3 Nephi 14

Yes, I fell off the wagon for a little while, but I got back on a little bit ago.  I just haven't blogged about reading because I hated admitting that I fell so far from my goal to finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year.  But, we all do it right?  The good news is I'm back on.  Who's with me?

I'm really loving 3 Nephi, and tonight I read a great chapter.  I was getting ready for bed thinking, I could really use some inspiration tonight.  And inspiration I got.  I knew I was in for a treat when I saw that I have the entire chapter highlighted.  So much of what I read stuck out to me.

In verse 6 when Christ tells us:

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

I added the bold.  How great are those words?  I'm pretty sure this definitely was not meant to be taken in the way I read it tonight, however after some great discussions with one of my favorite girls today it reminded me to not date below my standards.  I've dated some pretty awesome guys, and some pretty awesome guys who for whatever reason behave in some pretty not so awesome ways.  Looking back I noticed a pattern of something very important that every guy I've dated in the last few years has lacked.  I am really focusing on keeping what I need most in a relationship, and keeping my priorities in tact.

In verses 7 and 8 we're told:

Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

It's unreal how simple some things are that I hope and wish for, but never seem to take to the Lord.  I'm always thinking of the bigger things-job, health, family, etc.  I really need to remember to take other things to the Lord.  How amazing is it that He never tires of hearing from us?  How truly wonderful that He wants to hear all our daily problems and thoughts, even if it's something as simple as "I feel like I need more friends."

Again, in verses 15-18, 20:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them.

I'm not calling guys I know false prophets.  Not at all.  This just reminded me of an email Jason sent to me while he was on his mission.  I was a very young 18 year old freshman in college and he warned me to look out for the "wolves in sheep's clothing" who might want to date me.  I had no idea how many of them there were.  (Disclaimer.....I'm not man-hating, and don't think all guys are jerks.  SWEAR!  I've just had my eyes opened over the last few years.  I'm not holding them entirely accountable.  I'm responsible as well.  We teach people how to treat us, therefore I'm working on becoming a better teacher.)  I'm reminding myself about a conversation I had with a good friend Russ in college, who taught me about the ways to be able to feel out guys.  I was so worried of being deceived, but there really are red flags that are sometimes ignored.  On that same thought, I'm also working on becoming a person that doesn't have those red flags as well.  

Finally, in 24-27:

Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock-

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand-

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

Such powerful words here.  I want to build upon the Rock that is the Savior Jesus Christ, because the winds and rain do come.  Sometimes they don't stop for days, and it's so difficult to keep my house up when it's built on the sand.  I can still hear the scripture mastery in my head from high school, "Build upon the Rock or fail."  So true.

Alma 37

Don't worry, I haven't fallen off the wagon.  Truth be told, however, I did fall behind last week while I was in California.  For the last month or so I've wavered from being 1-2 days behind.  I never could quite catch up.  However, with my vacation my routine was totally thrown off and I sadly, missed reading more days than not.  

SO.  Here's what I've decided.  Rather than turn what's an inspiring and motivating goal into something that feels like a task I'm wavering a bit on my deadline.  I'm still shooting for the end of the year, but I know mathematically that's not possible.

So, I guess like anything else in life, I'm just doing the best I can.

Tonight's reading was really good for me.  It was just one of those nights where you feel like, wow, this is definitely what I needed to hear.

In verse 36 Alma tells Helaman:

Yea, and cry unto God for all thy supoort; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

I love this.  I love knowing the Lord wants to know everything.  I love knowing that He already does know everything, but He still wants to sit and listen to me talk about it.  He still is happy to listen to me ramble on and on about the same things, no matter how trivial they are, no matter how meaningless they are in the grand scheme of things.  I love that we're not only told that we can talk to the Lord about anything, but that we should talk to the Lord about everything.  It's so.....relieving?

Also, I loved in verses 44-46 when Alma states:

For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

And now I say, is there not a type in this thing?  For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.

O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us.  The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.

It's so plainly stated.  Just as the Liahona directed Nephi and his family, we have the words of Christ to direct us, as a compass, to eternal happiness.  How plain and simple is that!

Sorry if some of my thoughts don't make sense.  They're just some fragments from my mind that mean something to me.

