I have recently made it a solid goal to study the scriptures every day. Not just read them, but to truly study and apply them. Since coming home from the mission (about one year ago) I haven't truly studied. I don't know how I lost the habit almost instantly even when I promised myself I wouldn't. I pledge to rectify my sin by starting a new study. To help motivate myself, I bought a new set of scriptures. They are so beautiful! I wanted to post and share a little bit of what I learn. Not only will this act as a sort of study journal, but hopefully my insights will benefit more than myself.
I opened up my fresh new scriptures to the very first page of 1st Nephi. I thought to myself that if any verse is of upmost importance in this chapter to a new reader, it is the very first one. As a missionary, I was taught to teach the very first verse in a unique way. I decided to take those very questions that I would ask an investigator and apply them to myself. Verse 1 reads, "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents..." I stopped there and asked myself if I had goodly parents. A powerful and emotional answer of yes came to my mind. ", therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father..." Nephi was taught by his goodly parents. What do goodly parents teach? What have my parents taught me? I sat on my bed for a moment trying to answer that question as best as I could. My parents have taught me so much by example. They have taught me to love others and to care for them. They taught me to put away my selfish desires and to put others first. My parents sacrifice so much for their children, and anyone that stands in need. My father has taught me good work ethic and has attempted many times to teach me his skills, which are many. So now I have some sort of idea of how Nephi felt about his parents and some of the things they must of taught him.
"and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days". Have I experienced afflictions? Oh yes I have haha. I have experienced loss, betrayal, and what seems like impossible obstacles. Perhaps in these blog posts I'll share stories of my afflictions and how they have made me better. Afflictions are what build us. That's how we learn, no? It's never fun to look back on painful memories, but it is good to think of the great lessons we learned. Many members of the church have heard the story of the silversmith. A woman goes up to a silversmith and asks him about mastering the metal. He tells her that in order to get the perfect metal, he must put the silver in the furnace and beat upon it continually until all the impurities are gone. There is the obvious lesson in the metaphor that the Lord, being the silversmith, allows us in the furnace, our afflictions, and hammers us until we are perfect. Here's the part that makes me smile most. The woman asks the silversmith, "How do you know when all the perfections are out? You'll destroy the metal if you put it through that stress too long." The silversmith replied, "That's easy. I know its ready when I can see my reflection." Our afflictions are so much more than to just become better. They exist so that we can become like God. Are we understanding Nephi a little bit more? I know I am.
"nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord all my days." Nephi makes a high claim that brings joy to my heart. Even though he has gone through heck and back with these afflictions, he recognizes that the Lord loves him. Being "highly favored" doesn't mean that he is better than anyone else. If you are a parent, you probably understand this better than I do. Parents have favorites. Its true. There is a difference between trust and love. They love all their children equally, however, they will trust one son more than another. Why is that? It is through obedience. God loves all of his children more than we can comprehend. He favors people like Nephi because he is trustworthy and he obeys. I hope that toward the end of my life that I can say the same as Nephi, that I have been highly favored of the Lord all my life. It is a worthy goal.
The next part of the verse gives some idea of how to be highly favored, "yea, having had a great knowledge of goodness and mysteries of God". Nephi knew so much about God that it was impossible for him to disobey. He knew so much about God, that he trusted Him even through all those afflictions. The Lord wants us to know about Him. He wants us to know of His goodness and of His mysteries. Wait a second, His mysteries? What does that mean? These mysteries aren't a secret from his children. They aren't so hard to understand. His mysteries are merely his teachings that are given to his prophets and they teach us. Amos 3:7 as a cross reference. So to be highly favored of the Lord, to be obedient, we must learn of God and use faith. We read the scriptures to learn of His goodness and of His mysteries. We go to church and listen to the testimonies of others. We read and listen to the General Authorities' talks. We pray. We go to the Temple. This is how we build our faith and our knowledge of Him. Making a regular habit of these things and putting it all into practice will make it so much easier to obey God. Nephi must have done these things.
"therefore, I make a record of my proceedings in my days." He ends the first verse to another testament of Christ speaking of recording his faith building stories. He kept a journal! Why shouldn't we? We benefit so much from Nephi's stories. As we can see just through this first verse, we have a lot in common with him. Our stories can and will benefit all those who read of them.
I know that the Book of Mormon is truly of God. I spent an hour on a verse that I have read at least a hundred times before. I learned some really profound things about Nephi, God, and myself. I felt the spirit so strong in this study. I'm so grateful for the spirit that accompanied me this night.
I encourage you to read this verse carefully and break it down. Ask yourself questions like I have asked myself. It's amazing the inspiration and revelation that one can receive just by asking a simple question. Please, share with me your insights as well. I love learning from others.
This is merely a small step in my Walk with God. Genesis 5:24
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