Study. Learn. Ask.

In the Book of Mormon, a group of people known as the Jaredites make a journey from the Holy Land to the New World, the Americas. They build barges as the Lord instructs them, boats that are shut tight, like two dishes. There’s no light in these barges, however, and they don’t want to travel across the ocean in darkness.

So a man, referred to as the brother of Jared, calls upon the Lord to ask Him what should be done. The Lord tells the brother of Jared that they can’t have windows, ’cause they would be just break from the force of the waves. They also couldn’t take fire, ’cause… well… that just wouldn’t be possible… or smart. So what did the Lord tell him to do?

…ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea? (Ether 2:25)

The Lord simply says, “What do you think should be done?”

Many times in life the Lord answers our prayers in such a manner. He certainly has in my life. He wants us to learn things for ourselves. That’s why we have the scriptures, the Bible and the Book of Mormon, so we can read for ourselves and learn. We have been blessed with free will. We can choose how to live our lives, and if the Lord needs to tell us how to live out every minute, we are not using the intelligence and the free will He gave to us.

We must always come to Him in prayer and, for lack of a better way to put it, a second opinion. But first we need to think for ourselves, study God’s word, and then ask Him if what we’ve decided is in accordance to His will. If we do this, we will gain a much higher appreciation for the scriptures and the abilities the Lord has blessed us with.

Oh, and if you’re curious about what the brother of Jared did to have light in the barges, just click the link above and read the next chapter. 🙂

The Search for Happiness: The Iron Rod

When Lehi told his family of his vision, Nephi desired to see it for himself. Because of his great desire and unwavering faith, the Spirit visited him and showed him the dream. When Nephi is witnessing the vision, the thing that Lehi talked about are explained. The symbolism is made clear.

The iron rod is one of these symbols. In the vision, Nephi sees the iron rod along the straight and narrow path, extending to the tree of life. The multitudes of people in the dream are following the path to the tree by holding on to the rod of iron. Mists of darkness envelope the people. Many of them let go of the rod and become lost. But those who hold tight to the rod eventually make it to the tree of life and eat of its fruit.

Nephi understood this symbolism.

And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God. (1 Nephi 11:25)

So what is the word of God? The scriptures, naturally. But what exactly are the scriptures? The Bible, the Book of Mormon, and modern-day revelation. Essentially, the words of God and Jesus Christ and the prophets.

Nephi, the same that saw his father’s vision, said,

Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. (2 Nephi 32:3)

The words of Christ and the words of His prophets (which are the same) will tell us all things that we should do. And if we should heed the words of the prophets now passed, then surely all the more reason to heed the words of the living prophets.

I testify that holding strongly to the word of God in His holy scriptures will keep us on the straight and narrow path to eternal life. I know that we also have living prophets today, found only in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We must listen to their counsel just as thoughtfully as we study the words of their ancient predecessors. The iron rod leading to the tree of life is indeed the word of God. It will safely guide us through.

Line Upon Line

As a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, studying the scriptures is a big part of my everyday life. In fact, I study every morning. And before I study, I pray to God that I might learn something new and grow in my understanding of Jesus Christ’s gospel. Not every morning though, do I feel like that was accomplished. Was that because I truly learned nothing from my studies? I should think not.

I’ll admit I don’t always give my studies the full attention they deserve. I sometimes space out, think about what happened the previous day, what might happen during that day, or I might be thinking about something completely unrelated to missionary work. It happens. I’m far from perfect, and I’m also an artist who is prone to frequent daydreaming. So when I finish my studies and close up whatever book I was reading, I often feel like I didn’t learn anything at all. No sudden realization, no epiphany, no vast amount of knowledge that has suddenly found place within my mind. You’ve probably had a lot of similar experiences with your own studies, of any kind.

That’s because we rarely ever learn things through sudden occurrences. We read in 2 Nephi 28:30,

For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

The Lord understands our weaknesses. We often forget. We often take for granted. We often don’t care. The Lord knows that we learn better through baby steps. I know that every morning I take something from my studies. Often, I do not entirely understand or recognize what it was, but I know that piece of knowledge is there, and that in time it will build to a greater understanding. I’ve learned a great deal over the years, but is only a fraction, if that, of the things I could learn. It is simply a matter of time, and I must put trust in the Lord that He is guiding me to the things that I need to know.

I testify that the Lord can give us great knowledge and understanding, but it is through patience, diligence, and faith that we receive it, a little at a time.