Our weeks reading has covered a "LOT" of great stuff. It covers King Benjamin's address, Abinadi's address to King Noah and Alma's conversion. Three really great men.
I love King Benjamin! His address to his people covers one of the greatest accounts of the Atonement of Jesus Christ ever given. If you want to understand the Atonement, read this.
King Benjamin talked the talk and then walked the walk. I have great appreciation and respect for men like that.
We had a Stake President in Oregon (President Blake) who was, upon first aquaintance a little intimidating and actually without being disrespectful a little dry when he spoke. I came to love and respect this man because like King Benjamin he also talked that talk and walked the walk. He never asked of us anything that he didn't do himself. He was a great example of faithfulness and humility. I grew to love him so much. I think he was aware of his dryness when he spoke and I remember him adding a few quotes from "Harry Potter" I believe it was, in one of his talks to catch the attention of the youth. I believe it worked.
Talk about "faith" and "faithfulness"! Abinadi was a great example of both. He was obedient even unto the peril of his life. He spoke the truth with boldness and conviction and was the cause of one of the great conversion stories in the Book of Mormon. It is amazing the power that one faithful person can have. We never know when our testimony, whether it be spoken or by example, can affect another. It's interesting how fear can interfere with this. Abinadi had reason to fear for his life but his faith in God replaced any fear he may have had. When we truly have faith (TRUST GOD) it takes away fear.
Pslams 56:4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my atrust; I will not bfear what flesh can do unto me.
Alma stood up to kind Noah and defended Abinadi. Noah feared judgement and was about to let Abinadi go but gave into pride and the "arm of flesh". Alma had to fled and immediately wrote all the things that Abinadi had said. Alma repented and then went out and testified of that which he knew to be true. Again, it is amazing the power of one. Alma let faith overcome fear and caused the conversion of many.
I think all three of these men were great examples of the "Power of one". We can never underestimate our influence on those around us. People are watching us, so let's make sure that what they see and hear is worth imitating. Let us be an "example of the believers" in ALL THINGS, at ALL TIMES and in ALL PLACES.
KIM
“By studying pages of the Book of Mormon, you will learn the messages that have been divinely placed there for you and your families, and for those you supervise. You will know how to correct the influences of false traditions. There are problems and challenges but they were all seen beforehand by the Lord. He has given you the way to correct these deficiencies, but they are of little value if they remain locked in a closed book. It is not sufficient that we appreciate it nor that we testify that the Book of Mormon is of God. We must know its truths and make them a part of our lives.” ~Elder Richard G. Scott~
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Mosiah 3
In this chapter in verse 19 it talks a little bit about the natural man. Something that inspired me was a quote by Daniel H Ludlow and this is what he has to say about the natural man: " The phrase 'natural man' is understood by latter day saints to be an unrepentant person; it does not imply that mortals are by nature depraved or evil, but only that they are in a fallen condition. Natural man describes persons who are without God in the world and they have gone contrary to the nature of God. the Lord declared to Joseph smith 'Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, Innocent before God". We know as church members we have the higher law of God, which means we must strive to be in the world but not of this world. This requires a lot of control since most of the time as church members we are going against the tide in things such as modesty, morality and standards. I read the ensign last night and it was interesting because Elder L. Tom Perry talked a little bit about a business cock tail party he went to. He remembered feeling out of place and a little bit disadvantaged because of the social situation. He finally looked around the room and decided to drink something that would be appropriate for his Mormon standards. He saw some soda pop in one corner of the room and decided it looked too much like the drinks that contained alcohol. He finally decided to go to the bar, he asked the bar tender for a cold glass of milk, puzzled the bar tender met his request and managed to find a glass of milk for elder perry. To elder perry's great surprise him putting off the natural man and sticking to his cold glass of milk got him a lot of business attention. In fact by the end of the night people were so interested in his peculiar choice of drink, that he had a group of high business man surrounding him by the end of the night. He said cocktail night he continued to drink his glass of milk every time and others joined in his choice of drink also. This is a great example of putting of the natural man, Gods ways are not are ways, but we strife to make it that way every day. I have a personal story about putting off the natural man and I myself was in the presence