Finding Deeper Meaning in Service

Reading the Book of Mormon gives us a deeper understanding of so many things.  I have realized a few things about service that I hadn't really before this month.  For example, even this morning when I was reading 2 Nephi 33:3 a thought came to me.  Here is the scripture:

 3 But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.

This gives us insight into Nephi's heart, his leadership style, his faith.  It reminded me of my feelings as a mother.  But this is for all his people; he loved them so much!  And my thought was that this is an example of how important it is to 

LOVE those we SERVE.

 

This for some reason reminded me of an experience.  It's an interesting one about visiting teaching (a program in the church where women visit each other monthly) and one of my visiting teachers.  Now the funny thing is, she didn't actually visit.  She was not great at this part of her assignment.  BUT, I knew that she really cared, that she was my friend, that she loved me.  She would ask how things were, and talk to me when she could, and I found that it meant as much to me that she really cared as a visit would have.  This is the miracle of loving those you serve.  She still made a difference by her love, though she couldn't find the time to visit. 

We are not perfect; we are trying to achieve perfection.  But there is one who was and is perfect in His service: Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

In our family scripture reading  last week, this stood out to me in the words of King Benjamin (who lived before Christ was born) in Mosiah chapter 3:

 5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

 6 And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

My initial thoughts were that this chapter would be wonderful to read on Easter with my family!  But as I thought about service, I thought, "Look at the things Christ did with His service--He changed lives!"  And then the deeper insight: As I strive to become more like Christ, my service can be more life changing, that helping to change someone's life for the better is fuller service.

I'm not saying that we need to do miracles or big things to provide service.  I believe that even a smile can be an act of service.  But as I look for ways to serve my fellow man, I will look to making the biggest difference in their lives through that service, and more guidance from the Lord on how to change lives with the service I render. 

I love my Savior; I know He provided perfect service.  I have faith that the Lord will guide us to give more perfect service as we seek help.  These are insights that I have gained recently from reading the Book of Mormon.  And I love it!!

 

READ ON!!

Now's the time that many people slack just a little on their new year's resolutions.  I say "Read on!!" when it comes to your Book of Mormon reading this year.  Don't look at it as a resolution, but as a lifestyle: "I read my scriptures every day and will for the rest of my life--it helps me to be who I am."  This is how I see it anyway.

So I am here today because my son lost his Book of Mormon reading chart from Primary (children's organization at church), and since I am looking for a replacement, I thought I'd post links here to what I find.   Then hopefully I can add the two that I've made at the end, but I'm not sure how I will do that, since I don't have a scanner.

Here are the links:

• Book-markish reading charts (4 to a page)
• Awsome little schedule maker! 
• If you are too busy to pray and read your scriptures, you are busier than God ever intended you to be! 
•  Children's chart in book form
•  Bookmarks in PDF under first bullet "Book of Mormon"
• On official LDS.org, a 36 week schedule 
• Several chart options here, including young children and a certificate and Family Home Evening Kickoff 
• 40 Days closer to Christ booklet based on the Book of Mormon 
• TONS of charts here!! 

Ok, now to try my charts: (I took pictures and lightened them; I hope they copy and paste well.)

THE ROSE 

I often put "My testimony will bloom as I read the Book of Mormon" at the top.  Each section is a chapter and the flower part itself is 3rd Nephi, where the Savior comes to the Americas.

THE TREE

This one marks daily reading instead of chapters.  (You can see that I did this in 1995, for the Young Women in my ward at the time.  It's not that I had a lot of time on my hands back then, it's just that I required less *sleep*.  Ok, you can change the 1995 with white-out to the current year until 9999, and then add an apple.  =)  )Since it starts in April, it might be useful to start this one around General Conference time.

 

No matter how you keep track, reading the Book of Mormon will help and strengthen you, bring you closer to Christ, and be a source of help and comfort in your life.  I love this book!!!

So Excited!!

Very excited about reading the Book of Mormon this year!!!  I completed the New Testament on New Year's Eve, much behind schedule of my goal.  But hey, I've crammed for tests before...  =)  (In this case, I crammed to complete my 2011 resolution.)  This year's resolution for scripture reading, besides completing the LDS Sunday School course of study for 2012, which happens to be the Book of Mormon, is to stay away from facebook and twitter, and other blogs until my scripture study is done!!  It's too easy to get caught up and loose a lot of time on the Internet!!

Two thoughts I have at the beginning of 2012 about scripture study are

1. STUDY SCHEDULE: I write the study schedule in the front of my scriptures for all courses of study so that I don't have to figure it out every year.  For the Book of Mormon it is:

2 pages a day

or 1 chapter a day

Either of these methods with get you done with the Book of Mormon in about September of any given year, starting from Jan. 1st.

If you want, you can also go 1.5 pages per day, which will also get you finished by the end of the year.

