The bishop asked me to share how the Book of
Mormon has brought me closer to the Savior.
It was really hard for me to narrow that subject down and pinpoint just
one experience or one scripture that has brought me closer to my Savior. As I’ve read and re-read the Book of Mormon
throughout my life there have been countless times that it has brought me
closer to my Savior, and some lessons it has had to teach me again and
again. There is a quote written on the
case for my nook that says, “a good book is the best of friends, the same today
and forever.” That saying is truer for
the Book of Mormon than any other book.
The book of Mormon is constant, and the reason we get different things
out of it each time we read it is because
we change not it. As our spiritual
needs change our understanding of the lessons taught in the Book or Mormon
change as well. As my spiritual needs
have changed there has always been one constant, one thing I’ve always needed,
and that has been my Savior. The biggest
way the Book of Mormon has brought me closer the Savior has been by teaching me
about my Savior. How can we put our
trust in the Lord and draw closer to Him if we do not know Him? The Book or Mormon has taught me so much
about who the Savior is, and about how I can draw closer to Him, but today I
will only share 4 things that I have learned.
The
first thing I’ve learned about the Lord is that He is aware of each of us. I know that the Lord uses the Book of Mormon
to show us He cares about us; I mean the book itself is evidence that He cares
about us. President Ezra Taft Benson
taught:
“The Book of Mormon was written for
us today.
God is the author of the book. It
is a record of a
fallen people, compiled by inspired
men for our
blessing today. Those people never
had the book.
It was meant for us.”
I have had many experiences where I
felt that a certain scripture was written just for me, one of those experiences
happened as I struggled one night with worry and fear for a friend’s safety on
his mission. After praying to the Lord
for peace, I opened up my scriptures. I
had just started 1 Nephi again and was reading about Lehi preaching to the
people of Jerusalem, and it says in verse 20:
“And when the Jews heard these
things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom
they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought
his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto
you that the tender cmercies of the Lord are over all those whom he
hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of
ddeliverance.”
I had read that scripture a million
times because it’s one of my favorites, but this time the Lord showed me another
meaning of it and brought peace to my soul through it.
That
same scripture had also taught me, long ago, that the Lord shows His love for
us through “tender mercies.” In fact
about a year ago I put that scripture on the front of a book that I called my
“blessing book.” At the end of each day
I will write down blessings from the Lord that I noticed that day. Some days there are just little things like
the camera charger that my mom and I had been searching for for days magically
appearing. Or some days it would be big
things like the experience I am about to share with you. Monday morning of this week my mom and I had
been stressed about the finances for my mission because of bills that had
popped up. I began to have small doubts
about leaving on my mission. I would
have the thought, “maybe I shouldn’t go, we can’t afford it and I don’t want to
put more stress on my mom.” I tried my
best to push these thoughts aside and stay positive, but as the day went on I
became more and more frustrated. Later
that night I discovered that I had a voicemail on my phone from the bishop
saying, “I have great news! Someone (who
will remain anonymous to all of you) has told me that they will be putting
$50.00 in a month for your mission.” I
was overwhelmed by this tender mercy from the Lord, and in that moment the
words from a scripture in 1 Nephi chapter 21 came clearly into my mind, “I have
graven thee upon the palms of my hands: thy walls are continually before me.” I
know that the Lord uses the scriptures to speak to us, and to show us that he
loves and cares for us. Elder David A
Bednar said, “We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s
tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender
mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled
times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the
solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt
to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield
adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal
experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and
when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the
tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance. I
am thankful for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the
Prophet Joseph Smith and for the knowledge we have today about the Lord’s tender
mercies. Our desires, faithfulness, and obedience invite and help us to discern
His mercies in our lives…I know that He lives and that His tender mercies are
available to all of us. Each of us can have eyes to see clearly and ears to
hear distinctly the tender mercies of the Lord as they strengthen and assist us
in these latter days. May our hearts always be filled with gratitude for His abundant and tender mercies.” I am very thankful that the Book of Mormon
has taught me to recognize blessings I receive from the Lord that show His love
for me.