of members also. One night a group from our singles ward headed up into the mountains to go swim at the lake. After driving an hour we got up to the campground and I started to notice some signs posted around the lake. The signs said swimming hours between 8am and 9pm. One sign said area only open to campers, another sign said no parking after hours. Well you can guess that it was past 9pm swimming hours and we had no parking pass and we certainly were not campers. I wondered if anyone in the car had noticed the signs. I was starting to get a very clear view of something it said in my patriarchal blessing. "Sister wilcken do not participate in anything that is immoral unclean or ILLEGAL. Never participate in anything that would dishonor you or your family. I was hesitant to say anything....but I knew I had to, words from God were clearly being put into my head for a reason. It was hard to get the guts to say anything after our driver had driven an hour to get there..... I told him I don't feel it is right to go and that I would give him gas money to take me back home. The others were upset that they didn't get to go, I felt bad for maybe ruining someones night,but I felt good on the way back home knowing that I didn't go against what God had specifically warned me about. There is a natural man inside of all of us, but in order to live with heavenly father again we need to accept Gods law and plan for us because it will lead us live with heavenly father again.
EMILY BARKER
EMILY BARKER
Monday, July 18, 2011
Nephi 25-30 Proud to love vanilla !
I find I relate really well to Ol Nephi. He , like I delights in plainness. Simplicity really. Nephi simplifies the teachings of Isaiah for his people, saying basically "I get lost too, but here is what I understand, so that it may help you." pardon my ice cream reference, but it is National Ice Cream Month in the US , so I shall take that lead and continue. I find vanilla ice cream akin to the iron rod. Vanilla is safe, you know what you're getting with vanilla. Those who endeavour to follow Death by Chocolate or Cherry Garcia flavours usually find vanilla boring. So too people may find holding tight to the iron rod boring. But in that holding tight is the assurity that you will not stray, that you are on the safe path and the Holy Ghost will always be there. It is a comfort that cannot be obtained any other way. Therefore, I am a proud fan of vanilla and plainness and the iron rod.
Friday, July 15, 2011
TGI Catch-up Day !
Must admit, I got behind a bit, sorry. Life, laziness and the All Star game got in the way. Must work on that. In the section 2Nephi 12-18 I highlight one scripture. I know I know, but hey, I gave an entire talk on John 3:16, so it can be justified. In 2 Nephi 16:8 Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord asking "whom shall I send?" and replies "here am I , send me" This struck me because immediately after baptism I'm sure we can all remember that same feeling. We are filled with the spirit. Yet as we live our lives Satan allows things in that make us question our confidence and worthiness at times, making us reticent to answer that "call" so quickly. Instead we think, surely there is someone stronger to send than me. We must remember that were we not able, the call would not come. It is belief in our ability to minister that we must grasp and hold tight.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
2 Nephi Chapters 9-12
Chapter 9 teaches us the reason for and blessings of the atonement. Without the atonement our existance is meaningless, and the blessings received from the atonement ( everlasting life with eternal famalies) speak for themselves. Chapter 9 in also the chapter of woes. The blind who will not see and the deaf who will not hear struck me the most. Imagine being withour hearing or sight, and hwo challenged life would be. Yet these very people are often closest to Heavenly Father and consider the blessings their impairment has afforded them rather than blame Heavenly Father for missing out. Perhaps our eyes and ears are Satans favourite portal to reach us. Comsider what we see and hear every day. Often these things distract us from out spiritual being and intice the carnal being. Woe is right. Chapter 10-12 fortells of Christ's cruixifiction and the presense of modern day temples to gather the people, and also warns us again how things of this earth prevent us from reaching our potential in everlasting life.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
2 Nephi chapters 5-8
In chapter five Laman shoes his true colors yet again, demanding that as the elder in the family all should follow him, not Nephi whom Heavenly Father has chosen. As a result Nephi takes his family and all that will follow and travels into the wilderness. At this point the Nephites are created , as are the Lamamites. We are also told in chapter five that the skin of the lamanites was darkened because of their unbelief, thus widening the gap between them and the Nephites. (5:21)
Now the Nephites prospered according to their faith. what a great example here of having the faith to begin with....they travelled into the wilderness with no certain destination, found a spot to settle and through faith prospered. They didn't happen upon a garden and then thank Heavenly Father, but thanked Heavenly Father first, then the garden came. What great faith.
