Lessons Learned

While finishing up my religion class this year, I was able to read again one of my favorite scriptures. It's in Ether 12 verse 30. It says, "For the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove—and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith". It isn't the biggest or the most creative scripture, but it speaks to me. Whenever I read it, I'm reminded of a conversion story told to me.

I knew a man named Nikki. His life wasn't going as well as he had planned and he knew it was time for a change. He was doing great financially, socially, and status wise but he craved for something more. Then he met my friend Kash. Kash was able to introduce him to the gospel and help Nikki fill the void in his life.

This process wasn't an easy one. Nikki soaked up the doctrine and the principles of the gospel, but he had a problem giving up certain things in order to be baptized. He tried and tried, but just couldn't kick these actions. He even thought he had successful repented multiple times and had been interviewed by the mission president four or five times and received permission to get baptized.

After one of these interviews (the second to last) Nikki got frustrated. He felt like quitting and that maybe this gospel wasn't for him. Then Kash shared Ether 12:30 with him on a whim. After Nikki read the verse, Kash said nothing. He just looked at Nikki. After a brief silence, Nikki asked Kash if he was testing his faith. To that Kash responded "Yes". That was all it took. Nikki had to realize that he did have the faith, he simply needed to act on it. Like the brother of Jared, he was able to tell his mountain to move and it moved.

You and mean have mountains in our own lives, and through the gospel and our faith, we can move them. Many will be hard, like in Nikki's case. But we can move them nonetheless. Let us put our faith in Christ and the God that made us and go about doing good. Our faith will shine and our trials will pass away as we do our Father's business.

Your Testimony

Testimony is something special. It's something for you and you only. You can share it with whomever, but it always returns to you. You need to nourish it and feed it, much like a baby, but it will grow and make you stronger as it does. While reading in Ether 5 I came across this verse, "And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established; and the testimony of three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record—and all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day."
I know this means the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon, but I'd like to think that I can be a witness too. That through my sincere testimony, others can feel God's love and power. All while doing this, my testimony is growing stronger and stronger. I know that this Church is true and as we learn to live the principles it teaches, the doctrines will strengthen us and we will find out that we do have a Father in Heaven and His son, Jesus Christ lives.

I hope that this will help you have the courage to share your testimony so that others can feel God's love for them through your words as well.

A Father's Love

I was reading in 3 Nephi 21 when I came across verse 4. It reads, "For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenanted with his people, O house of Israel".

This reminded me of our total need of our Father in Heaven. His power is our all. We cannot be, live, or act without it. We are utterly dependent on this gift he willingly gives us daily. From this train of thought, I thought of John 15:10, which says, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love". Isn't that what we all want? We want to be loved, to feel love, and to abide in the love of someone. Who else better than our Father's love?


We need this love to do anything. In a story recorded by Pauline Richardson, a young boy needs the help of his father to pass the sacrament. It goes as follows, 

"As the sacrament prayer ended, I raised my eyes and looked at the neat and reverent row of deacons receiving their sacrament trays to pass to the congregation. Moments later, my gaze fell on a young man who I knew was passing the sacrament for the first time. It was Andrew. He was dressed nicely in his pressed white shirt and tie. He stood tall with his shoulders pulled back and showed great care as he administered to his assigned rows along one side of the chapel. His father was standing right behind him and was still and reverent.

I watched Andrew carefully hand the tray down the row and then glance up at his father, who nodded with approval. After the tray was passed back to Andrew, a loving smile grew on his father’s face as they advanced down the aisle together with quiet respect, carefully balancing the tray as they slowly stepped forward.

As I watched this father-and-son team pass the sacrament, I remembered that Andrew had been recently diagnosed with a disease called Friedreich’s ataxia. It is a debilitating disease that seriously affects one’s balance, among other things. This diagnosis brings with it a very altered lifestyle. Many typical childhood activities would not be in this young man’s future.

I remembered the sadness I felt when Andrew’s mom, my good friend, found out about her son’s condition. I had prayed I could somehow help her. Ultimately there was little I could do, but I knew she and her husband would rely on Heavenly Father to help them in their time of need.

As I watched Andrew and his father attentively move along the rows, I became overwhelmed with a sweet feeling of peace. I saw this gentle father steady his son’s frail and wavering body against his arm and help him hold the tray. As they moved from row to row, the father continually gave silent nods of approval to reassure his son. Suddenly the imagery was too much for me and I broke into tears."

Imagine that you are the son (or daughter) that needs their father to stand. It would be hard on the father, but I imagine worth every second of seeing their child succeed. 

The Prophets

So this week I was reading in 3 Nephi and I came across the last verse in chapter eight. It reads, " And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah. And thus were the howlings of the people great and terrible".

