1 Nephi 14:14-15 What is the power of the Lamb of God?
When I think of the power of the Lamb of God, I immediately think of what the atonement has enabled me to do in my life. I have been able to repent and progress in my spirituality, I have been kinder, more loving, and understanding, and ultimately I have been a better person.
The only other time where the phrase “power of the Lamb of God” is used is in chapter 11 of 1 Nephi and it refers to the healing of Jesus Christ during his ministry. The power of the Lamb in verse 14 is given to the covenant people, which were also armed with “righteousness” and the “power of God”. I like to think the power of the Lamb of God is the enabling power of the atonement. The power to overcome weaknesses, sing, pain, and misery due to the fulfillment of their price through the atonement. I like to think that righteousness as the things we do that allow for us to be free and able to fulfill the plan of salvation. I think that includes being free from addictions, sin, and poverty. Righteousness enables us to be in a position of influence for good. A righteous person is trusted, healthy, clear-minded, and able. I think the the “power of God” in this verse refers to the priesthood. Having used the atonement and being enabled by righteousness we can carry out the will of God through his authority and power on Earth. These 3 things are interrelated and all build off of each other.
Monday, June 10, 2019
Monday, May 6, 2019
1 Nephi 14:2-17
This outlines a lot of information about a division between the Lamb of God and the devil and his children. I will try and outline and rearrange this information with some of my own thoughts interspersed.
1) The followers of the Lamb of God are among “the house of Israel”, and are involved in “a great and a marvelous work among the children of men.” The church of the Lamb of God is involved in bringing “peace and life eternal”. Although I believe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to have the complete, restored priesthood and organization of God, any organization involved in bringing peace and life eternal is part of the Church of the Lamb of God. This includes so many organizations, and I rejoice in their efforts. I want my kids to be involved in as many of these organizations as possible, and have appreciation for the good in all churches.
2) It does not say that there are followers of Satan, but it mentions a “great and abominable church” who is founded by the devil and works to bring captivity unto the children of men.
I have thought a lot about the choices I have made under the influence of my family, friends, church leaders, and the spirit. If it weren’t for these influences I do not think I would have been able to be where I am at today. I would have chosen an uncertain and different path. The choices I did make have allowed me to be free from captivity. It is easy to see how the Word of Wisdom frees us from captivity in the addictions of Tobacco and Alcohol, but my parents also raised us not to drink caffeine and to avoid addictive substances in general. I was also encouraged to get an education, which has opened many opportunities for me, and has led me directly to my current career. As a father, I still fall short on so many levels, but If I had addictions on top of my current weaknesses I think it would make it harder. My phone is perhaps an addiction that is distracting me, I need to do better there.
3) Repentance is the way out of captivity, and Satan will not uphold his people in the end. The works of captivity are digging holes that will be filled by those who dug them. The fallacy of corruption and injustice is that it serves one group over another, but in reality, it leads to “destruction, both temporally and spiritually”
I want to break the cycle by teaching my kids to recognize good and promote and be a part of it, and recognize evil and understand and shun it.
This outlines a lot of information about a division between the Lamb of God and the devil and his children. I will try and outline and rearrange this information with some of my own thoughts interspersed.
1) The followers of the Lamb of God are among “the house of Israel”, and are involved in “a great and a marvelous work among the children of men.” The church of the Lamb of God is involved in bringing “peace and life eternal”. Although I believe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to have the complete, restored priesthood and organization of God, any organization involved in bringing peace and life eternal is part of the Church of the Lamb of God. This includes so many organizations, and I rejoice in their efforts. I want my kids to be involved in as many of these organizations as possible, and have appreciation for the good in all churches.
2) It does not say that there are followers of Satan, but it mentions a “great and abominable church” who is founded by the devil and works to bring captivity unto the children of men.
I have thought a lot about the choices I have made under the influence of my family, friends, church leaders, and the spirit. If it weren’t for these influences I do not think I would have been able to be where I am at today. I would have chosen an uncertain and different path. The choices I did make have allowed me to be free from captivity. It is easy to see how the Word of Wisdom frees us from captivity in the addictions of Tobacco and Alcohol, but my parents also raised us not to drink caffeine and to avoid addictive substances in general. I was also encouraged to get an education, which has opened many opportunities for me, and has led me directly to my current career. As a father, I still fall short on so many levels, but If I had addictions on top of my current weaknesses I think it would make it harder. My phone is perhaps an addiction that is distracting me, I need to do better there.
3) Repentance is the way out of captivity, and Satan will not uphold his people in the end. The works of captivity are digging holes that will be filled by those who dug them. The fallacy of corruption and injustice is that it serves one group over another, but in reality, it leads to “destruction, both temporally and spiritually”
I want to break the cycle by teaching my kids to recognize good and promote and be a part of it, and recognize evil and understand and shun it.
