3 Nephi 13:25-32

13:25-32 - Jesus now turns from the multitude and addresses only "the twelve whom he had chosen, and said unto them:... take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" The IM teaches "The Book of Mormon clarifies the meaning of Matthew 6:25-32 by indicating that Jesus was speaking to the twelve Nephite disciples for this portion of the sermon. After Jesus delivered this charge to them, he then turned and began to speak to the multitude again. It is helpful to note that Jesus repeatedly turned back and forth between these two audiences throughout His sermon." So what does that mean? Does that mean that Jesus won't help us because we aren't called to be part of his church leadership? Of course not, I almost feel blasphemous saying that. As JW notes that there are "anxieties that come perhaps less from the ordinary cares of daily human life and more from the feeling of vulnerability that comes when one turns everything completely over to the Lord." There are certain lessons that are learned only through working to sustain ones own life and to support their family's existence. Those are like the more basic lessons, and I guess it makes sense, if you have an active hand in your own support, there's "less" to rely on the Lord for, meaning that it is not so much of a stretch to ask the Lord for rain and a good harvest if you're out there working in your field all day everyday. This builds a slow and steady bridge of faith where you learn how to work and you learn how to ask God for things and be grateful for what we have. These are basic lessons that must be mastered before we are asked to take the big leap of "walk away and do my work and trust me to take care of you." That's a big trust to ask for, and most of us wouldn't know how to do it right. In order to be cared for by the Lord, one has to be very sensitive to the Holy Ghost because many times there is a prompting to go ask a specific person for a specific thing. If we were commanded to commit all our time to the service of God and rely on Him to provide for our needs, then many, most probably, would spend more time focused on getting God's "message" about what they are going to eat then to preaching the gospel. And I also think that too many of us are still in the process of obtaining his word and we aren't necessarily ready to preach it full time without purse or script. But that doesn't mean that the message is lost on all the rest of us who aren't called to the work full time, I've said this to myself many times when I've been wondering what to do about my work. Many times I'll be all worked up about something and frantic about what to do, and I'll remember His teaching "Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these." It reminds me that I am precious to God, it reminds me that he does have a plan for me, it reminds me that he is concerned with my temporal needs and that everything is in his hands and that I need only to exercise the faith and patience that he's waiting for me to learn. JET in "Jesus the Christ" commented both on the disciples and commoners, "They were told to trust the Father for what they needed, taking no though of food, drink, clothing, or even of life itself, for all these were to be supplied by means above their power to control. With the wisdom of a Teacher of teachers, the Master appealed to their hearts and understanding by citing the lessons of nature, in language of such simple yet forceful eloquence that to amplify or condense it is but to mar... The weakness of faith was reproved in the reminder that the Father who cared even for the grass of the field, which on day flourishes and on the next is gathered up to be burned, would not fail to remember His own."

I'm out of time, I was pretty busy today. I wanted to comment on seeking the kingdom of heaven first, but I guess I'll save that for tomorrow.