Scriptures: "Letters from Home"

Gratitude Day 30:  I'm grateful for Scriptures:  My letters from Home.

The first time that I remember hearing the scriptures referred to as letters from home was about 25 or 30 years ago, maybe even longer.  I was fairly newly married, a young mother, living in the eastern US, far from my parents and other family members.  I had come to the Stake Center to attend the General Relief Society Broadcast.  I was among friends, but still far from home.  I don't remember exactly who the speaker was, but someone referred to the scriptures as "letters from home, from our Heavenly Father".  It was a comforting analogy for me at the time as I eagerly awaited and enjoyed the letters that I received from my earthly parents and other family members. 

I love reading from the scriptures, and try to make the time to do so daily.  I'm not perfect in this regard, but when I do read daily, I enjoy it. I find I deal better with the challenges of daily life, and I believe that I am a happier person overall.  Right now as a family we're reading one chapter every night from the New Testament, and I've just recently started reading The Book of Mormon again on my own.  I also wanted to share a fun idea that I found just today: A 25 Day Scripture Countdown  to Christmas Chain  posted by Kendra at The Things I Love.  She shares a lot of fun ideas for counting down the 25 days of December to Christmas Day. 

Back at the end of August, my ward Relief Society gave us a 12 week challenge to encourage us to draw closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We have each been given a notebook with a picture of the Savior attached to the front, and a list of 12 scriptures.   The idea is to concentrate on one scripture each week, reading and pondering the scripture of the week every day as part of our personal scripture study, then sometime during the week taking time to write our thoughts and feelings about the scripture in the notebook.   In December we will gather together and share some of our thoughts on these scriptures and on our Savior.

 No, I haven't read every single day for the past 12 weeks, but I have come close.  I have written some of my thoughts about every single scripture reference in my notebook, and also here on this blog.  Most weeks I posted my thoughts several days into the next week, but the posts were scheduled for the Sunday after that particular week's reading, so if you happen to be a regular follower of this blog, you may have missed them.  So here's a list of the scriptures I've studied for the past 12 weeks, linked to the posts where I've shared my thoughts.

Helaman 5:12

John 14:23-27

3 Nephi 13:14-21

Alma 5:14-16

Proverbs 31:30-31

D&C 8:2-3 & 9:7-9

Moroni 10:8-23

Matthew 7:7-8

D&C 6:14-16

D&C 88:118-119

Revelations 7:15-17

Mosiah 4:9-12

And there you have it.   Wishing you many wonderful days of reading your "letters from home."

Believe in God

Believe in God, And That He Is
Scripture Challenge Week 12
Mosiah 4:9-12

9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

 10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.

 11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

 12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

I love Mosiah 4:9.  I know that it has been set to music because I have sung it before.  Believe that God created all things:  the awesomely wonderful universe and our beautiful world.  Even the cold, windswept and snow covered mountains have their own kind of beauty.

He has all wisdom.  We need to trust in Him and in His timing.  But we also need to communicate with him and pour out our souls in prayer to Him. 

He has all power.  He can do anything.  He is more powerful than anything or anyone.  He will use his power with ultimate wisdom.

We cannot at this time understand everything that He understands.

Verse 10 is another reminder that we must always repent.  Be humble enough to ask him what our weaknesses are and to repent. 

I say that I believe this, but do I actually live this?  Verse 11 may be even harder to live.  I have had wonderful; powerful experiences where I am reminded how much the Lord truly does love me.  These times have usually been in the temple or when I've poured out my soul to him in earnest prayer.  The hard part is remembering and retaining the knowledge of this love always in day to day living.  Why are our mortal memories so feeble and fleeting?  Perhaps it is to test our faith and our determination to do what is right.  Perhaps it is to help us learn better how to control our thoughts and our actions.   Perhaps it is to teach us that we need to call on the Lord daily. 

And the promise if we do remember to call on Him daily?  We will always rejoice and be filled with the love of God, and keep the remission of our sins.  How wonderful is that?

