Favorite Scriptures

This scripture describes a characteristic that is critical to success at anything in life, and that is the willingness to accept and complete hard tasks.  The religious angle to this is that God will never ask us to do something that we are not capable of doing.  

Contrary to what some people believe, God's program is not about making life easier for us.  It is about developing within us the capability to handle difficulties.  He is teaching us how to become better.  Consequently, he doesn't hide us from trials and difficulties.  He allows us to struggle and to work to overcome our problems and then he strengthens us and teaches us so that we can succeed.  I have always like the analogy that C. S. Lewis made:  

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Having the confidence that God will support you in your efforts to improve and to do His will a key to success at anything in life.  It is a fact that progress is made and strength is gained as a result of meeting opposition successfully.  Even in something as mundane as gaining muscle, we have to add more and more weight to the barbells over time if we are going to make progress.  The scriptures tell us that God can make weak men strong.  He does this through experiences and trials. 

When I played football in high school, one of the most hated parts of practice was at the end when the coaches made us do wind sprints.  We would have to make numerous short sprints over a short period of time.  It was tiring.  But it was necessary.  As a result of the hundreds and hundreds of wind sprints that we did in practice, when the game came around, we were able to keep going for the entire game without getting tired.  The repeated wind sprints that we did when it seemingly didn't matter, made a huge difference when the game came up and it did matter.  When we are facing some small trials (that may not seem small at the time) we should recognize that God is preparing us for success when some really important test comes up.

More than 45 years ago now, I was called to serve a mission in Italy.  I was supposed to teach the Gospel to the people.  Although I was a capable individual, I was also introverted.  Talking to strangers was not my strength and it was something that I didn't really like to do.  However, in Italy, I quickly found that the only way we could find people to share the Gospel with was to knock on doors and talk to the strangers face to face.  This did not play to my strengths!  And to have to do it in a foreign language made it even harder.   However, we did receive considerable training before starting our time in Italy.  We were given tools with language, we were taught some standard door approaches, and we practiced at it with our companions before going out and trying it for real.  Because I was terrified about the whole thing, I was also very humble and sought the help of our Heavenly Father in prayer.  To my great surprise, I was able to be very effective at contacting strangers at their door.  The preparation and training that I had gave me some confidence.  But the thing that I found that provided the most help and strength was that once I took a leap of faith and just started doing it, I would often find that words and phrases would come into my mind that would be appropriate for the specific situation at the specific time.  This was the Lord sending me His help after I had done what I could with the tools I had.  It was never easy, but I soon developed a considerable amount of skill in talking to strangers and we were able to see a significant amount of success.  However, the story doesn't end there.  After my mission, those skills that I had developed were extremely valuable to me as a finished school and went into the business world.  God had helped me to become strong in an area that I had been weak in.

God does not ask us to do anything that is not for our good or that will not turn out for our good if we try and if we trust in Him.  There may be times when we think that we have failed, but even the failure brings success.  Remember that even Nephi did not succeed on his first try!

This principle of accepting trials and doing hard things has direct implications in secular activities.  When my dad returned from world war 2, he was one of millions of young men looking for a job and a career.  The perfect job was not always available.  He took a job as a shoe salesman and worked at that job for almost 20 years.  At that point he recognized that he wanted more for himself and for his family and he took the brave step of changing totally his career.  He took a job working for the State Highway Department, initially working basically as a book keeper.  His initial salary wasn't any more than he had been making previously but he recognized the additional potential opportunities that this job represented.  Over the next 20 years, he became more and more important in the organization and was given more and more responsibility and pay.  He eventually managed the entire office and was clearly one of the most important employees in the office.  Although he was not an engineer and his formal schooling didn't go beyond a two year associate degree in business, he oversaw the activities of an office full of engineers, many of them with graduate degrees.  One day, I asked my dad how he had been able to accomplish so much and be so successful.  His response taught me a lesson that I never forgot.  He said, "Well, whenever a job or an activity came up that no one wanted to do because it was too hard or distasteful, I always volunteered to do it.  Most people were extremely happy to let me do the hard jobs.  But in doing these hard jobs, I gained a tremendous amount of skill and knowledge, and soon I was skillful, experienced and indispensable.   My success was based on doing the hard things that no one else wanted to do."

