Prayer and Temples

This week I read about Enos's big day of prayer and King Benjamin's speech before he died. I had a few thoughts while reading: I love reading of Enos's day of prayer. In verse 2 he says, " and I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins." I like the describing word, wrestle. To me that indicates something hard, took all he had to give, went back and forth. My oldest son was on his high school wrestling team so I had the opportunity to watch a lot of wrestling matches. I tell you, that is one tough sport. It takes every ounce of strength and every muscle in a body for those few minutes of each match. I think Enos ended up winning an entire tournament after his prayer wrestle before God. There are other examples of people praying and hearing the words that their sins are forgiven them and it does not seem like much effort was put into it, although I am sure that is not true. Enos, however, spends an entire day in prayer, really pouring out his heart and soul. Then he is rewarded with the forgiveness of his sins. Wrestle is a good term for what he went through. I love the example Enos gives us of praying for himself and then praying for his family and then his people and then his enemies. I understand how a prayer can move along like that. I have had some experiences lately that have filled my heart with gratitude for the blessings in my life and my heart aching for the trials of people around me. I have been the Relief Society president in my ward for a whole six weeks now. I hear of the struggles of the women and their families and my heart just aches. Sometimes there are things I can do for them to actually help solve the problem. There have been a few that I can not do anything about. But I can pray. I know that Heavenly Father hears those prayers. I know that he knows what is going on and what these people need. King Benjamin called his people together so he could speak to them one last time before he died. They gathered and pitched their tents toward the temple. This was a literal action for these people but I think we can all figuratively do the same thing by the way we live and what we focus on. We are lucky enough to live close to the only temple in our state. We have physically pitched our tent toward the temple. But this is not enough. Yes, I feel like we live in a great place and are blessed just by being here, but we actually have to do things to receive all the blessings of the temple. We also have to listen to the words of our prophet, just like the Nephites. We have to choose to be obedient to the commandments. We have to attend the temple, not just look at it as we drive by. My sons go to early morning seminary and our temple shares a parking lot with our stake center. They have all mentioned how nice it is to start their day looking at the temple. It makes them feel safe and like they can face the challenges of their day with that starting point. Mosiah 2:30 reads, " for even at this time, my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly while attempting to speak unto you, but the Lord God doth support me..." As I read these words I was reminded of the time in General Conference when Elder Wirthlin was speaking and began shaking so badly he could hardly stand, but he had something he wanted to share with us so he kept speaking. In a tender moment of love for his friend, Elder Nelson came and stood behind him, steadying him just enough. This last conference we watched as President Monson lost strength and was sinking further down that podium, afraid that he was going to fall. President Uchtdorf sat on the edge of his seat, ready to catch our prophet. President Monson was able to say the words he wanted us to hear. I think these moments will forever be burned in my memory. I know the Lord support his servants as they shared his word with us.

Game Plans

So, Brother Harper, since I am sure you are the only one who is going to read this I am going to write it just for you! This week's reading was so much easier to understand than last week's Isaiah chapters. In your notes from the instructor you asked us to look for Satan's tools and tactics and then to look for what Nephi tells us to do to win. So, as I was reading I made a list of the ways Satan would try to deceive us in the last days. There are many. Here are a few: false churches and false Christ's will be built up, churches and men will contend with each other, people will deny the Holy Ghost, people will deny the power of God, people will say that God is no longer a God of miracles. ' And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.' (2 Nephi 28:8) Pride will run rampant, people will persecute the meek and revile against that which is good. Satan will stir up men to anger. Others he will pacify and lull away. Many will be lured away by flattery. People will think that we do not need any other scriptures than the bible, that God no longer speaks to man. This is a long list. As I was reading I thought of how all of these things are happening right now in our society. It is a bit frightening to see the hold that Satan seems to have on so many. Satan wants as many of us as he can possibly get. It is work to not be deceived by him. In these verses in chapter 28 we get Satan's game plan. We have been warned about what he plans to do. Now that we know, we have an advantage in this game of life. We also get the game plan for Christ's team. Nephi tells us we need to pray always, to feast upon the words of Christ, to keep the commandments, to be full of charity, have faith, have hope, repent of our sins and as it reads in 2 Nephi 31:20 we 'must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.' There is such a difference in the feeling of the words between the tactics of Satan and the things followers of Christ need to do. Satan's game plan feels dark and frightening where Christ's plan feels light and happy. We are so blessed to have the words of ancient and modern prophets to give us a game plan for life, for the battle against Satan that began in heaven and continues on the earth. Christ's way really is easier. We get to choose who we follow. I choose to follow Christ. All I have to do is press forward and endure to the end. Not so hard, right?

