Child of God

When my eldest daughter started first grade, I was instructed more fully of the importance of our divinity and studying scriptures. I remember feeling distraught at sending her to school. I hated the idea of her being away from me for an entire day. Not only did I miss her dearly, but I was entrusting others’ to provide positive influence in her life. I felt concerned for her spiritual safety. I remember taking my concerns to the Lord. And then one morning I awoke with an answer. I had been instructed to remind my children of their divine heritage. And so began a tradition with each of my children. Every morning each child is asked the same question, “Who are you?” to which they reply, “A child of God”. They are then asked, “What does that mean?” to which they reply, “I am a princess”.  For a time, I felt peace with this simple routine; however, I soon learned that there was more to my answer. While listening to conference, I received a strong impression about early morning scripture study. We were already studying scriptures at night; however, the impression was clear that for my children’s spiritual safety they needed to be fortified with the word of God before leaving for school. And so, a new routine began.  In the beginning, our morning scripture study was hurried, and limited. At times we were only able to quickly read through one scripture, or at other times we were so rushed that we would simply recite a memorized scripture as we rushed out the door. I remember feeling somewhat discouraged. Despite my best efforts, our scripture study was not living up the impressions I had received. Again, I took my concern to the Lord, and I was impressed with yet another way to spiritually protect my children. I was instructed that rather than leaving our scripture study for the end of our morning routine—I needed to start our routine with scripture study. The next morning, the only change we made to our routine was the time in which we chose to study the scriptures. As we made scripture study the priority, I saw miracles happen in our lives—we were able to devote ample amount of time to scripture study, get ready for school, and be out the door on time. What was once a rushed reading of the scriptures has now become an in-depth study of Gospel principles. The Lord has made up the difference in time, and by studying the word of God, my children are more prepared to face whatever temptations they may encounter.
...And now 9 years later, we still follow this simple admonition, and I truly believe it has made all the difference in the lives of my children.

SCRIPTURE POWER

I don't want to forget Jacob and bedtime. For a long time he was scared to go to bed for fear of having a nightmare. One night his sister turned on the scriptures while she was watching him, and ever since he hasn't been scared. He has said things like: "I feel the spirit with the scriptures", and he has admonished his friends on the way to school "to also listen...they'll make you happy". He truly is excited too! He pulls his scriptures out all of the time, and while he is playing, he wants to listen. The other night morning he woke up and announced, "I finished The Book of Mormon last night. I stayed up until I heard our favorite scripture about coming to Christ and then it was over". I thought that he might lose interest when he had read/listened to the entire book, but he hasn't. The other night he was so thrilled when he was going to bed, he excitedly told Amber that "Nephi was going to make it to the promised land". The biggest thing for me is that I know God answers prayers. It might not be in our timing, but He does answer. Both my prayers and Jake's prayers have been answered with this experience. Jacob has had a lot of fears, and I have prayed for help in helping him overcome--this is a tender mercy in our lives. In Jacob's nightly prayers, he use to pray to not have bad dreams, he use to beg me to stay by his side, he use cry before bed... I simply do not want to forget the blessing of answered prayers.... And also that he wears his Davy Crocket hat to bed (so funny).

THE KEY TO SPIRITUAL PROTECTION

In our world today, I have often felt worried, and I have desired for a sure way to protect myself and my family from the adversary. Our ultimate goal in this life is to live worthy to receive eternal life.  I love in the Book of Mormon when King Lamoni’s father asked, “What shall I do that I may have this eternal life?” I have often wondered similarly, and questioned—am I doing enough? What more can I do? There have been times when I have lamented to my husband that I wished I had my own personal Liahona. In the Book of Mormon, the Liahona was used by Lehi and his family. It was a brass ball that gave both spiritual counsel and directional instruction. However, the Liahona worked only according to the faith and diligence of Lehi’s family (1 Nephi 16: 28-29). I have told my husband that if I could only look into a ball, and be told exactly what to do, I would then do it. I would follow it exactly. These wistful thoughts were hinged on my desire for protection against the adversary, and my ultimate goal of eternal life. As I have prepared for this talk, I have realized that I do have a Liahona—it is the word of God, or in other words—the scriptures.

