The First and the Last

In many places in the scriptures, Jesus Christ says, "I am the first and the last.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.." for example D&C 110:4, Isa 48:12, 3 Ne 9:18.

My Aha! moment was that He should be the first and the last in my life.  I can literally make Him the beginning and end through morning and nighttime prayer and morning scripture study.

Principles of Revelation

I have been studying President Eyring's Oct 2014 conference talk, Continuing Revelation.  I picked out 8 principles that have taught me and inspired me so much!

1.  Revelation works within stewardships.

• "The prophet receiving it for the church; the president for his stake, mission, or his quorum; the bishop for his ward; the father for his family; the individual for himself." Boyd K Packer.

2.  Confirming Revelation

• Bible Dictionary says: "It is the making known of divine truth by communication with the heavens, and consists not only of revelation of the plan of salvation to the Lord's prophets, but also a confirmation in the hearts of the believers that the revelation to the prophets is true.
• Pres. Eyring used the example of Nephi, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded..." not "I will go and do what my father told me to do."

3.  Revelation of a parent has its lasting effect in the personal revelation that continues in the child.

• Pres. Eyring remembers his mother waiting up for him and having conversations with him about life on the edge of her bed, her words sunk deep into his heart.  I want to be that kind of mother!  
•  This principle reminds me of the song "I am a Child of God" where is says, "lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.  Teach me all that I must do to live with him someday."

4.  The value of the revelation depends on those who are being led receiving confirming revelation.

• An example of this is the stark contrast between Nephi and Laman and Lemuel:  "I Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him.." 1 Nephi 10:17 compared to Laman and Lemuel who said, "we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken.. the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us." 1 Nephi 15:7,9

5.  Because of the gift of the Holy Ghost, revelation can be continuous.

• The sacrament prayers say "that they may always have His Spirit to be with them."

6.  Revelation works through channels of love.

•  Pres. Eyring said, "A guide for anyone seeking personal revelation...'Let thy bowels be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly...'  Don't take lightly the feeling you get of love for the prophet of God.  It is a gift from God.  With it you will receive more easily the gift of confirming revelation."

7.  Through revelation we learn who Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are and who we are.

•  I have been pondering Matthew 16:15-19.  "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  And Jesus answered and said unto him, blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.  And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven."
• Those scriptures have taught me so much!  The more we come to know Christ through revelation, the more we come to know who we really are.  I have found so many examples in the scriptures where people are called by their names!  We are known personally and individually by the Lord.

8.  Confirming revelation protects us.

• President Eyring shares a story of a woman who didn't know how to read or write.  Her husband was called to be a sealer in the temple and she felt unworthy to be his companion.  The adversary would have us focus on what we don't know, the Lord protects us by revealing to us what we do know.  In the story he points out all the truths this woman knew that are so much more important that the ability to read or write, in that part of the story he said the phrase "she knew for herself or she knew" six times.  
• Understanding these truths through revelation helped this woman push through the feeling that she shouldn't go to the temple with her husband. 

NOW is the time to prepare!!

Wow, have you read the news lately?  I am feeling "awakened to a sense of our awful situation"!  I am amazed at the events going on in the world.  It is just like the scriptures say, "all things shall be in commotion".  Clearly we live in the last days!

Knowing that we are in the last days, and knowing that things are going to get considerably worse before the return of the Savior, doesn't it make sense that we should be diligently preparing for His coming?!

There was an excellent conference talk about being prepared in a manner that never had been known, by Sister Linda K. Burton.  She mentioned Alma 49 about Captain Moroni's preparations with his people for the Lamanite armies.  I love verse five, "Now at this time the chief captains of the Lamanites were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security."

This chapter uses the words prepared, preparation, or preparing 11 times!  Captain Moroni had his people fortify their cities by building huge banks of dirt and a ditch around the city wall.  Later they added pickets to the top of the mounds of dirt.  That kind of preparation takes a long time!  Surely Captain Moroni didn't know when the Lamanite armies would come upon his people, but he knew they would come!  Because he knew this, he used his time wisely to prepare!!!

President Monson often says "When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation has passed".

The Savior will come again!  We don't know the day or the hour of His coming, but every day is one day closer!

I am feeling an urgency and want to share this message to everyone who will hear it!  Be close to the Spirit, listen to and obey the words of the living prophet, study the scriptures, attend sacrament meeting and the temple, have a year's supply of food and water storage, get out of debt, and do it NOW!!

Then we will be prepared in a way that will fortify us against the enemy in ways that are astonishing!

Because "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."

Let your light shine!

It has been a delight this year to have a new addition to our home, a wood burning stove!  It has been such a blessing to our old, inefficient house to have heat (seriously, why did we wait so long!?).

Last summer my kids went to a medieval camp where they learned and played all things medieval.  It was really fun for them.  One thing we did together was start a fire with a magnifying glass.  Have you ever tried doing that?  It takes forever!  We babied our little pile of tinder and patiently nursed the little smoke and sparks as best we could.  We probably worked on getting a fire started for 30 minutes or more.  Finally someone had real fire and they graciously shared it with the rest of us so we could cook our lunch over the fire.

