God Knows Me

God brought this knife back to a small boy.

God knows me--knows everything about me and so does His Son Jesus Christ.

In The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, God knew Nephi (He knows all of us. We are His children. He is literally the Eternal Father of our spirits). Nephi's earthly Father, Lehi, has visions and revelations of God the Eternal Father and of His Beloved Son, The Messiah, Jesus Christ (see 1 Nephi, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ). Inspired by his father's testimony, Nephi sought God. He believed his father's words. He knew Heavenly Father's character. He knew Heavenly Father's attributes. God, our Heavenly Father, knows all of humanity. Each and every soul! He loves us! He cares for us! He seeks us as a tender parent! (See 1 Nephi 8:37.) His deepest desire is our welfare, success, and happiness, now and forever. 

When we pray, God hears us. One of the most profound questions we will ever ask in life is whether we hear Him. Nephi heard Him (for examples see 1 Nephi 2:16-24; 3:1). Nephi remembered Him. Doing so gave Nephi great power--to obtain the Brass Plates, to build a bow and provide food for his family, to escape his brothers time and time again, and to build a ship. Because Nephi heard God, his family was very, very blessed. He saved their lives (more than once--see 1 Nephi 16, 2 Nephi 5). Nephi heard Jehovah, the antemortal Jesus Christ (see John 1:1).

Heavenly Father's Promise To ALL

"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." (1 Nephi 15:11, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ)

Consistencies Among Scriptural Experiences

Lehi's experience of seeing a pillar of fire and receiving communication from God is very consistent, both with the experience of Moses and the Children of Israel, and with the visions of Latter-day Prophet, Joseph Smith. (compare Lehi's experience with other visionary experiences in the scriptures).

Interestingly, some Rabbinical traditions hold that the "window" in the Ark of Noah was, "a stone that shone in darkness;" an interesting similarity to the stones which the Brother of Jared formed from molten rock and which the Book of Mormon indicates Jesus touched and caused to glow.

Wealth: Ye suppose that Ye are Better than They

"And the hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have obtained many riches; and because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your brethren ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high heads because of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that ye are better than they," (Jacob 2:13, Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ).

How People in the Book of Mormon Overcame Challenges Through Faith in Jesus Christ

This morning I've been contemplating how people in The Book of Mormon overcame their challenges through faith in Jesus Christ. There were those who became firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ (Helaman 3:35).

Nephi overcame great challenges, as did his father Lehi. What did Nephi do? Nephi always remembered. He always remembered God. He always remembered that God had directed them! He seems to have had a simple and tremendously powerful faith in God's character and attributes. When all around him were failing, Nephi remembered!!! (See 1 Nephi 16 in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.) How did he do it? Was it because he was faithful in prayer? I can't help but think that that was part of it. (Those who stayed close to God in Lehi's vision of the tree fell down and worshipped.--1 Nephi 8:30.)

I believe that sincere prayer--daily prayer--can keep us close to God. For Latter-day Saints, prayer is a conversation with God. It is worship and our attempt to commune with God. Sometimes it is relegated to meaningless recitation, but at its best, prayer brings us into harmony with God. The purpose of prayer is for the one who is praying to come closer to God--to draw near to him--to become one with Him. When we pray, our souls can draw nearer to God. In the end, nearness to God and learning to seek unity with him are what bring us great joy. Through true prayer, we may know God (See John 17:3 and Joseph Smith History 1:15-20). There is deep and abiding satisfaction in learning to become like God.

Consider, from The Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon, what Jesus Christ has taught us about prayer.

Labor in the Spirit--Alma 17:5, Book of Mormon

Alma 17:5. What does it mean to labor in the spirit?

I think it means that we work hard--that we work hard at understanding what God wants us to do and then doing it.

President Ezra Taft Benson taught that the secret to missionary work is work! That if a missionary works, he will get the spirit.

I think that President Benson learned the virtues of work in his youth. As a boy, he took over his father’s farm as his father was called on a mission! (No surprise that each of the Benson children followed in their father’s footsteps and served missions!)

So, what does it mean to labor in the Spirit? I've been thinking about this a bit. I've also been impressed lately by another statement in this chapter about the sons of Mosiah:

. . . they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God. But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God (Alma 17:2-3).

What struck me here, is that they didn't teach with their own knowledge. They read the scriptures and studied them that they might know the word of God, but to me it seems that they still relied upon God and upon His spirit to give them utterance. As I studied this scripture, I also came across this interesting verse from 2 Nephi 28. 

And they [rival churches] shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance (2 Nephi 28:4). 

I realized when I read this, that I am sometimes, and perhaps often, guilty of using my own knowledge, wisdom and pride to teach. The point of reading the scriptures, as I see it, is to get the Holy Ghost in our lives. I need to learn to trust more in that spirit (see Doctrine and Covenants 11:12).

Jesus Christ, Mothers, Marriage and Family: A Foretaste of Eternity

I declare before God and before His holy angels that I know that Jesus is the Christ, the living Son of the Living God. I have perfect faith in the efficacy of his all-encompassing atonement for all human sin and for all human suffering, and I believe in mothers. I believe in women.  Women who sacrifice. Women who care. Women who heal. Women who love. And, I believe in marriage. I believe in the deep, soulful union, body, soul and spirit, of a man and a woman, joined under God in holy wedded matrimony. And, I believe in family--unified family. Family where love prevails, along with kindness. Family where each member is heard. Family where each member is recognized and nurtured and encouraged. Family where parents and children and siblings counsel together and nurture one another in love. And, I declare before God that this is the order of heaven. When we arrive in a perfect heaven, what we will see is family. What we will see is order. What we will see is counsel, and harmony. What we will see will be awesome. These are the things I aspire to. These are the things Jesus teaches me, even and these are the things that I love. I know that God loves us, His children. I know that Jesus Christ is our brother in deed. I know that everything good that we do and that we know is a reflection of the goodness and knowledge that is in them.