Alma 37: 44-45  illustrates how the scriptures are our personal Liahona’s. It states,

44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the ^aword of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass (the Liahona), which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

45 And now I say, is there not a ^atype in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.
[italicized added for explanation purposes]

This scripture promises us that if we study the words of Christ, and give heed to those words, we will be guided to eternal life. The prophets through the ages have offered us many promises by simply studying the words of God. I have been astounded at the blessings that the Lord is ready to offer us. By no means am I able to list all of the blessings that we might receive if we study the scriptures, but I would like to share a few to demonstrate just how the scriptures are our personal Liahona’s. Listen to these promises:

President Hinckley promised, “I promise you that as you read, your minds will be enlightened and your spirits will be lifted” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Light within You”, May 1995).

In a recent talk given by Elder Packer he said, “Happiness…depends upon living those standards established by the Savior and set forth in His scriptures.” He further stated that “Scriptures hold the keys to spiritual protection” (“The Key to Spiritual Protection”, Boyd K. Packer, General Conference).

President Ezra Taft Benson promised, “When individual families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal Revelation will flow” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Power of the Word,” Ensign, May 1986).

Bruce R McConkie promised “an increase of faith and desire to do what’s right…” (Bruce R. McConkie, in Church News, 24 Jan. 1976). Marvin J. Ashton said that the scriptures are “our bulwark of defense against a cunning adversary” (Marvin J. Ashton, in Conference Report, Oct. 1977). L. Tom Perry promised that scripture study will enrich our lives and prepare our families to meet the challenges of today… (L. Tom Perry, in Conference Report, April 1993).

And my personal favorite “promise” of scripture study is found in the Book of Mormon when Nephi said, “whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction” (1 Ne. 15:24).

I love that Nephi tells us that as we listen to the “word”, we cannot be overpowered by Satan’s temptations! With temptations surrounding us on every side, this is a huge promise!  This point is illustrated by Lehi’s vision of the tree of life. From that vision we learn that by holding to the rod, which is the word of God, we can traverse through Satan’s temptations, and partake of God’s love or in other words—eternal life. This vision is another example within the scriptures that the “word of God” or “the scriptures” are our personal Liahona’s for true happiness. Sister Cooke, in a recent general conference, spoke to parents’ in their role of holding to the rod. She said, “In today’s world, complete with temptations, holding fast can be challenging. As Satan, in his conniving ways, tries to pull us away from God’s ways—if we have one hand on the rod, and one hand in the world we put our children and youth in danger of losing their way on the path. If our example is confusing than in Jacob’s words—we lose the confidence of our children because of our bad examples. Our message must be clear; clarity can only result from having both hands on the rod, and from living by the truths found in the scriptures and taught by latter-day prophets.”

The scriptures have truly blessed my life, and the lives’ of my family. As we study the scriptures and apply the principles to our lives—we are partaking of the blessings we have been promised. Allow me illustrate by sharing two personal stories from my life.

