Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Ye Have Forgotten

"How is it that ye have forgotten . . .", Nephi asks this of his brothers three times in 1 Nephi 7.  He is chastising them for rebelling on their journey back to his parents in the wilderness.

Remembering is so important in remaining faithful and keeping the Spirit with us.  It's mentioned in both of the sacrament prayers. 

Nephi mentions three things that he wishes his brothers would remember.
  • Ye have seen an angel of the Lord.  We also have had spiritual manifestations - testimony builders - that we need to keep in remembrance and never forget.
  • What great things the Lord has done for us.  We are so blessed!  And it's so easy to forget those blessings and begin to take them for granted.  Counting our blessings and praising the Lord for them protects us against the hard-heartedness that Laman and Lemuel demonstrate.
  • The Lord is able to do ALL things for his children IF they exercise faith in Him.  Nothing is too hard for the Lord, yet we doubt and fear.  We need to follow Nephi's example and GO and DO.
 The cross-references to the word "forgotten" are worth looking at.  This one from Deuteronomy 4:9 says, "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;".  One way of remembering is to teach the things you know to others.  This embeds them deep down into our hearts.

Look up the word "remember" and you find many wonderful verses.  Remembering is a great key to joy and happiness in this life and in helping us return to our Heavenly Father and having eternal exaltation in the next.

 

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