Spiritual Riches

D&C 6:7

"Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of  God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich."

Money and earthly treasures are not true wealth. The truly rich are those who have eternal life, or those who are working towards eternal life. This earth life is such a short span compared to the eternities! What worldly objects we gain here will not last. We should seek for wisdom, and this wisdom leads us to greater things and greater treasures.

The Lord Provides a Way

1 Nephi 9:6

"But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all this works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen."

And thus it is. The Lord knows everything, and that is the truth. He created us all, He is all-knowing, and He is all-loving. He loves us and wants what's best for us. He knows what will help us grow, so he gives us commandments. He helps us fulfill them and we learn from those experiences. We learn to rely on Him fully and to trust His words completely.

Remember

1 Nephi 7:12

"Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him."


Nephi again reminds his older brothers to be faithful in the Lord. The Lord had blessed Lehi's family so much because they were faithful to Him and listened to Him. Laman and Lemuel often forgot what the Lord did for them. They chose to get angry and violent instead of humble and obedient. Nephi reminds them that the Lord can do all things if we are faithful to Him. It is so important to remember how the Lord has blessed us daily.

He Provides a Way

D&C 5:34-35

"Yea, for this cause I have said: Stop, and stand still until I command thee, and I will provide means whereby thou mayest accomplish the thing which I have commanded thee.
And if thou are faithful in keeping my commandments, thou shalt be lifted up at the last day. Amen."

I love how similar these verses are to the verses in 1 Nephi, which I am also reading right now. The Lord constantly provides ways to accomplish his commands. He never asks us to do impossible things. When we do his commands we are blessed and may be exalted with the Savior someday.

Faith

1 Nephi 4:6

"And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."

Nephi had no idea that the Lord was about to deliver Laban into his hands. He had no idea that he would kill Laban, dress in his clothes, and lead Zoram and the Plates back to his brethren. All he knew was that the Lord was with him and the Spirit was guiding him. He trusted in the Lord and went with courage to fulfill his calling.

Obey

1 Nephi 2:3

"And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him."

This verse is so simple. Lehi was obedient to God and therefore kept His commandments. Sounds easy right? I'm sure this became easy for Lehi because he had decided in his heart to always follow the Lord. This decision made future commandments easier to follow. The more we obey, the more we trust in the Lord, and the easier it becomes to do what He wants us to do.

Answers to prayers

Luke 1:13

"But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John."

The Lord heard the earnest prayers of Zacharias and Elisabeth through the years. They had prayed for a child their whole marriage, but it wasn't until they were very old that the Lord answered these prayers. Their son, John the Baptist, was meant to come later in their lives so he could prepare the way for the Savior. The Lord heard their prayers but did not answer right away. He answered when it was best.

Repent

D&C 3:10

"But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work;"

Even though Joseph did not listen to the Lord, he still has the opportunity to repent and become better. We all make mistakes; some small and some big. No matter the size of the mistake, we can repent and change our ways. We can be forgiven and become in God's good standing again.

Answers to Prayer

Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith

"...I betook myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God.... While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room... when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside"

Joseph Smith received answers to his prayers. Just as he received answers, we all can receive answers if we ask in faith and trust in the Lord's will. Although Joseph's answer included a visitation by an angel, that's not how prayers are usually answered. Prayers are answered through peaceful feelings, quiet words that come to our minds, or circumstances that happen in our lives. There are many ways that the Lord answers us, and these answers may take awhile to come. But He hears each prayer!

Repent

D&C 1:31-33

"For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;
Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;
And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts."


Wow. If we do not repent, the light we have is taken away. We are on much worse grounds than before we sinned. We allow Satan to take hold of us, shutting out the light of Christ. It is so necessary to repent each day so this does not happen.

Purposes of the Book of Mormon

I just started the Book of Mormon again and love the preface to it. It states:

"..Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever- And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.."


These are the purposes of the Book of Mormon. They are all to benefit us and help us return to our Heavenly Father. I know that by reading this book I will become more the person Christ wants me to be. I am excited to read it again!

Serve Him

Moroni 6:3

"And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end."

When we are baptized, we promise to be as Christ is. To serve Him, and to love as He does. It's a big undertaking, but it is possible with His help. We will make mistakes along the way, but we can repent and try again. It's a process that makes us better and better.

Don't Deny

Moroni 1:3

"And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ; wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life."


I love how Moroni will not deny the Christ, even when the Lamanites are killing all who do not deny Him. He knows that denying Christ will be far worse in the eternities than being killed. He would never deny his faith. He knows that it's so much better to be on the Lord's side than on the worlds.

Eternal Perspective

Ether 15:34

"Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God. Amen."

Ether had such an eternal perspective. He knew the life on earth is temporary, so trials and hardships are only small moments when compared to eternity. I love how he trusted in the Lord's will. He knew that whatever happened to him would be what God wanted, and he'd be ok with whatever. Life is hard, but that doesn't matter. We can get through it!

Seflishness

Ether 13:25-26

"Now there began to be a war upon all the face of the land, every man with his band fighting for that which he desired.
And there were robbers, and in fine, all manner of wickedness upon all the face of the land."


When we fight for our own selfish desires, we allow Satan to have a grasp on our hearts and this leads to all manner of wickedness. Every person was only thinking of themselves, and this self-centeredness lead to robbers and other scary people living on all the land. I think this would be a very scary place to live, and I hope to never be in this situation.

Miracles

Ether 12:12

"For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith."

Some think that miracles have been done away. For them, maybe they have because they don't have the faith to see the miracles. For me, I see miracles everyday. It's because I have faith that God is watching over me; that He knows me personally. I know He is mindful of my daily needs and He provides.

Snake Remedy

Ether 10:19

"And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. And in the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were destroyed. Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of the forest. And Lib also himself became a great hunter."

Ok, Chad, this scripture tells how to get rid of snakes: you just need a righteous leader who knows the value of hard work! That's all! Lib followed the Lord and moved his people to a land with more animals. He was a hunter, and lead his people to work for their food and other needs. Now we just need to make you this grand leader ;)

Humility

Ether 9:35

"And it came to pass that when they had humbled themselves sufficiently before the Lord he did send rain upon the face of the earth; and the people began to revive again, and there began to be fruit in the north countries, and in all the countries round about. And the Lord did show forth his power unto them in preserving them from famine."


It was not until the people were truly humbled that the Lord took away the dearth. The Lord had to remove rain from them in order to change them from wickedness. The Lord has all power over the elements and can change them to punish us if we are not faithful to Him.

Remember

Ether 7:27

"And there were no more wars in the days of Shule; and he remembered the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days."

I love how remembering what the Lord has done for you in the past helps create righteousness. The Lord has done so much for us today as well as for our ancestors throughout all time. It is so important to never forget this! He is so much a part of each day. The Lord deserves to be remembered, revered, loved, and followed.

Guidance

Ether 6:8

"And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind."

I love how, even if the people could not see it, the Lord was always watching out for them. He made sure the winds were continually guiding these people to the land He promised them. What winds might the Lord be guiding in our lives? Where we live? Who our friends are? What trials we have? I know that the Lord has a hand in each of our lives. It's up to us to find out how.