The
second thing the Book of Mormon has taught me about the Savior is that His
Grace is sufficient. Ether 12:27 says:
“And if men come unto me I
will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be
humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before
me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I
make weak things become strong unto them.”
Reading that scripture I use to
always focus on the weak things being made strong aspect of it and never really
noticed the part about the Lords grace being sufficient until I read an amazing
talk by Brad Wilcox entitled “His Grace is Sufficient.” We hear about the Saviors Grace many times
throughout the Book of Mormon, but do we really understand what it is? I didn’t, until I read Brad Wilcox’s talk.
Brother Wilcox compares Grace to a
mother paying for her child’s piano lessons.
The mother pays in full for the lessons, she doesn’t expect her son to
pay her back for the lessons, but asks him instead to practice as a way to show
his appreciation for the gift his mother is giving him. Similarly, the Savior has paid our debt in
full through His atonement and now all he asks of us in return is to follow Him
and keep his commandments. Brad Wilcox quotes
Elder Dallin H. Oaks saying,
“The repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a
different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change” Wilcox
continues on to say: “Let’s put that in terms of the child pianist: The child
must practice the piano, but this practice has a different purpose than
punishment or payment. Its purpose is change.
The
miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we
can live more abundantly (see John 10:10). The miracle of the
Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be
transformed (see Romans 8). Scriptures make it clear that no unclean thing can dwell with
God (see Alma 40:26), but no unchanged thing
will even want to.
The miracle of the Atonement is not
just that we can go home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there.
“But don’t you realize how hard it
is to practice? I’m just not very good at the piano. I hit a lot of wrong
notes. It takes me forever to get it right.” Now wait. Isn’t that all part of
the learning process? When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don’t say he
is not worthy to keep practicing. We don’t expect him to be flawless. We just
expect him to keep trying. Perfection may be his ultimate goal, but for now we
can be content with progress in the right direction. Why is this perspective so
easy to see in the context of learning piano but so hard to see in the context
of learning heaven?
Too many are giving up on the
Church because they are tired of constantly feeling like they are falling
short. They have tried in the past, but they continually feel like they are
just not good enough. They don’t understand grace.
There should never be just two
options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options
performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time.
Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is
long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in
our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of
Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness
(see 2 Corinthians 12:9). When we
understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “continue in
patience until [we] are perfected” End of quote. The Lord does not expect us to
be perfect in everything, and because of His grace we don’t have to be
perfect. Because of the Lord’s Grace all
we have to do is try our best to follow Him and change for the better. Understanding what grace is has helped me to
better understand the meaning of the atonement and knowing that I don’t have to
be perfect makes it easier for me to come to the Lord for help when I need it.
The
third thing that the Book of Mormon has taught me is that the Savior forgets
our sins. This was a really hard thing
for me to comprehend. I always wondered
how someone with a perfect memory could just forget something that had caused
Him so much suffering in the garden of gethsemane, and yet the lord says in
D&C 58:42, “he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I,
the Lord remember them no more.” I
cannot find one example in the Book of Mormon of the Lord throwing someone’s
past sins that they have already repented for back in their face. The only time
He ever refers back to a sin is to show the person what they have overcome, and
that they can be forgiven through the atonement. I used to think that because I remembered my
sins that meant that the Lord still remembered them, but in the Book of Mormon
Alma says to His son, “And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these
things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with
that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance.” As we strive to become like Christ, He will
bless us with the ability to forgive ourselves, and as we forgive ourselves we
begin to see the purpose of our imperfections.
Sometimes they humble us so that we can draw closer to the Lord, we must
remember them to stay humble, but that does not mean that we can’t forgive
ourselves or that the Lord does not forgive us.
