Skip to main content

Ponderize Mosiah 4:9-10 - Believe in God

Each of us have critical intersections in our life where we make significant decisions that impact the rest of our life.  Some of these are where to attend college, missionary service, who to marry, how many kids to have, and what profession to pursue.
Those who are wise seek to align themselves with the will of the Lord by asking the same question  that Saul asked Christ after he appeared to him:  "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" (Acts 9:6) This question can weigh heavily on our minds. 

Recently as I pondered a significant question in my life and I was lead to this scripture: 

9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.
10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.
(Mosiah 4:9-10)
Mark 9:23, With faith all things can be accomplished

This passage of scripture has been called the prescription for most of our problems and most of the world's problems. We know that the Holy Ghost will tell us all things that we should do (2 Nephi 32:3) and often the Holy Ghost speaks to us through the scriptures (D&C 18:34-36).  As I pondered this scripture it seemed to be saying to me that I needed to demonstrate more faith and humbly repent.  Wait, isn't that the first two principles of the gospel?  That was not the answer I wanted.  While I wasn't looking for a glorious vision of the path, I was expecting a nudge in the right direction.  Instead He seemed to be saying to me, "If you will just have faith in My time line and get yourself spiritually ready, then when the time comes I will open the way for you.  

This experience reminded me of this story by Elder Packer. 

“Shortly after I was called as a General Authority, I went to Elder Harold B. Lee for counsel. He listened very carefully to my problem and suggested that I see President David O. McKay. President McKay counseled me as to the direction I should go. I was very willing to be obedient but saw no way possible for me to do as he counseled me to do.
“I returned to Elder Lee and told him that I saw no way to move in the direction I was counseled to go. He said, ‘The trouble with you is you want to see the end from the beginning.’ I replied that I would like to see at least a step or two ahead. Then came the lesson of a lifetime: ‘You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you.’ Then he quoted these 18 words from the Book of Mormon:
“‘Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith’” (Ether 12:6).
(President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Edge of the Light,” BYU Magazine, Mar. 1991)

When in the middle of an important decision remember to do the basics.  Faith, prayer, repentance, scripture study, and service. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Marking Scriptures in Gospel Library

The other day as I was reading my scriptures and using a few of the available colors to do some highlights when I realized that I wasn't fully utilizing the entire pallet of colors. In the Gospel Library app there are 10 colors available.  Each of these colors can be used in the underline, highlight, or text color mode.  I asked extended family what they do and one of my niece's responded with this color code: Red- doctrine Orange- clarifications or explanations of doctrine Yellow- commandments and specific instructions Purple- promised blessings and how to attain them Grey- power phrases Blue- favorites Dark blue- ones with a deeper meaning (I always attach a note with a dark blue)  Pink- examples of Gods love/charity Brown-specific for our day Green - Not used This "Come, Follow Me" color code seems to be all over Pinterest.  I'm not sure where it came from, but it is based on the 12 colors in a small box of crayons. Here is a color coding

Bajio, Cafe Rio, or Costa Vida?

It is time for the showdown.  Which one is best: Bajio, Cafe Rio, or Costa Vida?  Or is it (as was my opinion) that they are all exactly the same? I decided to do a taste test.  Six people participated.  Three were salad testers and three were burrito testers.  None of the people who participated have any food judging experience although a couple of them have competed in cooking contests and have a couple of first place finishes to their name.   Each couple went to a different restaurant and picked up a Sweet Pork Salad and an Steak Burrito to go.  We ordered each salad with black beans and their creamy green dressing (whatever they happened to call it).  The steak burritos were ordered enchilada style with black beans. Then we all met at a central location and judged each dish on the following: Value Score = Weight (oz)/Cost($) Overall Appeal (visual appeal, aroma, garnish) Recipe (Cooking, ingredient combination, too moist or dry) Taste (Flavor combination, Seasoning, Texture

No, I am not a vegan

Why I'm not a vegan (or a vegetarian for that matter).  After my previous post about the Word of Wisdom , I felt I should write an additional post covering this topic.  First, the word "vegetarian" means nothing.  There are so many levels, tangents, and offshoots of vegetarianism that applying the label to yourself or anyone only causes confusion.   Some vegetarians eat dairy, some don't.  Some eat fish, some don't.  Some eat eggs, some don't.  Some are weekday vegetarians, and some only honor meatless Monday.  And the list goes on and on.  Labeling yourself as a vegetarian is simply a label that brings on a confusing discussion.  So, I don't use it.   I'm not a vegan either.  You see, vegans typically fall into three categories: - They are in it for their own good health - They are doing it to be kind to animals, promote animal rights, avoid animal cruelty, etc.  - They are doing it do save the planet The trouble with many vegans