Standing Alone

It is ironic that as members of the Church, sometimes we are the most lost and confused people.  When trials arise it is easy to let Satan get us down by making us feel like we are 1 person against the world.  In preparing for my lesson in Sunday School tomorrow I came across a few things that might be able to help us combat that feeling of loneliness.

I was reading in Alma 23-24 about the Anti-Nephi Lehies and how they stood up for what they believed even though the Lamanites were coming to kill them.  The were truly converted to the gospel and so they knew they had to defend their beliefs even if that meant dying to avoid what they had promised not to do.  In our lives we often find that we have to defend our faith to others.  Hopefully you do a better job of that than I do.  I do not deny my beliefs, but sometimes I walk small until the threat has passed.  I guess it is because I am scared to stand up and be alone.

President Thomas S. Monson has two excellent talks that deal with this issue.  I quote first from a talk called "May You Have Courage" from the April 2009 Relief Society session of General Conference:

"As I contemplate all that you face in the world today, one word comes to my mind.  It describes an attribute needed by all of us but one which you - at this time of your life and in this world - will need particularly.  That attribute is courage."

"My final plea tonight is that you have the courage to stand firm for truth and righteousness.  Because the trend in society today is away from the values and principles the Lord has given us, you will almost certainly be called upon to defend that which you believe.  Unless the roots of your testimony are firmly planted, it will be difficult for you to withstand the ridicule of those who challenge your faith.  When firmly planted, your testimony of the gospel, of the Savior, and of our Heavenly Father will influence all that you do throughout your life.  The adversary would like nothing better than for you to allow derisive comments and criticism of the Church to cause you to question and doubt.  Your testimony, when constantly nourished, will keep you safe."

 These comments from President Monson helped me realized how I can get some of that courage.  The stronger my testimony, the more courage I will have.  President Monson also tells a story in the October 2011 Priesthood session of General Conference in a talk called "Dare to Stand Alone" that helped me realize that even when we think we are alone, we really aren't.  I would paraphrase it, but for you ladies who may not have had the chance to hear it, I have quoted it:

"Navy boot camp was not an easy experience for me, nor for anyone who endured it.  For the first three weeks I was convinced my life was in jeopardy.  The navy wasn't trying to train me; it was trying to kill me.

I shall ever remember when Sunday rolled around after the first week.  We received welcome news from the chief petty officer.  Standing at attention on the drill ground in a brisk California breeze, we heard his command: 'Today everybody goes to church - everybody, that is, except for me.  I am going to relax!'  Then he shouted, 'All of you Catholics, you meet in Camp Decatur - and don't come back until three o'clock.  Forward, march!'  A rather sizeable contingent moved out.  Then he barked out his next command: 'Those of you who are Jewish, you meet in Camp Henry - and don't come back until three o'clock.  Forward, march!'  A somewhat smaller contingent marched out.  Then he said, 'The rest of you Protestants, you meet in the theaters at Camp Farragut - and don't come back until three o'clock.  Forward, march!'

Instantly there flashed through my mind the though, 'Monson, you are not a Catholic; you are not a Jew; you are not a Protestant.  You are a Mormon, so you just stand here!'  I can assure you that I felt completely alone.  Courageous and determined, yes - but alone.

And then I heard the sweetest words I ever heard that chief petty officer utter.  He looked in my direction and asked, 'And just what do you guys call yourselves?'  Until that very moment I had not realized that anyone was standing beside me or behind me on the drill ground.  Almost in unison, each of us replied, 'Mormons!'  It is difficult to describe the joy that filled my heart as I turned around and saw a handful of other sailors."

 I am reminded of an experience I had when I was probably about 14 years old in church.  We were having a combined lesson and a great leader of mine named Donny Helvey was teaching it.  At one point he asked if any of us had the courage to stand up for Christ.  He challenged the crowd to prove their devotion to Christ right then and there.  I remember feeling chills.  I knew that I believed in Christ and had a testimony, but my stomach shrunk and I couldn't make myself do anything but sit there and look at everyone else awkwardly.  It felt like forever, but in reality it was only seconds before a young man named Jake Hyer stood straight up and bore a short, devoted testimony of Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.  The Spirit was so strong at that moment and lingered throughout the rest of the lesson.  It made me think really hard about myself.  If I could not even get up in Church, a safe place, and proclaim my love for the Savior and the gospel, how would I be able to do it as a missionary or to my friends or my future children?  Since then, I have found a lot of strength in the truth that President Monson later pointed in his 2011 "Dare to Stand Alone" talk:

"May we ever be courageous and prepared to stand for what we believe, and if we must stand alone in the process, may we do so courageously, strengthened by the knowledge that in reality we are never alone when we stand with our Father in Heaven."

