by byustudent | Apr 25, 2013 | About Mormons
As you can tell from the title, I have come to the conclusion that we are all rock climbers.
Our goal in rock climbing is to become strong and in shape. As we start climbing, some people are wonderful at it. They begin climbing and just keep on going and going and going — reaching incredible heights. And others are not so wonderful at it. They start climbing, and then they fall. And they start again, and fall again. And again they start, and fall. And it seems like they are making no progress at all. But the goal was never to climb the highest — the goal was to become strong and fit. So even the people who fall and slip and mess-up can reach the ultimate goal — as long as they try again. The only way they will be unsuccessful is if they become discouraged by their falls and decide to give up.
The plan of salvation isn’t a grand-total tally where we get positive points for doing good things and negative points for doing bad things and there is a certain point threshold that you have to meet to be granted access to Heaven. This life is about becoming better. Heavenly Father wants us to succeed. He wants us to go rock climbing so that we can become stronger and better and happier than we were before. And at any point along the way we can say: “Heavenly Father, I’m sorry I haven’t been doing so good. I am going to be better starting now.” And Heavenly Father says, “Okay, this is your new starting point.”
Of course, there is a bit more to it than that. (more…)
by byustudent | Apr 25, 2013 | About Mormons
Hello, once again! This week we finished up Hebrews and read through the epistle of James. I have a few scriptures that I want to share, so we’ll just jump right in.
First, Hebrews 13:5 stuck out to me. It states: “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” There are two parts to this scripture that applied to me in different ways. The first was about our conversations and being content. I touched on this subject in my last post, but sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the “give me, give me, give me” phase. I know that I’ve gone through this a lot since I’ve been here in college. It’s very easy to compare yourself to a friend who seems to have it all and be very down on yourself. At least, for me, I felt that I was inferior and not as good as others because of my clothes, interests and field of study. However, this scripture states that the exact opposite is true. We should forget these earthly cares because we have the best gift of all: the Atonement. Our Savior’s love is infinite, and it doesn’t matter what car we drive, if we can afford to go out to eat, or if we get asked out on dates—the Savior loves us all the same.
The second part of this scripture was the simple phrase: “I will never leave thee.” WE are the ones who turn our backs on the Lord and wander away—it’s never the other way around. However, no matter how many times we turn our backs on the Savior, He will never forsake us and will accept us in His loving arms. How fantastically terrific is THAT?! (more…)
by byustudent | Apr 25, 2013 | About Mormons
One thing I love about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that it teaches us that no one is better than another person.
I was reading this week in the book of James in the New Testament, in chapter 2, where it says that we should not be a respecter of persons. This does not mean that we should not respect them; it only means that we should not rate them based on the silly idea that one person is better than another. It is so easy to think of people on a scale of beauty, wealth, power, athletic ability, etc. But the worth opf each individual is the same.
It does not matter if you are the king of England, a poor college student or the homeless person on the side of the road. We all have the same potential to become like God, because we are all His children. God is only a respecter of righteousness; He loves it when we make good choices that bring us closer to Him, and He is hurt when we choose to reject Him. But He still loves us no matter what! If we wish to become more like God, should we not do the same? (more…)
by byustudent | Apr 24, 2013 | Mormon Reflections
Hey, everyone. So, I wanted to share a cool insight that I got from the Book of Mormon this week. Just a little background for anyone that’s interested: The Book of Mormon is a record of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas; it also testifies that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and contains the fulness of His gospel. There are two main groups of people it discusses: the Nephites, who are usually righteous, and the Lamanites, who are usually wicked. This week I was reading in Mormon chapters 1-6. At this particular time, the Nephites have become exceedingly wicked and have “willfully rebelled against … God.” Mormon, a righteous Nephite, is appointed to be the leader of the Nephite armies and gives an account of their wickedness and their wars against the Lamanites.
In Mormon 3:12, Mormon says, “Behold, I had led them, notwithstanding their wickedness I had led them many times to battle, and had loved them, according to the love of God which was in me, with all my heart; and my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them.”
I think that Mormon is an amazing example of having charity, or the pure love of Christ. Despite all the wickedness of the Nephites, he tries to preach the gospel to them multiple times. Despite their rejection of the gospel, and their refusal to repent, he leads them to battle and “deliver[s] them out of the hands of their enemies.” Even when he knows that his people are past hope and “the day of grace was passed with them,” he continues to lead them. After the great, final battle, when all of the Nephites have been slain except for 24 people, Mormon says, “My soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people.” As he stands on a hill and views the destruction, he cries out, “O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen.” Mormon showed unconditional love for his fellow man. (more…)
by byustudent | Apr 24, 2013 | Mormon Reflections
The people of the Book of Mormon teach us many important lessons through their experiences. One of the purposes of the Book of Mormon is to help us discover and learn from the mistakes of these people in ancient America.
In Mormon 5:18, the fallen Nephite people teach us a very important lesson. They show us that when we forsake God and neglect to follow His commandments, we fall under Satan’s power. When we fall under Satan’s power, we have no foundation or guiding light. Satan does not love his followers. He does not care about their lives nor does he try to guide them like our loving Heavenly Father does. The path of wickedness is one of loneliness and confusion.
When the Nephites decided not to follow God’s commandments, they made the decision to take this path. The scriptures say they became “as a vessel…without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her.” Choosing wickedness meant giving up their rights to surety and the power to direct their lives. So it is with us today. Satan persuades people to choose wickedness by advertising ideas of absolute freedom and self-government with no rules or restrictions. But this is false advertising. When we choose Satan’s way, we choose the way of bondage and unhappiness. We choose to be tied down with guilt, loneliness and, often, addictive behaviors. (more…)
