Reflections of a True Millennial

Finding Help in our Trials " Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to  chasten  his people; yea, he trieth their  patience  and their faith.   Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his  trust  in him the same shall be  lifted up  at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people." - Mosiah 23:21-22 Life can be pretty overwhelming sometimes. In this last stretch before Thanksgiving, it seems like every teacher is trying to cram a week's worth of work in before Tuesday. You also have to work 20 hours a week, attend to family obligations, somehow maintain a social life, and find a little bit of time for sleep. With all of this, it can be easy to let stress consume us and give us a negative attitude. (Plus your favorite football team losing another game in the 4th quarter is rough too.) Without the right perspective, we try to handle everything on our own and forget that God is there to help us. In the book of Mosiah, a group of people led by ...

Your relationship to God "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.   ... 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." -Mosiah 4:11-12 These verses come from the great account of King Benjamin's speech to his people in the beginning ...

Coming to God through Prayer "And I said: Lord, how is it done?  And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen... wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole." - Enos 1:7-8 The four books between Jacob and Mosiah in the Book of Mormon are often seen as transitory and not very important. These writings cover almost 200 years in only 9 pages. Despite the brevity, there are still important lessons to draw from the text. Enos, like Nephi, had goodly parents as his father Jacob taught him in scripture and other things through the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Despite his righteous upbringing, Enos does not portray himself as a perfectly good prophet. His main account is of his "wrestle" with God in prayer (v. 2). As he was hunting, he began to pray "in mighty prayer and supplication for [his] own soul" (v. 4). Enos probably felt guilt concerning mistakes he had made, just as we do. He was det...

The last writings of the great prophet "For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen." - 2 Nephi 33:15 Thus ends the writings of Nephi. Throughout the first 117 pages of the Book of Mormon, we see Nephi grow from a boy and change into one of the great prophets of the world. It is fitting that Nephi's last written statement is "I must obey." His life was filled with patterns of obedience and humility. He understood the will of God and he followed it as exactly as he could. Starting as a boy "born of goodly parents" (1 Nephi 1:1), Nephi quickly becomes a leader among his family as he committed to "go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded" (3:7). The Lord tests him and changes him with difficult tasks, even to the point of killing a man for the greater good (4). His father sees the famous vision of the tree of life, which Nephi expounds on...