Great are the Words of Isaiah

I am currently enrolled in an on-line book of Mormon class. This week our reading was in 2 Nephi chapters 9-16 which include a lot of the words of Isaiah. Isaiah is hard to understand. Knowing that I struggle with the Isaiah chapters I spent a lot of time this week reading and listening to the additional course materials. I watched and took notes on all the Digging Deeper clips. I read the Institute Manual sections for these chapters. I was hoping to gain additional insights with these resources. I read the Isaiah chapters. I struggled to understand what I was reading. I planned to go back over the Book of Mormon chapters to see if I could pick out the information that was discussed in the additional resources. However, life got in the way. I had some crazy stuff happen with my calling and my family. I appreciated this quote from President Packer in the institute manual: “Most [readers] readily understand the narrative of the Book of Mormon. “Then, just as you settle in to move comfortably along, you will meet a barrier. … Interspersed in the narrative, are chapters reciting the prophecies of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. They loom as a barrier, like a roadblock or a checkpoint beyond which the casual reader, one with idle curiosity, generally will not go. “You, too, may be tempted to stop there, but do not do it! Do not stop reading! Move forward through those difficult-to-understand chapters of Old Testament prophecy, even if you understand very little of it. Move on, if all you do is skim and merely glean an impression here and there. Move on, if all you do is look at the words” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1986, 76; or Ensign, May 1986, 61). I was struggling with this weeks reading but I did read the words and a couple of things stuck out to me. 2 Nephi 9:20 reads, "O how great the holiness of our God!for he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it." It brings comfort to me to read these words and believe that God knows the beginning from the end. It helps me move along in my life trusting that He knows what I need to do and become and He will lead me along. I brings peace to my heart to know that God is in the details of my life. I also love 2 Nephi 9:41, "O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name." Knowing that Christ is the one who will make the final judgement is awesome. He who descended below all things and knows all things will be our final judge. he will not delegate away that responsibility. He will satisfy both justice and mercy. He loves us beyond our wildest imagination. He gave his life for us so we do not have to suffer. His judgement will be a righteous, loving tender and fair judgement. so, even though I had a tough week and did not get to do all that I wanted and had a hard time with the scriptures, I still learned valuable things. I had experiences that proved to me that God is indeed in the details of our lives and I am grateful for the tender mercies I received.

Nephi or Laman and Lemuel. Which one am I?

I am studying the Book of Mormon again. "I, Nephi, having been born or goodly parents..." I have read that phrase many times. The stories and events in the first book of Nephi are very familiar to me. I often think of Nephi as the good guy, the main character, and Laman and Lemuel the bad guys and smaller characters who just never get it. This time as I am studying this book I am drawn to Laman and Lemuel. Not that I want to be like them, but what can I learn from them so that I do not become like them. As I compare and contrast these three men to each other I see the vast differences in their attitudes and choices. Nephi is perfectly faithful and obedient and has a positive and grateful attitude in all circumstances. Even when he is tied up and being beaten by his brothers, he praises the Lord for his blessings. Laman and Lemuel constantly see the bad in all their circumstances. Whining and murmuring and being angry with their younger brother and their prophet father. their horrible attitudes always make the situation worse for themselves and for the people around them. Then I think of myself. Am I more like Nephi or more like Laman and Lemuel? Oh it is hard to search my soul, my attitude and my desires and see Laman and Lemuel in me. I get frustrated. I get angry. I murmur. I forget the great blessings the Lord has given to me in the past and worry that I will be left to wander in my own personal wilderness. I do not want to be like them. I do not want to be the bad guy. Laman and Lemuel were fair weather fans. When things were good, they were humble, they were decent. Then something would go wrong and they immediately lost faith and were angry. Do I do this? I have to admit that I have. Even as horrible as Laman and Lemuel were, every time they repented, they were forgiven. The Lord loved them too. He wanted them to be happy too. Maybe all the return trips to Jerusalem and the years in the wilderness were chances for them to change and become truly converted. Nephi, on the other hand is always faithful and obedient. When he needs guidance in any situation, he immediately turns to prayer, never doubting that the Lord will answer him. And then when he receives an answer, he acts on it. Trusting that the Lord will not leave him to fail. Nephi seeks the counsel of his prophet father and when he speaks, Nephi obeys. Do I listen and act on the counsel from prophets? Do I turn to the Lord for help? Nephi gets some pretty big assignments. Get the brass plates. Build a ship. I love how he does not ask for a blue print of the completed boat but instead asks where he should go to find ore to make tools. He learns step by step, line upon line. I so often want to know the end from the beginning before I act. Nephi has some pretty hard things happen to him. He has to leave his home and wealth to live in the wilderness. His brothers abuse him and try to kill him many times. He faces hunger and hard work in the wilderness. He never murmurs. He gives thanks to the Lord in his afflictions. Nephi is an amazing example of faith and obedience and forgiveness and gratitude. I want to be like Nephi. I have been thinking about these three men. Which one am I more like? I have realized that I am like all three of them at different times in my life. What I am learning is that I really want to be more like Nephi. When I see my Laman and Lemuel side coming out I need to step back and think about what I am doing and what the consequences might be. I can learn a lot from these guys. I have moments of Nephi like faith and obedience. I need to foster those attributes. I am grateful for the examples of all three men. I can choose daily who I am going to be. Today I choose Nephi.

