I was reading a book about the travels of Lehi from the point that they left Jerusalem until they sailed to the Americas. The authors spent years and years in following the passages written by Nephi to chart the course that the family took in the desert wilderness. Besides the fact that I highly recommend the book because it is a fun read along with informative, it has also given me insight into another way to apply the scriptures to our lives. They paid attention to every detail, for example “the tree” would give a different clue then “a tree”. “The tree” is referring to a specific tree whereas “a tree” could be any tree. I decided to use this exact process to understand a verse of the Book of Mormon that stood out to me during my morning prayers and scriptures. I took each word that I felt was important, and tried to understand that word independently, then put it all together it gives an increased understanding to the verse.
Mosiah 7:33 But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.
Ye: meaning YOU! The Lord is talking directly to me. He is talking directly to you, or whoever is reading the scriptures. They are written for the one. I believe this is because YOU can only control yourself, your actions and reactions. It’s not necessary to worry about the Lord’s council to others, or how they act or react to it. As we read this verse and really all the scriptures we need to focus on what the Lord is telling us, individually and independently. I do think he gives instructions for those that we have jurisdiction over, like our family. Mostly for help to know how we can help a situation or how to approach a problem. Once again coming back to being specific for you.
“Each of you matter. The Savior knows you and loves you. If you wonder if that is true, you need only contemplate that He has “graven [you] upon the palms of [His] hands.” -Bonnie H. Cordon
Turn: means to change direction while moving. Which is a perfect description of “turning to the Lord.” Life doesn’t stop for us to be able to realign, we have to be able to turn while in motion. This is a constant everyday exercise. I do believe we become stronger as we practice turning in the right direction. Unfortunately the other muscles can also be strengthened if we practice turning away from the Lord. It’s our choice what we practice. It takes a mental decision to turn to the Lord. The fact that we are easily distracted in life reminds me of cutting my boys hair. They cannot sit still. It’s crazy. I have to realign their head every few seconds, even when I can’t see anything distracting around them, they seem to be distracted. We are similar, the world is full of distractions to keep us looking and moving in the wrong direction. We just have to be constantly turning away from sin. Turning towards our priorities, turning around our attitudes, turning on the light and turning on positivity.
“Few things sponsor spiritual growth more than studying from the scriptures. The Savior said, “He that hath the scriptures, let him search them, and see. …” (3 Ne. 10:14.) The Lord has promised that if you will search, you shall see marvelous spiritual truths that will persuade you to turn to Christ as your great exemplar. You will be strengthened in your desire to make covenants with the Lord, to receive the ordinances, and to serve. Alma taught a great principle when he said to Helaman, “My son, … see that ye look to God and live.” (Alma 37:47.)” -A. Theodore Tuttle
Who exactly ate we turning towards ? The Lord: Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer, Our Savior, His is our direction of light. He is our Shepherd who will not only lead us, but seek after us if we make a wrong choice and become lost. He is our advocate who understand with perfect compassion all that we face here in mortality. He is the Lamb of God, willingly sacrificed for us. He is the mediator who will help mercy and justice meet perfectly for our salvation. He is the rock upon which if we build we cannot fall. He is the ultimate example to assist us through life.
Helaman 5:12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
Full: means complete, without space. When we “are full” with God, we are filled to the rim with goodness and are engaged in His work.
Purpose: the reason we exist. How perfect is that. Our purpose comes from God and without it we are left lacking in existence. We are just merely being. Purpose in God gives us the determination and enthusiasm we need to be steadfast and immovable. It’s the divine source of motivation.
“The feeling of peace and the desire to be faithful to the commandment given by the Lord through the modern prophet helps us feel the Holy Spirit, … to not be afraid, and to see that the signs of the time for the Second Coming of the Lord is a blessing and not something to fear. We rejoice in it. … It gives us the motivation to be faithful and endure to the end and to be saved and obtain eternal life.” -Keith B. McMullin
Heart: Center of ones thoughts and actions. It’s the source of love and compassion. When we give our heart to the Savior we are filled with charity, because our thoughts and actions align with His.
“Jesus explained that “the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). We have the seed of the gospel word. It is up to each of us to set the priorities and to do the things that make our soil good and our harvest plentiful. We must seek to be firmly rooted and converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ (see Colossians 2:6–7). We achieve this conversion by praying, by scripture reading, by serving, and by regularly partaking of the sacrament to always have His Spirit to be with us. We must also seek that mighty change of heart (see Alma 5:12–14) that replaces evil desires and selfish concerns with the love of God and the desire to serve Him and His children.” -Dallin H. Oaks
Trust: to have a firm belief in something with assurance and confidence. To have faith. As we trust God we can be confident that our direction is reliable, which removes all the pressures from ourselves.