Friday, April 19, 2019
1 Ne 11:22 “the Love of God”
In 1 Nephi 11:22 Says the “love of God...is the most desirable above all other things”, yet if you took a poll of what people desired most I doubt that the Love of God would be at the top of the list. I tried to find if anyone had done this poll with a quick google search and couldn’t find anything substantial. But my guess is beyond the basic needs of life (food, shelter, clothing, health), people probably just want to be happy. In I Nephi 11:23 is says that the love of God is “the most joyous to the soul”, which sounds like it is pretty desirable to me.
I think that the “love of God” is manifest in a variety of ways. I think most people desire to be understood, appreciated, supported, and considered. People desire trust, consistency, and connection. The “love of God” provides is a manifestation of these desires for individuals regardless of what people have offended or hurt them. The “love of God” can provide assurance and hope to anyone anywhere, but where I would think it is most efficacious is when a person feels otherwise alone, discourage, depressed, or hurt. You can always have access to the “love of God”
I think that the “love of God” is manifest in a variety of ways. I think most people desire to be understood, appreciated, supported, and considered. People desire trust, consistency, and connection. The “love of God” provides is a manifestation of these desires for individuals regardless of what people have offended or hurt them. The “love of God” can provide assurance and hope to anyone anywhere, but where I would think it is most efficacious is when a person feels otherwise alone, discourage, depressed, or hurt. You can always have access to the “love of God”
Thursday, April 11, 2019
”They Shall be Blessed”
In verse 2 of 1 Nephi 14 a prophecy is made concerning the Gentiles that “they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever”. I have actually been thinking about what it means to receive blessings and be blessed and the deeper question of “why”. I feel that I am living in a time where this prophecy is being fulfilled, and I am one of many people who are “blessed”.
When I was younger I used to wonder why I was given so much in this life. My feelings of gratitude for my family, my faith, my health overwhelmed me sometimes. I would compare the ease and opportunities in my life to the lack of such in other people of the world. I didn’t understand what I did to deserve a more fortunate circumstance than the billions of people born into poverty, ignorance, subjection, or misery. I kept wanting to point to some logical cause and effect, and although I feel there are some answers to that question, I was mostly left with more questions on the lack of justice and fairness of it all.
Recently I have felt enlightened on a new perspective of my “blessings”. My thoughts on this are not neceassarily new, but have felt more real as I have grown older and am in a different stage of life. My line of thinking as a young man was focused on the past and what led to my current state. For much of my life I also thought little of the future, or when I did think of the future it was only in chunks (what college am I going to go to, when I get married, what do I want to be when I grow up). But now I have mostly arrived at the points where I had been focused for so long (marriage, children, career), and I am more focused on what I am going to accomplish now that I have arrived than the journey of how to get there.
So with that new line of thinking I realize that my “blessings” have put me in a position where I can help and influence others. I have always known that service is important and have enjoyed opportunities to help in whatever capacity I can, but now it feels more fundamental. Now it feels like this is the purpose of my very existence. This has been a very liberating line of thinking for me. Regardless of how I got here, I am here. And now I can look at injustice, a lack of fairness, poverty, ignorance, subjection, and even misery as an opportunity to serve, to help, to enlighten, to bless the lives of others in whatever way possible. I truly feel “blessed” and that brings me joy, but it doesn’t stop there, my blessings were meant to serve and help others and that is what I hope to do with the rest of my life as a husband, father, professor, friend, member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, neighbor, acquaintance, researcher, stranger, and person of this world.
When I was younger I used to wonder why I was given so much in this life. My feelings of gratitude for my family, my faith, my health overwhelmed me sometimes. I would compare the ease and opportunities in my life to the lack of such in other people of the world. I didn’t understand what I did to deserve a more fortunate circumstance than the billions of people born into poverty, ignorance, subjection, or misery. I kept wanting to point to some logical cause and effect, and although I feel there are some answers to that question, I was mostly left with more questions on the lack of justice and fairness of it all.
Recently I have felt enlightened on a new perspective of my “blessings”. My thoughts on this are not neceassarily new, but have felt more real as I have grown older and am in a different stage of life. My line of thinking as a young man was focused on the past and what led to my current state. For much of my life I also thought little of the future, or when I did think of the future it was only in chunks (what college am I going to go to, when I get married, what do I want to be when I grow up). But now I have mostly arrived at the points where I had been focused for so long (marriage, children, career), and I am more focused on what I am going to accomplish now that I have arrived than the journey of how to get there.
