January 26th Reading Assignment
Daily Reading Question
What are some ways the Lord had communicated with Laman and Lemuel? Which of these seems to be the way the Lord most commonly seeks to communicate with us?
Good Talk
What are some ways the Lord had communicated with Laman and Lemuel? Which of these seems to be the way the Lord most commonly seeks to communicate with us?
Good Talk
We can only see the miracles in our lives if we choose to see them! We have to recognize the hand of God in our lives before we can really figure out how He is guiding us. There are small ways everyday that I can see the hand of God reaching down to me in my life & they typically are in the quiet parts of my heart when I feel clarity about a decision or a new idea of how to help one of my children or a warning against something---all of these directly from a loving Heavenly Father through the Spirit---what a miracle!
ReplyDeleteI like this. I have been realizing I need to be more honest with how I am really feeling and then actually act on it. I also think it is interesting that once the brother of Jared saw the hand of the Lord, he could no longer be kept from his presence. I thomk the biggest thimg God wants to communicate to us is that he loves us and if we pay attemtion we will be amazed at how much he does to show that. He gave L &L lots of blessongs, wives, helathy children, forgiving brother, new bow, land Bountiful, but they chose not to see it. I think listening to the quiet whisperings of the Holy Ghost and then acting on them is key to obtaining faith including, no especially being grateful for what we have and acting accordingly.
DeleteI love in V47 how Nephi expresses how concerned and how much he still cares for his brothers. After all they have done to him, he still shows Christ-like love towards them.
ReplyDeleteThis struck me, too. Even after seeing a vision of how The Lamanites will destroy the Nephites in a thousand years, Nephi doesn't give up hope on Lsman and Lemuel! He is loving but firm
DeleteThank you for sharing Brother Johnson's devotional talk. It was full of gems! I especially appreciated the reminder to pray myself through each day.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kimmielu, I liked it too! I really loved this quote from his talk by President Ezra Taft Benson, "That man is greatest and most blessed and joyful whose life most closely fits the pattern of the Christ. This has nothing to do with earthly wealth, power, or prestige. The only true test of greatness, blessedness, joyfulness is how close a life can come to being like the Master, Jesus Christ. He is the right way, the full truth, and the abundant life."
DeleteThis was an excellent talk, full of great instruction. Praying yourself through each day implies for me the need to take personal prayer to a new level. I also really liked his recounting of Elder Eyring's experience as a Bishop, how Elder Kimball walked him through the pondering process to receive needed revelation.
DeleteThis reminds me of the talk on pride. I think sometimes even though i recognize Gods hand in my life i still think that the plan i have for my life is somehow better, therefore pinning my will against Gods. I notice when I'm in this mind set i feel frustrated and angry and fearful and i act accordingly. When i soften my heart and choose to trust God even when i don't understand i find myself feeling humble and full of the spirit, the circumstances haven't changed but my heart has. And this is when i am given direction and glimpses and feel heavenly fathers love for me.
ReplyDeleteI liked verse 45: “But ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words.” How many times do we put ourselves in a place where we can't feel his words. I like this quote by James E. Faust, “Cellular phones are used for much of the communication in our time. Occasionally, however, we find dead spots where the signal coming to a cell phone fails. This can happen when the cell phone user is in a tunnel or a canyon or when there is other interference.
ReplyDelete“So it is with divine communication. … We often put ourselves in spiritual dead spots—places and situations that block out divine messages. Some of these dead spots include anger, pornography, transgression, selfishness, and other situations that offend the Spirit”
Great point!
DeleteIt's like the half full, half empty idea. If you see life as a cup half full you'll be more positive and notice the blessings more. If you're consistently negative and seeing how life is half empty, you won't get very far or notice the blessings you have. Think about all the people who live off of nothing and are some of the happiest people on earth! Recognize God's blessings in your life and you'll see that we have many.
ReplyDelete✔️
ReplyDeletePart of the reason I love the beginning chapters of the BOM is because we can clearly see the contrast between Nephi and Laman and Lemuel. I find myself doing a lot of self-reflection to see who's example I am closer to following.
ReplyDeleteIn V45 Nephi says that L&L "were past feeling". Due to the choices they had made, they were incapable of of feeling the sweet influence of the Spirit. Yikes!!!! What a scary place to be.
A couple verses down in V47, Nephi says he is "full of the Spirit". The times in my life when I am filled with the Spirit are the times I am the happiest. What a great reminder for all of us to strive to live worthily to be "full of the Spirit" at all times.