?" 2. The restoration of the gospel through the Book of Mormon: "Whose am I?" 3. The restoration of the Priesthood: "How can I receive Christ?" 4. The restoration of the Church: "Where do I go to receive Christ?" etc...
The Book of Mormon clarifies the 3 pillars of eternity and answers:
-How did we get here? What's going on here? CREATION
-If there really is a God, why is there so much death and sadness? THE FALL
-Is there any hope for life beyond death? THE ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST
The more I study about the Book of Mormon, the more impressed I am by the intricate truths it teaches, how it connects the gospel and God's plan of happiness and can improve lives today. The Book of Mormon teaches how I can and should strive to be converted to the Lord and His harmony of justice and mercy. I am so thankful for every way the truth of this book and the answers it contains have blessed my life!
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