So often in the working world, when people are faced with an unpleasant or difficult task, they either try to avoid it, or they procrastinate it and hope that it goes away.  This is a mistake.  When I was faced with this type of task, I always remembered what my dad taught me and what Nephi taught me in the scripture - doing the hard things is how we develop and progress.

My message to my grandchildren is simple: In anything in life, don't be afraid to do the hard things.  The willingness to do the hard things will lead you to success.  And never forget that when you face a task that seems to be overwhelming, the Lord is willing and able to help you become stronger so that you can complete the task.

The basic questions of our existence are, "Where did I come from?"  "Why am I here?"  "Where am I going after this life?"  The Bible begins to address these questions by discussing the creation, the purpose of life and life after death.  The Book of Mormon brings additional information and clarity on these subjects.   Through living prophets we obtain additional understanding.  It turns out that all three questions are directly linked and that to answer any one of the questions, we have to answer them all. 

We are here on the earth to gain experience in an effort to become more like our Heavenly Father.  We are also on the Earth to prove ourselves.  In addition, we are on the earth to gain a mortal body, which through the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ can become an immortal body.  Christ gave the example of what a resurrected and perfected being must be like when he was resurrected with a body, as tangible as any man's but perfected and glorified.  In God's plan of salvation, we, His children can also obtain a body of this type.

All of these things are necessary attributes to live eternally with our Father in Heaven.  However, one other thing is required: our willing efforts to become like Him also in character.  Those that live on the earth and consistently give in to their baser desires will find that after this life they will not be comfortable in a place of righteousness and perfection.  In a very real sense, each person chooses where they want to be after this life.  The scriptures tell us that in our Father's house are many mansions.  This indicates that every person will receive the glory and reward that he has chosen through his actions.

Sometimes, we feel like if we had seen the things that the disciples of Jesus saw, or that Moses saw, we would be able to do what the Lord wants us to do and be righteous.  This scripture is Nephi speaking to his brothers, Laman and Lemuel.  Laman and Lemuel had seen angels.  They had heard the voice of the Lord and yet they chose to do wrong.  The children of Israel saw many miracles in the time of Moses including walking though the middle of the Red Sea on dry ground when being pursued by the Egyptians.  And yet they still chose to make a golden calf, do wickedly in many cases and complain against to Lord constantly.  We learn from these examples (and many others of the past and the present) that it is not what you have seen that makes you righteous, it is what you choose.

When I was about 14 years old, I went to early morning seminary for the first time.  We were studying the Book of Mormon and one of the class requirements was to read the entire Book of Mormon.  I had started the Book of Mormon many times before, but never got much farther than 1 Nephi.  However, I was always up for a challenge and accepted this one.  At first, I was reading just to read.  But as I progressed the stories in the Book of Mormon began to have an impact on me.  I could see myself in the story, watching the protagonists and being part of the Book.  This experience definitely strengthened my testimony.  While I didn't see an angel or hear a voice, the profound feeling that the Book of Mormon is true was clearly there.  When I was younger, I had Sunday School teachers that taught the scripture stories so vividly that I could really relate to them.  But this was the first time that I read the words, likened them unto myself and consequently gained a verification from the Spirit concerning their truthfulness.

At the heart of God's plan is the ability of man to choose his path and the necessity of man to be responsible for his choices.  One of the great problems of the world today is that many people spend their entire lives trying to avoid the consequences of their actions rather than taking responsibility for them.  Unfortunately for these people, try as you might, you can never avoid the ultimate consequences for your choices.   

