choice

2 Nephi 2:27

This was the scripture if the day in the app and it fit perfectly with the scripture I chose for my year of the book of mormon, 2 Nephi 1:7.

Both stress the importance of choice. So much of life leaves us with little choice. We can't control what others do and are left to make the best of situations a lot of the time. Even in bad situations, our choices matter. Eternity isn’t based on the circumstances surrounding us. Eternity is completely our choice. That's comforting. It's freeing. It's completely up to you.

rest

Alma 8:1

Alma worked and then he returned to his house to rest.  

Matt 11:28-30

John 16:33

I had a lot to do the other day. Things seemed to pile up and my schedule got totally blown. Years of mothering kids through anxiety filled, last minute projects kicked in. (I'm sure the ministeting of angels was happening too) It was a calm frenzy. My mom voice just kept me in motion. My adhd brain kept me on several tasks at once.  

There was a fair amount of anxiety but there was also calm. I think that’s the yoke. It's work but you know you'll get done as much as you can and it will be enough. It's not permission to slack but it's also not the mad drive we often put upon ourselves. There's middle ground, a balance.  

I'm not sure how related this all is but it's my scriptural thoughts for the day.

leap of faith

1 Nephi 18:5

Ether 6:4

Matthew 14:29

Casting off into the water is more scary to me than just wandering in the wilderness. If you screw up on land, you don’t have endless depths waiting to swallow you up. If your ship fails, you can only tread water for so long.  

My seminary teacher always told us, "You can do hard things." Of course, he meant that with God's help we can do anything He asks us to do.  

These scriptures and many circumstances in my life have brought to mind the leap of faith in Indiana Jones. I feel like the Lord often asks me to simply cast myself into the void and trust that He'll catch me. You know what? He always does.

the great likening

1 Nephi 19:23 "liken the scriptures"

This is another of my favorite scriptures. It's just such an important principle. The scriptures aren't just stories. They are truths to be applied from every angle.  

Nephi didn’t just preach likening though, he did it. In 1 Nephi 4:2 he uses Moses parying the Red Sea as a scriptural example for his brothers. That's way back when he was just 16. He continues to use Moses and the Israelites as an example for his brothers. I like the additional dialog in the book of mormon movies where one of his brothers tells him he isn’t Moses. 😆 I have to believe they said something similar to some at some point.

All kidding aside, it's easy to hear scriptural stories and think, "You're/I'm not Moses" so this doesn't apply. It won’t work.  

Exodus 14:21

The principles still apply whether we are called to part a great body of water, a sea of despair, or an ocean of evil. We are still given guidance, protection, and the power to overcome.  

the immense Atonement

From family scriptures tonight:

Alma 7:11-13

I think this is one of the best scriptural descriptions of the sheer enormity of the atonement. He covers sin and death but also sorrow and illnesses. Jesus Christ took *all* things, good and bad, upon Him "that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."

Gen 11:1-9Ether 1:3-5 & 33-35Genesis 19:17The Lord often calls His righteous people out of evil places. 1 Nephi 17:7Lehi’s family was comfortable and well equipped in bountiful. They had everything they needed. The Lord calls us out of our bountiful or comfortable places too. It's harder to get up out of the comfort zone to go and do than it is to escape a bad situation. Both are necessary.

do what you do know

"I am reminded as I approach you today of a scripture that was written to me in a letter by one of the missionaries in the North Carolina-Virginia Mission. It expresses the feelings in my heart and is taken from Alma, the 29th chapter, verses 9 and 10, where we find:

(Quotes Alma 29:9-10)

That we may all remember that arm is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

This 1.25 minutes was the entirety of an October 1972 conference talk titled, "An Instrument in the Hands of the Lord” By President Rex D. Pinegar Of the First Council of the Seventy

In the "follow Him" podcast they used 1 Nephi 17:9 (where shall I go to find ore) to demonstrate being an instrument in the hands of the Lord. Nephi didn’t know how to build a ship but he knew he'd need tools. That much he knew how to do.

It reminds me of the phrase so often said in response to, "Mom, I don’t know how to do this/where this goes/etc."

"Do what you do know. Then we'll talk about the rest"

I love the super short conference talk. He had just been called as a general authority for the first time. He probably didn’t ve much time to prep. He did what he could. He said what he knew.  

How often do we have something in front of us and we panic, "I don’t know what to do!" You are an instrument in the hands of the Lord. Not just when you're doing church stuff. You are His. He is always there to help. Just start with what you do know. The rest will come.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1RBbHKclELl7W40R4JhCBC?si=gJwj2LvVTgG5XT-oN3BHWw