They That Be With Us Be More Than They That be With Them.

2 Kings 6:16, 17 Here Elisha and his young servant find themselves surrounded by an army bent on destroying them. The servant asks Elisha what they should do, and Elisha assures him that the Lord is protecting them. He then prays that the servants eyes will be opened, and the servant sees that the mountain is full of horses and chariots of fire.

Often we feel so alone and overwhelmed and desperate. We can see that we don't have what it takes. We measure our abilities and talents and resources and compare them to the needs and requirements of our lives. We see that we come up short most of the time. If we could only see that the Lord with all His angels and armies are on our side. He will sustain and help us. He will guide us. We just need to open our eyes and have faith.

Thou Hast Great Cause to Rejoice

"Rejoice" is used many times in the scriptures, and this is one of my favorite references. Alma is burdened down with sorrow because he has been rejected for the first time in Ammonihah. But an angel stops him as he's leaving the city and tells him to "lift up [his] head and rejoice". The angel continues, saying, "for thou hast great cause to rejoice . . .", and praising Alma for his faithfulness since the same angel appeared to him and the sons of Mosiah.

It would seem to me that Alma had cause to be depressed. After all, his teachings had been rejected. But apparently, the Lord sees things differently. Alma had been faithful and had kept his covenants, and had been preaching the Gospel.

It feels to me like the Lord is saying that we are blessed with joy for obedience and for preaching the Gospel, and that we shouldn't lose that joy if people choose not to accept the truth. Choosing not to rejoice, regardless of circumstances, is like rejecting a gift the Lord has given us.

Being happy and rejoicing is a choice. It doesn't depend on what's happening in our lives so much as how we look at things. Counting our blessings is a large part of that. Surrounding ourselves with beauty, or finding the beauty in whatever our surroundings, listening to and really hearing the chirping of birds as well as beautiful music, appreciating and treasuring our loved ones, joying in the truths of the Gospel - all these things and more can give us cause to rejoice.

He Will Ease Our Burdens

I've been reading the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon in tandem, and it's reassuring to see themes repeated, since they come from the same Source. I read about Joseph being thrown in prison by Potifar, and realizing that the Lord allowed Joseph to remain in prison for about 3 years. Joseph was righteous and obedient. I'm sure this must have seemed like such a trial for him! Why was he being allowed to suffer so when he had been obedient and faithful.

Joseph Smith had a very similar experience. He spent many months in Liberty jail under horrible conditions. It was a time of great suffering for him, but was a great refining and sanctifying experience.

Alma and his people in the land of Helam were severely persecuted by Amulon, When they poured out their hearts to the Lord, He answered this:

13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

Here is another example of the Lord allowing obedient and righteous people to suffer afflictions they didn't seem to deserve. And I started wondering why He would allow this and especially HOW he eases their (our) burdens.

For Joseph in Egypt we don't have much information. But we know he remained faithful and became a great leader. As a youth, he seemed cocky and prone to bragging and trying to lord it over his brothers. But when those same brothers arrived in Egypt many years later, he freely forgave them and provided for them.

Some of Joseph Smith's struggles are recorded in D&C 121 & 122. Here are some of my favorites:
My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

We seldom have any control over our trials. They happen to us, and our only choice is in how we respond to them. We try to hang on. We try to endure. We don't know why we have been given this trial, whether it's for our benefit and growth or to bless those around us who see our struggles. But through it all, we need to watch for the hand of God. He has promised that He will ease our burdens. He may not make the pain go away, or even be less. He may give us comfort in other ways.

A couple of years ago my arthritis was causing me a lot of pain. It was before my knee replacement, and I had changed to a different medication, but hadn't quite figured out the dosage. My knee hurt a lot whenever I moved, and often when I was just holding still. In the midst of this time two angels, members of the Relief Society presidency, came to see me within a couple of days of each other. They both said that they had been prompted to visit me, that they knew I was struggling. They expressed their love and concern and bore their testimonies. What a blessing those visits were to me! The pain didn't lessen; it still hurt to move, but I was given the assurance that the Lord was mindful of my suffering and that He loved me. He eased my burden.

When Gaea died, the pain was enormous! So many questions and regrets and the pain of missing her. But the love that flowed from our friends and family, and especially the peace and comfort from the teachings of the Gospel and from the Comforter gave me tremendous help and relief. Gaea was still dead. But the Lord eased my burden.

I love this scripture from D&C 122:7 & 8:
. . . know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?

Of course, the answer is no. I will continue to have trials and problems. But they will be for my good. And He will ease my burdens.

Rewards for Service

After Alma's people had been baptized, he taught them how to be disciples. In ancient Israel, the priests were Levites, and since they did not own land, they were supported by the people. But Lehi's people were not Levites, so the rules here had to be different. Alma taught these new priests who he had anointed how they were to be supported:
24 And he also commanded them that the priests whom he had ordained ^ashould ^blabor with their own hands for their support.