The lesson I took away was the parallel with the fire within us.  It takes diligence and work to get it going!  Nurture those little sparks and be gentle with them.  Think of what happens when things get burning!

Another thought goes back to the wood stove.  I am constantly adding logs to the fire.  If I neglect to do this, the fire dies down and I have to start it again.  It is so much easier to just keep it burning.  Testimonies are that way, keep adding to them daily and they keep burning.  Fire and testimonies are living things.

I have been pondering the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 50:24, "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."

Also Matthew 5:14-16, "Ye are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

I love those scriptures!

The Keys in Marriage

I found this parable shared in the October 1993 general conference by Elder Packer.

"Once a man received as his inheritance two keys. The first key, he was told, would open a vault which he must protect at all cost. The second key was to a safe within the vault which contained a priceless treasure. He was to open this safe and freely use the precious things which were stored therein. He was warned that many would seek to rob him of his inheritance. He was promised that if he used the treasure worthily, it would be replenished and never be diminished, not in all eternity. He would be tested. If he used it to benefit others, his own blessings and joy would increase.

The man went alone to the vault. His first key opened the door. He tried to unlock the treasure with the other key, but he could not, for there were two locks on the safe. His key alone would not open it. No matter how he tried, he could not open it. He was puzzled. He had been given the keys. He knew the treasure was rightfully his. He had obeyed instructions, but he could not open the safe.

In due time, there came a woman into the vault. She, too, held a key. It was noticeably different from the key he held. Her key fit the other lock. It humbled him to learn that he could not obtain his rightful inheritance without her.

They made a covenant that together they would open the treasure and, as instructed, he would watch over the vault and protect it; she would watch over the treasure. She was not concerned that, as guardian of the vault, he held two keys, for his full purpose was to see that she was safe as she watched over that which was most precious to them both. Together they opened the safe and partook of their inheritance. They rejoiced for, as promised, it replenished itself.

With great joy they found that they could pass the treasure on to their children; each could receive a full measure, undiminished to the last generation.

Perhaps some few of their posterity would not find a companion who possessed the complementary key, or one worthy and willing to keep the covenants relating to the treasure. Nevertheless, if they kept the commandments, they would not be denied even the smallest blessing.

Because some tempted them to misuse their treasure, they were careful to teach their children about keys and covenants.

There came, in due time, among their posterity some few who were deceived or jealous or selfish because one was given two keys and another only one. “Why,” the selfish ones reasoned, “cannot the treasure be mine alone to use as I desire?”

Some tried to reshape the key they had been given to resemble the other key. Perhaps, they thought, it would then fit both locks. And so it was that the safe was closed to them. Their reshaped keys were useless, and their inheritance was lost.

Those who received the treasure with gratitude and obeyed the laws concerning it knew joy without bounds through time and all eternity."

I love his way of describing the power of marriage between a man and a woman!  

Gifts for the Savior

The wise men brought their gifts to the Savior, gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Frankincense and myrrh are both resins (thick sappy liquid) that come from trees in the Arabian peninsula.  The resins are harvested by lashing the trees so the healing resin will flow to the surface of the tree and dry into what is known as tears (the dried clumps of resin on the surface of the tree).  Isn't that significant?  Frankincense and myrrh hold symbolic meaning in their uses for healing and anointing.  Significantly, even the harvesting process points to the Savior and His Atonement.  It makes me think of the scripture in Isaiah 53:5 .."with his stripes we are healed."  

The wise men brought gifts for the Savior.  The shepherds brought the gift of their presence, just being there was enough.  President Monson has taught us what we can give the Savior, “When we find him, will we be prepared as were the wise men of old to provide gifts from our many treasures? They presented gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These are not the gifts Jesus asks of us. From the treasure of our hearts Jesus asks that we give of ourselves: ‘Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind’ (D&C 64:34).”  President Thomas S. Monson, “The Search for Jesus,” Ensign, Dec. 1990, 5.

The Power of Failure

What if I wasn't afraid to fail?  Would I be more willing to try something new, set a goal that seems unattainable, or reach out to someone new.  In other words, would I be more likely to become the person God is trying to mold me to be?

I am learning that the greater the chance of me failing completely, the greater the potential blessings.  For example, I was willing to be married, even though I knew we would have challenges and the chance we would fail.  I took the chance to have children, be true to the gospel of Jesus Christ, make covenants, homeschool my children, move to a new place, start a new business, change careers, etc.  With the chance of failure comes learning, growth, an increased reliance on the Lord, and the potential to succeed!  Lehi put it this way in 2 Ne 2:11, "For it must needs be that there is an opposition in all things."

I am so grateful that Adam and Eve were willing to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, knowing that they would then be able to die.  They had such courage and faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement to be willing to fall, so that we could be here to learn from our failures.

Elder Richard G. Scott talked about this principle in his Oct 2014 conference talk.  He said, "We were taught in the premortal world that our purpose in coming here is to be tested, tried, and stretched."  (I love the way he said stretched, it sounded to me that he has some experience with that principle.)

Happy stretching!