The Pleasing Word of God

"...they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul." (Jacob 2:8)

This is basically a general conference of sorts. Jacob (the spiritual leader or Prophet at this time) is coming to speak to the people, and he is constrained to speak concerning their sins. He describes, however, how people who are living the gospel generally would feel about hearing the words of the prophet. I liken this to the present day, in the days and weeks leading up to general conference, or new Ensign magazine issues. Or even stake conference, or regular sunday meetings, hearing from our spiritual leaders, whether it be prophets and apostles, or stake or ward leaders.

Do I come with the expectation of hearing what I would think of as the "pleasing word of God"? Everyone I know has a wounded soul to some degree. Frustrations about life, frustrations with temptations and sins that easily beset them. Hurt that is felt when others treat them poorly or even when people they care about make bad decisions for themselves. The fact that Christ and His atonement can heal all of that brings hope, and "healeth the wounded soul".

Do I take the time to consider and anticipate the impact of the words from the prophet? I don't know if I do as much as I could. This is somethig I do feel inside, as I approach general conferences and things, but I certainly don't get as much out of it as I could.

After all, my soul gets wounded and could use healing too.

Laboring With Might

"And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day." (Jacob 1:19)

So Jacob and those who labored with him worked hard to teach and share the Gospel. They felt the responsibility for peoples' souls upon thier shoulders. I sometimes feel as though I am nowhere near this level of faith and dedication. I'm not the best home teacher, nor have I been the best at many callings that I have held. I don't know if I could say that I have "labored with [my] might" at very many things.

I remember my mission president, President Ostler, asking that all the missionaries in our mission memorize this verse on my mission. I think he was trying to help us understand the gravity of what we were doing. People need to hear the Gospel. We were in a position to teach them the Gospel. Obviously, we were not responsible for the sins of everyone in the Canada Calgary Mission, but if there was someone there in our area who was prepared to hear the Gospel, or who could have had a seed of testimony planted in their hearts, but did not due to our lack of diligence, we would be held responsible.

This continues to apply, within my circle of influence, whether it be in my callings at church, my home teaching families, my own family, or even people I work with. If I do not do my part to be a good example, and share the message of the Gospel whenever I possibly can, then I absolutely could be held responsible in the same way that Jacob describes.

It is important to labor with my might. I definitely need to do better at this.

The Words of Christ

"10 And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

11 And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye--for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness." (2 Nephi 33:10-11)

I used to share this passage of scripture on my mission. This is the last little bit that Nephi is writing. He has seen the future, and he knows what will happen to the Book of Mormon and his people. 

One thing I love about this is his surety. He is absolutely certain that the words that he has written are the words of Christ. I too, am absolutely certain of that fact. I have prayed and know that they are His words. I love that he gives you a way to evaluate the words too. The words of Christ teach all men to do good. He also acknowledges that some might not believe, but he mentions that we will meet Nephi at the last day, and we will know that he really did write the words of Christ.

The reason I used to share this on my mission was focused on that last bit, that we will meet Nephi at the last day. I can't imagine my horror (or at least the awkwardness) standing face to face and trying to explain things like why I didn't share the Book of Mormon with my friends more. Or why I didn't read as often as I should. And while I think that shouldn't be our only motivation to read and share the scriptures, I imagine that adding this concept could help me do better. And that is really the point of this blog: to try to make myself be better.

Thanks goes also to Nephi, for all of the courage when facing large obstacles, because now we have his and others' inspiring writings to uplift us and teach and guide us.

Thanks also goes to God, without whom we would be lost forever.

I know the Book of Mormon is true. Absolutely.

Pray Always

"But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul." (2 Nephi 32:9)

I think this is pretty self-explanatory. Pray about everything. Make God your partner in everything you do. One thing I'd like to point out, though, is that Nephi is wrapping up what he is writing, he knows his words are coming to a close. So he is picking the things at this point that he feels are the most beneficial things to remind people about. The fact that prayer makes this list shows it's importance. Also, notice that Nephi doesn't say "Pray at least twice a day". No, he says "Pray always". He says not to perform anything is though praying to consecrate your performance of that thing.

I like to think of it, as I mentioned, as a full partnership with God. The thing is, He's always going to hold up his end perfectly. He's going to help us make great decisions. I imagine a scenario where you take time to pray about every little thing that you have to do. That alone would all but eliminate sin in our lives.

Pray always. Always pray. Just do it.

The Doctrine of Christ

"...I must speak concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore, I shall speak unto you plainly, according to the plainness of my prophesying.

"For my soul delighteth in plainness;" (2 Nephi 31: 2-3

Nephi tells us that he is going to explain the Doctrine of Christ plainly, and he does a great job of it. I think it's interesting that he has to distinguish what he is doing from potentially the way other people might teach. I think sometimes when people teach in cryptic messages, or different languages or whatever, it makes it more difficult to understand, not easier. I don't believe that God wants to make it difficult to understand His gospel.

So what is the Doctrine of Christ? What do we have to do?

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel." (2 Nephi 31: 13)

I think what Nephi is trying to say here is that just going through the motions of getting baptized and all that stuff isn't going to cut it. He says, "...follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception...". To me, there is no room here to misinterpret what Nephi is saying. He means to really do it for a real reason, not just to to through the motions or to satisfy another person's whim. It is for you to do completely.

Nephi goes on to talk about how baptism is the gate that leads to eternal life, but he asks a very good question:

"And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save." (2 Nephi 31:19)

So what do we need to continue doing, since all is not done?

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

"And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ" (2 Nephi 31:20-21)

None other way nor name...

There is no possible way to be saved in the kingdom of God, other than to follow God's plan. It is really the only way, and we need to do it with full purpose of heart, and with real intent. This is the only way. This is why it is Christ's Doctrine--the word must get out. We live it and we teach it and share it with others.

Who Will Be Saved?

"For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel." (2 Nephi 30:2)

I believe this is God's way of saying that one group is no more special than another. The Jews at the time were His covenant people, and yet what He is saying here is that they will no more likely be saved than the Gentiles, or those who weren't Jews, unless they do what they individually need to do to be saved.

The same thing sometimes happens now. The Lord's covenant people, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, are no more likely to be saved than those who are not members of the Church. It is all based on personal righteousness. I like that the focus here is not on "not sinning", but rather on repenting and having faith in Christ. I love this because we all make mistakes, and the Lord has provided a way through the atonement to repent for our sins and mistakes.

It's just important to remember that being part of the "right" group doesn't automatically get us where we need to go. The Church helps us to get there, but it all comes down to our own individual choices in the long run. We even need the Church and the Priesthood to make sacred covenants, but it is still 100% up to us to keep those covenants.

I'm grateful for the opportunities I have to repent, because I mess up a lot. I hope to do better than I have done. I do have faith, and I know what is expected of me. So I need to work hard each day to meet those expectations, repenting along the way when I fall short.

I love the Savior and I'm so grateful for His atonement. I need it every day.