A Source of Unfailing Strength

In my Sunday church meetings today, the Bishop (the local leader of our congregation) addressed us and announced our ward's (or congregation's) theme for the year of 2014. He spoke of Paul's conversation with the Lord in 2 Corinthians 12 and the "thorn in the flesh" that he asked the Lord to remove, and how the Lord told Paul that His grace was sufficient and His power is made perfect in weakness.

The Bishop shared a Book of Mormon verse in which another servant of God, Moroni, is worried about his weaknesses and fears that his best will not be enough for the task at hand.

The Lord delivers these comforting words to Moroni:

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.

In the words of the Lord to both servants, I was struck by the phrase "my grace is sufficient." I decided to study it in more detail. I visited a website that allows side-by-side comparison of the Greek and English New Testament texts, along with detailed definitions and etymology of the Greek words. I would like to share what I learned.

.............................................................................................................................................

Arkei soi e charis mou

..............................................................................................................................................

'Arkei' generally means to suffice, or to be sufficient or enough. However, it can also mean "to possess unfailing strength."

What possesses this unfailing strength?

'Charis' means grace. Whose grace? 'Charis mou'. "My grace," the Savior tells us.

'Soi e' means "for you" (roughly).

.............................................................................................................................................

"My grace possesses unfailing strength for you."

.............................................................................................................................................

There is nothing that God cannot help us to overcome. If we put our whole trust in Him, we can overcome any Goliath.
Through the unfailing grace of God, our weaknesses - physical, mental, social, spiritual - can be turned into strengths.

Jesus Christ died so that we might live. He suffered all things so that He may lift us above all things.

His grace is sufficient.

I know it.

The Nature of Deity

This morning, I sought to better understand the nature of God. I made it the focus of my personal study in the word of God. Among other things, I read the words of Joseph Fielding Smith, a modern-day prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, found here.

As I read, I developed a statement of what the nature of Deity is to me. I would like to share this now, and invite the reader to carefully consider each point. The basis for this understanding of Deity is the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1820, in which he saw the Father and the Son as two separate and distinct beings (see video below).



Here is my statement of personal belief:


God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct beings. God is our literal and personal Father, who knows us by name. We were literally created in His image. Jesus Christ, His Son, paid the price for our sins so that we can live with God again if we choose to obey God and repent. But, because God has given us agency to choose, He will not force us to follow Him, and if we do not, we will not be saved. God wants all of His children to return to Him and has provided a way for us to be like Him. He sends His servants, prophets, to show us the way and to help us be successful and happy in this life.

When Do Miracles Come?

Miracle: an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven... ?"

Moroni 7:27

The Bible is a book of miracles. So is the Book of Mormon.

Think of the wondrous stories that they contain.

Remember Hezekiah, king of Israel, who was surrounded by a formidable Assyrian army. He trusted in God and refused to make an alliance with them. Hezekiah and his men had done all in their power, and now God stepped in. An angel of God appeared and slew 185,000 Assyrians that night.

Remember Nephi and Sam, who were trying unsuccessfully to convince their brothers to try once more to obtain the scriptural record from Laban. As they were being beaten by their older brothers, it seems evident that they could do nothing else on their own. That is when an angel appeared and saved them from the cruel hands of their brothers.

As Christ knelt in a sacred garden outside the walls of Jerusalem and took upon Himself the weight of our sins and pain and sorrow, "there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him" (Luke 22:43).

What about our day?

Has God ceased to be a God of miracles? Is He not the same yesterday, today, and forever? Doesn't He love us today as much as He loved those in the days of Hezekiah or Nephi or Christ?
I know that God does not change. He is immutable. He is Eternal. And He is still a God of miracles.

So why do we sometimes not see miracles?

Sometimes, I regret to admit, I give up before the moment when the angel would appear. In fact, I may not even start because I feel that the task which God has placed before me is overwhelming. 

So, how can I ever expect to see miracles in my life if I do not attempt the things that require miracles? Why would I expect miracles if I only try to do things that I already know I can do?
God does not need to perform a miracle in order for me to read my scriptures everyday. I know that I can do that. But accepting a calling in Church to do something that I know is beyond my own abilities may very well require such a miracle.
And God will provide it, if we try to act and rely on Him to help us.

I will do more to fulfill what God expects of me, even if I feel that it is beyond me. 
I will trust that God can help me to do anything, and then I will go and do it with His help. 
I will not doubt, for doubt is the opposite of faith. 
I will not fear. Fear comes from the adversary.

Related Hymn

Forgiven Completely and Forgiving Completely

In Luke 6, Jesus Christ gives us some important commandments and their accompanying promises to us.

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven"

In Luke 7, the Lord gives the parable of the two debtors, reminding us that He has forgiven all of our debt. How can we, therefore, refuse to forgive others of the small things they do against us?

That is the reality! God has forgiven ALL of our debt! He gives us time to repent and, if we do, He forgives us fully and it is like we never had sinned. Our relationship with God is not hurt or hampered. He forgives us freely, and loves us as if we had never sinned. 

He does not deny us any blessings if we fully repent, and treats us as if we were perfect and sinless and spotless (and, indeed, after repenting we are perfect and spotless and sinless).

Do I believe in this same principle in my life? 
Do I treat others as God treats me? 

