How often I day I think, "Heavenly Father do you really want me to do it that way? Because I'm pretty sure I like it this way better." Throughout my life I feel I have had to learn the same lesson over and over again: Heavenly Father knows me better and has a better view of what's ahead for me. As I read Jacob 4 the other day I was reminded of this again. 

I found myself down on my knees asking Heavenly Father for some guidance, starting with a resounding "why?" I opened my scriptures and came to Jacob 4:10

"Wherefore, brethren, see not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works."

I can't figure out the reason this lesson seems to be so hard to grasp. Not only does our Heavenly Father knows what's best for us, but Christ's hands bear the markings. When Jesus Christ atoned for us, He felt exactly what we feel, went through what we go through in the way we go through it. Shouldn't He then be more than capable to counsel us? 

This year, as we make our resolutions, why not ask Him what He would have us do to draw closer to Him?

There Shall be No Darkness

In Helaman 14 Samuel prophecies of the birth of Christ. It's the primary song we all sing "Said Samuel within 5 years...." Right?  This is what he says:

"3 And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.

 4 Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.

 5 And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you."

So first, the best part to realize is that the night before the Light of the World came down, there was no darkness. That is what Christ does for us. He takes away the darkness from our lives on the condition that we let Him. He has lighted our life and offers to light the lives of those around, through us. That is the gift of Christ.

But look at what Samuel says again. Why was there no night? Because 'so great were the lights in Heaven.' That was US! We were the ones up in Heaven lighting up the world to let them know Christ was going to be born. Our task down here is to do the same. WE are to light up the world and let them know that Christ has been born, He has redeemed us from sin and death, and He lives! That is the light we are to share. We are responsible to bring the light of Christ, our own light to others so that just as there was no night on earth, there will be no night in someone else's life. 

When Faced with a Mountain to Climb....Thank Adam and Eve

There are many times in our lives when we face difficulties. There are days when we want to ask, "Why?" Or in my case, "REALLY?"

I must have been having such a day last week. That's when I came to fully realize: If Adam and Eve had not fallen, if they had overcome the temptation of Satan, I wouldn't have those days! People wouldn't be rude. I wouldn't cut my bangs too short. I wouldn't get sick. There wouldn't be germs! Homework would have always been easy. I wouldn't be late to EVERYTHING. I would never stumble on my words. Subway would always make my sandwiches perfectly, and every morning I would have the best smoothie in the world!

But then again, I wouldn't know what an act of kindness was. I wouldn't learn my lesson to always let my mom cut my hair. I wouldn't have stretched myself by taking 18 credits one semester. I wouldn't know what it was like to have a peaceful moment. I wouldn't know what happiness felt like. I wouldn't know what it was like to have a Savior.

All the bad in life always seems to be blamed on Adam and Eve. Where the "tragic fall" started is also where everything awful started. But then again, all the good can be traced back to Adam and Eve also. The only reason we know what's good is because of the bad. There is a prophet in the scriptures, Lehi, who explains this principle better than I ever could to his son, Jacob:

"For it must needs be, that there is an ^aopposition in all things. If not so...righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad...And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away."

 

I firmly believe that God knew this. Hence he revealed it to a prophet which we now have in scripture form. If Adam and Eve had not partaken of the fruit, then there would have been no need for a Savior or Redeemer, no need for Christ. But Christ was chosen before Adam and Eve fell right? Remember? There was a giant war in Heaven. God presented His plan of happiness, and Satan stood in opposition to God's plan. Christ was chosen as our Savior and Satan was cast out of Heaven.

That means, God knew the fall would happen. In fact, He planned on it happening. It wasn't just an "accident" or a "whoops" moment. God knew it would happen and planned for it. It never thwarted God's plan. Our Heavenly Father told us His plan was for us to come down to earth, to leave His prescence, so that we could know joy from sorrow; happiness from pain; good from evil. He wanted it this way for our "profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath ^bcreated all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be ^cacted upon."

If Adam and Eve had remained in the Garden of Eden, they would not have progressed. There was hardly any opposition in the Garden of Eden. Therefore they never would have known what it was like to have someone disappoint you. But they never would have known what it was like to have someone serve you with love. This life is the time to learn what real happiness is. It is the time to make mistakes, see some heartaches and sorrows so that we may fully understand the successes, the love, the happiness, and the need for our Savior, Jesus Christ.

