Tight Like Unto a Dish

Hello Everyone, for this week I'd like to take a rather peculiar text for my source.  It's one that I think most English majors, or anyone who cares for clear, concise writing, will cringe a little at.  The verse comes from the Book of Ether, and specifically verse 17 in chapter 2:

"And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish."

Now I wonder how waterproof these barges were.  Something tells me they weren't likely to get any leaks, but I can't quite place my finger on the reason behind that.  

So it's rather obvious that these barges were "tight like unto a dish", it was stated 4 times for some obvious emphasis.  But why would that be such a key description?  And why would their ships need to be so waterproof?  Nephi's boat carried no such description, so it probably wasn't built after the manner of the early Jaredite ships.  

If we look a little later in the chapter we learn the reason for the Lord's command to build these barges after this manner:

"For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?"  (Ether 2:24-25)

The reasons the barges were so waterproof was because they had no other option but to be "tight like unto a dish".  Any weaker barge wouldn't have survived under the tremendous waves and storms that awaited the Jaredites.  

Now let's take some advice from Nephi and "liken all scriptures" unto ourselves, even the ones with insane repetition (1 Nephi 19:23).  We are all attempting to make it across this sea of mortality, we travel from a land of genesis to a land of promise.  We have left our Father's presence for a time, and are in the probationary state working towards our eternal 'land of promise'.  But as we all learn, this mortal life has it's waves, winds, and tempests.  They are unavoidable, but necessary for us to achieve our goal of Eternal Life.  

We are much like the Jaredite barges in many ways.  We were carefully created by a master craftsman so that we can endure our brief stint in mortality.  In speaking to Joshua after the death of Moses, Jehovah gave these great lines of comfort:

"As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."  (Joshua 1:5)

The Lord knows that we will be in mortality until our work is completed.  We will not be left in the depths of the sea longer than we can bear.  The Lord will always lift us up from the depths of our sorrow and fear.  The Lord gave comfort to Joshua as he took upon himself the mantle of leading the Children of Israel into the Promised Land, and he will be there to comfort us just the same.  

If there was one thing I could tell you, or one thing to take away from this, it's that the Lord will not let you bear more than you are able.  We are all "tight like unto a dish" and we will not sink in the depths of our trials and afflictions if we rely on the merits and grace of Christ.  I have been physically, emotionally, and spiritually tried in my (almost) 20 years on this Earth.  But not once have I ever been given a task to great or a trial far beyond my strength.  I may have had my strength, endurance, and faith matched by my trials, but they have never been overcome.  

The scriptures are full of insight and wisdom.  These simple verses contain so many promises and implications.  Search the scriptures and find those treasures of knowledge.  Dig deep and question boldly, and you will find that the Lord will reward your honest and faithful inquiries.  

I hope that you all have a great week.  This blog post was one I've been wanting to do for some time because it showcases the fact that every verse and story is placed in the Book of Mormon with careful consideration, and there is knowledge to be gleaned from even the most obscure of verses.  

Take care everyone!

Love, Elder Gailey

Attitude of Gratitude

Hello Everyone!  Hope you're all having a great week.

This week I want to talk about a subject that has been pounded into my brain by my beloved mother.  This week I want to talk about gratitude and how being grateful to those around us and to the Lord can bring the love of Christ into our lives. 

I'd like to open by turning to the life of Christ for a perfect example of how gratitude is truly a godly virtue.  When Christ arrived in Bethany after hearing of Lazarus' illness, he was greeted with the news that Lazarus had died and had been laid in a tomb.  Christ, knowing of the power of the Father, went forth to raise him from the dead.  Before Christ spoke to Lazarus, he paused for a moment and what followed is recorded in John 11:41-44:

"41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

44 And he that was dead came forth"

Christ, he who had so much power given to him that he created the heavens and the earth, humbles himself before his Father to give thanks for his answered prayers.  Christ knows where his strength comes from, and knows how lost he would be without it.  In that similar manner, each of us should strive to be more aware of the strength that we receive from our loving Heavenly Father.  We may not raise the dead or part the Red Sea, but we will be given the strength and power to perform our own miracles in our times of need.  When we are given that strength, we should not hesitate to fall to our knees and thank our Heavenly Father for all of the tender mercies he has bestowed upon us. 