Chapters six , seven and eight are full of great prophesies which we can compare with Isaiah
Chapters 50-52. Chapter 7 (5-11) reminds us all that we are to expect confrontation from nonbelievers and instructs us how to handle this, realizing that Heavenly Father is always with us ans we should not fear.
UNCLE JOHN
Now the Nephites prospered according to their faith. what a great example here of having the faith to begin with....they travelled into the wilderness with no certain destination, found a spot to settle and through faith prospered. They didn't happen upon a garden and then thank Heavenly Father, but thanked Heavenly Father first, then the garden came. What great faith.
Chapters six , seven and eight are full of great prophesies which we can compare with Isaiah
Chapters 50-52. Chapter 7 (5-11) reminds us all that we are to expect confrontation from nonbelievers and instructs us how to handle this, realizing that Heavenly Father is always with us ans we should not fear.
UNCLE JOHN
1 Nephi 1- 2 Nephi 1
I have a confession! I am not the best with words, both in writing at speaking. I have always admired (and dare I say a tid bit envied those who could speak and write so eloquently and convey their thoughts perfectly). This blog alone for me is a bit challenging in itself. Don't get me wrong I know ya'll know that I can talk, but I am talking about when it comes to things deep in my heart and being able to put that onto paper or out to an audience. So with that I wanted to start my post (with a little cheating, by stealing a couple scriptures from Uncle John's first couple chapters), with my experience reading today!
In 2 Ne 3:17 it says "....Yet I will not loose his tongue, that he may speak much, for I will not make him mighty in speaking".
This scripture is speaking of Moses! So this taught me that even the greatest of prophets had weaknesses like me and you! Then I read the next scripture 2 Ne 3:21 "...and the weakness of their words will I make strong in their faith". What I realized from these scriptures is that the Lord more than anything needs people who have Faith in Jesus Christ, than He does anything else! If our faith is strong and our hearts are pure then the Lord can make anything powerful including our weaknesses and the simplest of things.
Having good desires, followed by faith (action word) in the Lord leads to all eternal happiness and joy during this life! The more I read the scriptures, the more this rings true to me. Here are some scriptures I found that prove my point. Red= Faith Blue= Blessings as a result of faith
~1 Ne 1:20 "...But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."
~1 Ne 2:4 " And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness."
(Although the word faith is not physically in this scripture, Lehi had so much faith in the Lord that he sacrificed all he had, and as a result in the end obtained a promised land!)
~And we see that lack of faith we loose out on knowledge and blessings:
1 Ne 2:12 "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."
~1Ne 2:16 &19 "16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.
"19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart."
When we seek things in faith the Lord delivers!
~1 Ne:3:31 "And after the angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel again began to murmur, saying: How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?"
Faith leads to obedience and when faith and obedience are not self-initiated we more easily forget spiritual moments just like Laman and Lemuel do so many times. Murmuring is a great way to drown out faith. I realize the more I read the scriptures the more I and others are like Laman and Lemuel, but we can separate ourselves from them with the desire to be more like Christ and having the faith to do those things we know will lead us back to our Father in Heaven.
~1Ne 4:6 "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."
Only great faith allows us to blindly step into the dark, relying on the Spirit for our light!
~1Ne 7:12 "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him."
~1Ne 1:17 "But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound."
Faith can even lead to physical strength as demonstrated in this scripture!
