For my ten week project, I decided to study the Christlike attributes listed in Preach My Gospel. It just so happened that the characteristic I was studying last week was humility. In Preach My Gospel, it says that "The opposite of humility is pride." That's why verse 24 of 4 Nephi 1 really stood out to me. It reads:
"And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride, such as the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world."
After many years of the people being united, with no separation of people, some of the people start being prideful. We see in verse 26 what this lead to:
"And they began to be divided into classes; and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain, and began to deny the true church of Christ."
What a sad thing this is to see. As soon as pride entered the people's hearts, they become a divided people. They lose the Holy Ghost in their lives and then they start to deny the truthfulness of Christ's church and revolt against it.
From my other studies of pride, I have learned that it makes you do two dangerous things: compare and forget. First, pride is a sin of comparison. Pride makes you compare yourself against those who have less than you. When this occurs, you put yourself on a pedestal and believe that you are better than those around you. This destroys all humility in your heart, because when this occurs, you automatically forget that we are all children of God. We all are indebted to our wonderful Heavenly Father. And, as I mentioned before, when we are comparing, we are usually comparing our strengths to others' weaknesses. When you see yourself above others, you will do everything to stay there and you are usually unwilling to change yourself. Your heart becomes hardened. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it is also dangerous to compare yourself to those who have more than you. This creates feelings of jealousy and degrades your self worth. When this occurs, you will be ungrateful for what you have and you will be asking God why you don't have more. Usually, this type of pride will make someone bitter and unwilling to succumb to Heavenly Father's will.
Pride is also a sin of forgetfulness. I have noticed time and time again that in the scriptures, people become prideful when they forget the hand of God in their lives. This can happen both when they forget what God has done to deliver their fathers and when they forget what blessings Heavenly Father has given them in their own lives. Pride makes you focus on what you have done for yourself and causes you to ignore the blessings in your life that have come from other people. Wickedness often comes from forgetfulness. When people forget to see the hand of the Lord in their lives, they are quicker to break covenants and lose the Holy Ghost.
We see how the pride has affected these people. Because of pride, they are quick to lose everything they have worked so hard for. The united people quickly divide and the perfect church of Christ quickly dissipates.
Throughout this whole thing, I have thought about how Christ really is the perfect example of humility. Not once was He ever prideful, and I have to admit there are sometimes when He could have been. I think of the classic example in the premortal existence. Satan presents his plan laced with pride--Satan wants all of the credit for his plan to go to himself. However, when Christ presents His perfect plan, He gives all glory to Heavenly Father. Also, He was humble enough to submit to Heavenly Father's will, even when it included performing the Atonement. I am so grateful for Christ's perfect example of humility.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
The Holy Ghost
A scripture that stood out to me this week was 3 Nephi 19:9. It reads:
"And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them."
I think about the things that I pray for and the things that I most desire. Most of the time, those desires involve petty things like test scores or struggling relationships. This scripture really put things into perspective. The thing that I should desire most is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. I should live my life in a way that will allow the Holy Ghost to be by my side at all times. I should plead with Heavenly Father to have the Holy Ghost in my life because I should be so sad when I think about my life without Him. This scripture really made me think that I take the Holy Ghost for granted.
After I read this, I started thinking about the nature of the Holy Ghost. When it is time for Christ to leave His mortal ministry, it hurt Him so much to think that He would have to leave those He loved so much. He sent the Holy Ghost to be on Earth and to be a mediator, of sorts, between Christ and His followers. I love that imagery. To think that Jesus left me this precious gift fills me with His love and gives my life new direction. It also encourages me to be sensitive to the Holy Ghost's promptings; I would hate SO much to not be receptive to messages from God and Jesus Christ.
I am leaving on a mission in 37 days (!) and I know that the Holy Ghost will be an integral part of my life as a missionary. My Stake President told me in my missionary interview that missionaries are the only group of people who are entitled to have the Holy Ghost with them if they are keeping the rules. He explained to me that not even the Apostles are promised with that blessing. How humbling that thought is! I am going to be a missionary, and because of that, the Holy Ghost will be my constant companion. It is my prayer that I will learn how to best appreciate the gift of the Holy Ghost. After reading this scripture, and seeing how vital the Holy Ghost is, I hope I never take Him for granted again.
"And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them."
