the importance of scriptural immersion

Preserving the Voice of the Covenant People in the Rising Generation

By Brother Jan E. Newman

Luke 6:48-49

Helaman 5:12

"According to the account in Luke, as the wise man laid the foundation for his house, he “digged deep.” It wasn’t a casual or simple endeavor—it took effort! To build our lives on the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, we need to dig deep."

Earlier in the talk he talks about helping our children, I would add "friends", and ourselves.

"We can help them know their Savior and Redeemer the way these children did. We can show them how to find the Savior in the scriptures and build their foundations on Him."

2 Nephi 25:26

"Daily immersion in the word of God is crucial for spiritual survival, especially in these days of increasing upheaval. As we feast on the words of Christ daily, the words of Christ will tell us how to respond to difficulties we never thought we would face.” 

Russell M Nelson, Hear Him, May 2020

convinced or converted?

Kingdoms of Glory

By President Dallin H. Oaks

Ephesians 4:13

"That process requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough to be convinced of the gospel; we must act so that we are converted by it. In contrast to other preaching, which teaches us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something." - Elder Oaks

I love the comparison of being convinced vs being converted. It's easy enough to believe it's true. That's not the challenge. It has to be something that changes you to really be of use.

Alma 19:33

Mosiah 5:2

“The Spirit of God speaking to the spirit of man has power to impart truth with greater effect and understanding than the truth can be imparted by personal contact even with heavenly beings. Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten.” 

- Joseph Fielding Smith 

Faith and Works

Regarding the debate about faith and works: It’s like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most important.

— C. S. Lewis

James 1:22 -short and to the point

James 2:14-20

Ephesians 2:8-10 - I like this one. It clarifys that grace is a gift that we did nothing for. That grace is given to us and we are to do good works because of that gift. Not as payment, just because it's right.

Romans 9:32 - works alone is not enough

Galatians 2:16 works don’t "earn" salvation or repay the debt. 

2 Peter 1:5-10 - add "works" to faith. Add attitude adjustments to faith. Change is works. 8-10 Faith is not enough. The change of heart and action is your calling. The gift of grace comes with a calling to be Christlike towards others and yourself.

the treasure box

we all have some kind of treasure box, scrapbook or something that we keep our precious memories in.



you can go back and open the box and remember those things again. it's like reopening a gift.



a journal is like a memory box. you fill it with inspiration, trials, lessons learned, and sacred moments. those things can be opened again to remind you of precious and sacred times in your life.

magnifying glass

 - the magnifying glass-
when you focus the sunlight through a magnifying glass, you can set things on fire . . .not that i would know personally.

when you focus your actions on the will of the Lord, focus on His light so to say, you can set your own testimony on fire and also the testimony of others.

cataracts and the Spirit

my dear aunt recently had surgery to remove cataracts from her eyes.   i commented that i was so glad she would again be able to see the beauty of life.   she responded in the best way possible.

"I am appreciating the brightness that I once had and didn't realize that I was losing. The cataract grows so slowly and takes your sight so slowly that I didn't realize what I was losing. I'm sure there's a metaphor for sin in this experience. And I am having to adjust to the bright light. Many times I have to shut my eye because it hurts. I guess that is like trying to be in a spiritual place when you are not worthy."



what a great comparison!   (you can see what an awesome aunt i have)

this thought process started me thinking a bit more about stories of missionaries sharing something and the person is frightened or uncomfortable with the spirit.    it's like her eye that was no longer used to the bright light.   my aunt has been covering her eyes sometimes because the light hurts it.    it takes time to reacquaint yourself with the spirit you grew up with as a premortal spirit.  it hurts to have that strong light suddenly glaring on you instead of a slow and gradual increase.  

i had always wondered how the Spirit could be frightening to someone.   now i understand.   it doesn't take long either.   think about coming out of a movie theater into the daylight.   you cover your eyes and blink to let your eyes get used to it.   my aunt's eyes  have been shadowed for a long time, so her eyes have been taking days or weeks to get used to normal light.  


it is the same spiritually.   the longer we have been away, or the darker our lives have been, the harder it is to come back into the light.    it can hurt, be scary, or just not feel good at first.    

as my aunt keeps allowing her eyes opportunities to slowly get used to the light, allowing them time to adjust and rest when needed, the same holds true for our spiritual light.   it takes time.   it doesn't have to happen all at once.   it may be uncomfortable at times.   we may need to just rest where we are for a while.


In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright, and true.   

5 short object lessons on freedom to choose and adam and eve's choice.

5 short object lessons on freedom to choose and adam and eve's choice.   
our relief society pres gave the lesson this week and had some great object lessons.   thought i would share.

sit someone at a table with a can of peaches and an apple.   they may sit and eat peaches as long as they want, it will never run out.   they must stay there though and can't share it with anyone else.   they can choose to eat the apple but then they must leave the table and never return.  but, if they choose the apple, it will benefit billions of other people.  
i missed the scripture for that but obviously the choice that adam and eve made.   a friend of mine explained that any woman who wanted a baby but was not able to have children would understand why eve made the decision to eat.   a mother's instinct and drive to have children would be enough for her, even in her naive and childlike state, to take steps to be a mother.

tell someone they will receive a large reward if they only choose the right / make good decisions all day long.   can they do that?   there are no rules, just choose the right.  
if there are no rules, how can you choose the right?   there are no rules so not defined right, therefore it is impossible to choose the right.   2 nephi 2 : 11-13

show someone an empty table and tell them they may choose any one thing from the table to keep.  there is no choice.

2 nephi 2:16

lay a few of the same exact thing on the table and and offer them any one of them they want.   when they choose, pull out a different option and ask why they didn't take that one.   (she used plain granola bars and then pulled out a chocolate bar)

you can't choose something you don't know.   relates to the first one about choosing the tree of knowledge.  
2 nephi 2:16 (i think. i am translating and numbers still mess me up sometimes)   helaman 14:30-31

place two things on a table.   tell them to choose one.   as they go to choose, take it yourself or swipe it off the table.   this worked the first time but she got it the second time.    they ended up with the other thing flying off the table too.    it was pretty funny.
2 nephi 2:27   again, you can't choose if someone takes your choice from you, satan's plan.  

she also made the point that if there was no choice, there would be no need for a savior.   without choice, there is no sin so no salvation would be needed.  
if there was no savior, the choice wouldn't matter because no matter our choice, we cannot achieve salvation on our own.