8/29/2017 - Section 67:1-14

August 29, 2017
Section 67: 1-14
Missionary Advice, Missionaries Help Is So Near, Missionaries Build Each Other Up, Missionaries Press Forward With Faith, Faith Stronger Than Fear, Missionaries Don’t Focus on Imperfections, Missionary Promises,

The very first verses applies to all of us who work together in the church, and as we prepare for our mission to the Philippines, I strongly feel its application to missionaries: “Behold and hearken [listen and do!], O ye elders [and sisters] of my church, who have assembled yourselves together, whose prayers I have heard, and whose hearts I know, and whose desires have come up before me.   Behold and lo mine eyes are upon you, and the heavens and the earth are in mine hands, and the riches of eternity are mine to give.” (v 1&2)  I need to remember that He is near to us, and ready to step closer to us, and we need to step closer to Him. And then in v 3 he teaches us how to draw closer: “Ye endeavored to believe that ye should receive the blessing which was offered unto you; but behold, verily I say unto you there were fears in your hearts, and verily this is the reason that ye did not receive.” As a missionary, I simply need to pray, study my scriptures, follow my mission president, do my best to plan my day to be of help to others and then gird up my loins and go forward knowing that the Lord will guide those efforts and whisper to me when needed and fill my mind as I try to understand the needs of others.

In v 5 the Lord chastises those present for looking only for Joseph Smith’s imperfections. We all have strengths and we all have weaknesses. Let us work to see the strength in others. And as we work to increase our strengths and to overcome our weaknesses, let us love one another enough to support and help others in their efforts to do the same.

In v 10 He reminds us that we have been “ordained unto this ministry” and then comes more specific advice just for us: “inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears and humble yourselves before me, for ye are not sufficiently humble, …ye shall …know that I am--not with the carnal neither natural mind, but with the spiritual.” That is not just our goal, that is our promise from Christ.


And His final advice, as He knows the difficulties they will face: “…wherefore, continue in patience….Let not your minds turn back; and when ye are worthy, ion mine own due time, ye shall see and know that which was conferred upon you by the hands of my servant…”(v’s13-14)



          your patience you possess your souls [see Luke 21:19]. Or, to use another translation of the Greek text, in your patience you win mastery of your souls [see Luke 21:19 footnote b]. Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most.” 





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12/25/2017 - Section 74:1-7

December 25, 2017 Section 74:1-7 Demands of Life, To-Do Lists, Priorities, Mistakes, Leaders Mistakes Of, Atonement, In this section, Joseph has re-commenced his revision of the Bible. The student manual says that Joseph was told to begin this project as early as March 7, 1831. When I look at my life, I often feel I have too many things that I must be doing. One of those things was the demands of a full time job, but I’m retired now. My ‘demands’ now are 1) church callings; 2) home projects that I feel I must complete and not leave to my children (photo albums completed, Waits lifetime correspondence scanned and saved; 3) going on missions which I feel compelled to do, but I know that compelling desire comes from inside me and not from outside pressure and since completing our Japan mission it comes because I now know how much growth and satisfaction and simple joy come from serving a mission; 4) friendships—(something we pretty well neglected in our child rearing days and dur...
Read more

7/10/2018 - Section 103:1-4

July 10, 2018 Section 103:1-4 Trials, Obedience Exact, Heart Might Mind and Strength, Growth, This section covers the deliberations of the leaders of the church, and the revelations from the Lord, as the saints worked to re-establish themselves after being forced from their homes, and re-establish their commitments in living the commandments. This terribly hard time –as to the loss of their homes, and the loss of peoples’ lives, and the terror they must have felt—is explained by the Lord as occurring 1) that their enemies “ might fill up the measure of their iniquities” (v 2) and 2) that the Saints or “ those who call themselves after my name might be chastened for a little season with a sore and grievous chastisement, because they did not hearken altogether unto the precepts ad commandments which I gave unto them”. This is a time that clearly reinforces D&C 82:3 which says “ of him unto whom much is given much is required.” What a reminder to me when I g...
Read more

7/8/2018 - Section 101:75-101

July 8, 2018 Section 101:75-101 Unity of Saints, Obedience, Constitution, Act On Our Beliefs, Prayer, Prayer Leaders of our Country, Christ is speaking to the church members in v 75…to the church members who have packed everything up and moved to Jackson County Missouri and have worked to settle in to their new surroundings. They are members of the Lord’s church. They have felt the power of His spirit, for they joined this foundling church…but it is in this verse that Christ identifies their problem: “ There is even now already in store sufficient, yea, even an abundance, to redeem Zion and establish her waste places, no more to be thrown down were the churches, who call themselves after my name, willing to hearken to my voice .” He’s basically telling His people that if all those who call themselves Saints would only follow His counsels, they would have sufficient resources to redeem the land and to establish Zion. I can look back at the histories of that ti...
Read more