Now we'll turn to a bad example, because there are plenty of warnings we can find in the scriptures about having a lack of gratitude.  A prime example of a people that lacked gratitude, or love, for their God are the Nephites in the book of Helaman.  In verse 13 of chapter 4 we learn why the Spirit of the Lord stopped accompanying the Nephites in their hardships:

"And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength"

These Nephites trusted in the flesh of their arms, rather than that God who had created them.  And so they were left with only the flesh.  The same thing is capable of happening to us if we lose our gratitude for the Lord's assistance in our lives.  

 

Having an attitude of gratitude is one of the most godlike attributes we can have.  Because if we have sincere gratitude for our God and our fellow-man, then our gratitude will be shown not just in word, but in deed.  I hope that each of you in the next coming days take notice of the tender mercies of the Lord, and of the kindness of others, and then act upon those blessings by praying in gratitude or giving thanks to people for their kindness.  I'm very grateful for the opportunity that I have each week to write to you and to share my feelings and testimony on a particular topic, it is truly one of the highlights of my week. 

I hope you all are safe and well, and that you enjoy the upcoming summer months!

Love, Elder Gailey  

The Importance of Modern Revelation

Hey Everyone, hope you're all enjoying this fine weather!

Well I guess I'm not sure if you have good weather.  Here in New York it's 83 degrees outside and we have clear blue skies, but I doubt it'll last long.  So we're enjoying it while we can!

Today I want to talk for a little bit about the importance of the 3rd member of the Godhead.  He is the one that we have the most common relationship with throughout our lives.  The Holy Ghost, who is a personage of spirit without a body of flesh and bone (See D&C 130:22-23), is essential to our Heavenly Father's plan for his children.  He is the one who carries the message of Christ's gospel to the hearts of the children of men so that they may know for themselves the truthfulness of it.  I know that I've spoken about the Holy Ghost before, and in this week's post I wish to look at it in a different light.  Before I've spoken about the Holy Ghost on a personal level, how we as God's children can access greater knowledge and truth through his power.  And this week I wish to tackle a concern that I've encountered a number of times.  It's not a difficult question, but it's one that could arise in anyone's life.  The question is as follows:

How do I know if the promptings I receive are from the Holy Ghost?

Now since I have limited time to write, and I don't exactly feel like doing another series on this sort of a question, I wish to give you two possible ways to search for the answer to your problem.  The first is to look inward and ask yourself if the choice you are mulling over will bring you closer to your Savior in word and deed.  If you can honestly say that the choice you are considering will bring you closer to Christ and your Heavenly Father, then you're a step closer to identifying the best choice.  The Holy Ghost will never prompt you to do anything that the Savior himself would not encourage you to do. 

He is one with the Father and the Son in purpose and in message.  And because he is one with them you can be sure that he would convey the same message and council through his chosen apostles and prophets in these times.  In a recent Ensign article, an excerpt from a talk by Orson F. Whitney was included on the last page.  Some wise council from him still rings true today:

"What the Lord said to the Jews and Nephites 2,000 years ago or what He said to the Latter-day Saints 50 or 60 years ago has no force whatever at this time unless it agrees with present-day revelation, with the Lord’s most recent instructions to His people through His chosen or appointed servants or servant"

My advice to all who receive revelation from the Holy Ghost, which includes all of us, is to make sure that we check those promptings with modern revelation and with the example of the Savior.  Understand that we as a church are not one in opinion, attitude, or demeanor, but we are one in current doctrine.  I would recommend reading the excerpt from Orson F. Whitney's talk, because he goes more in depth on why we do things as a church, and why the church continues to grow and shape itself. 

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/03/built-upon-the-rock?lang=eng

I hope you all have a great week, and I'll write to you all soon!

Love, Elder Gailey

Be the Leaven

Hey there Everyone, hope your week is going well!

So this week I wish to talk about one of my favorite parables from the Gospel of Matthew.  It's a pretty short one, but I've come to love it recently as I've been studying the importance of doing good and being good at all times. The parable comes from Matthew 13 verse 33, which reads:  "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."  

