Levels of praying...

Reading 1 Nephi 1 and came upon the account of Lehi, praying to The Lord and then having a vision.  What caught my attention was the fact that he was praying for his people or brethren, just like Enos right after he is pardoned by The Lord Himself and his sins are forgiven him, and only then is he given a vision.

I know that I am mostly only worrying and praying about myself.  I pray for my family; my individual children, my wife, and for us as a couple, but I haven't risen to the point of pouring out my soul to God for anyone but myself.  Yet, I remember pouring out my soul for my son Addison, after my divorce and for him, that he would remain true to the Gospel and be baptized (he was...), or for my son Quentin, that he would remain true and be baptized, and I'm sure I will for Calvin and Samantha too.

I pour out my soul for my brother and sister, Garrett and Andrea (and for her family, who have not baptized Jefferson...).  

Re-thinking about this, I suppose I am focused on my immediate family only until and unless there are special circumstances!  I suppose that's the way it should be anyway, for almost everyone...  

JPS

An unthinkable change or event

...  I was listening to a talk given in Spring of 2014 by D. Todd Christofferson, called The Resurrectionof Jesus Christ, where he talks about Jesus telling His apostles and disciples for almost three years that he would be tried by unrighteous men and then die, but then would be resurrected.

"Despite what the Savior had repeatedly said of His death and subsequent rising again, they had not understood."  Even Mary Magdalene, who was the first to see the Risen Lord, walks into the tomb where Christ's body laid and saw the napkin and linen clothes folded and wrapped together "in a place by itself" and her initial gut-wrenching reaction is, "They have taken the Lord's body."

Just thinking about their reactions (neither John nor Peter understand or fully believed [these are two from the original first presidency!] till John finally understands and writes that “he saw, and believed,”) after seeing the seeing the empty tomb, whereas all the others, to that point, “knew not the scripture, that [Jesus] must rise again from the dead.”


My reaction to Elder Christopherson's talk was to ask myself, what, if any, or how many things am I just not understanding because I have had no experience with that thing or possibility of it happening.

Christ's resurrection was completely and totally unprecedented.   How many things in the Latter-Days, though, are going to be unprecedented?  How many things are we all not understanding right now--for three years the Lord was telling His disciples and apostles that He would be resurrected after He was killed, right?  How many thousands of years was it known that He would atone for our sins and then be killed (Isaiah 53)?  In many chapters in the book of Isaiah and also in the Book of Mormon (not to mention the New Testament and the Book of Revelations) it talks about the last days, and yet, do we really believe the scriptures?


It was a matter of the quality of experience with the Resurrection (and not the quantity...), as it had never been done---ever---anywhere!  Is there, then, something comparable to the Resurrection (no, there is not, as it is half of the effect of the Atonement, which is not comparable to anything...), or at least, if not to the Resurrection itself, just to the incomprehensible idea that was so vital to each of us.  Is there something so crucial to our salvation and yet misunderstood?


JPS

Why obey the commandments?

Why?

President Uchtdorf reminded me in a concise way of something that I already knew:

God gives us commandments so that we can qualify for blessings based on our obedience and faith!

When we qualify for blessings, we gain the things we truly and most want.  "There is a law irrecoverably decreed before the foundations of the Earth, upon which all blessings are predicated, and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” (D&C 130:20–21)--if you want 'B' you must do 'A' and if you don't do 'A,' then don't expect 'B!' If you want to be happy, you have to live in the way of happiness.  Luckily, Jesus Christ has shown us all the Way of happiness.  The commandments aren't there to hold us back or hold us down or hold us away from the "fun stuff," but are actually given to us so that He can bless us.  The more blessings you want, the more righteous you'll need to be.  The more righteous you are, the more light you'll be given and the more commandments you'll be able to obey.  If you want to be the happiest you can, you'll have to obey all the commandments you can.  In the same way that commandments make freedom possible, we are able to be joyful and happy only because we obey God's commandments first!

God wants us to be happy.  How many times did Jesus Christ say something to the effect of, "Be of good cheer" or "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" or as Jehovah (when Christ was a pre-mortal spirit) "happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom" or "happy is that people, whose God is the Lord" or "but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he."


We want to be happy!  That is what everybody wants to be, and why everyone makes the decisions they do--to be happy!  So, just take the short-cut to happiness and obey as many commandments as you are aware of right now!




JPS

By their fruits ye shall know them...

Matthew 7:18 or 3 Nephi 14:18 

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

There you have it.  

JPS

3 Nephi 14:12

"Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men 
should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the
 law and the prophets."

You been racking your brain and searching and trying 
to remember somewhere in the scriptures that says you 
need to be nice to, put-up with, tolerate, and even love a 
"jerk" or an annoying person?  Here it is!  Right out of the
Saviors mouth and especially wrapped for you: 

"Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the
law and the prophets."

If I'm not mistaken, it is also in the Holy Bible, book
of Matthew, chapter 7.

JPS

With that same judgement, ye judge, ye shall be judged!

3 Nephi chapter 14 and St. Mathew chapter 7 are records of the Sermon on the Mount and Sermon at the Temple, and both exclusively are the words of Jesus Christ.

"And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken thesewords he turned again to the multitude, and did open his mouth unto them again, saying: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Judge not, that ye be not judged.

 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me pull the mote out of thine eye—and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother’s eye."

JPS