Some of the young men in our ward recently returned from "Zion's Camp" and reported on their experiences this past Sunday during Sacrament Meeting. Each young man's experiences were different and all touched and impressed me in different ways but there was one in particular that stuck out to me.
The young men were asked to take a hike while holding onto the "iron rod" (a rope), and along their journey they were told they had to keep holding onto the rod the entire time if they didn't want to become lost. Along the way, they were given various objects which they were required to balance in their hands while still keeping their grip on the iron rod. The first object was an egg. It represented a woman's virtue. Several other objects were continually added to it including stones and sticks representing marriage, children, the word of wisdom, etc. The young man reported that it became very difficult to balance all of the objects while still holding to the rod and at one point, he even lost his grip and had to try to find the rod again. In the process, he crushed his egg. To make matters worse, people began to approach him and ask him why he was carrying all of those objects. He ignored them, thinking they represented the "great and spacious building", or the people who mocked and laughed at him for trying to stay the course. He began to be a little discouraged. But in the end, someone finally told him, "You've been deceived. These are not burdens. They are blessings." At that point, he was able to drop all of the objects he'd attempted to balance.
How many "burdens" do we carry around that are actually "blessings"? It really made me want to stop and examine some of the "burdens" I've been carrying around. Perhaps they aren't burdens at all. Perhaps with a different attitude I can see them for the blessings they truly are. For instance, staying at home with two young children is challenging and at times discouraging. Many times, I've seen some of my day-to-day challenges as burdens when in fact it is a great blessing for a mother to be able to stay at home and raise her children. It's all about our attitude.
Looking at my challenges in a different light does not make any of them disappear. The challenges are still challenging. But viewing them as blessings rather than as burdens helps me to be more grateful and to find more enjoyment as I try to meet those challenges. I know if I am able to maintain this point of view, my way will be easier, my burdens lighter, and my blessings greater.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Visiting Teaching Skits
Let me begin by saying how much I love, love, love my ward. Nate and I have always felt very blessed to be among such good people. Several weeks ago we had a special Relief Society meeting on visiting teaching. The men in the ward took over what callings they could in the rest of the block so that many of the women, like me, who usually serve in Primary, Young Women, Nursery, etc. could come to Relief Society for the special meeting. It was so fun to be there with so many of the sisters in my ward all together at once. We're a fairly small group but it was still pretty cozy.
A sister in our ward had written and prepared three separate skits which took the entire meeting time. Each skit was performed very well by different sisters in the ward. They had transformed the front of our Relief Society room into a stage with three different "living rooms" set up. Each skit illustrated good and maybe not-so-good examples of visiting teaching. It was very well-written, funny and touching and the actors were all very natural, very well-prepared. But more than that, it really worked for me. I got so much from those little skits. Seeing it dramatized and "played up" a little taught me so much more than I ever learned by just talking about it or hearing a lesson from the book. It really helped me see some of the things I need to improve on and gave me some good ideas for the future.
After each skit was performed the room was opened up for comment. It was so interesting to hear everyone's different points of view and I really felt like I learned a lot. Most everyone agreed on the basics though. Visiting teaching should be more about watching over each other and about genuine friendship and less about assignments and numbers. I will certainly always remember that special, fun lesson.
A sister in our ward had written and prepared three separate skits which took the entire meeting time. Each skit was performed very well by different sisters in the ward. They had transformed the front of our Relief Society room into a stage with three different "living rooms" set up. Each skit illustrated good and maybe not-so-good examples of visiting teaching. It was very well-written, funny and touching and the actors were all very natural, very well-prepared. But more than that, it really worked for me. I got so much from those little skits. Seeing it dramatized and "played up" a little taught me so much more than I ever learned by just talking about it or hearing a lesson from the book. It really helped me see some of the things I need to improve on and gave me some good ideas for the future.
After each skit was performed the room was opened up for comment. It was so interesting to hear everyone's different points of view and I really felt like I learned a lot. Most everyone agreed on the basics though. Visiting teaching should be more about watching over each other and about genuine friendship and less about assignments and numbers. I will certainly always remember that special, fun lesson.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Visiting Teaching
"Visiting teaching is much more than a visit or sharing a thought with a sister. It is how we connect with one another. We share hearts and souls and extend charity, which is "the highest, noblest, strongest kind of love" (Bible Dictionary, "Charity," 632). Visiting teaching brings the love of the Lord to every home and to every sister. It is a sacred trust we have been given.
