Love of God

When I came to the 12th verse of Mormon chapter 3 in my reading, I was in awe at Mormon's love and I knew that this was the kind of love that I wanted to have for the people of Brazil as I serve my mission. I was amazed that he would support them in battle, giving his life for them, knowing that it would be in vain because of their wickedness. I feel like that is exactly the attribute that a missionary should have. Investigators won't always keep commitments and they may be set in their ways, but a Christ-like missionary would love them regardless, and show that love through their kindness, service, and understanding. A Christ-like missionary would pour out his heart in prayer unto God "all the day long for them". This requires a self-less heart. A mission is not about how many baptisms one gets or about how a missionary grows although those are benefits, it is about the people. A mission is about how the people change because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is about how the spirit works in their hearts to make them a better and a happier people. It is about bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. I am so excited to serve a mission! I am so grateful for this opportunity to share with others something that is so important to me and has changed my life for the better and for good.

For a Small Moment

"For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer."

It's easy to feel pain and anger towards God when things don't go the way that we want them to. I wish I could say otherwise, but when my dear friend Madie died in a car accident four months ago tomorrow, the initial impact of pain and confusion carried with it a piece of anger and resentment to my Heavenly Father for taking her away from her family and friends that love her so much. Although God never truly leaves us alone (we can always reach out to Him in prayer and He is always aware of our needs) there are times when He chooses not to take away our pain. He is all powerful. He could have brought Madie back or taken the emptiness in our hearts away, but He chose not to because He knew that it would work out for our good. Sometimes God doesn't intervene because we need the opportunity to grow. I know from my own experience of this trial; however, that He never leaves us comfortless. When a friend paused in the hallway to give me a hug and ask me how I was doing, I knew that Heavenly Father was working through others to help me feel love and peace. When my Family Home Evening father brought me a thoughtful treat and expressed his love and concern, I knew that I didn't have to go through it alone. That is what the first sentence means to me.

The second is a little different. When we sin, consequences follow and our Heavenly Father is not able to give us the blessings He wants to and remain a just God. He must hide His face from us for a small moment because God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. But when we come to Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, He will have mercy on us. When we repent, He will return to us everlasting kindness and we will be blessed for our faith in His son and the power of His Atonement.

All we have to offer

In 3 Nephi 18 of the Book of Mormon, Christ gives the sacrament to the people. He commanded them that they should "bring forth some bread and wine unto him" (verse 1). In my Book of Mormon class this past week, we discussed the irony of this situation. Christ could have easily made the bread appear on His own. Instead, he had the Nephites go and get of the bread they had. Most likely this bread was of much poorer value than the bread that Christ could have given them. In fact, in chapter 20 of 3 Nephi, Christ does just this. Verses 6 and 7 read, "Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude; But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink". If Christ didn't need the Nephites to get the bread then why did he? I think it is because, like all things in life we learn better by doing. Christ asked something of the people. They followed through. I believe that obedience to this one request would have helped them to gain a testimony of the promises associated with being obedient: happiness, safety, peace, power, blessings, and the ability to become like our Savior by submitting our will to His. Living the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about doing. We cannot progress without doing the will of the Father and sacrificing our own desires for something of eternal reward. Heavenly Father knows this which is part of why he asks us to fast, to pay our tithing, to serve others, to attend a 3 hour long church, to pray, and to read our scriptures. Heavenly Father doesn't benefit personally from any of these sacrifices we make. They are for us. They help us to grow and to ultimately become like Him.