I think about the things that I pray for and the things that I most desire. Most of the time, those desires involve petty things like test scores or struggling relationships. This scripture really put things into perspective. The thing that I should desire most is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. I should live my life in a way that will allow the Holy Ghost to be by my side at all times. I should plead with Heavenly Father to have the Holy Ghost in my life because I should be so sad when I think about my life without Him. This scripture really made me think that I take the Holy Ghost for granted.
After I read this, I started thinking about the nature of the Holy Ghost. When it is time for Christ to leave His mortal ministry, it hurt Him so much to think that He would have to leave those He loved so much. He sent the Holy Ghost to be on Earth and to be a mediator, of sorts, between Christ and His followers. I love that imagery. To think that Jesus left me this precious gift fills me with His love and gives my life new direction. It also encourages me to be sensitive to the Holy Ghost's promptings; I would hate SO much to not be receptive to messages from God and Jesus Christ.
I am leaving on a mission in 37 days (!) and I know that the Holy Ghost will be an integral part of my life as a missionary. My Stake President told me in my missionary interview that missionaries are the only group of people who are entitled to have the Holy Ghost with them if they are keeping the rules. He explained to me that not even the Apostles are promised with that blessing. How humbling that thought is! I am going to be a missionary, and because of that, the Holy Ghost will be my constant companion. It is my prayer that I will learn how to best appreciate the gift of the Holy Ghost. After reading this scripture, and seeing how vital the Holy Ghost is, I hope I never take Him for granted again.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Judgment
In 3 Nephi 14:1, we read "And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he turned again to the multitude, and did open his mouth unto them again, saying: Verily, I say unto you, Judge not, that ye be not judged." There are many warnings in the scriptures that I do not find it difficult to adhere to. For example, I have never been tempted to murder or steal or anything like that. However, judgment is something that I really have had a hard time with. Therefore, this scripture really stood out to me and I wanted to elaborate my feelings on it.
BYU is a place where it is so easy to get caught up in judging others. BYU students have so many of the same qualities, so it is only natural to find others' differences and compare them to yourself. Every day on campus, I find myself looking at other students' appearances or listening to conversations or watching others' habits. And I judge. More than I should. Although it may seem temporarily gratifying to find someone else inferior, it is a slippery slope that will only carry us further from Christ. This scripture, and Brother Griffin's words, reminded me how important it is to reevaluate this habit.
Judging is so pointless. As Brother Griffin taught, every person in this world is here for the same purpose. We are all on the same path to get back to our Heavenly Father. However, we are all on different places on the path. We all have been given different talents and also been blessed with different weaknesses to expound upon. The bad thing about judging is that we compare our weaknesses to others' strengths and we compare our strengths to others' weaknesses. I am sure Heavenly Father gets so sad when this happens. He gets so sad when we aren't able to see the great things in other people or when we aren't able to see the miracles within ourselves.
Through this lesson, I have learned that every single person has divine worth. This scripture has given me a new resolve to stop judging. I should love everyone and try to see the best in them. I should love myself and not compare myself to others' strengths. I need to remember that every other person on this Earth is a son or daughter of God. I need to remember how God must feel when I think badly of one of His precious creations. I am grateful for Christ and for the perfect example He is. I know that He loves everyone on this Earth and I aspire to be more like Him everyday.
BYU is a place where it is so easy to get caught up in judging others. BYU students have so many of the same qualities, so it is only natural to find others' differences and compare them to yourself. Every day on campus, I find myself looking at other students' appearances or listening to conversations or watching others' habits. And I judge. More than I should. Although it may seem temporarily gratifying to find someone else inferior, it is a slippery slope that will only carry us further from Christ. This scripture, and Brother Griffin's words, reminded me how important it is to reevaluate this habit.
Judging is so pointless. As Brother Griffin taught, every person in this world is here for the same purpose. We are all on the same path to get back to our Heavenly Father. However, we are all on different places on the path. We all have been given different talents and also been blessed with different weaknesses to expound upon. The bad thing about judging is that we compare our weaknesses to others' strengths and we compare our strengths to others' weaknesses. I am sure Heavenly Father gets so sad when this happens. He gets so sad when we aren't able to see the great things in other people or when we aren't able to see the miracles within ourselves.
Through this lesson, I have learned that every single person has divine worth. This scripture has given me a new resolve to stop judging. I should love everyone and try to see the best in them. I should love myself and not compare myself to others' strengths. I need to remember that every other person on this Earth is a son or daughter of God. I need to remember how God must feel when I think badly of one of His precious creations. I am grateful for Christ and for the perfect example He is. I know that He loves everyone on this Earth and I aspire to be more like Him everyday.
