Receiving Answers To Prayers

In Elder Kyle S McKay's talk, The Immediate Goodness of God, he mentioned the example of the people of Alma in coming to know God. To provide context into their experience, this people of Alma were part of a group of Nephites that left the land of Zarahemla to live near the Lamanites. They wanted to live there because it was near where they had settled first upon arriving in the Americas.

The larger group of people fell away from the Gospel, but the people of Alma were the people who repented after being taught the Gospel again. They began to follow Christ, and as a result, their king labeled them traitors and sent his army to attack them (see Mosiah 18). They fled, leaving their houses and lands to escape with their lives. In Mosiah 23 & 24 we read that they began to establish a new home for themselves, building buildings, working the land, and it was quickly becoming a city of their own. As they began to prosper, a Lamanite army found them and subjugated them, including attempting to take away their religious freedom.

They prayed fervently for deliverance, and the Lord promised them that He would ease the burdens on their backs. Later, after demonstrating great faith and patience, they were miraculously delivered from the Lamanites, again leaving behind their homes and lands in order to escape with their lives and freedom. Shortly thereafter they reunited with the Nephites, and shared their experiences with them. Elder McKay related:

The people of Zarahemla marveled, and “when they thought of the immediate goodness of God, and his power in delivering Alma and his brethren out of … bondage, they did raise their voices and give thanks to God.”

 (He is quoting Mosiah 25:10)

I have noticed in my own life that if I pray, but I'm really only wanting to hear the answer I want, it's much harder for me to recognize answers to my prayers. These, the people of Alma, recognized the Lord's help in their lives instead of asking why they lost everything twice after returning to Him.

I'm amazed at the faith that these people had to receive answers to prayers; I'm amazed that they looked at their lives and told their story in a way that caused people to see the "immediate goodness of God" instead of focusing on their many trials.

What if the people of Alma had only been willing to accept deliverance as an answer to their prayers, or only deliverance with immediate prosperity? They could have justified themselves and said there was no point in following the Lord because of their suffering. They could have become exhausted and turned away from the Gospel. I'm grateful they didn't; I feel like their example is a great reminder that we cannot demand our Father's intervention in our lives and control how He intervenes. I have found it personally more fulfilling and instructive to look for how He intervenes. It has helped me begin to understand that God's love doesn't mean my life will always go how I want, and that having trials does not mean His love is absent.

Validation and the Gospel Part 2

When I was a teenager, I only understood one part of repentance: I understood that following the Gospel means living according to the commandments, and that if we did not, then we should repent. We should seek to make our wrongs right, and where we cannot, then we should seek to live better and have faith that the Savior can heal the difference. In all cases, we should seek His forgiveness and work to live better.

Those principles helped me then and they still help me now, and attempting to live them has helped me learn another powerful truth: I can be better tomorrow than I am today. Not all changes happen overnight; perhaps none of the most important ones do, but trying to live the Gospel has helped me see that I have great potential as a child of God, and that I can be better every day.

Specifically, the process of trying to become a little better has showed me that I do not have to repeat the same mistakes indefinitely. It isn't "just how I am" unless I continue to make the same choices I have made in the past. I don't have to be angry and I don't have to be in pain if I can find the strength to choose differently. Repentance doesn't make it all easy, but over the years it has helped me see significant changes that make me happier with who I am. I'm grateful for these chances to continuously become a better version of myself.

Validation and the Gospel Part 1

One thing that I think everyone wants is to feel validated. We want to feel that our lives are meaningful, and that we have value. This can manifest itself in positive ways, such as generosity and selfless service, as well as in negative ways, such as constantly needing to be recognized as the smartest, the most attractive, the funniest, the tallest, the strongest, or the richest, etc in order to have self-esteem and feel good about ourselves.

The Gospel offers an eternal truth that should help us all feel validated. Once, after a vision, Moses felt weak and alone, being pulled back into the world. He felt humbled at the difference between his normal life and the celestial vision he'd experienced, so Satan came to tempt him, seeking to turn the feelings of humility into weakness:

12 ... Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.

13 And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?

 Moses knew that he - as we all are - was a child of God. He understood that this divine parentage means that each of us have tremendous potential, and he knew that 'son of man' was a lie: a tempting half-truth of a lie, but a lie nonetheless. As I have understood the Gospel more and more, and especially as I have prayed and sought answers, I have understood that God is my Father and that He loves me because I am His child. I know this is true of every person on the earth, and that if we open seek Him, we will find Him and learn of His love. It has helped me to feel validated.

The Healing Power of the Gospel

I want to preface this post by calling out that nothing replaces medicine. When we are sick - whether mentally or physically - we should seek appropriate medical treatment. Modern medicine is - in my estimation - a gift from God to help us be healed of and comforted during the effects of many physical ailments; therapy can help people examine their lives in new ways and change in ways that people often cannot do by themselves. Lastly, faith in God includes doing what we can as well as seeking His blessings. That being said:

The Gospel of Jesus Christ provides healing. Christ took upon Him every unfair and unjust thing that would ever happen in the world so that He could heal us from it. As taught in Alma 7:11-12:

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

Those "pains and afflictions ad temptations of every kind" include the traumatic events that happen in life. They include personal tragedies and heartbreak, mental anguish, loneliness, depression, anxiety, betrayal, being forgotten, suffering due to a loved one's sins, and even being a victim of those whose duty it is to nurture and protect. Christ suffered these things "according to the flesh" and "His bowels are filled with mercy" on our behalf. As a result, He can understand what others cannot, and He is mighty to save, even from overwhelming anguish and suffering.

