December 18, 2010

I finished President Uchtdorf's talk on pride that I began last night. It was a wonderful talk. I love that this was my husband's favorite talk. There really is great wisdom in it. He says that "at its core, pride is a sin of comparison... [that] always seems to end with 'therefore, I am better than you.'" This reminds me so much of what I read in The Anatomy of Peace. In that book it explains our hearts can only be one of two ways: either we see others as equal to us, with hopes, dreams, feelings and fears as real to them as ours are to us (which is a heart at peace), or we see others as less than ourselves (which is a heart at war). President Uchtdorf highlights these same ideas by saying, "It could be said that every other sin is, in essence, a manifestation of pride," and "we must realize that all of God's children wear the same jersey." We really are all equal and should be treating each other as such. I know the opposite of pride is humility and I loved what President Uchtdorf said about it. He said, "We don't discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves." And another antidote to pride that he brings up is charity. He says, "It is almost impossible to be lifted up in pride when our hearts are filled with charity." I admit I struggle with pride on a daily basis, but I've found that being willing to admit my folly and to begin thinking of the other person, how they feel, how I can serve them, really does quickly pull me out of that self-centered, better-than state. I want to be out of that state as often as possible.

November 1, 2010

I finished reading Alma 45. The two verses that stood out to me were 16 and 24. In 16, the land is cursed for the people who chose to do wickedly "because the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance." This doctrine is comforting because it makes me feel loved by a caring Father in Heaven. For ever heinous act committed, He does care, and the perpetrator will meet the justice of God.

In verse 24, sadly, all the leaders whom Helaman appointed to lead the church "grew proud" and wouldn't listen to Helaman or his brothers. They succumbed to pride because "of their exceedingly great riches." I see this as an important reminder of the danger of riches. If they lead one to disregard the counsel of prophets and to not walk uprightly before God, then they have fulfilled Satan's purposes. If I am ever blessed with riches, I want to always use them to bless the lives of others and to further the work of the Lord in building His kingdom.

October 27, 2010

I read Alma 42 which is a beautiful discourse about the plan of salvation and the purpose of the Atonement to satisfy the demands of justice and mercy. I couldn't help but think that I would be absolutely fascinated by these words if I were reading them for the first time. It is a beautiful chapter. The thing that struck me the most was the reason that Alma taught these things. He sensed his son was feeling that it is unjust for God to punish a sinner. As I read, verse 10 really tied into that. It says, "Therefore, as they [men and women] had become carnal, sensual, and devilish, by nature, this probationary state became a state for them to prepare; it became a preparatory state." It is a time for repentance; a time to overcome our natures. This really stuck out to me because I think that one of the adversary's tactics is to convince us humans to fall in love with, embrace and celebrate our "carnal, sensual and devilish natures" as who we are. This ploy leads people to believe there is no sin and there is no devil. It leads people to believe there is no need for repentance, self-discipline, or the Atonement. I believe that is all lies. I truly do believe that I am a divine daughter of God who has been given the opportunity to come to earth, to live with a body, to experience mortality as a probationary state - a time to prove my faithfulness and obedience to my Heavenly Father in order to receive the blessings of all that He has. I believe that God expects me to strive to overcome my "carnal, sensual and devilish nature" ... to put it aside - and instead put on the robes of righteousness, faithfulness, diligence and obedience in order to prove my worthiness to be an heir to the kingdom of God.

I also love verse 27 that says, "whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds." I really believe that at that last day, there won't be anyone throwing a fit, feeling that God's judgement is unjust. I believe we will all know and accept our judgements according to our works. We will know what we did and where our heart was... and so does the Lord. His judgement will be just. He is merciful towards those who choose to repent, put off the natural man, and come unto Him. That is what I am striving to do.

October 18, 2010

I finished reading Alma 37 and came up with a question: how many times does it teach in the Book of Mormon to "keep the commandments?" I looked it up on lds.org and the search pulled up 36 references to it. I think there's a lot more. It would be a neat experience to read the Book of Mormon with that purpose of looking for just that teaching. I believe it is a foundational teaching.

In verse 32 I was struck by the power of one word. Alma says to Helaman to "teach [the people] an everlasting hatred against sin and iniquity." The word "hatred" stood out to me because I have been taught to avoid using it because it such a powerful and destructive idea. Even now, I have a difficult time imagining hating something. I think there are a lot of people who attach their identities to "sin and iniquity" and would feel (and do feel) hated as a person by someone who claims to hate sin and iniquity. So what would a disciple of Christ who has a hatred against sin and iniquity do? How would their actions and words differ from someone who claims to dislike sin and iniquity? How would a hatred of sin and iniquity be a positive thing? The only thing I can think of is that it would cause that person to stay as far away as possible from committing sin and engaging in iniquity. This would keep them worthy of the companionship of the Spirit and help them to make righteous choices. I still don't feel comfortable feeling hatred towards anything. Perhaps I am lacking in spiritual understanding in this matter.

I really love verses 33-34: "Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls."

And I love how Alma brings up the example of the liahona and says it wouldn't work when "they were slothful and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence." He compares following the liahona to heeding the word of Christ. He says that both are just as easy, so "let us not be slothful because of the easiness of the way... the way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever." I want to always exercise my faith and diligence and look to God because I believe in His promises of eternal life if I do so.