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.

The Greatest Gift We Have Ever Received

Can you think of a time that someone did something nice for you? As I have reflected back on the week, I can think of several acts of kindness that were performed in my behalf. Receiving a priesthood blessing, getting a package in the mail, and having somebody smile at me in the library. I am so thankful for these acts of kindness! Although these gifts were all so great, there is an even greater gift that we have been given. The greatest gift of all is the atonement of Jesus Christ. The atonement is a topic that means so much to me and I loved studying it further in class this week. As we study the atonement, we learn about the pain and suffering that Christ went through. Jesus lived a perfect life so until the atonement he had never experienced guilt, shame, regret, sorrow, pain, fear, depression, or frustration. Can you imagine what it would feel like to have never felt any of those feelings before, and all of a sudden have them thrust upon you at once? He wasn't just feeling those things for one person, but for the whole world. No human could have suffered as he did, Jesus was the only one who could perform the task. Without him, we would have died and been cast out of Gods presence. Isn't it amazing that somebody would do that for each of us? He bled from every pore for the mistakes that we have made. He never got to feel any of the "guilty pleasure" that comes from sinning, but only the sorrow, the grief, the regret. Somebody loves you so much that He would suffer pain unimaginable to any of us for YOU. For your sins, your sorrows, and your transgressions. To be able to feel what you are feeling when you think nobody else understands. That is truly the greatest gift in the history of the world. 2 Nephi 9:19 says "O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment." Jesus went into the depths of hell, he went below each of us so that he could raise us all up.  This is the most comforting principle to me. We can live with our Heavenly Father again someday because of the atonement. Jesus Christ went through all of the pain and paid the price of our sins. We just need to repent and return to him. I am so thankful for the atonement and all that it has done for me. It has changed my life in ways that I never knew it could. I have been able to come unto Christ because of it, and that has brought me peace and happiness. I love this gospel,I love my Savior, and I am so thankful for the atonement.

He Hath Filled Me With His Love

In my reading this week, I came across a passage in 2 Nephi. After Lehi dies, Nephi is reflecting upon his own life. He feels sorrow because of his iniquities and short comings. While he is thinking about his past sins, he says "Nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh." I think this passage is amazing. So often I feel inadequate, unworthy, and upset by the things that I am tempted with. There are times when I think I have made too many mistakes, or committed sins too serious to be forgiven of. This chapter is such a beautiful reminder of the love that Heavenly Father has for us. He is not waiting to love us until we are perfect, He loves us NOW. He loves us with our mistakes, our sins, our challenges, and our short comings. He loves us as the imperfect beings that we are, and He wants to help us progress. Heavenly Father hears our cries and wants nothing more than to give us strength to help us through our trials. Later in the chapter Nephi says, "If the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?.... Awake my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of Soul." Nephi is reminding us to be of good cheer. Heavenly Father does not want us to be upset because we are not perfect, nobody is. He wants us to rejoice and to be happy. I love this message and I am thankful for this beautiful reminder from Nephi. I love being part of a gospel that is focused on happiness, and I am so thankful for the peace that it brings to my life.