"Why do sisters do visiting teaching? Mosiah describes it this way: "To bear one another's burdens, . . . to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:8–9)."
These paragraphs come from the Visiting Teaching section of the Relief Society page on www.lds.org. It is a brief description of why we are asked to be visiting teachers and what the purpose truly is. It seems very simple, very easy but it hasn't been that way for me.
Visiting teaching has never been an easy thing for me. When I first got married I was at best only a half-hearted visiting teacher and rarely invited my own visiting teachers into my home. I admit I frequently ignored phone calls and messages requesting a visit or asking whether or not I had completed my own visiting teaching.
My excuses have been many and varied. Here's a sample (I know these are really awful but keep reading):
"Why do sisters do visiting teaching? Mosiah describes it this way: "To bear one another's burdens, . . . to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:8–9)."
These paragraphs come from the Visiting Teaching section of the Relief Society page on www.lds.org. It is a brief description of why we are asked to be visiting teachers and what the purpose truly is. It seems very simple, very easy but it hasn't been that way for me.
Visiting teaching has never been an easy thing for me. When I first got married I was at best only a half-hearted visiting teacher and rarely invited my own visiting teachers into my home. I admit I frequently ignored phone calls and messages requesting a visit or asking whether or not I had completed my own visiting teaching.
My excuses have been many and varied. Here's a sample (I know these are really awful but keep reading):
- I don't need charity. I am surrounded by family and so any needs that I haven't been able to take care of on my own with the help of my husband have always been fulfilled by my extended family. I'm uncomfortable asking for charity from a real friend, let alone a practical stranger. Even if I need charity and my family can't come through for me, I would never feel comfortable asking someone else to drop everything in their busy life to cater to me!!!
- I don't want to be someone's assignment. The majority of my visiting teachers have always been a friend in my home; very concerned, very interested and eager to be a part of my life, but once they stepped off of my front porch, that concern and interest was gone. I always felt like a project and it bothered me.
- I am uncomfortable around women. I don't have any real girlfriends of my own outside of my sisters and I just don't know how to be a friend to another woman.
- I don't need girlfriends.
- I just don't have time for it.
OK. The terrible part is over. I will dispel these "excuses" a little later. But first, a little more background. When I moved into a different ward (it has now been five years), I agreed out of guilt, to become a visiting teacher again. I never went once. Again, I ignored the phone calls and messages, and I tried to avoid my own visiting teachers in the halls at church. I rarely returned phone calls and even when I did it was purely out of guilt. Eventually, my Relief Society President called me to ask me to commit or quit. In a tearful phone conversation I explained my excuses and told her I did not want to be a visiting teacher anymore. I honestly felt relieved at the time but it didn't last very long.
Life changed. I began having children. Then I became a full time stay at home mom and later I began to experience some very difficult personal trials and through all of these experiences I began to be eager for the companionship and support of other women. I thought often of my decision not to be a visiting teacher. I knew it was holding me back spiritually and probably in other ways as well and I knew eventually I needed to accept the calling again and fulfill it the right way this time. I also knew that I was a hypocrite, preaching about the importance of obedience and the blessings that come from it, all the while knowing that I was not obedient myself. But I also knew it would be very difficult and I knew I didn't want to accept the responsibility until I was ready to commit and see it through. So I prayed often in my heart that the call would be extended again. I never actually prayed out loud because I was never really sure I wanted the call and I was definitely not ready to call myself and request to become a visiting teacher. So I just waited.
Finally, just a few weeks ago, and nearly two years after I quit the first time, my Relief Society President called me up and asked if I would like to be a visiting teacher. I was excited to accept and grateful that the Lord had heard my silent prayer. I told her I was still nervous about it but that I knew I needed to accept this responsibility. She addressed my concerns and assigned me with a suitable group of women to match my circumstances.
So today, I went! I visited my two sisters and I had a nice time. It was a little uncomfortable for me, it probably will be for a while. It was even a little inconvenient and hauling around my two young children was a challenge as well. But it doesn't matter! I feel so good about it and I'm eager to make the best of this opportunity and excited to learn and grow through this calling.
Now, as for those excuses, here's what I have learned and hopefully will continue to learn:
- I not only need charity, but I need to allow others to give me charity. This is a difficult thing for a lot of people to accept. Its hard to ask for help. I pride myself on my independence and self-reliance. But when I was recovering from childbirth, when I had a child in the hospital, and just recently when I was dealing with a difficult personal challenge I have accepted charity from my visiting teachers, neighbors and from a good friend. Always, these sisters have been cheerful and eager to help and the help has been much needed and much appreciated. It still isn't easy, but I am beginning to learn that it is a blessing to receive charity and it is important to allow others the blessings that come from serving someone else.