Our Father in Heaven knew that we would not be perfect and provided a Savior for us as part of the Plan of Salvation so that we could repent and return to Him. By the same token, He knew that we some of our sufferings would change us; if not healed, these traumas can limit us, affect our relationships, or otherwise stunt our growth and well-being. Just as the Savior can forgive sins, He can heal our hearts and minds and to right the wrongs of life. I have felt this healing power in my own life and I have seen it in others. I am grateful for the Risen Lord, and for His great patience and love. I know that He loves us and wants to heal us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Forgiving Ourselves

Something I've seen too much of in my life is people holding onto guilt for years and years about something they've done wrong, or something that happened which they wish they could've prevented, feel they should've prevented, or otherwise holding onto regrets and pains of the past.

I believe that Christ suffered to so that He could help us move beyond these feelings of guilt and continue forward in life; I also can't really think of times in my own life where continuously beating myself up has been a helpful, uplifting experience. I can't really think of a place where it helped someone I knew either. I believe the scriptures teach us some principles to help us move forward. From Isaiah 53:4-5:

4 ¶ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 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.

Many times I've read this scripture and thought only about achieving forgiveness, but it plainly states that our Savior suffered for our sins, our sorrows, griefs, iniquities, and so that we might have peace. He wants us to allow Him to carry these burdens rather than for us to endlessly flagellate ourselves for how we mess up. Rather than carry guilt forever, the Savior would have us "go, and sin no more."

As I prepare to celebrate Easter later this month, I want to take greater advantage of the Savior's efforts for our peace. For me, in many cases it's deciding to have faith that if I do my best - because the Gospel isn't meant to make us give up or defer responsibility - that the Lord can make up the difference between my best and what is good enough.

Being Part of a Church With a Lay Ministry

For any who don't know, the overwhelming majority of people who serve in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints receive no financial compensation for the service they provide. The only exceptions are a few positions which are full-time, such as general authorities who help run the worldwide church, but as a general rule service is voluntary.

For most of my life, I thought of this as just the way things are, but lately I've been thinking about how much of a blessing it is in my life. Since church leaders aren't paid, service usually isn't full-time and therefore it gets distributed more throughout the congregation instead of having a pastor or minister and perhaps a few others that do most everything. The end result is that everyone has to help out in order to make things work.

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to teach children, teenagers, adults, be involved in cub and boy scouts, sing in choirs, participate in youth camps, work with men's groups, do secretarial work, translate, work with stake leaders, and help run a local congregation in addition to serving as a full-time missionary, all at different times and for different periods of time. Each experience has been different and given me the chance to learn in different ways. Some have been things I've felt like I was good at, while others have been things that I'd never done before and perhaps never imagined myself doing.

It has helped me a lot to get to know each different group of people a little bit and come to understand them a little better. It's also been a blessing to have uncomfortable experiences that have made me think differently or adjust to new things in order to be successful. I am grateful for how these experiences have helped me grow.

"Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives"

This morning I reread the conference talk given by President Russell M Nelson last April: Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives. In preparation for this talk, he performed a focused study of all of the references to Christ in the topical guide, which is a reference guide printed at the end of Mormon versions of the King James bible. It lists scriptural references for lots of different topics to aide personal study.

In this talk, he emphasized the importance of completely centering our faith and worship on the Savior:

Under the Father’s great eternal plan, it is the Savior who suffered. It is the Savior who broke the bands of death. It is the Savior who paid the price for our sins and transgressions and blots them out on condition of our repentance. It is the Savior who delivers us from physical and spiritual death.

There is no amorphous entity called “the Atonement” upon which we may call for succor, healing, forgiveness, or power. Jesus Christ is the source. Sacred terms such as Atonement and Resurrection describe what the Savior did, according to the Father’s plan, so that we may live with hope in this life and gain eternal life in the world to come. The Savior’s atoning sacrifice—the central act of all human history—is best understood and appreciated when we expressly and clearly connect it to Him.

Some might say that some of the difference here is semantics, but we cannot understate the importance of remembering that Christ is our living God who loves us and wants to help us. We can develop a relationship with Him through prayer. The language we use in discussing our Savior and His mission should reflect and center the idea that He lives and works to be personally involved in our lives. President Nelson points us towards this near the end of his talk:

The gospel of Jesus Christ is filled with His power, which is available to every earnestly seeking daughter or son of God. It is my testimony that when we draw His power into our lives, both He and we will rejoice.

I add my testimony that it is possible to feel His power in life every day. He loves us. As I accept Him in my life, I'm able to feel His peace.