The fact that there is an opposition in all things is something that is hard to dispute.  Everything has its opposite.  There are actions that are intrinsically good and actions that are intrinsically bad.  This fact alone should help even the most faithless individual to consider the existence of beings in another sphere that pay attention to us, the one for evil and the other for good.  If you look for the good in the world, you can see the hand of a Supreme Being (God) in it.  Some people choose to deny this fact.  However, there are not many people who would deny that there is tremendous evil in the world.  That should convince them that there is a being of evil in the universe (Satan).  By logic alone, this is evidence of the existence of both Satan and God.

We are here on earth for a purpose.  That purpose is to obtain joy, not just in this life but for the eternities.  Joy is more than just comfort and peace.  It is happiness and continual progression.

We do our best to avoid sin and to be "good".  It is a struggle for most of us.  Sometimes we have a hard time giving up our favorite sins.  Temptation always seems near.  But what if we so fully accept the Gospel and its teachings that not only do we resist the temptation, but actually have a strong negative emotional reaction when that temptation is around?  I think reaching perfection requires not only resisting sin, but actively abhorring it.

It is a sad characteristic of many learned people that when they achieve what they perceive to be a high level of learning that they become proud.  In many cases they begin to believe that their opinions are facts simply because they consider themselves to be more educated than those around them.  They abandon the spiritual teachings, since they imply that there is a greater source of knowledge than themselves and in so doing they lose not only the value of those spiritual teachings but also much of the value of the temporal learning that they have achieved.   Many of the learned in the most respected learning institution of our world no longer have the humility necessary to learn.  Consequently their progression is stopped and the more humble pass them by.  There is nothing wrong with the learning that you might receive in a place of higher education until that learning becomes your idol and God and displaces the counsels of God in your life.

Whenever I listen to the oratorio The Messiah, I always feel a thrill of excitement and joy when the chorus that is based on this scripture is sung.  What joy the multitudes of heaven must have had when Christ came to the Earth to compete his mission and to make it possible for us to have immortality and eternal life.  I feel a portion of what they must have felt every time I hear this inspired music.

The focus of  our life and the center of our religion is Jesus Christ.  He is our Savior and Redeemer.  It is only through Him that we can return to our Father's kingdom and have eternal life.

Baptism is the first step on the covenant path.  But there are other covenants that are also necessary for exaltation.  The emphasis here is that we must continually move in a positive direction and keep going toward our eternal goal.  God loves effort.  If we do our best, he will help us make up for our shortcomings.

A great deal of modern society revolves around the quest for wealth.  People generally deserve to have more than the presently have.  This is true no matter how much they have in the first place.  There is a belief that if a person has just a little bit more, that they will be happy.  Of course, this is a lie.  Happiness does not lie in wealth.  It resides in family and faith and charity.

Prayer is a central part of our personal worship.  We never grow too old to have a need for personal prayer.  Praying on a regular basis keeps us close to our Father in Heaven and helps protect us from going astray.  In times of trial our prayers become even more fervent.  The thing that we must learn is to pray to understand and do the Lord's will rather than insisting on our own desires, regardless of how good they might seem on the surface.

Service is a cornerstone of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Christ often referred to Himself as a servant to all.  It does not matter what religion you belong to; service to our fellowmen is still counted as service to God in the eyes of the almighty.  C. S. Lewis illustrated this concept in the final book of his classical series "The Chronicles of Narnia".  In the book entitled "The Last Battle", a soldier of a nation that worshiped a false God named Tash finds himself before the Lion Aslan, who in Lewis' allegory represents Jesus Christ.  This soldier had served the false God of his nation in the best way that he knew how his entire life.  And now when he encountered the true supreme being, he was fearful that he had not been serving Aslan all this time.  But Aslan claims the soldiers good deeds as deeds done on His behalf rather than done for Tash.  Here is how the soldier described his encounter with Aslan:

"Then I fell at his feet and thought, Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy of all honour) will know that I have served Tash all my days and not him. Nevertheless, it is better to see the Lion and die than to be Tisroc of the world and live and not to have seen him. But the Glorious One bent down his golden head and touched my forehead with his tongue and said, Son, thou art welcome. But I said, Alas Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash. He answered, Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me. Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. Dost thou understand, Child? I said, Lord, though knowest how much I understand. But I said also (for the truth constrained me), Yet I have been seeking Tash all my days. Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou wouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek.” 