- If I feel like someone's "assignment" it may actually be my own fault. I'm sure there may be cases where it wasn't my fault, but truthfully, I have never made it easy for my visiting teachers to love, serve or befriend me - in fact I've made it nearly impossible.
- I am still uncomfortable around women but I've learned something interesting about the women in my ward - and maybe in yours too. In my ward there are so many women who go around thinking no one loves them or likes them and even that the other women hate them because no one sits by them or approaches them. But we are all the same! All of us are insecure and afraid to approach one another! I've heard recently that if we want friends we can't wait around for others to befriend us, we have to be the friend first. And for so many of us, like me, that is a real challenge. I never know what to say to another woman. That's something I hope to learn and overcome as I fulfill my visiting teaching calling.
- I do need girlfriends. I may not know how to have a girlfriend or how to be one YET but I hope to learn. This is something I am realizing more and more as I get older and have to face more difficult challenges. Ever since I became a stay at home mom, I, who used to hate having my visiting teachers come, am actually sorry when they leave. I love the conversation. I love chatting about the things we, as women and wives and mothers all have in common and I love having that support and encouragement from them and sharing in their experiences. I get so lonely sometimes and just want to have another woman to talk to but I just don't know how to get started. I hope visiting teaching will help me.
- I can make time for it. If I consider how much time I waste every day, every week, every month, I really can make time for it. I can easily replace an hour or two of wasted time in front of the computer or television for a few hours in service or just getting to know the sisters in my ward better.
- I need to learn to give service and I am anxious to learn to give without being asked, to recognize a need and supply it, and to learn to love all of it.
I'm still nervous that I won't have the strength to be the visiting teacher I know I need to be but I'm going to really, really try. I do want to be a friend! I want to learn to be a little less selfish and little more caring. I want to be a little less shy and uncomfortable and a little more natural. I'm eager to accept this challenge and learn as I go. And if through that friendship I can help lift another, teach another or bring another closer to the Savior I know I will find true happiness in the service I've been called to give.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
A Few Recommendations
I've seen a few really great things lately I thought I'd pass on:
- "Heroes: Lessons from the Book of Mormon", by John Bytheway. My in-laws gave this DVD to our family and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. Anything John Bytheway is guaranteed good but this is perfect for families, for youth and for people preparing to go on missions. He really makes you think differently about the teachings and the people in the Book of Mormon; makes you appreciate it more. I highly recommend this DVD.
- http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma. This is a link to the Church's official response to HBO's airing of a controversial (and frankly, offensive) episode of "Big Love". If you haven't heard already, the episode is supposed to feature a reenactment of a sacred temple ceremony as well as an excommunication counsel. The Church's response was so brilliant! I have a tendency to become extremely defensive of the Church but the response calmed and cooled me down and gave me a renewed appreciation for the leadership of this church.
- http://www.youtube.com/MormonMessages. This is "Mormon Messages on YouTube". They are a collection of brief gospel-centered videos on a Church-sponsored YouTube channel that is updated weekly. I love how our Church is staying up-to-date with what is popular and trying to slip in some good wherever they can. I've watched several when I've been bored and they have been so, so good and the perfect little pick-me-up for any tired, long day. I especially love President Uchtdorf's "Create". It was just beautiful - made me tear up a little. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhLlnq5yY7k (If my link doesn't work, you can find it in the YouTube search engine.)
- http://www.reflectionsofchrist.org/ This is an older one but I've never passed it on. It is "Reflections of Christ", an art exhibit by art photographer Mark Mabry. I love the beautiful slide show on the main page - so beautiful. I was a little skeptical about the images of Christ as a man because it's portrayed by an actor but after watching the videos about the making of the art and what went on behind the scene, I was very impressed by the beauty and spirit of the artwork. If you live near a Deseret Book you've probably seen his prints for sale now. For Christmas, my sister-in-law gave me a beautiful signed print of "Walking on Water". She chose this one because she wanted me to remember that the Savior, who commanded the storm to stop and calmed the sea is able to calm my own storms as well. The art is beautiful but I'm recommending you look behind the scenes as well to get a feel for the spirit and intent of the artist.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Seeing the Temple in a Different Light
I had one of those light bulb moments last night during scripture study that made me see the Temple in a slightly different light and I thought I'd pass it on. I was studying in 2 Nephi Chapter 2 where Lehi teaches about Adam and Eve.
