Life and Liberty

            This week I had the chance to visit some good friends and we shared with them a message given by President Eyring. President Eyring brought up a teaching of the prophet Joseph Smith, “Satan has power over us only to the degree that we permit him.” As I thought about this more, I remembered a scripture from the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:27.

27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

We are able to choose our path in this life and we can choose between right and wrong. We are able to choose life and liberty because of our Savior Jesus Christ. He made it possible for us to be able to receive forgiveness and for us to live again and become resurrected. We can choose life and liberty by following Christ’s teachings. Not choosing sin will keep us from being bound by Satan to experience his misery. By choosing to live Christ’s teaching, we will experience joy and peace in this life and in the next.

Counsel to Shiblon

In Alma chapter 38, Alma is giving counsel to his son Shiblon. He says the following to him in verses 4 and 5:

4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.

5 And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

This verse is important to me because Alma recognizes that Shiblon endured his trials with patience because the Lord was with him. We face trials every day, sometimes small and sometimes big, and to me it seems like patience is the first thing that goes while during a trial. What I like so much about these verses is that we are shown that trials can be born with patience if the Lord is with us. I believe the first step in having the Lord with us or His Spirit with us is to pray and ask for it. We could pray and ask for patience in the hard time and we will be given strength, just like Shiblon, to make it through with a positive outlook and eternal perspective.

Seek to Know Thee

Today I want to talk about the conversion of a Lamanite king in the Book of Mormon. He had been humbled and was being taught the gospel by Aaron, a Nephite missionary. After Aaron taught him about the fall of Adam, the scriptures, the plan of redemption, and Jesus Christ, the king said:

Alma 22:15 …What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.

Like this Lamanite king, many of us have felt this desire to have the wicked spirit rooted out of us. We all want to be filled with joy and have our guilt taken away. Aaron continues to explain to the king that he must repent of all his sins and bow down before God and call on his name in faith. The Lamanite king does as Aaron says and expresses to God that he will give away all his sins to know Him. This is one of my favorite passages in the Book of Mormon because it shows us the true feelings of a conversion to God. It causes me to ponder on my own conversion and commitment to God. Am I will to give away all my sins to know him? Am I willing to give up all that I possess? I know that as we seek to know Jesus Christ, we will feel more of His love and have an inner peace and hope that will carry us through our life on earth.