This explanation helps us to understand why all religions should work together in serving humanity, and why those that reject the good service of any person because of their religion or any other reason are really rejecting God.

The atonement of Jesus Christ gives us the opportunity to overcome our sins and the mistakes that we all make and return to our Father in Heaven.  This is why the New Testament says that by grace alone we are saved.  Without the atonement of Christ no human actions would allow us to overcome sin.  However, just because we are saved by grace it does not mean that there is no obligation or necessity on our part to do anything.  Christ will judge us according to our works.  To be fully effective in our lives, our works must be good and we must repent of our sins.

Thoughts come before words and words come before actions.  If we truly wish to discipline ourselves we must start with out thoughts.  Ultimately, we choose what we think about.  While it is true that thoughts can come into our mind unbidden, it is our choice whether those thoughts stay or are replaced my something more appropriate.

In this scripture, Abinidi is taking the priests of King Noah to task because they were not teaching the things of the Spirit even though they were obligated to do so.  However, in our modern society there is a very clear parallel.  People tend to argue points (especially in social media) that they have neither researched, nor done anything else to gain a profound understanding of the subject.  Whenever I see someone reposting something from another source that is aligned with a certain political party or certain interest group, I am sure that there are untruths in the post.  People in our society are being manipulated by unscrupulous individuals that use partial truth, innuendos and outright lies to support their positions.  It is unfortunate that many people are perfectly happy to let other people do their thinking for them.

True conversion brings with it compassion for others, regardless of their circumstances.  There is no room for pride in a truly converted person and hence the converted do not speak or act against others because they do not adhere to the same beliefs or standards of the converted.  

Being in Church and having the Spirit of the Lord in you are two very different things.

People look for all kinds of excuses to ignore what they don't want to hear, even if it is true.  As C. S. Lewis wrote in the Chronicles of Narnia, "Oh Adam's sons, how cleverly you defend yourselves against that which would do you good!"

People talk a lot about what God wants, and usually miss the mark totally.  God wants us to make good choices and to become better than we currently are.  This requires that we repent.  That we forsake our sins and change ourselves to become more like Him.  God's great work is for us to become like Him.

The resurrection is a reality.  We will be restored to our body in its perfect form.  It is that state that we will stand before God to be judged according to our works and our desires.  There will be no hiding that which we have done wrong.  Neither will be able to deny it.  God's judgement will be perfect and we will not only accept it, but we will agree with it.

The Lord asks us to sacrifice our sins in order to know Him.  This includes overcoming our pride and our desires for the approval of men.  Many people are willing to give up something, and some people are even willing to give up money, but it is giving up our sins that the Lord requires.

Sometimes, we are tempted to brag about our accomplishments in the Church.  It may be some inspiration that we recieved that solved someone's problem.  It might be the number of baptisms we had during our missions.  It may be some position of importance that we are called to fill.  However, none of this matters.  What matters is our commitment to serve the Lord and to do his will.  If we work hard and always seek the Lord's guidance, it is very likely that we will be successful, BUT IF NOT, it doesn't make any difference to our eternal welfare.  Abinidi in the Book of Mormon never saw any fruits of his work.  He was never held in a postion of honor by others.  But there is no doubt that he was successful in God's eyes and will be appropriately rewarded.

The words of Alma, but a thought that is shared by almost every good missionary.

