Hello World, I'm glad I'm able to write to you again on this frigid Monday.
We have often heard that the Spirit will gently guide us down the path we should walk, helping us avoid the pitfalls of life. The Spirit is that still, small voice of perfect mildness that whispers to us what we should do. This week I didn't so much hear a whisper from the Spirit as I heard him shout through a megaphone. And I wasn't nudged along the path I should walk rather I was grabbed by the shoulders and shoved in the direction. Or at least that's how it seemed to me.
33 Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
34 Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meekand lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.
35 O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.
36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea,let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
First off I need to clarify a number in my last post. While there are 1117 instances of the phrase "And it came to pass" in the Book of Mormon, if we remove the 'and' and allow for the use of other words like 'therefore' and 'behold' the number of instances jumps up to 1351. Just a sidenote as I was playing around the the search function in the Book of Mormon PDF.
Back to today's blog post:
We have often heard that the Spirit will gently guide us down the path we should walk, helping us avoid the pitfalls of life. The Spirit is that still, small voice of perfect mildness that whispers to us what we should do. This week I didn't so much hear a whisper from the Spirit as I heard him shout through a megaphone. And I wasn't nudged along the path I should walk rather I was grabbed by the shoulders and shoved in the direction. Or at least that's how it seemed to me.
I woke up Friday morning dead. Or at least I felt that way. Regardless of what illness I had I wasn't exactly fit for missionary work. My mind was running at half speed and I was generally feeling pretty terrible. But I begrudgingly got out of bed and got ready for the day. I proceeded to do my personal and companion studies, and then I was faced with the choice of whether I was going to leave the apartment or not. This to me was a struggle. We had lessons to be taught and people to visit, but I felt like if I left the house I would end up being too sick to be useful.
Trying to be as humble as I could I decided to get on my knees and simply ask "What should I do?" I trusted that my Father in Heaven would answer my prayers if I simply asked him. After my short prayer I sat in my chair for a few moments pondering on what should be done. I received the impression that I should flip open my Book of Mormon. No page number or scripture entered my mind, simply the thought of opening it. So although I was a tad skeptical and wondering why the Lord couldn't just put the answer right in my head, I opened the book to a random page towards the middle of the book.
It just so happened that the page I opened to was page 303, right in the middle of some council Alma the Younger is giving to his son Helaman. As I glanced at the page a small section grabbed my attention which happened to be Alma 37:33-36. I began to read and as I did my answer became clear. The selection of verses is as follows:
34 Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meekand lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.
35 O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.
36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea,let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
The first verse probably would have sufficed me if I hadn't been sick. But at this time I needed the additional 3 verses to really get the shove in the right direction. I not only needed to know what I should do, which was answered with verse 33, but I also needed to know what to do if I faltered while out of the apartment, which answer is contained in verse 36.
The Spirit prompted me to open the scriptures, and as I showed faith and followed the prompting I was given my answer an some additional advice on how I was going to accomplish the task at hand. Because I followed this prompting and the advice from the scriptures I found strength throughout the day so that I could accomplish all the things I had planned. And as soon as I returned home and finished planning, I fell asleep exhausted. The Lord knows our needs, and will provide if we are faithful, diligent, and humble.
I know that the Lord answers prayers. He has often answered them through simple feelings or impressions. Other times he uses his scriptures to really get the point across in writing. I know that as you pray for guidance and assistance, and follow the promptings you receive from the Holy Ghost, you will gain the blessings that will come from diligence and faith.
I love you all, and hope you have a great week.
Elder Gailey
No comments:
Post a Comment