Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Opposition 1 Nephi 18:17

An image of a row of footprints in the snow, combined with a quote by Elder Carlos A. Godoy: “The best paths … are rarely the easiest.”

1 Nephi 18:17

Opposition

What
 17 Now my father, Lehi, had said many things unto them, and also unto the sons of aIshmael; but, behold, they did breathe out much threatenings against anyone that should speak for me; and my parents being bstricken in years, and having csuffered much grief because of their dchildren, they were brought down, yea, even upon their sick-beds.

Why
Wicked children break the hearts of their righteous parents. This kind of grief and worry and stress effects people physically as well. Lehi tried to persuade them and defend Nephi but he was threatened by Laman and Lemuel.

Pattern
They had rebelled before.--Suffering is part of life.

1 Nephi 7:4-7
6  And it came to pass that as we journeyed in the wilderness, behold Laman and Lemuel, and two of the daughters of Ishmael, and the two sons of Ishmael and their families, did rebel against us; yea, against me, Nephi, and Sam, and their father, Ishmael, and his wife, and his three other daughters.
7  And it came to pass in the which rebellion, they were desirous to return unto the land of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah Chapter 9
Jeremiah sorrows greatly because of the sins of the people—They will be scattered among the nations and punished.
 1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of atears, that I might bweep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

Romans 8:  16 The Spirit itself beareth awitness with our bspirit, that we are the cchildren of God:
 17 And if children, then heirs; aheirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we bsuffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
 18 For I reckon that the asufferings of this present time arenot worthy to be compared with the bglory which shall be revealed cin us.

Christ
Luke 24: 45 Then opened he their aunderstanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus itabehoved Christ to suffer, and to brise from the dead the third day:

1 Peter 4:1

1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

Luke 24:26

    26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
    46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
  • Hebrews 11:
 24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the ason of Pharaoh’s daughter;
 25 Choosing rather to asuffer affliction with the bpeople of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
 26 Esteeming the areproach of Christ greater briches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Genesis 3:17

    17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
    23 And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying—Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.

Moses 5:27

27 And Adam and his wife mourned before the Lord, because of Cain and his brethren.

D&C 122: 7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the apit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the bdeep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to chedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of dhell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee eexperience, and shall be for thy good.

Conference
4/2016 Oaks
Opposition In All Things
[note, it is hard to choose just parts of this talk. You might read the w hole thing but here are some of the choice quotes]

The purpose of mortal life for the children of God is to provide the experiences needed “to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.”1 As President Thomas S. Monson taught us so powerfully this morning, we progress by making choices, by which we are tested to show that we will keep God’s commandments (see Abraham 3:25). To be tested, we must have the agency to choose between alternatives. To provide alternatives on which to exercise our agency, we must have opposition....
The rest of the plan is also essential. When we make wrong choices—as we inevitably will—we are soiled by sin and must be cleansed to proceed toward our eternal destiny. The Father’s plan provides the way to do this, the way to satisfy the eternal demands of justice: a Savior pays the price to redeem us from our sins. That Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God the Eternal Father, whose atoning sacrifice—whose suffering—pays the price for our sins if we will repent of them.
One of the best explanations of the planned role of opposition is in the Book of Mormon, in Lehi’s teachings to his son Jacob....
It must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, … righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad” (2 Nephi 2:11; see also verse 15)....
As a result, Lehi continued, “the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other” (verse 16). Similarly, in modern revelation the Lord declares, “It must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves” (D&C 29:39).
...Years later, Joseph was painfully imprisoned in Liberty Jail for many months. When he prayed for relief, the Lord told him that “all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7).
We are all acquainted with other kinds of mortal opposition not caused by our personal sins, including illness, disability, and death. President Thomas S. Monson explained:
Some of you may at times have cried out in your suffering, wondering why our Heavenly Father would allow you to go through whatever trials you are facing. …
Our mortal life, however, was never meant to be easy or consistently pleasant. Our Heavenly Father … knows that we learn and grow and become refined through hard challenges, heartbreaking sorrows, and difficult choices. Each one of us experiences dark days when our loved ones pass away, painful times when our health is lost, feelings of being forsaken when those we love seem to have abandoned us. These and other trials present us with the real test of our ability to endure.”4
...Through all mortal opposition, we have God’s assurance that He will “consecrate [our] afflictions for [our] gain” (2 Nephi 2:2). We have also been taught to understand our mortal experiences and His commandments in the context of His great plan of salvation, which tells us the purpose of life and gives us the assurance of a Savior, in whose name I testify of the truth of these things. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Apply

"2 Timothy 2:1212 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:”

Opposition and suffering are a part of life. It is an essential part of the plan so we may have agency to choose. This suffering can help us to understand the suffering that Jesus suffered for us in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross.