2 Nephi 2: 19
And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth.
And I read this from Joseph Fielding McConkie, (Gospel Symbolism, p. 258):
"The events associated with the Garden of Eden make it the archetype of our temples. Here Adam received the priesthood, here Adam and Eve walked and talked with God; here our first parents were eternally married by God himself; here they learned of the tree of good and evil and of the tree of life; here they were taught the law of sacrifice and clothed in garments of skin; and from here they ventured into the lone and dreary world that they and their posterity might prove themselves worthy to return again to that divine presence."
Now that its been pointed out to me I'm wondering why I never made the connection before - its so very obvious! But nevertheless, last night, for me, this was an "Ah ha!!!" moment. The Temple is our very own Garden of Eden! Unlike Adam and Eve who were not allowed to return to the Garden, we are able to return to our own Garden of Eden, the temples, whenever we want, according to our worthiness. Its our job then to prove worthy while in the lone and dreary world so that we may enter again. Isn't awesome to think of the temple as our very own Garden of Eden; a place where not only do we make sacred covenants with the Lord, but we can also escape the lone and dreary world with all of its noise and chaos and filth. It is there where we can find answers, inspiration, peace and comfort.
It reminds me of a quote from President Hinkley:
"In this noisy, bustling, competitive world, what a privilege it is to have a sacred house where we may experience the sanctifying influence of the Spirit of the Lord."
I love the temple and the immediate feeling of peace and joy I receive every time I enter. Nate and I are planning to attend the temple next week with the other members of the Elders Quorum Presidency along with their wives. As we enter in and serve there, I'm going to try and view the temple in this new light - as my very own Garden of Eden, and remember what a blessing and privilege it is to be able to enter in.
2 Nephi 2: 19
And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth.
And I read this from Joseph Fielding McConkie, (Gospel Symbolism, p. 258):
"The events associated with the Garden of Eden make it the archetype of our temples. Here Adam received the priesthood, here Adam and Eve walked and talked with God; here our first parents were eternally married by God himself; here they learned of the tree of good and evil and of the tree of life; here they were taught the law of sacrifice and clothed in garments of skin; and from here they ventured into the lone and dreary world that they and their posterity might prove themselves worthy to return again to that divine presence."
Now that its been pointed out to me I'm wondering why I never made the connection before - its so very obvious! But nevertheless, last night, for me, this was an "Ah ha!!!" moment. The Temple is our very own Garden of Eden! Unlike Adam and Eve who were not allowed to return to the Garden, we are able to return to our own Garden of Eden, the temples, whenever we want, according to our worthiness. Its our job then to prove worthy while in the lone and dreary world so that we may enter again. Isn't awesome to think of the temple as our very own Garden of Eden; a place where not only do we make sacred covenants with the Lord, but we can also escape the lone and dreary world with all of its noise and chaos and filth. It is there where we can find answers, inspiration, peace and comfort.
It reminds me of a quote from President Hinkley:
"In this noisy, bustling, competitive world, what a privilege it is to have a sacred house where we may experience the sanctifying influence of the Spirit of the Lord."
I love the temple and the immediate feeling of peace and joy I receive every time I enter. Nate and I are planning to attend the temple next week with the other members of the Elders Quorum Presidency along with their wives. As we enter in and serve there, I'm going to try and view the temple in this new light - as my very own Garden of Eden, and remember what a blessing and privilege it is to be able to enter in.
Monday, February 16, 2009
A Brief Post About Children
This evening we accompanied my extended family to the Draper Utah Temple Open House. We were handed a brochure to help guide us on the tour and on the front is printed the message: "We hope you find peace and inspiration during your visit here." I chuckled out loud when I read it for the first time later tonight because our own experience was anything but peaceful and inspirational.
Even though my kids are too young to remember this trip (both under age 3), I know they are not too young to form impressions about spiritual experiences or to begin learning about the importance of temples and family. I knew they would learn from our enthusiasm and excitement that we were in a special place with special people. So I thought it would be a good idea to take them along.
We picked a really great night to go to the open house. I know this because thousands of other people picked the very same time. We waited much longer than we were prepared to wait. Our scheduled time was 4:00pm but we didn't actually begin our tour until 5:30 or later. About 15 minutes into the tour my toddler had had enough. So my husband had to fight the crowded temple halls against traffic, searching for a way out of an unfamiliar building with my son screaming at the top of his lungs the whole time. Nate said it took him about twenty minutes to get out (poor guy). Anyway, I finished up the tour with my baby girl and the rest of my family members. It was a beautiful, beautiful temple and I'm so grateful I got to tour it, even if it wasn't how I'd imagined it. Anyway when all was said and done, Mom, Dad and kids were pretty tired and stressed and it was probably not the spiritual teaching moment I had hoped for. There's no denying that with children come many difficult challenges, but tremendous blessings as well.