A Taste of the Future

A Taste of the Future
Scripture Challenge Week 11
Revelations 7:15-17

 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

These verses can give us a taste of what can be our future:  the joy of being and serving in the temple.  Our fondest dreams and wishes can come true.  We can be fed and nourished at the feet of our Savior.  We can always be in his light.  We can dwell with Him and with God, our Father forever and be instructed by them and comforted by them.  What joy and gladness!  May it come soon.  May these dark and wicked times pass.  May we all be blessed and fed and comforted by our Savior.  And in the meantime, may we all bless and comfort and serve one another.

House of Order

House of Order
Scripture Challenge Week 10
D&C 88:118-119

 118 And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.

 119 Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

These verses have been favorites of mine for many years, ever since I learned them as scripture mastery verses in seminary.  They describe my goals for myself and for my home as we have raised our family.   They are goals that I set long before I was married and had a home of my own.  Study, wisdom, faith, and order.  These are lofty goals and I often feel that I fall short.   But I have seen success, and I will continue to strive to make my life and my home reflect these verses.  I also love the verses that follow:

120 That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord; that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord; that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High.

 121 Therefore, cease from all your light speeches, from all laughter, from all your lustful desires, from all your pride and light-mindedness, and from all your wicked doings.

 122 Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all, and that every man may have an equal privilege.

 123 See that ye love one another; cease to be covetous; learn to impart one to another as the gospel requires.

 124 Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.

 125 And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.

Answers to Prayers

Answers to Prayers
Scripture Challenge Week 8
D&C 6:14-16

14  Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou has inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit.  If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time. 
15  Behold, thou knowest that thou has inquired of me and I did enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth;
16  Yea, I tell thee, that htou mayest know that there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart.

Why do we not always recognize the answers to our prayers?  And the inspirations that we receive? Do we sometimes take credit for ourselves for what the Lord has inspired us to do?  I do know that the Lord does answer our prayers.

Prayer

Prayer
Scripture Challenge Week 7
Matthew 7:7-8

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

This is just so simple.  Pray.  Pray every day for the things you need. 

Every Good Gift Cometh of Christ

Every Good Gift Cometh of Christ
Scripture Challenge Week 6
Moroni 10:18-23

18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ.

 19 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the unbelief of the children of men.

 20 Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.

 21 And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope.

 22 And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.

 23 And Christ truly said unto our fathers: If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me.

I believe there are always times when I, or I should say, most people, have times or moments of despair.  Life is not always easy.  It brings disappointments and sorrows, but we cannot allow ourselves to sallow in self pity and despair. 

Despair comes because of iniquity.  Some of our challenges are caused by the wrongdoings of others, but if we don’t allow hope, faith and charity into our hearts, we will remain in despair.  We can’t allow our surroundings and outside influences to determine our attitude and disposition.  We create our attitude and disposition for ourselves in our own hearts.  We can’t blame it on others. 

True happiness comes not just from our blessings and the pleasant things life brings, but mostly it comes from our knowledge of and our faith in our Savior and the plan of our Heavenly Father for us. 

Personal Revelation or Stupor of Thought

Personal Revelation or Stupor of Thought
Twleve Week Scripture Challenge Week 6
D&C 8:2-3, 9:7-9

Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.   Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.
D& C 8:2-3
Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.  But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.  But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.
D&C 9:7-9

One of the things I have noticed in this past General Conference is that so many of the talks focused on how we need to go in prayer to Heavenly Father, asking for his will in what we need to be doing, and asking for his direction about who needs our help or visits or who is in need of some service that we can offer.  These verses tell us that the Holy Ghost will tell us in our minds and in our hearts what we need to know.  This is revelation, just as Moses and the other prophets have received revelation in their days.   But this is personal revelation, for our own use and for our own benefit.

The verses in D&C 9 remind us that we can't expect the Lord to make all of our decisions for us.  We need to study out our options, make our own choices, and then go in prayer to the Lord to receive a confirmation in our mind and in our heart that it is right.  If it is not right, we will not receive these feelings of confirmation, but rather, we will have a stupor of thought. 