Adjustment

I'm saddened to say last week when I fell behind on my Book of Mormon challenge I didn't do as great as I'd hoped in catching up.  The good news is, I am caught up so that now if I still read six pages every day until the end of the year I'll finish on Dec 31.  Woohoo!

I'm definitely staying on track this time.  Swear.  Join me, even if you're just starting.  Pick up where we are.  Tonight I read through page 159.  Mosiah.  Some great stuff I want to blog about later.  This weekend will be crazy but hopefully I'll at least come back to these chapters on Monday because they were very thought provoking.  But for now, I must sleep.

Oh yeah, and please note I've updated the chart on the right side of my blog.

Confession

I've fallen off the wagon.  I've totally blown it on scripture reading over the weekend and am now playing catch up.  But guess what?  The good news is I can catch up, and will be back by Sunday.  So can you.  Or just pick up where you're supposed to be.  It's up to you.

Just a few notes from last night and tonight's reading.

Last night I was reading aloud over the phone with my reading buddy.  I've been a little frustrated lately because I'm having a really hard time understanding what I've been reading, and especially applying what I've read to my own life.  The Isaiah chapters kill me.  I frequently feel like my eyes are going over the words but nothing's really coming from my reading other than being able to check it off the list for that day, and really what does that even do?

My friend told me something that helps him.  He said I should just try to take one thing from my reading.  If I can just connect with one verse I should feel like I've had success.  And if I don't find that connection?  It's okay.  I can try again tomorrow.  So that's my goal for these difficult reading days, and it can be yours too.

I'm actually in the middle of tonight's reading right now, but wanted to jot down a couple thoughts.

In 2 Nephi 28:29 we read:

Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!

This one immediately made me think of how I can apply it in my life.  I love General Conference, but how many times have I felt like, okay, I've watched hours of this and I'm sort of ready to be done.  I'm sure a lot of you are probably shocked, and soak every second of it in, but I struggle with it.  And more commonly, sometimes I find myself dragging a little, thinking about how we spend 3 whole hours at church on Sunday.  When I break it down, really that's nothing.  It's 1/8 of one day out of 7 days in a week.  How many hours do I spend working, watching tv, talking on the phone, wasting time on the computer, and socializing?  How ridiculous for me to think that three hours is such a sacrifice.

Lastly, in 2 Nephi 28:32 we read:

Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts!  For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.

All the day long.  

Talk about awesome.  This one stirred up an overwhelming amount of emotion.  It really hit me like a ton of bricks, remember how much God loves us.  Regardless of how accepting we are, we have a loving Heavenly Father whose arm is stretched out to us, waiting for us to reach up and grab His hand.  I was just so amazed at the thought of how much He loves me.  How much he loves you.

1 Nephi 21-22

I've been struggling with the last few days of reading.  I always have a hard time with the "Compare with Isaiah" chapters.  However last night's reading was special for me.  It took me back to a time where I had my testimony really strengthened.

My freshman year at BYU-I I was really struggling with being happy, among other things.

I remember staying up really late one night (actually, that was pretty much every night) talking with my friends Jen and Shannon.  We were discussing the gospel, and what would happen in the millennium and I was expressing some questions and things I didn't understand.

After that conversation I finally got around to doing my BofM assignment for class, which was to read a through 1 Nephi 21.  Once I realized I only had one more chapter to finish the book I decided to just read it that night.

I was overcome with feelings when so many of my questions were answered at the tail end of the chapter.  It was such a testimony building experience, having the answers to questions I'd just been discussing, revealed right then and there.

Every time I happen upon this chapter it makes me smile, especially when I'm reading the Book of Mormon .

1 Nephi 17-18

My favorite verse tonight was 17:13-

And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and y shall know that it is by me that ye are led.

I know, more so than I ever have in my life, that the Lord is in control.  He knows what's best for me-what will make me most happy.  I'm trying more to not get wrapped up in what I want and be so controlling, and trusting in Him.

1 Nephi 15-16

The other night the verse that really stuck out to me was 15:11:

Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?-If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.

I guess it sort of hit me because I think Heavenly Father probably really feels like He's telling this to me all the time.  I need to remember to go to Him with all my problems, and sincerely pour out my heart and ask, in faith, for help.

1 Nephi 8-10

When reading about Lehi's vision I really tried to put myself in the position of one of Lehi's children.  I was thinking about the mist and how so many were lost while traveling through, and how if they just held onto the rod they would have stayed on course.