I think that is what verse 31 is really saying. Treat others how you want to be treated is what it says. 

Well how do I want to be treated? 

I want others to treat me the same way that God treats me! 

Do I treat others that way? 
Do I love as God loves? 
Do I forgive as He forgives? 
Am I merciful as He is merciful (v 36)? 

I think I have a long way to go, but I want to be and do these things. If my friend or my wife or my child commits a mistake, will I forgive them? Will I allow it to be as if nothing had ever happened between us? Will I forgive AND forget? Will I be like the Savior who said “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow?” Am I as ANXIOUS to forgive and to move on as God is? 

I need to be.

Not Even the Raging Sea

The Savior told His Apostles to get into a boat, and to go across the Sea of Galilee. He told them that He would wait a little while, and meet them later on. And then Christ went up on a hill to pray, while his apostles departed in their ship.

The sea was very rough that day. They toiled and rowed against the "contrary winds" without much success. The record says that the Lord saw them toiling, from His mountaintop (Mark 6:48). 
And in the fourth watch, He went to them, leaving the shore and walking to them across the water. They cried out, being troubled and supposing that they had seen a spirit.
And then the Savior spoke, "Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid" (Matthew 14:27). It was the Savior, who, hours earlier, they had seen on the shore as they set out to sea. 

I think that they must have thought of Him, in the midst of this storm, having seen the miracles that He had performed. But I imagine they did not expect the Savior to come unto them. He was on the land, and they were out at sea.

But He came. 

He saw them toiling, and He came unto them. 
There was no barrier that could keep the Lord from coming to His struggling sheep. The raging sea could not stop Him from giving them aid.



There is no place that we, as sheep, can wander, that the Lord our God cannot reach us. We must not think, "I am in the midst of this raging storm. The Lord is on the shore. He has no ship. I must look elsewhere for salvation." When we are sinking, in our storms of life, we can and must rely on Him, for He is the only one mighty enough to save us.


The Savior walked on water. He will come to us. He will succor us.

"Fear not, I am with thee. O be not afraid. For I am thy God, and will still give the aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand."
("How Firm a Foundation", LDS Hymnbook #85)

Pages Turned, A Heart Changed

It had always been hard for me to imagine what others might think about the Book of Mormon until I spent two years in El Salvador inviting people to read it. Now I know a lot of what people think - many hate it; they denounce it as being evil without ever reading it. Others, however, have come to love it, and have increased their relationship with Christ by reading this true account of God’s dealings with His children who lived anciently in the Western Hemisphere.

So why does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints focus so much on the Book of Mormon?

We have the Bible. We love the Bible. It contains two wonderful testaments that God lives, that He loves us, and that He “so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son,” Jesus Christ, that we might live (John 3:16)..

And just as we believe that the testimony of Old Testament prophets does not detract from the testimony of New Testament prophets, we believe that the testimony of Book of Mormon prophets does not detract from the Biblical testimonies that all Christians love and study.

I will not attempt to answer every question concerning the Book of Mormon in this article. I will share with you, however, a promise of how you can come to know if the Book of Mormon is true.

Read it.

As a child, I was often told that I had to at least try the food on my plate before decided that I did not like it. How can we approve or renounce anything concerning the Book of Mormon if we have never read it? This is the first step.

Here is the second step:

Ask God.

There is no surer way. We have learned, time and again, that the wisdom of man fails us. The earth is not flat, but centuries ago the wisest men would have told you that it was. So do not ask man. Do not ask me if it is true! Ask God. He will not lie. He cannot lie. If the book is true, wouldn’t He want you to know, so you could read it and learn more about Him? And if it is false, wouldn’t He want to expose that to you so you would not deceived? So just ask God with faith and He will answer you. I promise.

The Book of Mormon is an evidence that God still speaks to His children. It is an evidence that Joseph Smith, who translated the book, is a prophet of God. It is an evidence that God has established His true Church through Joseph Smith. It is the same Church that was established during Christ’s lifetime, complete with Apostles and Prophets.

I know that the Book of Mormon is true. Please, find out for yourself. It will change your life.

God loves you. He wants to guide you. Let Him guide you, either toward or away from the Book of Mormon, and the Church that it espouses. Ask Him, and follow Him. He loves you. He will answer.

What if Christ had been an introvert?

Jesus Christ was most certainly not an introvert. Think of His life! All that we know of His life, and of His character, suggests that He spent it constantly interacting with people. He served them, blessed them, healed them, taught them, ate with them, comforted them, cried with them. If Christ would have been in introvert, what would have been written about Him? What influence would He possibly have had? Would the Gospel writers have even known who He was? An introvert would not have called out to fishers on the sea, “Come, follow Me.”
I believe that one of Satan’s greatest tools today is to isolate us from each other. Many are introverts. I don’t think being an introvert is part of God’s plan. How are we to share the Gospel as an introvert? How are we to mourn with those that mourn if we don’t even know who is mourning? How are we to lift the hands that hang down if the only hands we ever see are our own? How can we make others feel welcome at our church meetings if we do not speak to them?
Friendliness, I believe, is a Christ-like attribute. It is a direct descendant of charity. If we love people, we will want to interact with them and get to know them and help them. Like Christ, we will want to be with them and teach them and eat with them and comfort them and bless them. Without charity, we truly are nothing.