3 Nephi 18:18-21
Prompted by yesterday's idea to list the attributes of the Savior and then work on them myself, the first one that came to my mind was "slow to anger." I thought that that was pretty insightful because I am quick to anger, and it's not always raging anger, which I've managed to subdue over the last several years, but I'm quick to irritation boy, it takes me about half a second to get mad at someone and then I'll typically pout about it or walk around all huffy like an idiot. So when I immediately thought about that attribute of the Savior and knew that that was what I needed to work on the most, it made sense to me. Then like He always does, Jesus goes on to teach me great things once I've accepted his lesson. Today while driving to work and listening to "Bonds That Make Us Free," C. Terry Warner talks about the concept of "Forgoing," which is, as he defines, "If forgiving can be thought of as recovery from moral and emotional illness by means of a change of heart, forgoing is never falling morally and emotionally ill in the first place, never needing a change of heart. If forgiving helps us recover from relapses, forgoing keeps lapses from happening at all. It is prevention rather than cure. This is the daily manner of life of those free people who don't have to spend all their time suffering from, agonizing over, and repenting of their repeated mistakes." In this moment I realized that this was how one lives who is "slow to anger," it's not ignoring people's actions or quickly forgiving their "offenses," it's not perceiving them in the first place. When it comes to the idea of being offended, I remember hearing once, "you have the choice to be offended," and I thought that that was the craziest thing I had ever heard because if people act crazy towards you, by not being offended, you in essence tell them that it's ok to treat you poorly. As I grew personally I learned that indeed, it is a choice to be offended and now I'd like to think that it's pretty difficult to offend me, but then again I'm quick to anger so I guess that's not always true, so I'm going to take as a personal challenge the concept of "forgoing" or "slow to anger." I'm not going to assume offense, I'm just going to try to see the truth about the people with which I am engaged.
18:18 - After instructing His apostles in administrative matters, with good lessons, he now addresses "the multitude and said unto them: Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." This verse conjures up an image of someone kneeling, praying fervently while evil demons fly around in circles over their heads, but I don't think that that is the case that Jesus is talking about. How does praying always keep us from temptation? I think that it goes back to what we talked about yesterday, you are what you think about. Praying always, always having a prayer in our hearts, or a "song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads. (D&C 25:12)" There's always a way to have our thoughts, hearts, and minds focused on the Savior and uplifting things, and to me that is praying always because that positivity and desire for righteousness invites the Spirit and allows us to receive continuous revelation, it's like a conversation. And while that divine spiritual communication is transpiring, it is quite difficult for Satan to get his little evil thoughts into our flow, I guess that's why praying always, always having that divine conversation going will protect us from temptation. The IM quotes President Henry B. Eyring as teaching "What does the Master mean when He warns us to 'pray always?' I am not wise enough to know all of His purposes in giving us a covenant to always remember Him and in His warning us to pray always lest we be overcome. But I know one. It is because He knows perfectly the powerful forces that influence us and also what it means to be human... He knows what it is life to have the cares of life press in upon us... And He knows how our human powers to cope are not constant... As the forces around us increase in intensity, whatever spiritual strength was once sufficient will not be enough. And whatever growth in spiritual strength we once thought was possible, greater growth will be made available to us. Both the need for spiritual strength and the opportunity to acquire it will increase at rates which we underestimate at our peril... Start with remembering Him. You will remember what you know and what you love... The Lord hears the prayers of your heart. The feelings of your heart, of love for our Heavenly Father and for His Beloved Son, can be so constant that your prayers will ascend always." Very good insights. It's interesting because as I was reading that passage I thought "I don't really want to pray always, I want to be able to think about other stuff sometimes too even if it isn't very good. I want that 'freedom,' it's kind of fun." And while I'm saying that and reading this I know that what I'm telling myself is a lie, there's nothing but heartache and spiritual destruction in that thinking and in that action. I'm going to devote myself to learning how to pray always and do it, so that I can withstand temptation and be accompanied by the Holy Ghost always. That means giving up some "other" things, not super bad things, but gateway things I guess you could say, but in the end I'll look back and be grateful. I always thought that it was interesting that President Eyring said, "Both the need for spiritual strength and the opportunity to acquire it will increase at rates which we underestimate at our peril." I've found that ever since I started doing this blog, I've grown spiritual at an exponential rate, it's been pretty incredible actually, so I know that what he's saying here is true. As I come to focus on the Savior and the gospel the spiritual growth that can happen for me will be transformative, and quickly too I hope. As far as the sifting as wheat goes, the IM quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie as teaching "This is an idiomatic expression which was clear to the people in that day, more so than to people in our day. In essence and thought content Jesus is saying, 'Peter, Satan wants you in his harvest. He wants to harvest your soul, and bring you into his granary, into his garner, where he will have you as his disciple.' It is the same figure that we use when we say that the field is white, already to harvest. And we go out and preach the gospel and harvest the souls of men. Well, Satan wanted Peter; he wanted to sift him as wheat or to harvest his soul." That's kind of creepy, and gives a little bit more perspective on the root motivation of the harvester. When Jesus harvests souls, it's for their happiness, their immortality and eternal life, but when Satan harvests souls it's for his own glory, his own ego boost, our well being are not considered for even a second.
