Layne's Lunch

3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. 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.  4 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.    2 Nephi 32:3-4  After pondering this scripture the thought came to me that the voice of angels, the voice of the Holy Ghost, and the voice of Christ all sound the same and can be accessed in the same way.  It is through the scriptures.  There are some who think that “knocking” only involves praying.  While that is certainly a part of it, this scripture seems clear that we must "feast upon the words of Christ”.  When we are asked to knock, he is asking us to read our scriptures.  The “words of Christ” are the scriptures and include both the s

  4  And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and  cleansed  by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the  church  of Christ; and their  names  were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually  watchful  unto prayer,  relying  alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.   Moroni 6:4 This scripture helps us remember our responsibility to new members of the church.   Here are some thoughts I gleaned from this scripture . Keep a record of them so we will remember them.  How can we help those we are not aware of? Help them be nourished by the good word of God.   This means that we must teach the word of God, not the philosophies of men.   Help them stay on the path.  Encourage them,  watch over them, and serve them.   Pray for them and help them remember to pray.   Rely upon Christ to help them

63 Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 64 Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you;                                                                                                                   D&C 88:63-64 A first reading of this scripture might bring to your mind images of the Savior knocking on the door that has no doorknob. However, a more careful reading would remind us that we are the ones who have to knock.  I don’t think it is t rivial that this scripture describes the steps to follow before we knock. We must draw near unto him.  We must seek him.  Then the door is opened when we knock.  Then, when we ask, we will receive.  Part of the challenge we experience when we don’t feel like our prayers are being answered is that we may have failed to do the first two steps.  Part of the process

27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.                                                                           2 Nephi 2:27 This scripture highlights a critical gospel principle as it relates to the plan of happiness.  It answers the age-old question of “Why am I here?”.  Why are we here?  We are here to choose liberty and eternal life, or to choose captivity and death.  That is it.  That is all there is to it.    Other Book of Mormon prophets called this the way of life and death.  There is no more simple doctrine than that. That is the great mystery that philosophers and gurus on the tops of mountains have been pondering for centuries.   The phrase “all things are gi

 29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.  30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.   3 Nephi 11:29-30 I selected this verse because recently I had an experience that started a discussion about the difference between contention and conflict. Conflict is needed for progress in an organization.  We have conflict when we share the same end result but see different paths.   Conflict is healthy and can be used in  counsels and on team to help come to a better understanding of the issues and to help gain alignment.   So, when we see and feel conflict we should view it as an opportunity to improve the solution and grow the team.  Without conflict, we cannot grow, progress, eradicate mediocri