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.