One of the most touching accounts in all the scriptures, to me, is in 3 Nephi when Christ blesses the children and then the angels come and minister to them. As a mother, I can imagine no greater blessing than to have the Savior himself personally minister to my own children. Our Savior loves our little ones so much. The words he spoke and blessed them with were so great they could not be recorded. He wept, he loved them so much. And as a mother, I know why.
The reason I'm writing this post tonight is that I'm so grateful to belong to a church that values children because I certainly value mine. I'm so grateful to be their mother. I'm grateful also to know that there are seasons in life and that while this season may be a difficult one, it will pass and I will actually miss my children being so small. I love to have them with me and I miss them when we're apart. I'm just so grateful for those two precious little miracles sound asleep in their beds upstairs.
They are idols of hearts and of households!
They are angels of God in disguise;
The sunlight still sleeps in their tresses,
His glory still gleams in their eyes;
These truants from home and from Heaven,
They have made me more gentle and mild;
And I know now how Jesus could liken
The kingdom of God to a child.
- Charles Dickens
Even though my kids are too young to remember this trip (both under age 3), I know they are not too young to form impressions about spiritual experiences or to begin learning about the importance of temples and family. I knew they would learn from our enthusiasm and excitement that we were in a special place with special people. So I thought it would be a good idea to take them along.
We picked a really great night to go to the open house. I know this because thousands of other people picked the very same time. We waited much longer than we were prepared to wait. Our scheduled time was 4:00pm but we didn't actually begin our tour until 5:30 or later. About 15 minutes into the tour my toddler had had enough. So my husband had to fight the crowded temple halls against traffic, searching for a way out of an unfamiliar building with my son screaming at the top of his lungs the whole time. Nate said it took him about twenty minutes to get out (poor guy). Anyway, I finished up the tour with my baby girl and the rest of my family members. It was a beautiful, beautiful temple and I'm so grateful I got to tour it, even if it wasn't how I'd imagined it. Anyway when all was said and done, Mom, Dad and kids were pretty tired and stressed and it was probably not the spiritual teaching moment I had hoped for. There's no denying that with children come many difficult challenges, but tremendous blessings as well.
One of the most touching accounts in all the scriptures, to me, is in 3 Nephi when Christ blesses the children and then the angels come and minister to them. As a mother, I can imagine no greater blessing than to have the Savior himself personally minister to my own children. Our Savior loves our little ones so much. The words he spoke and blessed them with were so great they could not be recorded. He wept, he loved them so much. And as a mother, I know why.
The reason I'm writing this post tonight is that I'm so grateful to belong to a church that values children because I certainly value mine. I'm so grateful to be their mother. I'm grateful also to know that there are seasons in life and that while this season may be a difficult one, it will pass and I will actually miss my children being so small. I love to have them with me and I miss them when we're apart. I'm just so grateful for those two precious little miracles sound asleep in their beds upstairs.
They are idols of hearts and of households!
They are angels of God in disguise;
The sunlight still sleeps in their tresses,
His glory still gleams in their eyes;
These truants from home and from Heaven,
They have made me more gentle and mild;
And I know now how Jesus could liken
The kingdom of God to a child.
- Charles Dickens
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A Satisfactory Explanation
I've often contemplated the reason why people who leave the Church are never just neutral after they leave. This is of course, a generalization, but most seem to be very anti-Mormon and even go so far as to fight against the church rather than adopting a "live and let live" attitude towards it. I've come up with my own various theories and feel I have a pretty good understanding of why that is, but I've never had a completely satisfactory answer; an answer that I could give to someone else if they wondered the same thing. Tonight, I came across something that seems to have nailed it on the head, at least for me.
The scripture reference comes from I Nephi 16:2 "...wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center." And in verse 3, "And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us."
This all comes about after Nephi has explained his father's vision of the tree of life to his brothers. The brothers, as usual, "took the truth to be hard" and this was Nephi's response to their murmurings against their father, the Prophet.