“God’s love is complete and without limit for you and for all mankind. He is perfectly just and merciful. He is perfectly kind and understands your circumstances and condition. He knows you better than you know yourself.
Because your Heavenly Father is perfect, you can have complete faith in Him. You can trust Him.” -Joseph B. Wirthlin
Serve Him: the scriptures say that the way to serve God is to serve others. Serve means to perform duties for a person or organization. As we minister to others, finding ways to assist them, succoring then with sympathy, we are in the service of our God. It is the greatest form of gratitude for all he gives us. (Which is everything)
Mathew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto
All: used to emphasize the whole quantity. Nothing reserved or held back. Without justification.
“When we’re desperate to grow into the people God needs us to be, we may realize that an unnecessary burden is holding us back. That burden may be spiritual pain, which always accompanies bad choices and unrepented sin. The truth is that unrepented sin is like a magnet for more sin! So, if you need to repent, start now. When we, like King Lamoni’s father, want to give up all of our sins (even our favorite sins), then procrastination falls away, embarrassment flees, and we are willing, even eager, to go–actually, we feel like running–to our bishop for the help we need to truly repent.” -Wendy Watson Nelson
Diligence: careful and persistent work or effort. When we diligently seek him, we stay at it, we don’t give up. When the going gets tough, we get going. It’s in our small daily efforts that we accomplish greatness in the eyes of the Lord.
Mosiah 4:27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.
Mind: the element divinely given to us to enable us to be aware of the world around us and our experiences. It gives us the capacity to feel and to think for ourselves. It governs our ability to act and not just be acted upon. As we use our mind to understand and engage in the work of the Lord we are able to tap into the powers of heaven. Our comprehension of the eternities and the understanding of our role are all possible with the use of our minds as they turn to Christ. Spiritual gifts are developed and orchestrated through this same use of the mind combined with the powers of heaven, giving us discernment, perception, righteous judgement, and intelligence.
Mathew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
His will: not our own ways, but that of Gods. The Lord’s Will is always what’s best for us. If we put him first he puts us first, even if with the glasses of mortality we can’t perceive that, we must trust him to know what we need for our eternal growth. His will encompasses beyond the veil, beyond this life, and beyond our understanding.
“Let it be understood by all that Jesus Christ stands at the head of this church which bears His sacred name. He is watching over it. He is guiding it. Standing at the right hand of His Father, He directs this work. His is the prerogative, the power, the option to call men in His way to high and sacred offices and to release them according to His will by calling them home. He is the Master of life and death. I do not worry about the circumstances in which we find ourselves. I accept these circumstances as an expression of His will. I likewise accept the responsibility, …to do all we can to move forward this holy work in a spirit of consecration, love, humility, duty, and loyalty.” -Gordon B. Hinckley
Pleasure: a feeling of satisfaction. Which when we listen and trust then our Heavenly Father is filled with with joy. I know this from being a parent myself. When my children follow what I teach them it is absolutely pleasure. I can’t explain the despair when the opposite takes place
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Bondage: a state of being a slave. We can become slaves to our credit cards or live above our means, our bills become our masters. We can become slaves to image, if we pay attention to the world. Sins definitely enslave us with captivating chains of the adversary, through addiction, guilt, and temporary pleasure. We can feel in bondage when trials of financial hit, loss of loved ones, or during illness. Bondage can be the heavy burden of persecution. Bondage is anything that has a dominating effect on our state of mind, body, or heart.
Ether 2:12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ
Mosiah 7:33 But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.
Now when reading that same verse, feel the intensity and understanding increase as well as your resolve to “turn” to the Lord with full purpose of heart, mind, and soul. He’s been doing this long enough and he knows us good enough to know that we will have to constantly be turning away from distractions, turning off negativity and turning towards him. He has given us all the necessary tools we need when turning feels impossible. I believe it is the constant realigning that helps us become fully committed. There’s a point in our conversion when we understand that there’s not enough room for Babylon and Zion. As we commit to the Lord fully we find out that we thought we were filling a cup when in reality it’s a never ending gallon bucket, that the Lord overfills with peace, assurance and joy. This process develops trust in the Lord, and we are able to give him our lives, knowing that he will lead us safely through mortality and back home. With our hearts and minds centered in Christ we desire to serve our neighbors diligently, in gratitude for all that we have. With the abundance of joy that our Heavenly Father feels as he watches us put our lives in His hands, he puts forth His full effort to lighten our loads, soften our struggles, and help us overcome our weaknesses.
-Sherri Jorgensen
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