Monday, March 4, 2013
My Relationship with Christ
I am so grateful for this class because it has strengthened my relationship with Christ. I have learned so much about how Christ cares for me and I feel like I already have learned to rely on Him more. This past week, when studying 3 Nephi 11, my love for my Savior grew even more for these reasons:
1) Verse 14 starts with Christ saying to the people "Arise." This implies that they have fallen. This can apply to the fall of Adam or just when people sin in general. When people fall, it seems as though they have no hope to get back up. However, when Christ comes, He is able to help us arise. Christ comes to us to exalt us and come back to God's presence.
2) Again in verse 14, Christ invites us to thrust our hands into His side. Brother Griffin explained that this means that we get to touch His heart. This really touched me. President Monson gave a talk entitled "Blessing of the Temple." In that talk, he recounted a story of a little girl who went to the temple with her grandfather. Though she was too young to enter, he prompted her to just touch it. In the end, he explains that when you touch the temple, it touches you. I think that principle applies to this scripture. When we touch Christ's heart, it will touch us in return. It is so humbling to think that He has invited us to do something so intimate and bonding. I know that when we take the invitation to touch Christ's heart and know what the intentions of His heart are, we will be blessed beyond belief.
3) In verse 14 it also discusses how he has prints in His hands and feet. Brother Griffin mentioned that Christ is the only resurrected being who will still have scars. This was such a crazy principle to me. After all, Christ is the only person ever who has lived a perfect life and He is the one who does not end up with a perfected body. Brother Griffin also said that Christ can't forget us because we are engraved on the palms of His hands and will be there for eternity. I am amazed when I think of Christ looking at the scars of His hands and thinking of me and my welfare. I am overwhelmed with His love!
4) In verse 15 it says that the people went forth to visit with Christ one by one. We know that there were at least 2,500 people there. If Christ spent, at minimum, one minute with all of them, that still would have taken so much time. I am sure, though, that He spent more time with each person. I am sure it was enough time for Him to lessen their cares and increase the love they felt from Him. I think of this whenever I feel discouraged and overwhelmed. No matter what problems I may have, there is always someone there who has the time to listen to me. He is waiting for me to come to Him and is anxious to help. I am so grateful for my Savior who is there to comfort me in every time of trouble I may have.
I know that Christ is my living Savior. I know that He knows how to help each and every one of us. My own personal and intimate relationship with Christ is the most valuable thing I have. I am so grateful for His loving example and for the love He shows to me.
1) Verse 14 starts with Christ saying to the people "Arise." This implies that they have fallen. This can apply to the fall of Adam or just when people sin in general. When people fall, it seems as though they have no hope to get back up. However, when Christ comes, He is able to help us arise. Christ comes to us to exalt us and come back to God's presence.
2) Again in verse 14, Christ invites us to thrust our hands into His side. Brother Griffin explained that this means that we get to touch His heart. This really touched me. President Monson gave a talk entitled "Blessing of the Temple." In that talk, he recounted a story of a little girl who went to the temple with her grandfather. Though she was too young to enter, he prompted her to just touch it. In the end, he explains that when you touch the temple, it touches you. I think that principle applies to this scripture. When we touch Christ's heart, it will touch us in return. It is so humbling to think that He has invited us to do something so intimate and bonding. I know that when we take the invitation to touch Christ's heart and know what the intentions of His heart are, we will be blessed beyond belief.
3) In verse 14 it also discusses how he has prints in His hands and feet. Brother Griffin mentioned that Christ is the only resurrected being who will still have scars. This was such a crazy principle to me. After all, Christ is the only person ever who has lived a perfect life and He is the one who does not end up with a perfected body. Brother Griffin also said that Christ can't forget us because we are engraved on the palms of His hands and will be there for eternity. I am amazed when I think of Christ looking at the scars of His hands and thinking of me and my welfare. I am overwhelmed with His love!
4) In verse 15 it says that the people went forth to visit with Christ one by one. We know that there were at least 2,500 people there. If Christ spent, at minimum, one minute with all of them, that still would have taken so much time. I am sure, though, that He spent more time with each person. I am sure it was enough time for Him to lessen their cares and increase the love they felt from Him. I think of this whenever I feel discouraged and overwhelmed. No matter what problems I may have, there is always someone there who has the time to listen to me. He is waiting for me to come to Him and is anxious to help. I am so grateful for my Savior who is there to comfort me in every time of trouble I may have.
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