18:19-21 - Jesus teaches the people to "pray unto the Father in my name; And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you." I've always struggled with this concept, and my understanding of it is limited but also interesting. I used to pray for a new shift at work so that I could take better care of my kids, but my answer wasn't a different shift, it was the ability to take better care of my kids while still working the same shift. I used to pray for my ex husband to come back to us, well to the kids, not to me, and now that he has made huge efforts to be involved with the kids I see that Heavenly Father answered my prayer. But it's interesting because what I really meant was "please bring him back to us groveling and begging for forgiveness," but I'm being taught to forgive him and also recognize my own guilt with how I've treated him and my faults in our relationship. After I read Elder Bednar's talk saying essentially "do those we love feel the power of our prayers for them?" And it occurred to me that while I will sacrifice and do anything for the well being of my kids, I don't really ask the great Creator of heaven and earth Himself for their protection and comfort. I always just assumed that because he loves them even more than I do, he will do what he will do, but last night I prayed for my kids, I put into words what I wanted them to feel and to learn and to know. I was able to verbalize their vulnerabilities and because I was able to identify them, it was easier for me to see them, not as bad kids, but as struggling kids, and I'm hoping that as I continue to identify their needs through my prayers, it will make me more aware of and sensitive to what I can do as their mother. I've prayed for things many times fully believing that God was capable of giving me those things, but honestly, when the answer isn't what I expected, and it usually isn't, I'm able to look back and say "I've grown so much" or "God is so amazing." If I were only waiting for my prayers to be answered in the way that I expect, then I would say that honestly, my prayers are hardly ever answered, but as I soften my heart to God's wisdom, and accept His will, I see that he answers my prayers constantly and I'm immensely happier than any other way that I would have asked for. The last thing is that Jesus tells the people to "pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed." Now that my kids are a little bit older and I don't have to wake up to get them ready for school, we don't have family prayer in the morning, but I almost always have it before I leave for work everyday. I've noticed on days that we have family prayer, things go smoother, there's not as much fighting, sometimes. The IM quotes President Gordon B. Hinckley as teaching, "I feel satisfied that there is no adequate substitute for the morning and evening practice of kneeling together- father, mother, and children. This, more than soft carpets, more than lovely draperies, more than cleverly balanced color schemes, is the thing that will make for better and more beautiful homes." Even though we only do a "before work" prayer, and we aren't kneeling, I should probably work on that, when I say that family prayer, I try to focus on what we have done that day, "we are grateful that we were able to spend time together as a family," and what we are going to do "please help us be able to have fun and be a good sport at soccer practice," and I always say, and it's always true, "please help us to make good choices and be kind to others." And other things, but as I do this I'm hoping that it will help my kids stay focused on the important things of life and as they go throughout their day with out me that they will be able to remember the family prayer.
18:18 - After instructing His apostles in administrative matters, with good lessons, he now addresses "the multitude and said unto them: Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." This verse conjures up an image of someone kneeling, praying fervently while evil demons fly around in circles over their heads, but I don't think that that is the case that Jesus is talking about. How does praying always keep us from temptation? I think that it goes back to what we talked about yesterday, you are what you think about. Praying always, always having a prayer in our hearts, or a "song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads. (D&C 25:12)" There's always a way to have our thoughts, hearts, and minds focused on the Savior and uplifting things, and to me that is praying always because that positivity and desire for righteousness invites the Spirit and allows us to receive continuous revelation, it's like a conversation. And while that divine spiritual communication is transpiring, it is quite difficult for Satan to get his little evil thoughts into our flow, I guess that's why praying always, always having that divine conversation going will protect us from temptation. The IM quotes President Henry B. Eyring as teaching "What does the Master mean when He warns us to 'pray always?' I am not wise enough to know all of His purposes in giving us a covenant to always remember Him and in His warning us to pray always lest we be overcome. But I know one. It is because He knows perfectly the powerful forces that influence us and also what it means to be human... He knows what it is life to have the cares of life press in upon us... And He knows how our human powers to cope are not constant... As the forces around us increase in intensity, whatever spiritual strength was once sufficient will not be enough. And whatever growth in spiritual strength we once thought was possible, greater growth will be made available to us. Both the need for spiritual strength and the opportunity to acquire it will increase at rates which we underestimate at our peril... Start with remembering Him. You will remember what you know and what you love... The Lord hears the prayers of your heart. The feelings of your heart, of love for our Heavenly Father and for His Beloved Son, can be so constant that your