~1 Ne 10:17 "And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might , as well in times of hold as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men."
~1Ne 15:8 "And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?"
Sometimes answers to our prayers requires the simplest of faith....just asking!!! How many times to we forget or even let our pride get in the way of inquiring of the Lord?
1Ne 15:11 "Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you."
There are many other scriptures that demonstrate how faith in Jesus Christ leads to, power (spiritually,emotionally, physically and mentally), strength (spiritual and temporal), peace, knowledge, joy, love, and to all things pertaining to our happiness now and in the life to come!
I am grateful for this chance to be reading the scriptures with so many of my family members! I know that by filling so much of our time with reading the scriptures that it will lead us to have greater faith and thus find greater happiness in our lives now! Thanks again for participating! I look forward to your insight on the the scriptures as we read!
BECCA
In 2 Ne 3:17 it says "....Yet I will not loose his tongue, that he may speak much, for I will not make him mighty in speaking".
This scripture is speaking of Moses! So this taught me that even the greatest of prophets had weaknesses like me and you! Then I read the next scripture 2 Ne 3:21 "...and the weakness of their words will I make strong in their faith". What I realized from these scriptures is that the Lord more than anything needs people who have Faith in Jesus Christ, than He does anything else! If our faith is strong and our hearts are pure then the Lord can make anything powerful including our weaknesses and the simplest of things.
Having good desires, followed by faith (action word) in the Lord leads to all eternal happiness and joy during this life! The more I read the scriptures, the more this rings true to me. Here are some scriptures I found that prove my point. Red= Faith Blue= Blessings as a result of faith
~1 Ne 1:20 "...But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."
~1 Ne 2:4 " And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness."
(Although the word faith is not physically in this scripture, Lehi had so much faith in the Lord that he sacrificed all he had, and as a result in the end obtained a promised land!)
~And we see that lack of faith we loose out on knowledge and blessings:
1 Ne 2:12 "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."
~1Ne 2:16 &19 "16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.
"19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart."
When we seek things in faith the Lord delivers!
~1 Ne:3:31 "And after the angel had departed, Laman and Lemuel again began to murmur, saying: How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?"
Faith leads to obedience and when faith and obedience are not self-initiated we more easily forget spiritual moments just like Laman and Lemuel do so many times. Murmuring is a great way to drown out faith. I realize the more I read the scriptures the more I and others are like Laman and Lemuel, but we can separate ourselves from them with the desire to be more like Christ and having the faith to do those things we know will lead us back to our Father in Heaven.
~1Ne 4:6 "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."
Only great faith allows us to blindly step into the dark, relying on the Spirit for our light!
~1Ne 7:12 "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him."
~1Ne 1:17 "But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound."
Faith can even lead to physical strength as demonstrated in this scripture!
~1 Ne 10:17 "And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might , as well in times of hold as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men."
~1Ne 15:8 "And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?"
Sometimes answers to our prayers requires the simplest of faith....just asking!!! How many times to we forget or even let our pride get in the way of inquiring of the Lord?
1Ne 15:11 "Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you."
There are many other scriptures that demonstrate how faith in Jesus Christ leads to, power (spiritually,emotionally, physically and mentally), strength (spiritual and temporal), peace, knowledge, joy, love, and to all things pertaining to our happiness now and in the life to come!
I am grateful for this chance to be reading the scriptures with so many of my family members! I know that by filling so much of our time with reading the scriptures that it will lead us to have greater faith and thus find greater happiness in our lives now! Thanks again for participating! I look forward to your insight on the the scriptures as we read!
BECCA
Friday, July 8, 2011
Writing Suggestions
After contemplating this week I have decided that writing up a whole week's worth of reading's thoughts and feelings is an overwhelming task. I think that I am going to give a number of options to you when it is your week to contribute so that you will not feel as overwhelmed as I do. Here are some things you can choose from to do: 1. If you feel you have it in you, may still write up all your thoughts and feelings on the weeks worth of reading!
