It Matters What He Says

I have a three year old and a two year old who don't much love to pay attention to what I say.  Unless they are prefaced with "do you want a treat" or some other display of bribery or extreme threat, my words do not have much impact on my children.  Oh my, it is frustrating!  I often find myself telling them  that "What I say matters!"  They don't yet much think it does, but it does.  I love them.  I want them to be happy.  I want them to learn wonderful things.  I want them to have fun.  I want them to be well-adjusted.  I want them to be kind.  I want them to be obedient.  I want them to be responsible.  I want for my kids the things that most parents want for them.  I try to teach them and to guide them to these ends, but my words fall on uninterested ears.  But truly, what I say to them does matter.  If they would listen and obey, they would be so much the better for it.  If they would listen to and do the things I tell them, they would realize that the daily life I'd love to provide for them would, in and of itself, be bribe enough!  But they don't, and so instead of doing fun, interesting, and exciting things, we instead spend much of our time trying to just break even at the end of the day.  (Yes, I know there are all sorts of posts out there about disciplining kids and getting them to listen...we're trying, but not there!)  So, as I say over and over again that "what I say matters," I am reminded that just as what I say matters to my kids, what my Heavenly Father says matters to me.  I need to be listening and doing.

Today I read 1 Nephi 3:18 in The Book of Mormon, and my heart caught on this part of the verse:

"Wherefore, if my father should dwell in the land after he hath been commanded to flee out of the land, behold, he would also perish."

To put things in context, the sons of Lehi have returned to Jerusalem to obtain their family's genealogy (written on brass plates) from Laban, and Laban has shut them down.  They decided to try again, this time offering to purchase the brass plates with the gold, silver, and other valuable things Lehi had left in his Jerusalem home when he fled into the wilderness.  In verses 16-18, Nephi is explaining that the Lord had commanded Lehi to leave Jerusalem because Jerusalem was going to be destroyed.

So, back to verse 18.  It turns out that what the Lord told Lehi mattered.  It had real consequences attached to it:  obey God's word and obtain the Promised Land, or ignore God's word and perish.  Pretty serious business.  Good thing Lehi obeyed.  While it doesn't always seem like the promptings that we get from the Lord through the Holy Ghost are as significant as the commandment Lehi got to flee Jerusalem, or that the consequences of obedience or lack thereof are as serious, but at the end of the day, big or small, loud or soft, what God says matters.  He wants us to be happy.  He wants us to have fun.  He wants us to be successful.  He wants for us all the things - and more - that I want for my children.  Oh, how I hope I will respond to him how I strive to have my children respond to me, because what He says matters so much!

(In defense of my children, they are wonderful children.  They are just two and three and strong-willed and independent on top of that...I've got to cut them some slack, but keep working with them...)

Giving Chances

If you're familiar with The Book of Mormon, you are likely familiar with the story about Lehi asking Nephi to return to Jerusalem from the wilderness to obtain his family's genealogy from Laban, a distant relative.  Nephi's response to his father's request was indeed exemplary:

"I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."  1 Nephi 3:7

There is always much to learn from this scripture, such as the importance of willing obedience, and faith in the Lord's reasonableness, compassion, and power to do and provide all things.  I have read this verse countless times, and thought of it even more, grateful for the steady reminder of how I should be.

I have always focused my heart on Nephi's while reading this chapter of The Book of Mormon, but as I read this chapter yesterday, my attention was drawn for the first time to some of the messages conveyed by verse 5:

"And now, thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord."

Lehi asked Laman and Lemuel first.  There is so much talk in these chapters about Nephi being made a ruler and teacher over his brothers, that I think I have overlooked some of the instances in which Lehi gave Laman and Lemuel opportunities to step up and make right choices.  This is one of them.  Lehi knew that Nephi and Sam were willing and obedient - he could have gone straight to them.  Instead, though, he asked Laman and Lemuel first.  He gave them a chance to obey.  They didn't take it, but he offered it.  Yes, it is always easier to go with the sure bet; but, we should never forego an opportunity to allow someone to surprise us with their desire to obey, to contribute, to love.  Perhaps we'll get the response Lehi got (a hearty "no" delivered with vigilant protest), but on the off chance someone wants today to be the day they turn back to the Lord, isn't it worth giving them a chance?  I vote yes.

If Your Heart is Full...

I am a control freak and a worry wart, a combination that subjects me to heartache and pain on more than a rare occasion.  I recently re-read 1 Nephi 1:15, and was reminded of the powerful lesson I learned from that verse.  It speaks of Lehi following his vision of Christ, the apostles, and the book they gave him to read.  After the vision, Lehi was full of praise for God, and this verse says:

"his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him."

My heart caught hold of the phrase, "his whole heart was filled."  If my heart is filled with the glory and praise of God because of the truth and testimony that he has given to me, there will be no room for worry or hurt or wondering.  If it's full, there is no room left.  If it's full of goodness and glory, there is simply no room for the opposite.  What a motivating truth - I'd much rather have my heart full of praising and rejoicing, than the contrary!

A Safe Base

When I was a missionary in Russia, I had the opportunity of loving a young girl named Nadya.  Nadya and her family were new to the gospel, and full of desire to follow the Savior.  Nadya possessed a purity that made my heart tingle every time I saw her.  During one visit with the family, Nadya shared a favorite scripture with me:

"Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty!  Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!"  --Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:14

Yesterday, some twelve years after hearing Nadya share that verse, I began again the Book of Mormon, and again heard Nadya's voice as I read the verse.  Life is daunting.  Challenges abound.  It can be scary to think about approaching God, whether such fear emanates from our own feelings of unworthiness, or from our feelings of our nothingness before God.  God, however, notwithstanding his greatness, his power, his goodness, is filled with mercy and with love for us.  He wants us to approach him.  He wants us to include him in our lives.  Sweet Nadya taught me on that cold winter day long ago that God loves us and that he won't cause us to perish if we go to him - we can safely approach him.  On yesterday's cold winter day, I was reminded that not only will he not cause us to perish, but our only way to be safe is if we do approach him.  He is home base.  We can keep playing life's game of tag, running from or smack dab into challenges, temptations, sorrows, or heartaches, but we will have to keep running or perish, unless we keep touch on our base, our safety, our Savior.  As long as we go to Him, He will not allow us to perish.  He will save us from all that fights against us.  I am grateful beyond words for that, and so grateful that Nadya shared this verse with me, so that I cannot read it without feeling its truth and power.