I promise you that the Lord does not see you for your sins and
weaknesses as you might see yourself but rather he sees you for your potential
because He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows your every weakness but he also
knows your every strength, even the strengths you may not have acquired yet but
will in the future, and He sees the strength you can gain when you overcome
your weaknesses. I know that after we’ve
done all that we can to repent, we can leave it to the Lord from there, we can
let go of it.
Knowing
that the Savior forgets sins has not only helped me draw closer to Him because
I know that he forgives me, but has also helped me draw closer to Him by
teaching me that I can forgive others. A
little while ago I had gotten in an argument with a close friend. I had been hurt and angered by something that
was said and I let those feeling of anger and pain fester. I woke up the next day feeling completely
void of the spirit. As I studied the
Book of Mormon in an attempt to get the spirit back I read about Nephi and His
brothers in 1 Nephi chapter 7. Nephi’s
brothers had become angry with Nephi and they did bind him with cords and
sought to take away his life. Yet even after all of this Nephi in verse 21
“frankly” forgives his brothers. I know
that if Nephi had not been close to the Savior and understood the Saviors will
he would not have been able to so easily forgive his brothers. Psh! If Nephi
could so easily forgive his own brothers for trying to kill him, surely the Lord could help me forgive my friend for
saying some hurtful words. As I
sincerely prayed to the Lord he healed my bitter heart, and I was able to let
go of my hurt feelings. James E Faust said, “the Savior has offered to all of
us a precious peace through His Atonement, but this can come only as we are
willing to cast out negative feelings of anger, spite, or revenge. For all of
us who forgive “those who trespass against us,” 19 even
those who have committed serious crimes, the Atonement brings a measure of
peace and comfort.” Knowing that the
Lord forgives and forgets my sins helps me forgive others and as I forgive
others I feel the Saviors love.
The last
thing that the Book of Mormon has taught me about my Savior is that He is our
Advocate. D&C 45:3-5 says, “ Listen
to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and breath of him who did no chin, in
whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the
blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;
5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.”
The word advocate comes from a
Greek word meaning paraclaytos, Kalayo meaning “to summon” and para meaning “to
the side of.” The word para has a
special meaning to me since I had the amazing opportunity this last school year
to be a special needs para educator at a high school. Sometimes the students didn’t always need the
paras help, either because they had someone helping them already or because
they could do the task independently, but no matter what we were always there
when someone needed our help. And when a
student needed our help we were there by their side guiding them through their
work. That is what the Savior does for
us as our advocate, or our own personal para.
He is always by our side wanting to help us; all we have to do is let
Him.
As
D&C 45:3-5 also taught us the Savior will also be by our side as we face
the judgment of God. The D&C student
manual states that, “At the time of eternal judgment, we will stand before the
bar of God accused of being imperfect and unworthy to enter God’s presence,
“for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans
3:23). At that time we have an Advocate with the Father. He
will stand beside us to plead our cause before the Great Judge; however, He
does not plead our case by pointing to our lack of guilt; rather, it is His own
sinlessness to which He calls God’s attention (see D&C
45:4). His perfection and His suffering pay the price to
satisfy justice for those of His “brethren that believe on my name” (v. 5). Imagine the indescribable sorrow of standing before the
judgment bar with no one to step forward, no one to speak for you. How tragic
that some will not come to Him in true faith and repentance so that He can take
their guilt upon Him and become their advocate with the Father.” I know that as we humble ourselves, and turn
to the Savior that He is waiting for us with open arms. Please turn to Him and I promise that if you
do He will become your greatest advocate and friend.
The
one thing that all 4 of these things I’ve learned have in common is love. The
Savior is aware of each of us because He loves us. His Grace is sufficient because of His love
for us. The Savior forgets our sins
because He loves us. And the Savior is
our Advocate because He loves us. The biggest thing that the Book of Mormon has
taught me and shows me every time I read it is the love the Savior has for me
and each of you. I know that the Lord
loves each and everyone of you, and I cannot wait to share His love with the
people in Utica.