2. I LOVE using the new study notebook on LDS.org (that is the sign in page) to study my scriptures!! 

I've also been listening/reading & marking General Conference talks (one per day) using the same notebook.  Also journaling in this password protected notebook.  I LOVE IT!!!  I cannot begin to tell you how much!  I understand that this notebook can sync with my gospel library app on my phone, but I haven't figured that out yet.

It takes a little persistence to learn how to use it (I *think* there is a tutorial, but I'm not sure) but it is so worth it!

Well, that's it for now.  Have a fabulous, wonderful 2012!!  And may you keep all your resolutions, and may one of them be to read the Book of Mormon!! ;)

Through the Eyes of a Mother

This is a Christmas card that I've had for probably decades.  It is framed and hangs in my house at Christmas time.  I love the tenderness in the picture and the sweet baby Jesus.

My view of the Christmas story has been enriched by the fact that I've had children--three to be exact.  It helps me relate better to several things.

In the Book of Mormon, the Christmas story is from another view point--from the American Continent.  There was a prophesy about Christ's birth in Jeruselem, and the believers were continually ridiculed by the non-believers.  (See 3 Nephi Chapter 1 at LDS.org) As the time of the prophesy drew closer, the ridicule turned to threats, as the non-believers threatened to put to death those who believed, if the prophesy was not fulfilled. 

Now, as a mother, I picture those believing mothers, heartbroken and terrified for their families, but knowing what they believed.  I picture those mothers praying so hard to know what to do, how to protect their little ones.  It is heart-wrenching in that context.

The sign, of course, came, and they knew that Christ had been born in Jerusalem.  I can only imagine the overwhelming relief of those mothers, the prayers of gratitude!

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, the Promised Messiah truly had been born.  His mother was Mary, to whom the Bible refers as "highly favoured" and "blessed among women." (See Luke chapter 1)

The young, gentle Mary must have been stunned to know that she'd bare the Son of God, but she meekly accepted: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."

I don't know what Mary expected from that point on, but I know that I might have expected better accommodations to give birth to the Son of God.  But of course I am not Mary.  But I feel for her, nine months pregnant, traveling on the back of a donkey 90 or more miles. (See "The Peace and Joy of Knowing the Savior Lives.")

Now here's the part where my motherhood gives me insight.  It is so uncomfortable to be nine months pregnant!!  It is uncomfortable to be lying in a soft bed that far along!  I almost cry when I picture her, so pregnant, so LONG on the back of a donkey.   Oh, I ache just thinking about it!  I wonder if it ever entered her mind during what must have been a several day trip, "I didn't think it would be like this."

And then to not find room at the inn, to have to give birth in the middle of animals, and lay Him--the Son of God--in a manger.  I wonder if it surprised her to find herself in that situation.  It is so hard and painful to give birth.  I sincerely can't imagine doing it in those circumstances! 

Yet, I picture her, the beautiful, humble Mary, accepting the circumstances just as she accepted her calling: "Be it unto me according to thy will."

There are great lessons of humility here: the humble birth of the King of Kings, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I believe that God was showing the world that the way to be great is to be humble.  I so admire Mary, so humbly accepting her calling to be His mother, and accepting all things that came with it.

I ask myself: Am I humble?  Do I accept all the things the Lord will bring me through so meekly?  Am I truly His servant?

I know that Christ was born in humble circumstances and now reigns in the heavens.  I know that He saves, and is there for us.  And I testify that His birth was prophesied in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  Oh the beauty of the Christmas story in this mother's eyes!

He Strengthens Us

One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon talks about weaknesses and strengths:

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Ether 12:27

I taught the 12 and 13 year-old girls at church recently and the lesson was about how much the Lord loves us, and then goes on to how he makes our weaknesses strong, if we let him.  The second part was based on this scripture.  I have always loved this scripture, but something jumped out at me during the lesson.  I'll explain.

When we come to the Lord, he shows us our weaknesses.  This can be painful.  We can choose several things: anger, insecurity; but what he really wants us to do is be humble.   It says so in line two.  These are the two things that the Lord provides from weakness:

1. He sets the stage for us to be humble.

2. His grace is sufficient for us.

He then tells us the conditions for overcoming our weakness:

1. We humble ourselves before him.

2. We have faith in him.

Then he makes our "weak things become strong" to us.

Here's what jumped out at me during the lesson: the two things that the Lord provides from weakness, and the two things that we do to overcome weakness are the same things. They are combined below:

1. He sets the stage for humility/we choose to be humble.

2. His grace is sufficient/we have faith in him (that his grace is sufficient).

He set us up to succeed!   He sets the stage for us to be strong, to overcome our weakness.  It is dependent on our accepting and choosing those conditions.  He is so kind, and loving, and he truly can make weak things strong to us.  What a powerful scripture!