So I love this short parable, one because it references baking bread which is one of my favorite things, and it also references what we as people should strive to do as we go about our mortal probation, which is simply to uplift the world.  To "lift those with feeble knees, hold up the arms of those that hang down. Live the gospel of Jesus Christ." (Preach My Gospel, p168)

A message similar to this one was the basis for the General Conference address by Sister Linda K. Burton where she spoke of the importance of lifting one another in our families. One of the quotes that she used from Elder Robert D. Hales has stuck with me recently, which goes as such:

"Thee lift me, and I'll lift thee, and we'll ascend together"  

 (Robert D. Hales, “Strengthening Families: Our Sacred Duty,” Ensign, May 1999)

Within our society we should be looking to help uplift those around us.  Many of our spirit brothers and sisters are worn down and wearied by the world.  They are in need of our support and any strength we can lend.  When Christ was upon the earth he came to serve, not to be served.  And if we desire to live a life like Christ's we should go about doing things as he would do them. 

I would challenge each of you to be the 'leaven' in society that will lift those around you.  We are all striving towards creating Zion, but the people in that glorified city didn't become that way because of one person living a Christ-like life.  Zion was created as every member of that society lifted one another until they were brought up in their glory. 

Look for at least one person that you can uplift this week.  Look for someone that may need a kind word, or some assistance that you could gladly render.  What small act of service you render may make the world for someone else, never underestimate the power of simple acts of kindness, for it is upon simple acts that we gain our salvation and "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass" (Alma 37:6).

I wish you all the best, and I can't wait to write again next week!

Love, Elder Gailey

"Because they knew not..."

Hey there everyone!

I thought this week I would talk for a little while about Laman and Lemuel, specifically from one lesson that I learned from them.

It has been pointed out to me, and I would now like to point it out to you if you didn't know, that every character in the Book of Mormon is either an example, or a warning.  To list a few examples there is Nephi, Nephi, and Nephi.  They're all great men with unshaken faith in the Lord.  And those are Nephi son of Lehi, Nephi son of Helaman, and Nephi son of Nephi; respectively. 

Some examples of prime warnings to us are Korihor, Nehor, and of course the subject of today's blog, Laman and Lemuel. 

We often look at Laman and Lemuel and see their story as almost comedic.  There is the oft repeated cycle in the 1 Nephi where a trial comes, Laman and Lemuel murmur, Nephi shows faith and works miracles, and Laman and Lemuel repent for a short while before murmuring again about some other inconvenience.

I have often wondered how and why Laman and Lemuel could be so hard in their hearts that even a visitation of an angel wasn't enough to set them on the right path.  To cover the how, lets turn to the very beginning of 1 Nephi, beginning in Chapter 2, Verse 12:

"And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them."

This scripture was one that I have missed many a time while reading the beginning of 1 Nephi.  But it tells where Laman and Lemuel made their grave error in their path to salvation.  They strayed so far from the 'straight and narrow' because they had disregarded the teachings of the prophets and the testimonies of the future birth of Christ.  And while this is how Laman and Lemuel became warnings, I find the why to be even more intriguing. 

We learn about the all important 'why' to Laman and Lemuel's actions in the 17th Chapter of 1 Nephi.  Amidst Nephi's obedience to build a ship, Laman and Lemuel in their usual fashion come and mock Nephi's righteous example, seeking to tear him down even to being "exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when [Laman and Lemuel] saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts".

In the rebuttal to their mocking attitude, Nephi drops some doctrine on his brothers from the Plates of Brass.  In verses 26 and 51 of the above chapter Nephi states:

"Now ye know that Moses was commanded of the Lord to do that great work; and ye know that by his word the waters of the Red Sea were divided hither and thither, and they passed through on dry ground."

"And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?"

I find there are two things to be learned from these short passages.  One is that Laman and Lemuel were not completely ignorant of the past.  They understood and even believed that Moses, Abraham, and Jacob were men that were called of God and performed many great and miraculous things.

In the second item to note we see that Laman and Lemuel, despite their belief in the books of Moses, believed that the works of God were merely a thing of the past.  They did not, and it seems that they could not, believe that God was still a god of miracles. 