Knights in Shining Armor or a good excuse...

I took the boys to Goodwill to outfit them for the upcoming trek. They were happy to see the group of girls they like at the store. Waverly was also excited to see her girlfriends. She followed them all around. They were nice to her. The boys had fun for a few minutes shopping with the girls, trying to find the craziest clothes they could. Moments after walking in the door, they got messages from the girls that their car won't start. Madsen was very quick to reply that he could go rescue them. The driver-girl even told her dad that M and S could get to them faster than he could. So, off they went to rescue these damsels in distress. The boys might be happy for an opportunity to serve... or the opportunity to hang out with the girls a little longer.

Summer of Missionary Prep/Life Skills...

This is the last week of school and just like it does every year, the anxiety is building up. I do love having my kids home, the lack of schedule, sleeping in, swimming, family adventures... But I also struggle having the kids home, lack of schedule, sleeping in... It does not take long for the kids to complain of being bored, hot etc. Every summer I have great plans to adventure and learn with the kids. Every summer I fail and we end up watching way too much t.v., playing too many video games and pretty much accomplishing nothing. I am determined to not have that happen this time!So my mental planning is happening. I plan to have a job every day, many projects completed, artwork created, books read, games played, miles run, hours at the pool, and yes, naps! Last night I had the stroke of genius to have a summer of missionary/college/life prep. I have one year (holy crap) left with Madsen in my house. He needs to learn how to live without his mother. The other boys can learn with him. So, if you have any great suggestions on things to teach my boy in the final year before he leaves home, I would love to hear it! Meal planning and shopping and cooking are top on the list. Laundry, budgeting, time management, cleaning, changing flat tires (I know how now after last weeks adventure), sewing on buttons, tie a tie... the list can go on and on. Some of my big projects include building a fire pit, building our own patio furniture, building Wave's playhouse, painting bedrooms, artwork for my big wall, building raised garden beds, building shelves for closets. Big plans. How much will actually happen is yet to be seen! I really want Madsen to get a job so he can earn some dollars for that upcoming mission. Matt is taking 2 weeks off, one in June and one in July. We are planning to spend some time in Asheville and the mountains we have yet to explore. The big adventure will be a trip to Washington D.C. We have lived here for 9 years and have yet to make that trip. We will also hit Colonial Williamsburg and Water Country USA. The boys love the beach so we will have to take a weekend or maybe just a day trip to the coast. My next post just might be all about my summer failings.

Prom tonight

Tonight is the Prom. So far it has cost me $400. Yep, for a date. For my 16 year old. He will have to pay me back for the corsage ($50!!!) and the tickets, $80. He is excited and his date is a super good and cute girl in our ward. We picked up his tux last night and he got his hair cut. They are taking pictures at 5:00, dinner at 6:30, dance for a while, bowling and then heading to one boys house for food and fun. Maddie has a 1:00 curfew so I told Madsen that his curfew is however many minutes later it takes him to get home from dropping her off, which is about 7. I hope they have a fun time and that Maddie will still like Madsen at church on Sunday! I will post pictures when we have them. And, for the record, I am going to learn how to make corsages and boutonnieres over the summer. That way for the dances next year I can make them for any kid that wants me to and save them a ton of money.