When Faced with a Mountain to Move....Ask

One of my homework assignments in high school required us to read an article from a woman who claimed she 'used to be Mormon,' or had 'grown up in the Mormon religion.' It didn't bother me that she was no longer a practicing Mormon. What bothered me was that she claimed the Mormon religion had taught her not to ask questions. There was NO room for questions or doubts. As I talk with complete strangers, with all different religious or non-religious backgrounds everyday, I can't believe how many have expressed, in one way or another, the belief that asking God "why?" is a sin.

That is a lie.

The entire Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ began because a simple boy asked a simple question: "Which of all the sects was right?" Joseph Smith was 14 years old. He lived in New York during a time of great religious excitement. Many different sects of religions proclaimed many different ways for salvation. Each proclaimed they were right. But how was a 14 year old farm boy supposed to know which was correct? Joseph Smith turned to the scriptures. He studied the Bible thoroughly. In Ephesians, he learned there must be "One Lord, one faith, one baptism". As he continued to study, he came across James 1:5

If any of you LACK wisdom,

let him ASK of God,

 that giveth to ALL men liberally, 

and upbraideth not; and it 

SHALL BE GIVEN HIM.

                                  

And so he did. He went to a grove of trees and prayed to God to know which of all the sects was right. That is when our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith.

When Christ and His apostles were killed, there really was no one to turn for answers to questions. Eventually men started to rely on their own wisdom because somewhere along the line they forgot that prayer will provide personal revelation. That belief has been passed down to Saints since that time.

In order for any of our questions to be answered, we must turn to our loving Heavenly Father. Just as growing up we each turned to our parents, or a parent figure, for answers, our Heavenly Father desires for us to turn to Him. As we ask our questions in prayer, we will find our testimonies of Christ grow. We will find our relationship with Heavenly Father grow stronger and closer.

As a representative of Jesus Christ, the message I share everyday is simply to ask God for yourself. Ask Him where you stand with Him. Ask Him if His gospel is on the earth. Ask Him to be able to feel His love by recognizing the daily promptings of the Holy Ghost. But then be ready to act. Be ready to follow Christ. Have a sincere desire to know and I promise you, your loving Heavenly Father will tell you.

When Face With a Mountain to Climb...Remember the Abrahamic Trial

I'm pretty sure most of us have heard of the Abrahamic Covenant sometime in our lives. But what exactly is the Abrahamic Trial? Let me break it down.

Abraham and Sarah get married. The Lord promises Abraham that his seed will be as numberless as the grains of sand, or the stars in the sky. This is part of the Abrahamic Covenant. (There's more to it, but for today, it's not our focus). Abraham trusts the Lord with everything he has. God shows Abraham so many great and marvelous revelations. The relationship Abraham has with God is one I wish to only dream about. Yet here is Abraham and Sarah, without any children.

Finally Sarah gives birth to Isaac in her old age. In Genesis 22 is where I learned of the Abrahamic Trial. Here the Lord calls Abraham and he answers as he always does, "Behold, here I am." The Lord tells him to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice unto God.

Imagine this for a moment. Here, Abraham has done everything the Lord has ever asked of him. He simply wanted a son. God had promised him that his seed would be as numberless as the stars. It's a righteous desire. We're told having a family is a righteous desire. We're told that murdering someone is not. Now the only son that Abraham has, God wants as a sacrifice. Contradicting? I think so. Can you imagine?

Abraham gets up the next morning and leaves to go where the Lord told him to go. THREE days later the Lord tells him which mountain to climb. I could not imagine living with the knowledge that soon I would be sacrificing my only son, let alone knowing it for three days. Yet there Abraham is, being as diligently obedient as possible.

As they leave for the sacrifice, Isaac asks, 'Where's the lamb for the sacrifice?' Abraham responds, with complete faith and trust,  "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering." They prepare the altar and Isaac is strapped down to be sacrificed. It is not until "Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son" that God sends an angel to stop him.

Great! Now you know the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. Now what? Well, we're told to liken the scriptures unto ourselves. This particular story I believe applies to those moments of almost despair as we decide how much we really do trust our Heavenly Father.