My mind raced around the question, "how am I accepting the prophets and repenting?". Do I apply everything that they ask of me? Do I repent daily and actively try to be better? What more can I do?

Then the weekend hit and I were able to watch general conference. I felt like my questions from this verse were answered by our wise leaders of the church. Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, "Far from being anxious to condemn, our Heavenly Father and our Savior seek our happiness and plead with us to repent, knowing full well that “wickedness never was [and never will be] happiness” [Alma 41:10]. So Ezekiel and every prophet before and since, speaking the word of God out of a full heart, have warned all who will to turn away from Satan, the enemy of their souls, and “choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men” [2 Nephi 2:27]". He was able to highlight for me why we need to repent actively throughout our lives, not just when we think we really need to.

Prophet Thomas S. Monson was also able to answer a question. I was wondering if I had been readily accepting the guidance of the prophets. He shared with us his testimony that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that we should read the Book of Mormon daily. Through that, I was able to receive my answer that I had accepted at least some of what the prophets are telling us. This was only reinforced by Elder Rasband and others love and support of Prophet Monson.

Let's Talk about Forever

In the book of Helaman, we find one my personal favorite bits of gospel power, the opportunity to have an eternal marriage. It's your basic scripture mastery Helaman 10:7, "Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people." Now I know what you're thinking, "gee Cole that's real original there". But here's the thing. It's a great power and gift of God. But it has its conditions. 

We now know that the power to be sealed to your spouse and children for all time and eternity is conditional upon your worthiness. We know from latter-day revelation that you can only be sealed in a temple, and do that you have to be a worthy temple recommend holder. Helaman puts it like this, 

"And if the Lord shall say—Because of thine iniquities thou shalt be cut off from my presence—he will cause that it shall be so.And wo unto him to whom he shall say this, for it shall be unto him that will do iniquity, and he cannot be saved; therefore, for this cause, that men might be saved, hath repentance been declared. Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved. And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored unto grace for grace, according to their works. And I would that all men might be saved. But we read that in the great and last day there are some who shall be cast out, yea, who shall be cast off from the presence of the Lord; Yea, who shall be consigned to a state of endless misery, fulfilling the words which say: They that have done good shall have everlasting life; and they that have done evil shall have everlasting damnation." (Helaman 12:21-26). 

Basically, you have to follow the commandments and constantly be repenting if you want to be saved and live in the grace of God- with your family. If not, you're only fooling yourself and won't end up where you want to be.

Armor

So I love the war chapters of the Book of Mormon. I think that it's full of amazing insights and ideas for everyday use. I found a lot of different references in my reading this week about our different types of armor. Physical armor, location, and mind. 

Physical armor, let's start there. In Alma 43 it says that the Lamanites were "exceedingly afraid" of the Nephites because of their armor. All the stuff they decided to put on scared a bunch or guys that drank the blood of the animals they kill. We too have that in our lives. Think about it, what have we been given to shield us? We have the for strength of youth. Put on some modest clothes and let yourselves shine! You'll be able to scare off your personal Lamanites by the way you dress. And we always have are garments as well. But that comes along while you're ready for those covenants. 

Now for location. Go down to verse 32 in Alma 43 now. It says that "he concealed in the west valley, on the west of the river Sidon, and so down into the borders of the land Manti." He went away from the righteous when he sinned. Not only that, the sins were concealed. When we sin, we conceal our good side and show off our sins. We hid what God wants for us to show off that natural man. If we can not hide our sins, but go to the right authority, we can remove them.

And now for the mind. Go to Alma 47:18-19. This is one of my favorite ways to portray how Satan slowly dilutes your mind. Lehonti doesn't die right away, it's slowly, little by little. Satan isn't going to get you to do something that you are totally uncomfortable with right away, he'll build up to it. Like how you cook frogs, slowly but persistently.

Revelation

Can we talk about this really fast? Revelation is something that everybody needs, but everyone has different views on. I've heard, "the best way to talk to God is to read the scriptures", "listen to your heart", "you'll ask and then hear in your mind what to do" and so on. It's crazy how many different ways people can receive personal revelation. What I wanted to focus on today was the waiting game that we all play to receive this revelation.  

Elder Bednar gave a great talk about receiving personal revelation and gave three ways we receive revelation. One was instant, like turning on a light. The next was gradual like the sun rising, and the last was like a fog. You can see enough to move forward, but not enough to see the end of the path. All you can do is move forward and then more of the path is revealed. 

