The Word

While studying John 1 this week my thoughts were turned to the many different names of Jesus Christ that are mentioned in just this one chapter (I counted 13!). The one title I was most drawn to studying and thinking about was "the Word."

D&C 93:8 states that "He (Jesus Christ) was the Word, even the messenger of salvation" and "the Gospel of John emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the messenger of the Father to the world. As such, He declares the Father's words." (New Testament student manual)

While studying the talk “This Day” by Elder Rasband, footnote 7 shares the scripture 1 Nephi 15:23-24 which talks about how the iron rod symbolizes the word of god. Because I’d been thinking about “the Word” as another name of Jesus Christ, I read that scripture with new insight… “and whoso would hearken unto the word of God (Christ), and would hold fast unto it (Christ), they would never perish." 

Our scriptures-the "word", lead us to Christ-the "Word"-and it is through Christ that we are saved from the fiery darts of the adversary. So as we sing the words “hold to the rod, the iron rod, Tis strong and bright and true, the iron rod is the word of god, twill safely guide us through”, in addition to thinking of the word as the scriptures, we can also think about holding on to Christ who is strong and bright and true. He is the one who will safely guide us through the trials and challenges of this life.

As I attended my Stake Conference meetings this weekend, one of the speakers asked a question that turned my thoughts again to this particular name of Christ. The question posed was "how do we spend more time with the Lord?" The word that immediately came to my mind was "Word." The Spirit was teaching me that one of the most important ways we can spend more time with the "Word" is by studying His words.

Seeking Jesus

In Luke 2 we read a story about how Mary and Joseph lost Jesus and searched for him for three days before they found him at the temple (v. 46). I like the personal application here that teaches us what we can do if we feel separated from Christ:

• We can find Him at the temple.

In addition to finding Him at the temple, Jesus also tells his parents (us) in v. 47 that if they ever lose sight of  Him then they can always find Him doing His Father's business (v.49). What application does that scripture have for us today? What does doing the Fathers' business look like for us?

Moses 1:39 says that Gods work is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." So how do we help with God's work? The Handbook for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says that we participate in God's work of salvation and exaltation by:

• Living the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• ​​Caring for those in need.
• ​​Inviting all to receive the gospel.
• ​​Uniting families for eternity.

We need to find ways to incorporate the work of salvation into our daily lives so that our connection with Jesus is always close. When we feel like we've lost our connection with Christ, focusing on doing these things will help us reconnect with Him.

The Influence of Parents

My thoughts this week turned to the character of Mary and Joseph, the mortal parents of Jesus Christ. I read Matthew 1 and Luke 1 looking for attributes and gifts that they possessed that they must have taught their Son, probably through their words but certainly through their examples.

Matthew 1:19 Before the angel ever appeared to Joseph to tell him what was going on with Mary, Joseph was willing to show mercy and kindness to Mary ("to put her away privily").

Matthew 1:20 Joseph knows the importance of giving time and space to pondering ("while he thought on these things") in order to allow the Spirit (or in Joseph's case, an angel) to speak to us.

Matthew 1:24 Joseph knows the importance of obeying Gods commands ("Joseph...did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him") even though marrying Mary "could have brought upon him public shame and ridicule" (New Testament Student Manual)

Luke 1:38 Mary shows us her willingness to be submissive to Gods will ("be it unto me according to thy word") even though she would also face many difficulties (New Testament Student Manual)

Luke 1:46-55 Mary has a powerful testimony of Jesus Christ and His mission, and she bears it!

Luke 1:48 Mary is humble ("For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden".

Mary and Joseph possessed wonderful Christlike attributes even before becoming parents to Jesus. I like to think that these attributes would have been taught and shown as Jesus grew up in the home of Mary and Joseph. It helps me consider what Christlike attributes my character is teaching my children - maybe not just through words, but by my actions. Do they see me being obedient and submissive to God's will, even if it goes against our current cultural trends? Do they see me bearing testimony of my Savior? Am I showing humility in my words and actions? The example we set for our children plays a big role in parenting. Understanding more about the character of both Mary and Joseph helps me better understand why God chose them to be the ones to raise His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

Our Best Offerings

One of the principles taught in the book of Malachi that caught my attention this week was the importance of giving the Lord our best offerings (Malachi 1). The Come, Follow Me manual asks us to ponder the question "why does the Lord ask us to give Him our best offerings?" I thought about this for a few days and after a lot of study and thought on this question, I think one answer could be that by offering our best to the Lord, we are mirroring the sacrifice He gave to us. God gave us His Best in sending and sacrificing His firstborn Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Savior for all of His children. By offering our best to the Lord, we are modeling God-like behavior and honoring the sacrifice of His only-begotten Son.

As you continue to read into chapter three, Malachi reminds the Israelites of the important principle of paying their tithes. In connection with the principle of "giving the Lord our best" I asked myself the question "how do we give the Lord our best when we pay our tithing?" After much thought and study the idea came to me that if the Lord originally asked the Israelites to sacrifice the "firstlings of their flocks" (Moses 5) and the "firstfruits" of their harvest (Leviticus 2), then it seems we should follow that same pattern and give the first portion of our paychecks to the Lord as our tithing sacrifice.

Returning back to Malachi 1, I love the self-reflective question the Lord poses to the Israelites with regard to the "lame and sick" offerings they were bringing to sacrifice. He says "offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee?" (1:8) Another good question to ask ourselves is who/what represents the "governor" in our lives that we mistakenly give our finest offerings to, and by so doing, end up giving our "lame" offerings to God?