This story in the Old Testament describes exactly what each and everyone of us will be asked to do: to sacrifice our greatest desire, what matters most to us, in order to come closer to God. In essence, each of us will face our own Abrahamic Trial. Actually we will most likely face many Abrahamic Trials. Deciding to serve a mission was my first Abrahamic Trial. There were so many other desires I had; in fact, I felt they were greater than my desire to serve a mission. You can ask any of my roommates: the last semester before I came on a mission I was a complete wreck. Sorry roomies :) There was nothing wrong with what I wanted. I wanted an internship. I wanted a family. I wanted a degree. I wanted a job. I simply wanted to see Iron Man 3! (Just jokes). But the rest of it I really did want, and I didn't want to put it off for another 18 months.

But as I prayed about and counseled with friends and family, I came to this simple conclusion: How much did I trust God? How much did I believe in His timing, in His plan?

I have only been serving for four and half months, yet the principles and doctrines I have learned in these four months would have taken me years to learn outside of a mission. I have come to know my Heavenly Father in a way I only wished I could before. I have come to trust in the Savior's loving Atonement more and to watch it work in other's lives. Abrahamic Trials are frustrating and uncomfortable. They require us to go outside of our comfort zone where there may be no one to rely on. That's the point. As our own Abrahamic Trial arises and we face our own mountain to climb, we will come to know the one who is best to rely on: our Savior, Jesus Christ.

When Faced With a Mountain to Move....Pray

Hello Everyone!

It's Sister Divis here. I am a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For 18 months I am serving the Lord clear across the country from my hometown. I talk to my family once a week through emails and letters. I left school, friends, a job, and more to represent my Savior and Redeemer. Why you ask? I'll do my best to explain so that you may know what to expect in the future from me, and hopefully have a desire to know what I know. 

When I first came on my mission I wasn't quite sure what I needed to accomplish. I knew Christ had given everyone that follows Him the commission to "go....and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Teaching all nations is quite the task. Yet I knew I was needed in the work; I just wasn't quite sure why. I'm sure I am not alone in wanting to know "why Heavenly Father? What do you want me to learn?" Without feeling I had received the full answer, I left. I felt as though I was taking a leap of faith, showing my trust in the Lord. 

I kept praying. Making a decision to serve a mission does not come without much prayer. I had been praying for over a year about giving back 18 months of my life to the Lord. During that time I found my relationship with my Heavenly Father increase. This desire to become closer to the Lord grew beyond what I could have imagined. Yet, I also discovered growing that relationship seemed to become just that much harder. I had to work more at finding the answers to my prayers. I would search the scriptures more fervently. I spent more time pondering on my own. I talked more with others about their faith and their desire to follow Christ back to our Heavenly Father. Of course, I counseled with my parents. 

After about a year of praying, I came to the conclusion to serve. But again, I wasn't sure why the Lord needed me specifically. With the age limit being lowered and therefore with so many Sisters deciding to serve, I found myself one of the "lucky" Sisters called as a trainer on my first day in the mission field. My companion and I were both brand new to the mission. With struggles of getting to know the area, what to do in the work, how to teach, working up the courage to talk to complete strangers, and not being able to counsel with my parents, my relationship with Heavenly Father became my number one source of comfort.

One particular night my companion, Sister Dodd and I were trying to find a member's home. It was dark out with no street lights and raining. I don't know if anyone else has ever noticed, but the numbering system for houses out here seems to be completely different than out west. We pulled into a driveway to turn around right as the owner walked out onto his porch. Awkward. Still being new missionaries we pulled back out to find the house again. When we still couldn't find the house, we decided to turn around, try again and if we still had no success we would go back and talk to the man on the porch. Weird, I know but that was our plan. And so we did! The man was still out there. As we talked to him we learned his name was Elij, he hardly spoke any English, and he had a brother who was Mormon. We began to teach Elij for the next couple of weeks with a translator.

After meeting him that first night and as we continued to teach him, the thought rang true in my mind and warmed my heart, "You are needed to answer the prayers of others." I found the answer to my prayer by being able to answer someone else's. I am here to answer the prayers of others who are I have learned and will hopefully continue to learn prayers are most often answered when we get off our knees and climb up the mountain, one faithful footstep at a time.