I think that this timing principle is highlighted in Alma in the teaching of King Lamoni and his father. They both were willing to learn and believe the words of Ammon/Aaron, but they had different learning periods. King Lamoni lay as if dead for about three days to receive his answer. In my head that is the equivalent of doing nothing but actively seeking your answer from God for three days. 72 hours of pure revelation seeking. Meanwhile, his father got his answer in the time it took his wife to get mad at Aaron. A little bit of a time difference. I'm not saying that the father of King Lamoni was any better or more righteous than Lamoni, he was just able to receive his answer in a quicker time. 

I think we all need to be patient with ourselves in receiving our answers from God. I have been asking God for confirmation on what I see as a very important decision for a few weeks now, and I haven't gotten a sure answer yet. I think that this answer will be coming to me more like the fog Elder Bednar described than the father of King Lamoni's time period. And I have to be okay with that. God works on his time table, not our and he will do everything he can to guide us to the best things in life. 

Gratitude

This is something I think everyone could enjoy more. It's not hard to do. Gratitude is a choice that we all need to make in order to be truly happy in mine opinion. The book of Mosiah gives a great insight to this in Mosiah chapter 2 verses 20. It says:

"I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another"

Isn't that a powerful statement? "You should render all the thanks and praise which your whole souls has power to possess". Brothers and Sisters, that's everything we have. You can't hold back gratitude and expect to be at the level of peace that King Benjamin is describing here. 

Elder David A. Bednar had a wonderful experience that reflects this well. On a trip to one of the greatest places on Earth, the Philippines, he met a small girl who left a deep impression on the apostle. The conversation Elder Bednar had with this girl, he describes as a five-word phrase that should be shared across the world. It was "we are so much grateful". If we can think like that, focus on what has been given to us out of the grace of God, out of the kindness of others, out of sheer generosity, we will be happier. We can all do this better, I know for sure I can. Nobody likes a negative person and a great way to kick that bad habit out of town is to use all the power you can muster and be thankful.

That Time Old Principle

Since I'm not reading in  Nephi anymore I guess it's time that I talk about obedience. Mosiah shows us amazing principles of obedience. 

In Mosiah 1 and 2 shows how amazing the Lord is. The principle of following the commandments will always end up prospering. In Mosiah 2:20-21 I was reminded to thank the Lord for what he's done for you and actively serve him. In verse four we are reminded that there is a peace that comes to you (along with joy and feelings of rejoicing) when you keep the commandments. 

Elder Robert D. Hales said, “Standing obedient and strong on the doctrine of our God, we stand in holy places, for His doctrine is sacred and will not change.” His gospel will not change and neither will his blessings.

Intense Faith

Okay, so this week I've been reading out of the Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon. They've been interesting. As always, they've taken a little longer to go through than other chapters, but they're also chalked full of insights that I wouldn't have seen otherwise. One such case it in 2 Nephi 17:6. 

Ahaz is counseling with Isaiah, and the topic of war comes up. Isaiah tells Ahaz not to fret, the Lord will protect them. Ahaz has reason to believe the TWO neighboring countries are in cahoots waiting for the pristine moment to attack. Isaiah's only defense is that the Lord has told him that they will be fine. In my mind, Ahaz has four choices. Listen and follow what Isaiah is saying, listen and prepare for the impending attack, don't listen and prepare, or don't listen and do nothing. Now that last one is in there just because it is a choice, not good ruler would ever do that. 

Which choice does Ahaz go with? The first of course! He trusts Isaiah, and more important than that he trusts God. Now let's round out to home base and figure out how this relates to you and me. What does some king that lived literally thousands of years ago have anything to do with the 21st century? Ahaz has something that many, I might even push on saying most, people of our time lack. That is to possess the faith to trust God in life-altering decisions.  Ahaz could have just of easily said, "I trust the Lord, but let us prepare anyways" or "It is my duty to prepare for the just in case". But he didn't. He led his country, his people, through faith. 

This wasn't blind faith, but rather a faith that has been tested and grown through years of experience. To get to this level we have to trust God now. It's just like learning to walk, it takes baby steps. Baby step after baby step of faith will lead us to complete faith in the Lord. 

Listen

During my reading this week I kept coming across the topic of listening. I know what you're thinking, "well no duh, sherlock. Isn't listening a key principle to the LDS faith?". It is. And this week that concept has been strengthened my testimony. 

I was reading in 2 Nephi this week and it lived up to its reputation. The Isaiah chapters are hard. I really struggle to understand them. That being said, when I do get something I know it's important. 

In 2 Nephi 15:4-8, Isaiah is giving this great parable about grapes in a vineyard. The master of the vineyard has done all he can for these grapes. He's given the great land, water, and food. Well, I think I can say for all of us that we aren't always the best grapes. Sometimes we want to raisins. And in this passage, when we go from being good grapes and become raisins, the Lord of the vineyard will redact the things that he is doing for us. 