My first experience is about how the scriptures can bring us peace in times of need.  About three years ago a friend of our family passed away. After his passing, Jacob began asking questions concerning death. After a while those questions turned inward, and he began asking questions concerning his death, and with his questions of death—fear became our companion. Jacob was afraid of dying. As his mother, I felt that we needed to help Jacob face his fears. One of those fears was riding his bike. I felt that the Lord guided me as I took off the training wheels from Jacob’s bike; however, as Jacob cried for his training wheels—I questioned my methods more than once. Slowly our work turned into progress, and Jake began riding his bike; however, he was still consumed by his fear. One morning as we were getting ready to ride bikes, I felt prompted to say a prayer with Jake. We talked about praying for help in riding his bike, and then we prayed for that help. After his prayer, I again felt prompted, and I asked Jake to tell me his favorite scripture. He slowly began reciting Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid…” as soon as Jacob said those words, I stopped him and asked him to repeat the last part again. As he slowly said the words, “be not afraid”, understanding seemed to change his countenance. I then asked him to tell me the rest of the scripture, to which we concluded that Heavenly Father would help us in our fears. We set out to ride bikes with a new determination. As we started to ride, Jacob lost his courage, and started to cry out in desperation. It was at this moment that I reminded Jacob of our scripture, “Jake—be not afraid.” Remembrance flickered on his face and he began chanting, “be not afraid, be not afraid, be not afraid” (Joshua 1:9).  Jake’s bike steadied, and ever since that moment, whenever he finds he is nervous—he chants, “be not afraid, be not afraid, be not afraid”. Through this scripture, Jacob became the boy I knew him to be. He believed with all of his heart that God would be with him, because the scripture said He would. Elder Scott said that “scriptures can calm an agitated soul, giving peace, hope and a restoration of confidence in one’s ability to overcome the challenges of life” (The Power of Scripture, Richard G. Scott, General Conference).

My second experience is about how scriptures can bring us closer to our Heavenly Father and His plan for us. I have an elder brother who until just recently has not been interested in many of the lasting joys that accompany membership in our church. However, slowly his disinterest turned to interest, and two years ago my dear brother and his beautiful wife were sealed in the temple with their two children. I can’t begin to express the feelings that accompanied this marvelous event. It truly was a sacred moment in our family. After the sealing, I asked my sister-in-law what it was that made the difference for her and her family. She said that it started with a simple goal—a baby step.  As a family they made a goal to read the Book of Mormon in a year. She said that at times it was difficult. She remembers many mornings when no one wanted to rise for early morning scripture study, but through perseverance day by day this baby step turned into something more than a simple goal. The seed planted by the word of God, began to enlarge their souls, and by the end of the year my brother received the priesthood, and he and his wife were sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. My sister-in-law said that without scripture study, they would not have made their covenants in the temple.

The scriptures are a part of my families’ everyday life. Sometimes they help in big ways like these stories mentioned, but most of the time it’s the fortification that they provide to me and my family on a daily basis. When I don’t read my scriptures, I can feel a difference. I am a better wife and mother when I take the time to read. My niece is serving a mission in Philadelphia when she called home for Christmas she testified of this truth. She said that she knew that as she studied her scriptures with real intent, she could feel the power of the Holy Ghost with her as she taught; however, when she simply read to just read—she could no longer feel that power.

I am amazed at the love of our Heavenly Father. He wants us to succeed. He has provided for us a manual—an instruction book, our own personal Liahona, and it is simply up to us to use it. Elder Eyring has said that, “the only way you can be sure that a busy schedule doesn’t crowd out scripture study is to establish a regular time to study the scriptures” (Eyring, A Discussion on Scripture Study, Ensign 2005). By making an effort to set aside a little of our day in the study of scriptures, we are promised great blessings. In Alma 37:6 it says that “by small and simple things, great things are brought to pass.” It’s a small portion of our time devoted to the Lord, and he rewards us greatly. As we start the New Year, it is my prayer that we will recommit ourselves to the studying of our scriptures, and as we do so—we will be on the pathway to eternal life.

In family scripture study I was touched by Alma’s description of the Liahona. He said, “And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day” (Alma 37:40). I love that this verse describes that it was by their faith that the Liahona worked. He then went on to say that because of their faith they were blessed with daily miracles. It caused me to consider what kind of Liahona’s are in my life today, and what kind of miracles the Lord is desiring to bless me with if I seek out the LIahona’s in my life? Alma continued to say that because “they were slothful, and forgot to exercise faith and diligence…those marvelous works ceased” (Alma 37: 42). Again, am I slothful in the things that matter most? Is God wanting to bless me, but am I refusing those blessings, because I am unwilling to seek the Lord? And finally my ponderings were answered by Alma when he said, “And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as the director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise” (Alma 37:46). Herein we are told that the scriptures are our latter-day Liahona’s, and by searching them, we will make it back into our Father’s presence and be crowned with Eternal Life. We cannot be slothful!