It made me think of the periods of my life I'm having an especially difficult time, and I imagined my path with different areas of mist, some more cloudy than others.  I'm reminded how I really need to cling to the gospel at these times, because it is so easy to get lost during those times.

Also, I had a little thought on a piece of paper from EFY 1998, Joy in the Journey that I really loved.

"Be cheerful in all that you do.  Live joyfully.  Live happily.  Live enthusiastically, knowing that God does not dwell in gloom and melancholy, but in light and love."

Ezra Taft Benson, New Era, September 1979, p.42

Being one that's sometimes prone to dwell and stir in my melancholy times, this was good for me to read.  I need to focus on not allowing myself to have pity parties so frequently.

1 Nephi 4-7

So I mentioned yesterday I'm going to do the 90 day Book of Mormon Challenge.  Yesterday was day 2 and I already missed that one.  I was just getting into bed to read when my phone rang.  It was my sometimes over-the-phone-reading buddy so I thought, perfect timing.  Well, not really.  This call occurred at 11pm and turned into one of those conversations, you know, the ones you can't really just say, "You know, I'm really sorry, but we'll have to continue this extremely important conversation later because I need to get my six pages in before midnight."  The call lasted two hours and by 1am it was all I could do to hit the disconnect button before I fell asleep.

But, have no fear, there's about a week (maybe a little less) of buffer time so if you miss a day here or there it's not too drastic.  But in the future, I will be doing my best not to miss days, and when I do, will be trying to make those six pages up the next day.  Oh yeah, and this probably goes without saying, but usually if a chapter continues on to a seventh or eighth page, I'll just finish the chapter, instead of breaking right in the middle.

Moving along.  There were a few of you who actually mentioned wanting to do the 90 Day Challenge as well.  I figured, why not include the blog?  If anyone really wants to try to stay on track together, I think it will be motivating (at least for me) to feel like someone else out there is depending on me to not give up.  And guess what, if you (or I) happen to fall behind (or anyone wants to join in when we're halfway through) no big deal.  It's all about facing the right direction, and moving forward, no matter what the pace.

Obviously not every day, but on days I feel inclined I'd like to document some of my thoughts/feelings I had during my reading, and I'd like to open my comment box to anyone else reading along (or with feelings on the particular chapters) to add their insights as well.

Please be curtious and respectful.  If there's someone out there lurking who has something negative to say, please keep your thoughts to yourself.  I went private once due to anonymous disrespectful comments, and don't want to have to go private again. 

My humble, simple thoughts probably won't bring any insight to anyone other than myself, but I would love to hear thoughts from some of you more knowledgeable readers out there.

Now that that's out of the way, I guess I'll give this a shot and hopefully this is a positive experience.

I really loved N4:6- And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.

(bold added by blogger)

This verse especially stuck out to me tonight.  It's just such an amazing example of faith.  Truly walking out into the darkness, or stepping off that cliff, not knowing beforehand what will happen, but having 100% trust that the Lord will guide you.  

I also noticed in the footnote 6b "Gifts of Inspiration"  This reminded me that these promptings of the Holy Spirit are gifts.  They are not entitlements, but a wonderful blessing from the Lord, and I need to remember to thank Him for the frequent promptings He sends me.

I've been trying to read aloud.  I think it helps me understand a little better.  When I read N5:8- ...Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them...

It sounded to me like what Sariah would be saying as if she were standing at the pulpit, bearing her testimony.  Like so many of the other heroic acts in the scriptures, I marveled at how much of Sariah's faith must have been tested, to send her sons back to Laban.

In N6:6 Nephi states- Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the children of men.

To me this is saying, if Nephi said nothing should be written that's not important, than everything written is of import.  This reminds me even the parts I get lost in have a meaning, and are important for me to understand.

Lastly, I want to conclude with this quote from Gordon B. Hinckley about the 90 Day Encounter with the Book of Mormon.  (This was in reference to reading the Book of Mormon three times in 90 days, but I still think it applies.  One day I'll be that ambitious.)

"Brothers and sisters, without reservation I promise you that if you will prayerfully read the Book of Mormon, regardless of how many times you previously have read it, there will come into your hearts an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord.  There will come a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and there will come a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God."

("The Power of the Book of Mormon," Ensign, June 1988, p.6)