2. Do a daily write-up! Write your thoughts and feelings from each day of reading for that week.
3. Choose the chapters you received the most inspiration from and write about those chapters from that weeks reading.
I would love to hear your feedback. If you are having trouble knowing how to contribute to this blog, email or facebook me and I will be happy to help you out. Also if you have a google account please let me know and if not let me know also and I will help you get set up with one so I can add you as a co-author of this blog!
Please let me know how all is going. Feel free to comment if you want to share about something particular without writing a post! Thanks to all participating in this challenge with me! It can be hard to get the reading in sometimes, but don't give up!
My post soon to come! Hopefully it will make sense!
Happy Reading All!
Love,
Becca
Ps. For those with an ipod or mp3 player....did you know you can download the Book of Mormon for FREE onto either one and listen to them? Jason did this the other day and it has helped him be able to get his reading in for the day! Just thought I would share that with you!
2. Do a daily write-up! Write your thoughts and feelings from each day of reading for that week.
3. Choose the chapters you received the most inspiration from and write about those chapters from that weeks reading.
I would love to hear your feedback. If you are having trouble knowing how to contribute to this blog, email or facebook me and I will be happy to help you out. Also if you have a google account please let me know and if not let me know also and I will help you get set up with one so I can add you as a co-author of this blog!
Please let me know how all is going. Feel free to comment if you want to share about something particular without writing a post! Thanks to all participating in this challenge with me! It can be hard to get the reading in sometimes, but don't give up!
My post soon to come! Hopefully it will make sense!
Happy Reading All!
Love,
Becca
Ps. For those with an ipod or mp3 player....did you know you can download the Book of Mormon for FREE onto either one and listen to them? Jason did this the other day and it has helped him be able to get his reading in for the day! Just thought I would share that with you!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Tips for success!
Hello Family! How is the scripture study coming along? I know how difficult it can be sometimes to get the reading in, but I do know it is possible! I just wanted to share some things that help me continue in this challenge.
~Set aside a time to read everyday or set up a schedule that works for you for the week that will help you to get your reading in without fail.
~ Try to read them in a place where you are sure not to fall asleep!
~Have a purpose besides being accountable to the family blog in reading the scriptures.
~ Pray before, after and during scripture study allowing for likening the scriptures unto yourself and for the Spirit to be with you always!
~ Have a journal or notebook nearby to record feelings and thoughts you have during your study! There is nothing better than being able to go back to your journals later in life and to strengthen your testimony with your own testimony!!! Believe me I am always blown away at my own thoughts and testimony when I go back and read what I wrote while feeling the Spirit!
~ Remember that the blog is available at anytime! You may record your thoughts and feelings with the family if you click on the icon that says "Kind thoughts and feelings" to share something you may be dying to share!
What are some things that help you to be successful in your scripture reading? Please feel free to share!
I pray that you are all off to a good start and pray that you will not give up if you fall behind! Remember there are catch up days!
Love,
Becca
~Set aside a time to read everyday or set up a schedule that works for you for the week that will help you to get your reading in without fail.
~ Try to read them in a place where you are sure not to fall asleep!
~Have a purpose besides being accountable to the family blog in reading the scriptures.
~ Pray before, after and during scripture study allowing for likening the scriptures unto yourself and for the Spirit to be with you always!
~ Have a journal or notebook nearby to record feelings and thoughts you have during your study! There is nothing better than being able to go back to your journals later in life and to strengthen your testimony with your own testimony!!! Believe me I am always blown away at my own thoughts and testimony when I go back and read what I wrote while feeling the Spirit!
~ Remember that the blog is available at anytime! You may record your thoughts and feelings with the family if you click on the icon that says "Kind thoughts and feelings" to share something you may be dying to share!
What are some things that help you to be successful in your scripture reading? Please feel free to share!
I pray that you are all off to a good start and pray that you will not give up if you fall behind! Remember there are catch up days!
Love,
Becca
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