But that doesn't mean that the priests weren't rewarded for their labors:
26 And the priests were not to depend upon the people for their support; but for their labor they were to receive the ^agrace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit, having the ^bknowledge of God, that they might teach with power and authority from God.

I consider my service in the church to be worthy of some of those same blessings. And what beautiful blessings they are:

• Grace of God
• Wax strong in the Spirit
• Knowledge of God
• Teach with power and authority from God

But I think in order to claim those blessings, we need to be aware of the promises, and LOOK for the blessings. We need to realize that the Lord is blessing us for those ways we are trying to serve Him and His children. We need to be aware. We need to pay attention and ask ourselves if we see some evidences of those blessings in our lives. And then we need to express gratitude for the blessings that He pours down upon us. We need to praise His name and glorify Him.

This is the Desire of our Hearts

After escaping from King Noah's guards, Alma hid himself and pondered the words of Abinidi. He had some serious repenting to do. When he was ready, he began to share the message of Abinidi and to teach others privately. They gathered in a place called Mormon, and there Alma offered them a wonderful gift. He knew of their desire to serve God and to bless one another, so he said,
Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are ^adesirous to come into the ^bfold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are ^awilling to mourn with those that ^bmourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as ^cwitnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the ^dfirst resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being ^abaptized in the ^bname of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a ^ccovenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

The people not only accepted, but they "they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts."

I've read and re-read that section over the last several days, and each time it touches me. The people were so delighted! They were promising to serve and love one another, and also to serve God and keep His commandments, with the promise that He would pour out His Spirit more abundantly upon them.

This is also the desire of my heart. I'm not perfect at serving God and my fellow man, but I'm trying to do better and to keep His commandments. And I really desire the promise that He would pour out His Spirit more abundantly upon me. Not just drip or trickle, but POUR. I need that in my life. I yearn for that Spirit. I treasure it when I feel it. This is the desire of my heart.

The Sting of Death

I'm finishing my study of the words of Abinidi to Noah and his wicked priests. Abinidi is explaining about the mission of Christ and the consequences of our actions. He says in Mosiah 16:7 & 8, " And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no ^asting, there could have been no resurrection.

But there is a ^aresurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of ^bdeath is swallowed up in Christ."

Were it not for Christ, the grave would be victorious. Our bodies would be trapped there forever, and our spirits would remain in spirit prison. And death would be a huge black hole that our loved ones slip into, never to return.

But because our Savior did fulfill his mission and rose from the dead and broke the bands of death, the grave has no victory and death loses its terrible sting.

We all confront the death of a loved one. When that person is old and feeble or in pain, it's easier to let them go. But if our loved one is young, it can seem very unfair. Many people never get over it. "Parents should not outlive their children!", people exclaim.

If I believed that Gaea had ceased to exist, that her life and light was blotted out forever, it would be unbearable! But I KNOW that my dear Savior gave His life so that we all can live again. That means that someday I will be able to be with Gaea again. She exists and is probably watching and helping and encouraging her family until the day that we can all be together again. Then we will laugh and love and enjoy and testify and share our lives together for eternity. Then death has truly lost its sting.

The Book of Mormon Speed Read

I tried a different approach to the Book of Mormon this year. A friend told me that she does this at the first of each year, so I thought I would try it. Beginning on January 1st, I read 10 pages in the Book of Mormon each day. I finished the last pages of Moroni just a few days ago.

Part of the reason is the desire to read the whole book in one calendar year. The Young Women's Virtue Value experiences asks us to read the book as one of the experiences, and we have been challenged to do the Virtue Value as mothers and grandmothers.

I had been in Mosiah at the end of 2009, so I left my bookmark there and started over with my speed reading method. It wasn't a particularly satisfying method, but I wanted to try it at least once.

We're often encouraged from various sources to set time goals in our scripture reading. President Hinckley asked us a few years ago to read the whole Book of Mormon in just a few months. It was a challenge that ended up blessing the whole church. But that doesn't mean that we need to continue to push our way through the scriptures as if the same challenge exists. We are not involved in a contest. The goal is not to read the book the fastest, or the most times, but to "treasure up" the Word, to "feast". When we push quickly through our reading, it's more like a food-eating contest. How many hot dogs can we consume in 5 minutes? Is there any nutritional value to stuffing those hot dogs down our throat? Did we enjoy the flavor, and savor the taste? Compare that to the way a gourmet food judge eats a meal. He takes tiny bites and holds the food in his mouth, discerning the various flavors therein. He takes his time. He savors the food. He is truly feasting.

Now I'm back to my slower method of reading. I put a little post it note at my spot. I take one verse and look at it a phrase at a time. I ask why it was put there, what does it really mean, why that word was used, and sometimes look in the TG to see all the references on that subject. It's so much more satisfying!