Faithful in the Delay

I love that the Come, Follow Me manual points out gospel principles that I wouldn’t recognize on my own. This week the principle that caught my attention revolved around the decision the Israelites made to make a golden calf to worship (Exodus:32:1-4) instead of keeping the covenants that they had just made (Exodus 24:7). Moses left camp and they didn't think he was coming back and instead of trusting in the covenant, they tried something different - which resulted in them breaking their covenants. Do we ever have similar experiences where we feel abandoned by the Lord? Perhaps we have health or family challenges, financial struggles, a crisis of faith, or we're negatively impacted by someone else's decisions in a way that make us feel that promised blessings are delayed. Elder Holland said "there will be times in our lives when even our best spiritual effort and earnest, pleading prayers do not yield the victories for which we have yearned." (Waiting on the Lord) What do we do during those times? Do we give up on God and look somewhere else for guidance? Or do we stay faithful to our covenants while practicing patience? One podcast I listened to this week (Follow Him) entitled this principle as being "faithful in the delay".

What does it look like to be faithful during these "delays" in our life? It "looks like" keeping our covenants and strengthening our relationship with Jesus Christ. In General Conference, Sister Bingham gave a wonderful list of what we can do to continually strengthen that relationship with Him. She said "pray with a humble heart, study and ponder the scriptures, take the sacrament with a spirit of repentance and reverence, strive to keep the commandments and follow the prophet's counsel...live the gospel in all our interactions, care for those in need by truly ministering [and] expressing love through simple service…share the good news of the gospel with those who need peace and strength...work to unite families for eternity on both sides of the veil...wear the sacred garment of the priesthood. These actions are not just an occasional splurge but are essential to our daily happiness-and eternal joy" (Covenants with God Strengthen, Protect, and Prepare Us for Eternal Glory)

In this last General Conference, Elder Christofferson shared this thought..."in the midst of this refiner's fire, rather than get angry with God, get close to God. Call upon the Father in the name of the Son. Walk with them in the Spirit, day by day. Allow Them over time to manifest Their fidelity to you. Come truly to know Them and truly to know yourself. Let God prevail." (Our Relationship with God)

“So while we work and wait together for the answers to some of our prayers, I offer you my apostolic promise that they are heard and they are answered, though perhaps not at the time or in the way we wanted. But they are always answered at the time and in the way an omniscient and eternally compassionate parent should answer them.” (Elder Holland, Waiting on the Lord) Hopefully we can all exercise faith during our mortal tests, trials and challenges and remain faithful to the Lord and our covenants during times of delay.

First Three Commandments

While studying the Ten Commandments this week in Exodus 20, the Spirit impressed upon my mind another way I could look at and learn from the first three commandments.

When we are baptized we enter into a covenant relationship with God where we make certain promises to Him. When we get married we also enter into a covenant relationship with our spouse where we make certain promises to them.

As I studied Come, Follow Me this week the Spirit enlightened my mind to see that the first three commandments God asked the Israelites to live can also be paralleled and applied to how we should treat our spouses…

1. No other person should come before your spouse...(No other gods before me: Exodus 20:3)
2. No hobby, interest or activity should come before your spouse...(No worshiping or serving any graven images: Exodus 20:4-6)
3. Treat your spouses name with dignity and respect...(No taking the Lord’s name in vain: Exodus 20:7)

I was amazed to see how by applying these great principles they can help build a successful marriage! Just like the original verses help us examine our relationship with God, we can also see them as a way to examine our marriage relationships. Our commitment to love and serve God can and should always be our highest priority, but our commitment to our spouse can be an echo of our relationship with God as we apply these principles. 

How has Christ made a difference in my life?

I really appreciated the thoughtful questions posed in the Come, Follow Me manual that helped me think and reflect on a deeper level as I studied the different scriptures relating to the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I wanted to share my thoughts as I read these scriptures with this question on my mind...

"How has Christ made a difference in my life?"

• Isaiah 61:1-3: As I keep my covenants I am blessed to have His Spirit with me. With His Spirit I am blessed with enlightenment and inspiration.
• Ezekial 36:26-28: He blesses me with a desire to become better, to continually work on softening my heart and striving for deeper conversion.
• Matthew 11:28-30: My ability to work through hard things is enhanced as I involve Him in the process.
• Luke 1:46-55: I know that He knows me personally and cares about me and the challenges that I face, both big and small. This knowledge helps me get through hard times.
• Romans 8:35-39: As I understand more about His love for me and His desire for my happiness, I rely less and less on the approval of others.
• Alma 7:10-13: Because of Him, my weaknesses don't have to define me but as I turn to Him they can refine me.
• Alma 11:42-45: Because of His sacrifice I know life continues after death and that gives me perspective, purpose, and hope in this life.
• Alma 58:11:  Because of Him, I can expect miracles in my life and recognize them when they happen.
• Moroni 10:32-33: I know that my best efforts towards perfection will be met with His grace which will make up the difference that I'm lacking.
• D&C 19:15-19: I know that Jesus has experienced the pains of the unrepentant heart and He pleads for us to repent so we can avoid that same suffering.
• Moses 5: 9-12: I know that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ I am given the opportunity to see my transgressions as a part of my earthly progression.

I am grateful to have had the chance this week to study all the different blessings that come to us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Having a testimony of His Atonement brings a lot of personal peace into my life. It doesn't remove the challenges, but it provides a way through those challenges. I am grateful for my Savior and His willingness to die for me so that I have a reason to live each day with purpose and direction.