 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard—I will ^atake away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down;

And I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up ^abriers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they ^brain no rain upon it. 

Now, I don't believe that the Lord will ever leave us behind in the dust. I do think He will let us figure it out for ourselves. We have to be willing to listen to him and his teachings in order to get all the blessings he wants to give us. If we just do our own thing, his protective barriers will let us overrun ourselves. 

TB

This week marks a milestone in my life. I finished my TB medications. I got tuberculosis while living in the Philippines and found out that I had it after I came back to the US. 

In all honesty, I was scared when I found out I had it. I knew people that had been seriously crippled my this disease and to know that I would forever have it growing inside of me wasn't a very reassuring thought. Not to mention the drugs that I needed to take could destroy my liver, turn my eyes a new permanent shade of yellow, and make my sweat orange. 

I took this treatment for three months. Every month I  had to get my blood tested to see if my liver was still functioning. Every week I dealt with drug-induced tiredness throughout an entire semester and raging headaches that wouldn't go away with the strongest drugs. I never really thought it would end. 

Now it's over. I am forever grateful that these side-effects are done with, my liver is fully functioning, and that my body now has a full protection against this disease. While reflecting on this week I read 2 Nephi 4:7. It states, "Wherefore, because of my blessing the Lord God will not suffer that ye shall perish; wherefore, he will be merciful unto you and unto your seed forever". I have learned that this is true for myself. The Lord will help us do what is best for us, and won't let us suffer. That isn't to say that we won't hurt, but He will protect us and help us learn.

Being Able to Ask

Something I found unique in my studies was the ability for Nephi to say that he doesn't know. But that's not where he stopped! He would then ask for help to understand. You can see this trend throughout his writings, but I would like to focus on a few of them that stood out to me. 

In 1 Nephi 9:5 it writes, "commanded...for a wise purpose that I know not".  This reminded me of my days as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Every day we were to go out and try to find people to teach and help them understand the gospel. During this time I had the opportunity to teach a man named Rudy Reyes. 

Rudy was difficult. He would do what we asked, and after about four weeks of doing our commitments, he would stop. Not only stop but go to the Jehovah's Witnesses church and do what they asked. He was almost baptized while I was in his area, but kept on going to and fro between the two churches. Eventually, I left the area wondering why I spent so much time with Brother Rudy, with little to no evidence to show for it. 

Every after I left his area I would ask about him. One day the missionaries there told me that Brother Rudy had been baptized into the Jehovah's Witnesses church. I was so confused. This man knew our church was true, He had told me multiple times and you could tell that he was different. Why then did he have such a hard time acting on in? 

Fast forward to this Monday. I've been home from my mission for a while now, but I stay connected with some of my friends, Xryiel Saluta, from my mission on Facebook. One of these friends also knew and taught Rudy Reyes. He had the same experience as me. He had come in after I had and tried to help Rudy understand, saw the light in Rudy's eyes, and left without Rudy being ready to make further commitments. Well, Xryiel sent me a picture on Monday. It was of Brother Rudy and the current missionaries in his area at Brother Rudy's baptism.  

Needless to say, I was freaking out! Brother Rudy did it! After almost three years of being taught Rudy Reyes did it. He found his way. I didn't know back then that Rudy would be baptized. I had almost lost hope, especially when he was baptized into the Jehovah's Witnesses. But the Lord had other plans. Even though we didn't know, the Lord was able to help us see what to do next to help one of his choice followers come unto Him.

You're Never Really Alone

People say this all the time. I feel like the thought is so old, so redundant, and yet so vague that you probably know where this is going. God is there to help us. We just have to be smart enough to listen. 

I love the story of Lehi and Nephi in the Book of Mormon when they are asked to leave and go somewhere that they have never seen or even heard of. It says in the 1 Nephi 2:4, "And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness". He being Lehi, and it wasn't just him. He brought his entire family that we know had at least six people in it. On top of that in 1 Nephi 4:6-7 Nephi is confronted with an unknown and he "nevertheless went forth". 

God does this thing, where He knows what we need and how to get it, but needs our trust for us to actually obtain this great prestige or ability. We need to talk a walk of faith in order to do so. But he'll never faith us. Just read 2 Nephi 7:10-11 if you want proof. The Lord is our light if we stay within it, He will bring us to where we need to go. It's always there and will never leave. The only way to lose is it so not look. 

This reminds me of a story I heard on my mission. It's called "Footprints in the Sand". It went like this:

One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You'd walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

there was only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever, during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."

Margaret Fishback Powers, 1964

The Lord won't leave us. In fact, when we really think that He's gone and left us for better children. That is when he is there, holding us the closest, guiding us to where we need to go.