prayers will ascend always." Very good insights. It's interesting because as I was reading that passage I thought "I don't really want to pray always, I want to be able to think about other stuff sometimes too even if it isn't very good. I want that 'freedom,' it's kind of fun." And while I'm saying that and reading this I know that what I'm telling myself is a lie, there's nothing but heartache and spiritual destruction in that thinking and in that action. I'm going to devote myself to learning how to pray always and do it, so that I can withstand temptation and be accompanied by the Holy Ghost always. That means giving up some "other" things, not super bad things, but gateway things I guess you could say, but in the end I'll look back and be grateful. I always thought that it was interesting that President Eyring said, "Both the need for spiritual strength and the opportunity to acquire it will increase at rates which we underestimate at our peril." I've found that ever since I started doing this blog, I've grown spiritual at an exponential rate, it's been pretty incredible actually, so I know that what he's saying here is true. As I come to focus on the Savior and the gospel the spiritual growth that can happen for me will be transformative, and quickly too I hope. As far as the sifting as wheat goes, the IM quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie as teaching "This is an idiomatic expression which was clear to the people in that day, more so than to people in our day. In essence and thought content Jesus is saying, 'Peter, Satan wants you in his harvest. He wants to harvest your soul, and bring you into his granary, into his garner, where he will have you as his disciple.' It is the same figure that we use when we say that the field is white, already to harvest. And we go out and preach the gospel and harvest the souls of men. Well, Satan wanted Peter; he wanted to sift him as wheat or to harvest his soul." That's kind of creepy, and gives a little bit more perspective on the root motivation of the harvester. When Jesus harvests souls, it's for their happiness, their immortality and eternal life, but when Satan harvests souls it's for his own glory, his own ego boost, our well being are not considered for even a second.
18:19-21 - Jesus teaches the people to "pray unto the Father in my name; And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you." I've always struggled with this concept, and my understanding of it is limited but also interesting. I used to pray for a new shift at work so that I could take better care of my kids, but my answer wasn't a different shift, it was the ability to take better care of my kids while still working the same shift. I used to pray for my ex husband to come back to us, well to the kids, not to me, and now that he has made huge efforts to be involved with the kids I see that Heavenly Father answered my prayer. But it's interesting because what I really meant was "please bring him back to us groveling and begging for forgiveness," but I'm being taught to forgive him and also recognize my own guilt with how I've treated him and my faults in our relationship. After I read Elder Bednar's talk saying essentially "do those we love feel the power of our prayers for them?" And it occurred to me that while I will sacrifice and do anything for the well being of my kids, I don't really ask the great Creator of heaven and earth Himself for their protection and comfort. I always just assumed that because he loves them even more than I do, he will do what he will do, but last night I prayed for my kids, I put into words what I wanted them to feel and to learn and to know. I was able to verbalize their vulnerabilities and because I was able to identify them, it was easier for me to see them, not as bad kids, but as struggling kids, and I'm hoping that as I continue to identify their needs through my prayers, it will make me more aware of and sensitive to what I can do as their mother. I've prayed for things many times fully believing that God was capable of giving me those things, but honestly, when the answer isn't what I expected, and it usually isn't, I'm able to look back and say "I've grown so much" or "God is so amazing." If I were only waiting for my prayers to be answered in the way that I expect, then I would say that honestly, my prayers are hardly ever answered, but as I soften my heart to God's wisdom, and accept His will, I see that he answers my prayers constantly and I'm immensely happier than any other way that I would have asked for. The last thing is that Jesus tells the people to "pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed." Now that my kids are a little bit older and I don't have to wake up to get them ready for school, we don't have family prayer in the morning, but I almost always have it before I leave for work everyday. I've noticed on days that we have family prayer, things go smoother, there's not as much fighting, sometimes. The IM quotes President Gordon B. Hinckley as teaching, "I feel satisfied that there is no adequate substitute for the morning and evening practice of kneeling together- father, mother, and children. This, more than soft carpets, more than lovely draperies, more than cleverly balanced color schemes, is the thing that will make for better and more beautiful homes." Even though we only do a "before work" prayer, and we aren't kneeling, I should probably work on that, when I say that family prayer, I try to focus on what we have done that day, "we are grateful that we were able to spend time together as a family," and what we are going to do "please help us be able to have fun and be a good sport at soccer practice," and I always say, and it's always true, "please help us to make good choices and be kind to others." And other things, but as I do this I'm hoping that it will help my kids stay focused on the important things of life and as they go throughout their day with out me that they will be able to remember the family prayer.
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