So with that new line of thinking I realize that my “blessings” have put me in a position where I can help and influence others. I have always known that service is important and have enjoyed opportunities to help in whatever capacity I can, but now it feels more fundamental. Now it feels like this is the purpose of my very existence. This has been a very liberating line of thinking for me. Regardless of how I got here, I am here. And now I can look at injustice, a lack of fairness, poverty, ignorance, subjection, and even misery as an opportunity to serve, to help, to enlighten, to bless the lives of others in whatever way possible. I truly feel “blessed” and that brings me joy, but it doesn’t stop there, my blessings were meant to serve and help others and that is what I hope to do with the rest of my life as a husband, father, professor, friend, member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, neighbor, acquaintance, researcher, stranger, and person of this world.
I am back!
I just finished reading The Book of Mormon again, and although I enjoyed it and felt spiritually enlightened in many instances while reading, most of the time I was thoughtlessly prodding through words with very little thought and reflection. It is time for me to renew this blog, if nothing more for the opportunity to gain more insights and reflections into my life. So after a few year hiatus, I am going to pick up where I left off at 1 Nephi 14.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
1 Nephi 14:1 Stumbling Blocks
The first verse in 1 Nephi 14 gives a powerful promise to the gentiles. I include myself as a gentile, which I define as someone who is outside the fold of God. But gentiles can come unto Christ, just like anyone else and have all the blessings of the gospel given to them. As a father and husband in todays world I feel like it is an uphill battle. I am starting from an outside place (just like a gentile), and doing my best to be included among the blessed people of God.
Verse 1 says "If the gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks"
There are so many "stumbling blocks" in parenting and marriage. Some of them are personal such as my impatience and unrealistic expectations for my children. Some of them are external such as the ever lurking dangers of the internet, the constant desire for entertainment, and many secular views of the world.
But all of them can be taken away by hearkening unto the Lamb of God. Which for me, means following the teachings of Christ. The biggest stumbling block that I can think of I have already mentioned, my lack of patience. The hardest part about being patient is that you never get a break. In order to be successful at being patient you have to constantly be doing it. I need help with this so I am going to look for answers ("in word, and also in power, in very deed") among the teachings of Christ and apply them to my life.
Some teachings that already jump to my mind are Christ's charity for others. He loved those that persecuted him. I get angry when my kids misbehave, when I should instead correct and teach with love. What are some teachings of Christ that have helped remove your stumbling blocks?
Verse 1 says "If the gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks"
There are so many "stumbling blocks" in parenting and marriage. Some of them are personal such as my impatience and unrealistic expectations for my children. Some of them are external such as the ever lurking dangers of the internet, the constant desire for entertainment, and many secular views of the world.
But all of them can be taken away by hearkening unto the Lamb of God. Which for me, means following the teachings of Christ. The biggest stumbling block that I can think of I have already mentioned, my lack of patience. The hardest part about being patient is that you never get a break. In order to be successful at being patient you have to constantly be doing it. I need help with this so I am going to look for answers ("in word, and also in power, in very deed") among the teachings of Christ and apply them to my life.
Some teachings that already jump to my mind are Christ's charity for others. He loved those that persecuted him. I get angry when my kids misbehave, when I should instead correct and teach with love. What are some teachings of Christ that have helped remove your stumbling blocks?
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
1 Nephi 13: 1-10 - The great and abominable church
The desires of the world are selfish. The world seeks for money, power, clothes, status, and pride. The results of these desires are loneliness and misery. Nephi saw the manifestation of the world in the formation of a church. I do not see this church as an organization, and I think that is what makes it hard to identify at times. I often see myself aligning myself with this church when I make selfish decisions. As a father, I wonder how do I keep my children away from this church? How can I be a better example? How can I help my children recognize their own pride?
On the other side, the Church of Christ promotes unselfish love for all. Serving, thinking of others, and being humble are the desires of His church. The results of these desires are happiness. Children have many tendencies towards love and humility, but they also have tendencies towards the opposite. I find this especially pertinent towards my older children who have a hard time making decisions based on others, and tends to focus on immediate gratification.
I think one way I will try and help my children more is to look for opportunities to help others with them. When I served others as a child I always felt the spirit of love and joy, if they can feel that then maybe they will seek that feeling in their actions as well.
On the other side, the Church of Christ promotes unselfish love for all. Serving, thinking of others, and being humble are the desires of His church. The results of these desires are happiness. Children have many tendencies towards love and humility, but they also have tendencies towards the opposite. I find this especially pertinent towards my older children who have a hard time making decisions based on others, and tends to focus on immediate gratification.
I think one way I will try and help my children more is to look for opportunities to help others with them. When I served others as a child I always felt the spirit of love and joy, if they can feel that then maybe they will seek that feeling in their actions as well.
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