When we want Him to speak to us...

My soul delighteth in the scriptures

Twitter posts

School has started, schedules are being realigned and I am hoping to get my blogging schedule back online.  I haven't been slacking off, I have just been posting a lot of my scripture study on Twitter.  I recently got back onto Twitter after quite a long absence.  I got annoyed with all the spamming, so I quit going there.  Recently I started a new account with a spiritual focus, and I am enjoying that a LOT more!  There are many Tweeters there who are sharing wonderful, uplifting quotes, scriptures, thoughts, ideas and testimonies!  I love it.

This year I am reading through the Book of Mormon, focusing on the attribute of mercy (read here and here) and recently I started posting on Twitter each day about something I have focused on during my scripture reading each day.  It has been great!

Here are a few examples:

I am focusing on mercy, but I am also enjoying seeing all the other gems that are on each of the pages of the Book of Mormon!  (If you would like a free copy of my favorite book, click HERE!!)  In this one, Alma is teaching his son that the only way we can be saved is through Jesus Christ.  He tells him to go teach this truth to others, and he then describes to him how to do it.  Be bold, but don't force it on anyone.  When we teach, it should be because we love those we are teaching!  Be up and about it!!

I love the footnotes!! So much knowledge to be had there! Here we understand what Alma meant by "cross yourself". Practice self-mastery. We cannot expect a perfect, sinless Jesus Christ to have carried his cross for us, and it be that easy. We have to be worthy of that incredible gift. We have to share some of the load and show our appreciation for Christ's Atonement by refraining from sin. 3 Nephi 12:30 says: "For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell." Matthew 10:38 says: "And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me."

This scripture in Alma 40:26 struck me as I realized that it plainly states that if we do not repent of our sins, we will drink our portion of the bitter cup that Christ drank for us in the Garden of Gethsemane.

These two tweets show the study I have been doing on the attribute of mercy.  I especially like that the Plan of Salvation is also referred to as the Plan of Mercy!!

This last tweet is from this morning.  There is a LOT going on in the book of Alma.  Lots of wars.  Many people question why the Lord would have Mormon add so many chapters on war into the Book of Mormon.  There was so little room, so why add all that.  I have discovered in the last few times through, that the Lord is showing us how to over come evil.  AND, it is okay to use stratagem to do it!  First of all, the Nephites were prepared because they were in full armor.  They sent spies out to see where the enemy was going.  They asked the prophet where they should go, and then they followed his counsel.  We can fight evil by putting on the whole armor of God, we can pay attention to what we are seeing and hearing on the radio and television, etc., and head it off by turning it off, leaving the theater, putting down the book, magazine, etc..  We can pay attention to the newest trends in technology and shield our children (and ourselves) from the things that will lead them astray.  And, we can follow the prophet, which means listening to his counsel, and then FOLLOWING IT!  The Nephites, as soon as they heard the word of the Lord from Alma, they acted upon it!

So many marvelous blessings found in the scriptures!!

(You can follow me on Twitter at @LTNehring  #scripture study)

Ideas that come to our minds

I have spent the last few weeks studying for several certifications that I was taking to improve my job.  Because of the time that I had to spend studying for these certification exams, I was able to do little more than my daily scripture study.  I am grateful that I am done with the tests, for now, so that I can get back to my habit of deeper study in the scriptures.

Last week, as I was teaching the Gospel Principles class, I had a really neat experience where the Lord put thoughts and ideas into my mind as I taught, that were of great benefit to the class, and to me as well.  I love having those experiences, and it is always a testimony to me of how, as we study the scriptures, the Lord can use the knowledge that we have gained from our study to bring new knowledge and understanding to our lives.

(image source)

Our lesson last week was Chapter 15: The Lord's Covenant People.  We were starting to talk about the Abrahamic Covenant and I asked the class members to tell me what they knew about Abraham, other than the story of Abraham and Isaac.  I got answers like, he paid tithes to Melchizedek, he was married to Sarah, etc..  One of the missionaries said that his name used to be something else.  I agreed and said that Abraham's name used to be Abram, and the Lord changed it.

I began to go into more detail about Abraham's name change, and I talked about how the Lord often changes people's names when He makes covenants with them.  I said that it was symbolic of the change from the person they used to be to the person that they become as they keep the covenant.  Saul became Paul, Jacob became Israel, the converted Lamanites became the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's, etc..

As I was speaking, I questioned myself in my mind why I was spending so much of the lesson talking about a name change.  

A few minutes later, we read the scripture in Galatians 3:26-29, which talks about how as we are baptized we are adopted into the lineage of Abraham, "by accepting and living the gospel of Jesus Christ."

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

"And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."

As we read this, a clear and radiant thought came to my mind, and I immediately understood why the Lord had prompted me to focus on the name change.

As I explained the scripture to the class, I asked what we promise, or covenant, to do when we are baptized.  I got several answers, but the one I was waiting for was, we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Christ.  "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."  (Emphasis added)  When we make the covenant with God to be baptized, we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, always remember Him, and keep His commandments.  In return Heavenly Father promises that we will always have His spirit to be with us.  (Sacrament prayer: Moroni 4:3)

We promise to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ!  As we make this covenant, we effectively change our names to the name of Jesus Christ.  It is symbolic of the change from the person we used to be to the person that we can become as we keep the covenant.

As I said that, a look of enlightenment came across the faces of the class members.  I LOVE that look!!  When the understanding of God is poured out upon our minds and the Spirit confirms that it is true!  I love epiphanic moments like that!  It is wonderful!  I know that thought didn't come from me.  I was just as enlightened as the class members were!  

Frequently, people come up to me after class and thank me for what I taught that day.  I know that Heavenly Father has blessed me with spiritual gifts, including the gift of teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, but I always tell them, "That wasn't me!  You were taught by the spirit of God."  I also know that without my study of the scriptures, I would not have the foundation of knowledge and revelation that the Lord needs to inspire thoughts and ideas like that, those that uplift and guide us to a deeper, more personal, understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and our place in it.  

"Oh, it is wonderful!!  Wonderful to me!"  (Hymn 193 "I Stand All Amazed")