One of my favorite quotes of all time is from President Holland's April 2009 General Conference talk called "None Were With Him" and it applies here:

". . . because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so."

 I hope that we can all find strength in one another and not be ashamed of what should be the uncontesably most important thing in our lives.  I am never alone; neither are you.

The River Sidon

I was reading in my scriptures today in the first part of Alma.  Not even five years had passed since the death of King Mosiah and already a man had risen up to fight against the establishment of the judges.  Amlici was so desperate to defeat the Nephites that he made deals with the Lamanites.  These two huge armies clashed multiple times, leaving tens of thousands dead on both sides.  In Alma 3:3 it says the following:

"And now as many of the Lamanites and the Amlicites who had been slain upon the bank of the river Sidon were cast into the waters of Sidon; and behold their bones are in the depths of the sea, and they are many."

I can only imagine how many bodies were put into the water.  Eventually, the Nephites succeed in driving the opposing armies out of the land of Zarahemla.  The following year, the great loss of people, flocks, and fields caused the people to remember the Lord and there was a massive number of people wishing to be baptized into the church.  In Alma 4:4 is says this:

"And they began to establish the church more fully; yea, and many were baptized in the waters of Sidon and were joined to the church of God; yea, they were baptized by the hand of Alma, who had been consecrated the high priest over the people of the church, by the hand of his father Alma."

My first thought when I read this was "Ew, gross.  I would not want to be baptized in that river."  My next though, little better, was "The memory of what happened in that river would taint my baptism if I were to be baptized there.  It is an unholy place."  I stopped reading for a moment and considered this and that is when the spirit decided to speak to me.  He told me that it doesn't matter what has happened in the past, Christ has the power to take anything and change it to serve him as he sees fit.  Of course, I am no longer talking about the river, I am speaking of us.  The Atonement has the changing power to reverse anything in our lives that keeps us from reaching our potential.  I am talking about sin, but I am also talking about using our talents improperly or not using them at all, distractions we all have, and other things that hinder us in our journey for eternal life.  If those Nephites had dwelt on the wars of the previous year and focused on the negative aspects, they never would have come closer to God as they did.

It is our responsibility to come to Christ, his responsibility to change us, and then together we can make forward progress.

Poor in Spirit

Today in Sunday School we were reading Mosiah 4 where King Benjamin is speaking to the people about the Atonement of Christ.  At one point he talks about the way we should treat the poor around us.  We did not discuss this in class, but in my own mind I had a few tangents that I would like to share.

Starting in verse 16 of chapter 4 King Benjamin begins talking about the way we should treat the poor.  Frankly, he asks us to be free with what we have and not hold back anything.  King Benjamin was talking about the physical care of these people, but I began to think of the spiritually poor people that are around us every day.  Sometimes I am the one who is spiritually poor.

Verse 16 ". . . ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish."  It is one thing to perish physically, but Christ has overcome that and given it to us as an automatic gift for choosing to come to Earth.  To die spiritually is something much harder to recover from.

We need to share the spirit that we have with others around us all the time.  I thought of the analogy of filling buckets.  Whenever we interact with others, we should be building them up and letting the love of God into their lives, not taking spirituality out of their buckets by driving the spirit out of their lives.  If we aren't doing this, they may drift farther and farther away from God.  I also thought of something I learned back in my Seminary days.  Our testimonies are candles.  When we share our testimony with others we light their candle but by lighting their candle we did not diminish ours in any way.  It is the same with the spirit.  When we share the spirit, that doesn't mean that we personally have any less of it.  In fact, our candles burn brighter than before. 

I can be the person who makes another person's day better.  I know that some days I am the one who needs my bucket filled, but if I spend my time filling the buckets of others I believe that I will turn around and realize that somebody has been filling mine.