Day 103: January 31, 2012

Jacob 3

Verse 1:

I love this verse. Look unto God with firmness of mind, pray with exceeding faith and he will console you in your afflictions and send justice on those who “destroy” you. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers. He does offer solace when I am in afflictions. I know that sometimes his answers are not what I think I want or need, but he knows what is best and is willing to do what he can so that I can be happy and return to his presence again someday.

Verse 2

Lift up you head and receive the word of God and feast up on it. IT is the word of God that will lead me to the tree of life. It is the word of God that will lead me to true and everlasting happiness. I know that through the voices of the scriptures and the living prophets and apostles, I can find the path that leads to my heavenly home above and I want that more than anything else.

Day 102: January 27, 2012

Jacob 2

Jacob has such a tough job from the Lord to call his people to repentance. You can tell my his words that he would rather not speak to the people about these things, especially infront of those who are innocent, but he is commanded of the Lord and must be obedient. He tells the people that they need to remember that all that they have comes from the Lord. Many people have become prideful in themselves and have tried to put themselves above others. Jacob reminds them that they are less than the dust without the Lord. After reminding the people to beware of pride, he then has to remind them of the importance of Chastity. They are starting to desire many wives and concubines and the Lord tells them that they are not to do so at this time. Jacob declares that the Lord delights in the chastity of his daughters and he weeps when they weep. Being chaste is so important. While it was hard for Jacob to declare these words, I am grateful that he did. They are important for me to hear and remember. I am grateful for the scriptures and for the words of God.

Day 102: January 26, 2012

Jacob 1

Verse 7

Jacob and his people labored diligently to invite others to come unto Christ. I need to be more diligent in my missionary efforts. I have been blessed with so much knowledge and goodness that I know I need to open my mouth more and share my testimony more. It is kind of hard because the people I associate with all day are members, at school and at work, but I can share with them my testimony and prepare for opportunities that may come because of that.

Verse 19

Jacob and Joseph magnified their callings knowing that if they neglected to teach the people properly the sin would be on their head. I need to be more diligent in my callings. I have not been too excited about my current calling, but it what they asked me to do at this time so I need to be more willing to do so. Also I need to get out of my shell and go visit teach the girls on my route. I don’t know why this is so hard for me. I know it’s important. I just have a hard time getting out there. We have just made a big change in our ward by splitting the Relief Society into two, so I am sure my route will change, but as soon as I know who I do visit I will make an honest effort to go visit them.

Day 101: January 24, 2012

2 Nephi 33

Verse 3

I love Nephi’s faith. He knows as he cries unto the Lord that the Lord hears his prayers. I sometimes get too caught up in praying just to pray that I forget that Heavenly Father is actually listening to them. This is something I want to improve on. I want my communication with Heavenly Father to be more sincere and meaningful and not just something I do to check it off my list. I want to be more like Nephi.

Day 100: January 23, 2012

2 Nephi 32

Verse 4

If you do not understand these words it is because you didn’t ask and you didn’t knock. The words of the scriptures are plain and clear, but you must ask and truly search them to know what they mean and how they can apply to your life. It is more than just simply reading the words. Yesterday at church someone said that you cannot simply read the words in the Book of Mormon. You must also apply what you read to your life. It is then that you can come to a true understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the truthfulness of the word of God.

Verses 8-9

Nephi’s people struggled to understand what he was teaching them. He became sad because they will not take the time to pray as they should be doing. The spirit teaches a man to pray to understand the things of God. Evil spirits teach a man not to pray. Which spirit am I following? I need to make prayer a more central part of my life. I know that when I am praying more sincerely I feel the spirit more in my life and it is easier to make the choices that are the better and best. We are instructed to pray always. I should always be in conversation with my Heavenly Father. I may not be able to verbalize a prayer always, but I can open my heart and pray there. I need to do this better. We are promised that if we pray always we will not faint and that the Lord will consecrate our performance which will be for the welfare of our souls

Day 99: January 22, 2012

2 Nephi 31

Verse 3

Nephi talks about how he delights in plainness. The gospel of Jesus Christ is taught to us in plain and simple yet precious terms. The scripture says that Heavenly Father teaches his children in their language and according to their understanding. The Spirit is the perfect teacher. Each one of us feels the Spirit in a little different way and in ways that well help us individually to grow and understand the will of Heavenly Father. The way the Church is organized indicates to me the truth of this principle. Each organization in the Church is setup and taught according to the needs of those in those groups. Primary children learn things at a level that is good for their growing minds. Young Men and Young Women learn the same truths but at a level that will aid them as they mature into adulthood. The Relief Society is taught in a way that is helpful to the women of the Church and meets the needs of mothers and future mothers. And yet again the Priesthood is taught in a way that would prepare men to be Fathers and to lead the church. What a blessing! Heavenly Father has a perfect plan for each one of us and he makes sure that we can each receive it in a way that will best inspire us to change and to grow!

Verse 5

If the Son of God, who is perfect, had a need to be baptized how much more need do we have to be baptized. This verse is very special to me. When I was serving in Grand Prairie Texas we were teaching a man named Elias Diaz. He was an awesome man and we had tons of fun meeting with him. We could only go into his house if his girls were home or if we had a brother from the Ward go with us. If this wasn’t possible we would just meet with him at the back door for a few minutes giving him a new reading assignment. We had talked to him about being baptized in the past and he just didn’t feel like he needed to or that he wasn’t ready. One day I had studied this verse in my personal studies and felt that it was a section that needed to be an assignment for Elias. So we meet with him at the back door just prior to going home for the night. We left this verse with him and I told him I was going to call him before I went to bed that night to see how it went and how he felt about it. So we left, went and did our planning meeting and prepared for bed. Just before going to bed I called Elias and asked him about this verse. He said he understood what it meant and that he needed to be baptized. It was so amazing! He finally understood that it was something that each one of us needs, even our Savior. We helped prepare him for baptism and he was baptized. It was a great experience for me.

Verse 10:

Can we follow Jesus if we don’t keep Heavenly Father’s commandments? The Savior lived a perfect life. If we truly want to follow him that we need to strive daily to live the gospel and keep the commandments of God. And if we mess up, which we will do, we have the opportunity to repent. What a blessing.

Verse 20:

“Wherefore, we 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.” What a powerful verse. I love these words. They show us what we need to do to return to our Father’s presence. I want to look up some of these words and change the verse just a little bit with other words that mean the same thing, just as another way to read the verse.

“Wherefore, we must [bear down, pushing with force] forward with a [constant, dedicated, allegiance] in Christ, having a [complete] [clarity] of [confidence] and a[n] [adoration] of God and all men. Wherefore, if we [bear down going] forward, [indulging] upon the word of Christ and [abide and brave] to the end, behold thus saith the Father: Ye shall [be exalted on high]. “

Verse 21:

The Savior and his gospel and atonement are the only way that we can live with our Heavenly Father again. Without this gift we would be stuck, with no hope for progression. We could never see our Father again. We could never live together with our Families forever. That would be tragic. But with the Savior all this is possible. With the Savior as our partner we can be perfected and we can live with our Father again. What an incredible blessing! How much love our Father in Heaven has for each individual one of us to send his son to the earth to suffer and die for us. What am I doing with this knowledge? Am I living worthy of this blessing? Do I live my life as a daughter whom my Father would sacrifice his son for? If not I need to change because my Brother came to this earth of ME! and I want to show him my gratitude by doing all I can to become more like him.