Now, here's the satisfactory explanation: "The nature of men has ever been the same. Characteristically the righteous rejoice in the word of God, while the wicked are offended with it. Wickedness and truth are no more compatible than light and darkness. Those who leave the Church, clothed in deeds of darkness, find it difficult to leave the Church alone. All too often they are found attempting to expose the Church or demean its doctrines - activities necessitated by their guilt, for they realize that if the Church is true they are servants of darkness and must needs repent." (Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet, pg. 122)
This is the part that really hit me: "...They realize that if the Church is true they are servants of darkness and must needs repent." There you have it.
It reminds me of a web site I stumbled upon while preparing a lesson last month. It was basically a blog for LDS people who feel like they don't really fit the mold, I guess, to find companionship or understanding. But to me, really it seemed like just a forum for people to air their griefs or complaints against the Church. It bothered me so much that these intelligent people were wasting so much time tearing apart doctrines and documents, looking for those little loopholes that would prove the Prophets were wrong this time or that; looking for a justification for their murmurings against the Prophets now. It seemed so very arrogant and proud of them to say basically "because this doesn't sit right with me, because this is a hard thing the Prophet has asked of us, it must be wrong."
I feel sad that they don't feel they fit in but at the same time I wondered how much a site like that is helping anyone's testimony to grow at all? Seems to me if the same effort were spent searching the scriptures (modern and ancient), for Gospel truths they would be so much more satisfied with what they found there than with any answers that a blog could offer them. And it really got under my skin for quite a while. I just couldn't understand why people who claim to love the Church and the Prophet would establish and support a blog dedicated to trying to discredit the servants of the Lord. What do they think it will profit them? Why do they seek to tear it down or disprove it? Here's the answer: "If the Church is true, they are servants of darkness and must needs repent." We never like being told we're in the wrong. Never. The wicked have always taken the truth to be hard. I hope I will always be able to recognize that my shortcomings in the Gospel are my own and not the fault of the Lord's servants. And I hope I will always be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost that testifies of truth.
It is such a blessing to live in a dispensation where I am able to hear the voice of the Lord through his servants. It is also a blessing to have the agency to choose whether or not to follow that council. I'm truly grateful for my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The scripture reference comes from I Nephi 16:2 "...wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center." And in verse 3, "And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us."
This all comes about after Nephi has explained his father's vision of the tree of life to his brothers. The brothers, as usual, "took the truth to be hard" and this was Nephi's response to their murmurings against their father, the Prophet.
Now, here's the satisfactory explanation: "The nature of men has ever been the same. Characteristically the righteous rejoice in the word of God, while the wicked are offended with it. Wickedness and truth are no more compatible than light and darkness. Those who leave the Church, clothed in deeds of darkness, find it difficult to leave the Church alone. All too often they are found attempting to expose the Church or demean its doctrines - activities necessitated by their guilt, for they realize that if the Church is true they are servants of darkness and must needs repent." (Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet, pg. 122)
This is the part that really hit me: "...They realize that if the Church is true they are servants of darkness and must needs repent." There you have it.
It reminds me of a web site I stumbled upon while preparing a lesson last month. It was basically a blog for LDS people who feel like they don't really fit the mold, I guess, to find companionship or understanding. But to me, really it seemed like just a forum for people to air their griefs or complaints against the Church. It bothered me so much that these intelligent people were wasting so much time tearing apart doctrines and documents, looking for those little loopholes that would prove the Prophets were wrong this time or that; looking for a justification for their murmurings against the Prophets now. It seemed so very arrogant and proud of them to say basically "because this doesn't sit right with me, because this is a hard thing the Prophet has asked of us, it must be wrong."
I feel sad that they don't feel they fit in but at the same time I wondered how much a site like that is helping anyone's testimony to grow at all? Seems to me if the same effort were spent searching the scriptures (modern and ancient), for Gospel truths they would be so much more satisfied with what they found there than with any answers that a blog could offer them. And it really got under my skin for quite a while. I just couldn't understand why people who claim to love the Church and the Prophet would establish and support a blog dedicated to trying to discredit the servants of the Lord. What do they think it will profit them? Why do they seek to tear it down or disprove it? Here's the answer: "If the Church is true, they are servants of darkness and must needs repent." We never like being told we're in the wrong. Never. The wicked have always taken the truth to be hard. I hope I will always be able to recognize that my shortcomings in the Gospel are my own and not the fault of the Lord's servants. And I hope I will always be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost that testifies of truth.
It is such a blessing to live in a dispensation where I am able to hear the voice of the Lord through his servants. It is also a blessing to have the agency to choose whether or not to follow that council. I'm truly grateful for my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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