Born of God

Mosiah 27:25 is one of my favorite scriptures in the whole Book of Mormon. It says "And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters." It is required by ALL men to be born again, born of God. I think that being born of God means truly dedicating our lives to the Lord, doing the things that He would have us do instead of what the world would have. We must be changed from our carnal and fallen state. This requires a change of heart, repentance, and a lot of effort. It will require sacrifice to be born again. The repentance process is not always easy, but it is so worth it. I am thankful for the opportunity that the Lord gives us to be born again. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said "God doesn't care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go." This is a truth that I am most grateful for. Our Heavenly Father wants us to be born again, and He will help us to get there.

HE Was Wounded For OUR Transgressions

I've always had a hard time understanding all of the teachings of Isaiah, but I love the way he paints a picture with his words. Mosiah 14:4-5 says "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." In class this week we emphasized the words HE and OUR. This is one of my very favorite scriptures, and it becomes more meaningful when you read it like this. HE was wounded for OUR transgressions, HE was bruised for OUR iniquities. The earth has seen no greater act of love than the atonement of Jesus Christ. I am being healed because He was wounded for me. This week I have struggled with a few things. In a moment of weakness I sometimes think that I can solve all of my problems on my own. I get too proud to ask for help from my Savior. That's not what the atonement is for. The atonement covers every aspect of our lives. He was wounded for my transgressions, He wants to help me. I know that by calling upon the Lord for help I will be able to feel of His love for me and He will give me the strength that I need.

Turn To The Lord

I was provided with a source of comfort this week as I read Mosiah 7. Verse 33 says "But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, He will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage." This has been the toughest week since I started college. I was frustrated, discouraged, and upset. After coming across this verse, I was able to pray to my Heavenly Father and He gave me the strength that I needed. I am so thankful for the scriptures and the insight that they give to us. I know if we put our trust in the Savior He will deliver us from whatever we are going through. It is not always easy and often takes a leap of faith. Sometimes we think we have it all figured out, but God is the supreme craftsman. He knows what is best for us and He wants us to turn to Him. I feel so blessed to have someone to rely on when I feel I am at my lowest. I hope that I will be able to turn to the Lord with a full purpose of heart throughout my entire life.

Keep My Commandments

After listening to the prophet and apostles speak in General Conference, I felt very inspired as I studied my scriptures this week. Jarom 1:9 reads "And thus they were prepared to meet the Lamanites, but they did not prosper against us. But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land." Although I have heard the phrase"Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land" before, it really hit me as I read this week. D. Todd Christofferson shared a thought in conference that has stuck with me. He taught that although God loves all of his children and rains down blessings to each of us, He can only give us the blessings that love and law and justice and mercy permit. Gods greater blessings are conditioned on obedience. We are not entitled to expect blessings unworthily. I loved this thought and it has inspired me to truly keep the commandments and live the gospel to the fullest. Although temptation may seem appealing in the moment, I know that we will be blessed for keeping the commandments.

After All We Can Do

2 Nephi 25:23 reads "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." We talked about the grace of God this week in class. Our teacher had us look for scriptures on grace in the topical guide under the word deserve, but deserve was not in the topical guide. We talked about being deserving to go to heaven. Does anyone deserve it? No, we don't deserve to go to heaven without Gods grace. We need to rely alone on the merits of Christ, for the grace of the God is what saves us. It is amazing that it is already there, we just need to accept it. Jesus Christ has already atoned for our sins, now we just need to repent and come unto him. No matter what we do in this life, we are all imperfect beings. After all we can do, we still have faults. Nobody would be able to make it into heaven without the grace of God. How lucky are we to have such a merciful God? The commandments are an extension of His grace. By following the commandments, we are showing our appreciation to the Lord. This was a sweet reminder to me this week. I love the gospel and I love studying the scriptures and applying them to my life. Each week I am finding a greater love for my Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ. God is so good.