There are many ways that we can serve others, but the most valuable thing that we can share with them is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.\

Faith is a critical concept in religion.  There is a power in faith that sustains the believer.  God requires us to exercise faith and it is only when we step out into the unknown that He gives us our greatest blessings.   We may not be able to see the results of our faith immediately, if ever.  Receiving a sure confirmation, or a sign if you will, is not the main point of faith.   Even the confirmations of our faith that our Father gives us are not proofs in the sense that we can gather data and run statistics on our belief.  The confirmations come  as we look at events through our spiritual lens.  The proofs will not necessarily seem to be proofs to others, but to us as individuals, these events can result in a witness in our hearts that allows us to bear testimony of the truth, even without evidence that would be universally recognized.   Visions and voices do happen, but they are rare as they are not necessarily conducive to the foundation of faith that God wants us to build.  Thomas the Apostle in Christs time, said that he would believe if he saw.  Christ later told him that those that believed without having to see were more blessed.  And I think there is more power in this type of faith than there is in seeing.  Judas saw Christ and His miracles, but that didn't give him the spiritual power to overcome temptation and to be a miracle in his own right.

This scripture is very profound and has numerous aspects.  Certainly and entire book could be written on this one scripture.  One of the key aspects of this scripture for me is the clear indication that happiness and righteousness are connected together.  If we spend our lives in wickedness, although we may at times have momentary pleasure, the life spent in this way is empty and in the end, breeds only misery.  Doing what we can to be righteous in this life yields happiness now and in the life to come.

Repentance and mercy are directly connected.  God wants to forgive us, but repentance is required.  God does not excuse us unless we repent.  Repentance requires recognizing the sin, abandoning it AND asking the Lord  to forgive us.

There are numerous ways in which a man can be mighty and only one has to do with his physical nature.  A man can be mighty in understanding, in his desire for justice and freedom and in his ability to recognize the Lord's blessings.  Those that are mighty in these ways and in the faith of Christ can shake the power of hell and loosen the hold of Satan on the children of men.  The great need of our society has little to do with the topics that dominate in our political parties and in our news.  The great need of our society is for more men of integrity and honor.

The diligent teaching of children by righteous mothers AND fathers can yield miraculous results.  The Sons of Helaman speaking in this passage were protected from death in numerous battles as a result of their faith and that of their parents.  If we want our society to get back on track, we need mothers and fathers to honor their responsibilities as parents and teach their children the principles that will yield a good society.

Faith leads to obedience.  Obedience yields miracles.

Belief is a choice to accept the word of God.  The word of God cuts through all of the confusion and the fog that Satan throws at us.

In this life, you are going to be tested.  Satan wants to make you miserable and delights in your struggles.  If we constuct our lives with Jesus Christ as our foundation, the storms will still come, but they will have no power over us to make us miserable.  As President Hinkley once said, "Do good and be happy.  Do bad and be miserable."

"Know this, that every soul is free, to choose his life and what he'll be, for this Eternal truth is given, that God will force no man to heaven!"

Christ himself announces to Nephi his imminent birth and ministry.

The testimony of the Holy Ghost is a powerful and profound experience for those that are willing to hear.  In this case, the people heard the announcement of the coming of Jesus Christ to visit the people on the American continent.

I would rather see a sermon than hear one any day.

Christ is for all people.  He comes to them in his own time, but every people will hear his voice and thost that accept Him will be accepted in turn.

The establishment of the the United States was indeed directed by a divine power.  It was not a mistake and the country has certain blessings and tasks assigned to it.  

Faith is a widely misunderstood topic.  It is neither blind nor illogical.  However, it is a choice and it is not given or achieved without effort.  Faith will come as we apply hope to situations that we struggle with and after we gain perspective on the results of our struggle.  A lack of faith also does not come as a result of contrary evidence.  A lack of faith comes as a result of a decision not to believe.  While many state that they cannot accept something that they cannot observe with their own eyes, without thinking about it, they do it all the time.  Astronomers believe in dark matter although it can neither be seen or detected using the tools that we have.  We infer its existence based on our understanding of gravity and our observation of distant galaxies.  For many people that are not blinded by the sophistries of men, there are evidences just as strong that infer that there is a Divine Being who directs the workings of our universe.