What kind of sacrifices are we making for the Lord? Are we sacrificing our time, talents and efforts in order to strengthen our relationship with Him and build His kingdom? Sacrifice is hard! It's giving up something we really cherish and value for something else that is more important. Sacrificing for the Lord shows our faith in Him and that He sent His son to earth, to give His life for us and show us how to live so that we can one day return and live with Him again someday.

Surviving or Thriving

In the Bible Dictionary we read that "the two chapters in the book of Haggai contain an exhortation to the people to be more zealous about the public worship of God and the rebuilding of his temple." It seems as if the people were so comfortable (and maybe a a bit worn out) from rebuilding their homes that they had put off rebuilding the Lord's house (1:2-4). The Lord was not pleased with their misplaced priorities and tells them twice to "consider your ways" (1:5,7) or in today's lingo, get your priorities straight!

I love that the verse inbetween the exhortations of "consider your ways" is a verse filled with metaphors describing things that are unsatisfactory-seeds that don't produce much fruit, food and drink that doesn't fill you up, clothes that don't keep you warm, and a bag that won’t hold your money (v. 6).  The lesson I understood from these verses is that if our priorities are out of whack then we will never get past just surviving. But if we put our priorities in order then we can thrive!

One of my favorite talks about priorities is by Sister Julie B. Beck called Choose Ye This Day to Serve the Lord. In this talk she shares her thoughts about a prioritizing system that she was inspired to create that has helped her keep her priorities straight. Her three categories are:

1. essential things 
2. necessary things 
3. nice-to-do things

In her essential category goes everything that is essential to receiving personal revelation; daily scripture study and prayer, weekly attendance at church meetings, time in the temple, sharing the gospel, and serving others.

On her necessary list are things like work, cooking, cleaning, and shopping. Finally, on the nice-to-do list go things such as hobbies and movies. I love her short testimony of how this system has worked for her. She says, "To walk with the Lord, we have to know what is essential, what is necessary, and what is nice to do. There is a lot to do, but I find that it is amazing how much I get to do on my nice-to-do list. The Lord blesses us with those mercies, but only if the other priorities are in order." 

This same pattern holds true with the people in the book of Haggai. As they repent and begin their work on the temple, the Lord begins again to bless them in many ways (2:18-19). The same pattern can also be realized in our lives as well. As we "consider our ways" by looking at our priority lists and making sure we are doing the most important things first, the Lord will also bless us to prosper and flourish.

Messages of Hope

In the introductory paragraph for this week’s Come, Follow Me lesson it reads “Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah…weren’t just prophets of doom-they were prophets of deliverance. The descriptions of destruction are tempered by invitations to come unto Christ and receive His mercy.” As we understand that God always offers us hope during the dark times, we can read these books and look for the messages of hope that shine through the darkness.

Nahum

• 1:7-The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
• 1:15-him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!

Habakkuk 

• 1:5-I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
• 2:4-the just shall live by his faith.
• 2:14-the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.
• 3:18-19-I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord is my strength.

Zephaniah 

• 3:14-Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart.
• 3:15- thou shalt not see evil anymore.
• 3:16-Fear thou not
• 3:17-The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy
• 3:19-I will undo all that afflict thee

Our prophet, President Nelson, also shares messages of hope that shine through the darkness of our day. I read through his most recent talk about Overcoming the World and looked specifically for the messages of hope he gives to us...There were a lot! Here's just a sample of the ones I found.

• "In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior's power that the world has ever seen."
• "Between now and the time He returns 'with power and great glory,' He will bestow countless privileges, blessings. and miracles upon the faithful."
• "Each person who makes covenants in baptismal fonts and in temples-and keeps them-has increased access to the power of Jesus Christ...this power eases our way."
• "Covenant keepers are entitled to a special kind of rest that comes to them through their covenantal relationship with God."
• "as you truly repent and seek His help, you can rise above this present precarious world. You can overcome the spiritually and emotionally exhausting plagues of the world."
• "Living the doctrine of Christ can produce the most powerful virtuous cycle, creating spiritual momentum in our lives."

Pres. Nelson has said "the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." (Joy and Spiritual Survival). Looking for, and focusing on messages of hope that come from our prophets and apostles can help us feel more peace and joy in a world that can so easily feel scary and overwhelming.

Extending Mercy towards All

Turns out that Jonah's decision to initially avoid going to Nineveh had little to do with being scared of teaching the people there, but instead, "it seems to have been resentment against the Lord for giving the hated enemy a chance to repent." (Old Testament Institute Manual). Wow! This was a new principle in the book of Jonah that I had never thought about: Are we okay with God extending mercy towards our enemies?  Elder Holland gave a masterful talk on this principle entitled The Laborers in the Vineyard. He said "Brothers and sisters, there are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt—and certainly not to feel envious—when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon...God really is both just and merciful, giving to all who stand with Him “all that he hath,”² as the scripture says.”

The perfect balance that God strikes between  justice and mercy is something that I'm still trying to more fully understand and better implement as part of my personal character. It is hard. I can relate to Jonah in this story as my personality tends to lean towards applying the principle of justice in most situations. For example, when I've told my children over and over not to... (i.e. climb on back of the couch) because they are going to fall and get hurt and they ignore my warnings and proceed to fall and get hurt, this "justice-leaning-mother" shows little mercy and and says "I told you that was going to happen." (Fortunately I'm married to a merciful husband who comforts said child in their distress). But God's reaction to Jonah's attitude toward the repentant Ninevites is obviously disappointment (Jonah 4:10-11). And I think He feels the same about us when we refuse to extend mercy and compassion to those who are repentant and willing to change, whether or not we think they deserve His mercy. The Lord will forgive whom ever He wants to forgive, but He requires us to forgive all men (D&C 64:10).