So, in asking for guidance in my life, in choices I need to make, am I studying my options out like I should?  Is my indecision due to a stupor of thought, or is it just that I have not put in the time and study needed for my answers?

Self Worth

Self Worth
Scripture Challenge Week 5
Proverbs 31: 30-31

30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

 When we look to others and their approval or acceptance of us for our self worth, or to what the mirror tells us, we do not receive a true picture of our true value and worth.  If we turn to the Lord for our self evaluation or the valuation of our true worth, we will get the truth.  Outward appearances and the acceptance (or not) of others does not determine our true worth, but rather what we do with the talents and opportunities that the Lord has blessed us with. 

 

Alma's Questions

Alma's Questions
Scripture Challenge Week 4
Alma 5: 14-16

 14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

 15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

 16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?

The famous questions of Alma 5:  Have ye received his image in your countenance?  Have ye experienced the might change in your heart?

Yes, I can say that I have. 

Is his image in my countenance very day?  Is my heart changed every day?  Do I have faith in Him every day?  No, not completely.  Not every day.  Some days are always harder than others to have faith that everything will work out all right.  Faith that I can keep moving forward.  Faith that I even always know what the Lord wants me to be doing.  

The key, I think, or at least a helpful thought, is to always be thinking of and looking forward to the day when I will stand before my maker and report my life to him.  What will I have to say about what I have done today?  How have I treated my family?  How have I treated my co-workers?  My neighbors and strangers?  Myself?

Forgiveness and Fasting

Forgiveness and Fasting
12 Week Scripture Challenge:  Week 3
3 Nephi 13:14-21

14 For, if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you;

 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 16 Moreover, when ye fast be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;

 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father, who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal;

 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Obviously, if we are to expect to be forgiven, even through the gift of the atonement, we need to be willing to forgive others.  Even when they have not asked for our forgiveness nor seem to be repentant.  One thing that really spoke to me this week in Stake Conference was President Fajardo’s message to not judge, and to be kind.  I don’t ever intentionally judge others  . . . or do I?  This is a hard one.  I think we all make judgments of others on a regular basis.  But we need to always give others the benefit of the doubt, and we always need to be kind. 
When fasting, do I appear not unto men to fast?  Of course this means to not gripe or complain or brag or be showy in my fasting.  Nor should I brag or be showy in any of the ways I go about living the gospel, serving, and trying to be charitable.  We don’t need to call attention to ourselves in our service, but just quietly do what needs to be doing without fanfare or expectations of praise, thanks, or reward.  This is how to lay up treasures in heaven.

 

Love and Our Savior

Love and our Savior

12 Week Scripture Challenge Week 2

John 14: 23-27

  

23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our^babode with him.

 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.

 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

How do I show my love for the Savior?  By keeping his commandments, by reading and following his word, and by trying to be more like him.

Do I keep ALL the commandments?  Yes, I try, but I don’t keep all of them all of the time.  The teachings of Jesus add so many layers to the commandments as they were presented to the Israelites and modern revelation and temple covenants add even more layers.  I’m not sure at this point if I even understand all of the Lord’s commandments.  In addition, if I truly try to be in tune to the spirit, read and study the scriptures and really pray and listen with my heart to know the Lord’s will for me, I can and will receive more direction each and every day of my life.

John 14:27 is a favorite, comforting scripture.  The gift of the Holy Ghost is one of the greatest gifts we have on the earth.  He is a teacher, bringing truth and knowledge to our minds and hearts, and also comfort in times of heartache, pain and stress.  Some of our greatest heartaches come when we feel and know that we have fallen short of what the Lord expects of us and what we expect of our selves.  The comforter can and does reassure me that the Lord still loves me and that I still have my divine potential, even though I have made mistakes, hurt others, or fallen short of my goals and what has been asked of me.  I can have peace. Now and always.