A lesson to be learned from this is to never put the things of God in the past.  Don't restrict your belief in God to that of a partially loving or partially powerful deity.  If we desire to not be like Laman and Lemuel, believe that God is, not that God was.  Understand and study the scriptures with the mindset that if "the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men," he can still do so today.  Equally important with the worship of God is having the understanding of who it is we worship.  I exhort you to focus this week on growing in understanding of who you worship.  Know who your Heavenly Father is, because without understanding who your God is and his manner of working among us, your worship is misplaced much like Laman and Lemuel's. 

It has become my firm testimony, and I use the phrase become because I did not always know this, that God is our ever-loving Heavenly Father.  He perfectly understand us and our struggles.  Just as he has worked in the past, he is working in the present, and throughout the remaining time on this earth, he will be working among the children of men as they are faithful in keeping his commandments. 

I hope and pray that you all have a great week, and I'll speak to you again next week!

Love, Elder Gailey

He Lives

Hello Everyone!

So this week, I would like to do something a little different.  Seeing as how it was both Easter Sunday and General Conference this weekend.  I would like to issue you all a mini challenge for this upcoming week. 

The challenge is as such:  Follow the link below and watch the video "Because He Lives".  I would then like for you to find two things.  One is a quote or a story from General Conference pertaining to the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ.  The second is a story from your own life, or a testimony of Christ's Atoning power.  Once you have both of those things, I would challenge you to post on Facebook or a personal Blog, the video, quote, and story/testimony for the world to see.

I find it so amazing to hear how the Atonement of Christ has enabled people to become better humans.  But I find it more amazing when I see and hear of people sharing those stories so that others can partake of the joy that is available to all of our Heavenly Father's children. 

I would like to just bear my short testimony of the power in the Atonement.  It allows us not just to change those negative portions of ourselves, but it also enables us to enhance the positives.  The purpose of this gospel is to make bad men good, and good men better.  I know that the Atonement can work miracles in your life.  There isn't a day that goes by when you can't use the Atonement, and not a day goes by when you shouldn't use it.  You can never repent too much or show too much gratitude for what the Savior has done.

Because He Lives: http://www.mormon.org/easter

General Conference: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2015/04

I love you all, and hope that you had a wonderful weekend!

Love, Elder Gailey

Roots and Branches

Hello Everyone!

So this week I thought that I would share a scripture that caught my eye during my most recent read-through of the Book of Mormon.  I think that most of us know of the great allegory of the tame and wild olive trees in the 5th chapter of Jacob.  Some of us love the chapter and the great insights into the mind of our Heavenly Father.  Others look at it as a trudge though a never-ending series of grafting, digging, pruning, and dunging.  I personally love this allegory, and so does Jacob as it appears.

After relating this 77 verse parable to the Nephites, Jacob continues his address by expounding upon the tale in the 6th chapter of Jacob.  This is where my focus will be.  More specifically I would like to focus on the 4th verse in this particular chapter, which reads:

"And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God."

As I was reading through this verse, a tie in to recent activities in the church stood out to me.  The phrase that hit me was that our merciful god remembereth the house of Israel "both the roots and branches".  In line with the allegory, we can see how we as current house of Israel are the branches.  We are currently flourishing and giving life to the tree of which we are a part.  In missionary work, at least the sort that I am partaking in, our focus is generally on the 'branches'.  But I would like to make a push, in line with the recent "Temple Challenge" for the youth of the church, to find and to do missionary work for those in the 'roots' category.

I would like to echo Elder Anderson's challenge to the youth of the church.  To see the video of this challenge if you haven't already, feel free to check out the link below.  But I would like to extend this challenge to all people.  Temple work, and work in the church in general, are not age specific.  Temple work is for all of the church, and I would encourage each of you to find just one name from your 'roots' that you can bless by preparing to take it to the temple.

I would encourage all of you to gain the Spirit of Elijah, and see the great worth in temple work and completing temple ordinances.  Remember the scripture in the15th verse of the 18th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which reads:

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

Find that one soul, living or dead, that you can help bring into the kingdom of our Father.  I hope that you will all partake in the joy of temple work.  And I pray that you all have a great week, it truly is a blessing to be able to write to you all.

Love, Elder Gailey