A few weeks ago I had the chance to study 2 Nephi 4 in my personal study, our family study, and in Sunday school. I have always loved this passage of scripture. The language is beautiful. Nephi is honest and real. My heart breaks for him in his tragic situation. He just lost his father and now his brothers who he should be mourning with are becoming even more like enemies. He starts his song in sorrow and ends by praising the Lord and reaffirming his faith. I've always looked up to Nephi as a perfect example. I wish I had his faith, his obedience, his talent for pondering, and so many other things.
This time I saw something I hadn't noticed before in this chapter. In verses 31-32 Nephi is asking the Lord to redeem his soul despite his shortcomings, "O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?
May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite!..." I have always and will continue to always look up to Nephi for his strength; however, in this passage he didn't cite his strength as merit for his salvation. He pleaded to Heaven to be saved because his heart was broken and his spirit contrite. He didn't say save me because I was the only one who was obedient. He didn't say save me because I never lost faith. He didn't say save me because my trials have been so hard. He said save me because I'm doing all that I can do and repenting for the rest. He understood and relied wholly on the Atonement of Jesus Christ for his salvation.
I can and should look up to Nephi but I don't need to worry that I'm not as good as Nephi. I'll probably never be as obedient and my faith will probably falter in ways his never did. I may never learn to receive revelation the way he did. But it doesn't matter. The Lord asks for all we can do and then says his grace is sufficient for the rest. My best and Nephi's best may not be the same, but the grace of Christ applies to us both equally. I too can pray to be saved because my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite. I can't be perfect on my own. With Nephi I can rejoice in the strength of my Savior and pray for strength to become better. The gospel of Jesus Christ isn't about comparing, it's not about being as good as someone else or meeting certain bench marks of righteousness to attain salvation. It's about creating a partnership with our Savior and learning to live our lives with him.
Showing posts with label Nephi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nephi. Show all posts
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Hard Things
I've decided to try something new. Sunday Scriptures. Every Sunday I find myself pondering some great truth that I'm truly thankful for. I feel like my understanding and testimony have been strengthened. And then we get home from Church. And the week starts. And pondering becomes less and less as the week goes on. So this is my attempt to keep a little more. Plus writing always helps me solidify my thoughts and understand what it is I'm really thinking.
In 1st Nephi when Lehi tells his sons to go back to Jerusalem to get the plates from Laban, Laman and Lemuel complain. Lehi reports that they tell him "it is a hard thing which I have required of them," and Lehi responds "behold, I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord." And then Nephi comes in all his glory to tell us that no matter what the Lord commands, He also prepares a way that we can keep or accomplish the commandment (1 Ne 3:5-7). I've read this passage of scripture A LOT of times and in the past I've always thought Lehi was just telling Laman and Lemuel to buck up and be men. If the Lord commands it, it means it's not hard. After all, He even provides a way to accomplish it.
Last week when I read this scripture, and then again when it was mentioned in Sunday School yesterday, I realized how wrong I was. Lehi never denies that what is being asked is hard, he only corrects the misunderstanding that it was him doing the asking. Nephi never jumps up and down and shouting for joy that the Lord has asked one more easy thing of them. He never even says that the Lord will make it easy, he only says the Lord will make it possible. As I've continued in First Nephi I've been noticing how many times a bunch of stuff happens and then it says that it all came to pass while Lehi was living in a tent. I think that's included so we realize that what they were doing wasn't easy, it was hard! Over and over the Lord asked hard things of Lehi and his family. They lived in tents wandering in the wilderness. They didn't know where they were going. They left their home and friends. They were hungry. They had babies IN THE WILDERNESS LIVING IN TENTS. Nephi had to build a boat, he had never done that before. They all had to be brave enough to get on the boat Nephi built even though he had never built a boat before.
It's easy to get down on Laman and Lemuel and think they're just a bunch of whiners who were too wimpy to leave their cushy life in Jerusalem. But when I think about it, I probably would have whined too. Maybe I wouldn't have gotten all violent and tried to kill my brother, but that's for another day. The point is, the Lord asks us to do hard things. And when He does, we have two choices. We can either whine and ask why life is so hard, or we can have faith and ask the Lord for understanding. Every time Nephi prayed to understand a prophesy or a commandment, he received an answer. His faith never faltered through the hard things because he asked the right questions. "I can do hard things" is a pretty common saying, but I don't think I can do hard things. I think with enough faith and the help of my Savior I can do all that He asks of me, together we can do all things.
In 1st Nephi when Lehi tells his sons to go back to Jerusalem to get the plates from Laban, Laman and Lemuel complain. Lehi reports that they tell him "it is a hard thing which I have required of them," and Lehi responds "behold, I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord." And then Nephi comes in all his glory to tell us that no matter what the Lord commands, He also prepares a way that we can keep or accomplish the commandment (1 Ne 3:5-7). I've read this passage of scripture A LOT of times and in the past I've always thought Lehi was just telling Laman and Lemuel to buck up and be men. If the Lord commands it, it means it's not hard. After all, He even provides a way to accomplish it.
Last week when I read this scripture, and then again when it was mentioned in Sunday School yesterday, I realized how wrong I was. Lehi never denies that what is being asked is hard, he only corrects the misunderstanding that it was him doing the asking. Nephi never jumps up and down and shouting for joy that the Lord has asked one more easy thing of them. He never even says that the Lord will make it easy, he only says the Lord will make it possible. As I've continued in First Nephi I've been noticing how many times a bunch of stuff happens and then it says that it all came to pass while Lehi was living in a tent. I think that's included so we realize that what they were doing wasn't easy, it was hard! Over and over the Lord asked hard things of Lehi and his family. They lived in tents wandering in the wilderness. They didn't know where they were going. They left their home and friends. They were hungry. They had babies IN THE WILDERNESS LIVING IN TENTS. Nephi had to build a boat, he had never done that before. They all had to be brave enough to get on the boat Nephi built even though he had never built a boat before.
It's easy to get down on Laman and Lemuel and think they're just a bunch of whiners who were too wimpy to leave their cushy life in Jerusalem. But when I think about it, I probably would have whined too. Maybe I wouldn't have gotten all violent and tried to kill my brother, but that's for another day. The point is, the Lord asks us to do hard things. And when He does, we have two choices. We can either whine and ask why life is so hard, or we can have faith and ask the Lord for understanding. Every time Nephi prayed to understand a prophesy or a commandment, he received an answer. His faith never faltered through the hard things because he asked the right questions. "I can do hard things" is a pretty common saying, but I don't think I can do hard things. I think with enough faith and the help of my Savior I can do all that He asks of me, together we can do all things.
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