Job. 27: 5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will notaremove mine bintegrity from me.


None of us are exempt from suffering. Christ's apostles counted it a privilege to suffer for His cause.
Hymns\

255-Carry On
Alma 57-27 Now this was the afaith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are bfirm, and they do put their trust in God continually.

122 Thou Deepening Trials
D&;C 58:2-4Through all mortal opposition, we have God’s assurance that He will “consecrate [our] afflictions for [our] gain” (2 Nephi 2:2). We have also been taught to understand our mortal experiences and His commandments in the context of His great plan of salvation, which tells us the purpose of life and gives us the assurance of a Savior, in whose name I testify of the truth of these things. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

127-Does The Journey Seem Long?
Alma 36:3  3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their atrust in God shall be supported in their btrials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be clifted up at the last day.


Children
164- I will Follow God's Plan


Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Praise-No whining 1 Nephi 18:16

1 Nephi 18:16
Praise and no whining
What
16 Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did apraise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions.

[Even though he was bound and his wrists and ankles were swollen and there was a tempest going on he never lost faith.]

Why
Nephi praised God because he could see the bigger picture and he could see the hand of the Lord in all things. He trusted God and knew that His purposes would be fulfilled.

Pattern

Job Chapter 5

Eliphaz counsels Job: Man is born unto trouble, seek unto God, and happy is the man whom God corrects.
 7 Yet man is born unto atrouble, as the sparks fly upward.

 17 Behold, ahappy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the bchastening of the Almighty:
 18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: heawoundeth, and his hands make whole.

Chapter 13

Job testifies of his confidence in the Lord and says, Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him, and He also will be my salvation.
Chapter 19
 25 For I a know that my b redeemer liveth, and that ch eshall d stand at the latter day upon the earth:
 26 And though after my skin worms destroy thisa body, yet in my bf lesh shall I csee God:


Christ
Even with all of Jesus' trials and being nailed on a cross,He understood and forgave.

Luke 23:34

34 ¶Then said Jesus, Fatherforgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.


Conference
1992- President Monson
An Attitude of Gratitude
Like the leprosy of yesteryear are the plagues of today. They linger; they debilitate; they destroy. They are to be found everywhere. Their pervasiveness knows no boundaries. We know them as selfishness, greed, indulgence, cruelty, and crime, to identify but a few. Surfeited with their poison, we tend to criticize, to complain, to blame, and, slowly but surely, to abandon the positives and adopt the negatives of life.
A popular refrain from the 1940s captured the thought:
Accentuate the positive;
Eliminate the negative.
Latch on to the affirmative;
Don’t mess with Mr. In-between.1
Good advice then. Good advice now.
This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.
We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues.
A favorite hymn always lifts our spirits, kindles our faith, and inspires our thoughts:
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. …
So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
Well could we reflect upon our lives as individuals. We will soon discover much to prompt our personal gratitude.



Apply
It would be extremely difficult to see the good when you are bound to a post by your oppressors and a storm looms above to destroy everyone in your realm. Nephi set the example as he said that he did not murmur.

Jesus did not murmur even on the cross in great pain.

How can we keep a positive attitude and praise God when we are going through overwhelming trials?
There is something about gratitude and positive thinking that brings power to us in hard times. They give us courage and faith. Always express gratitude to God and to others for the good they do. Think about the positive things you can say and do for others. In doing those things we will feel peace and joy.

The gardener has planted and weeded and watered and fed and hoed. He or she has worked and sweat and then they pick and prepare more and finally enjoy the fruits of their labors.

When we plant a seed, we always have a vision in mind of what it may become. We realize that that tiny little seed can become a carrot or a head of cabbage. It is the final reward that we are seeking but as we work we grow. Our muscles grow or ache depending on the circumstances. We breath fresh air and get the exercise we need. In the end, we enjoy the goodness of the food we produce.

Life is like canning fruits and vegetables from our gardens to store for the winter. It is a lot of hard work money to be spent up front but when we are aching and exhausted we can look at the results of our labors and know that we can make it though the “winter” or the sparse times. The future is brighter because we have prepared.

If we hold to the rod and keep our eye on the tree then we can partake of the delicious, sweet celestial fruit and find eternal happiness. It is that positive attitude and gratitude that will see us there.

Hymns
241-Count Your Blessings

D& C 78:
 17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are alittle children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
 18 And ye cannot abear all things now; nevertheless, be of good bcheer, for I will clead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the drichesof eeternity are yours.
 19 And he who receiveth all things with athankfulnessshall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an bhundred fold, yea, more.

242-Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

Children
10-Thank thee For Everything