Irreplaceable to Him by Autumn Dickson When I read Mormon, I feel as though I’m reading his journal. He had been commanded by Ammaron to find the records that had been hidden and add his own observations. These sacred writings were always meant to come to us, the House of Israel in the latter days, and yet, Mormon also seemed to simply write about his own experiences and life. Here is one of the things he expresses. Mormon 2:18 And upon the plates of Nephi I did make a full account of all the wickedness and abominations; but upon these plates I did forbear to make a full account of their wickedness and abominations, for behold, a continual scene of wickedness and abominations has been before mine eyes ever since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man. Throughout his life, Mormon saw the worst of the worst. He saw plenty of bloodshed on the battlefield, and he saw the utterly wasteful destruction of women and children to idols. He spoke about being forbidden to preach the gospel to his people. He talked about refusing to join them, about being an idle witness to all of the darkness. Mormon watched these things and yet, he continued to love them. Because he loved them, he suffered long. In this manner, Mormon is a type of Christ. Mormon as a type of Christ There are many ways in which Mormon is a type of Christ. He was quick to observe. He was obedient. He was prepared and sober. These are all incredible qualities that can teach us about Christ. However, there is one specific characteristic that I want to talk about that helps us really learn about our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Mormon’s love and long-suffering towards his people depict exactly how Christ feels about us. Think about each of the following actions, feelings, and thoughts from Mormon. How do we see Christ represented in each individual aspect? Mormon tried to preach to his people until he was forbidden to do so. He led his people and fortified their cities to the extent that he could. He got excited when they started to mourn because he hoped it would lead to their repentance, and he felt immense sorrow that they continued to harm themselves and others. He tried to encourage his people with great energy when they were facing off in battle. He stood with them against terrifying odds. He continued on fighting for them even though he knew the end. He refused to help them when they wanted to go to battle for the wrong reasons. He couldn’t help himself from praying for them, even though it was without faith because he knew they were choosing their own destruction. He delivered them from their enemies multiple times. He went back and helped them again in battle after observing them being swept off in a wave of destruction. He fought for them and sacrificed even though he knew that they wouldn’t choose to be saved. His soul was rent with anguish. Those are many of the experiences that Mormon had throughout the six chapters of this week. I can’t imagine the kind of man that was required to be deeply aware of their impending destruction and simultaneously continue to fight for them. That was the man that Mormon was, and that is the man that Christ is. Christ’s motivation is love, not perfection Christ didn’t cut corners and only pay for the sins of those He knew would repent. He didn’t just suffer the agonies of those who were going to come home. He took care of all of it. He sacrificed and fought for those despite being deeply aware that there would be many who would refuse to be cleansed and healed by Him. I think that oftentimes we pictured Christ doing all of these things because He was perfect and fulfilling God’s plan. These facts are true, but when we look at Mormon as a type of Christ, we see that Christ didn’t do these things because He was perfect, and that’s an important distinction. He did them because He loved us. He couldn’t help Himself from trying even though He knew the end. I think of righteous parents who can’t stop hoping for their wayward children. They can’t stop the hope that rises each time they repent. They can’t help but feel agony when it doesn’t play out. They can’t help but feel misery when they know deep down that their children are not yet ready to change. Despite everything that the child has done, all they want is for their child to come back around, make amends, and move forward. They would be willing to let go of the past if the child would simply turn around. Within each of us, He has planted glimpses of what He experiences so that we can understand Him. Like Mormon, we all know what it is to watch someone you love hurt themselves. We know what it is to fight for someone who doesn’t want to be fought for. We know those experiences and those feelings. They are Christlike feelings. Christ has those feelings. Christ feels. He doesn’t do these things as a perfect robot. He doesn’t do these things because He had to as the perfect, oldest Child of Heavenly Father. He is driven by a deep love. This deep love has caused Him a lot of pain, both as part of His atoning sacrifice that would be left on the shelf by many as well as the sorrow He feels watching them hurt and reject it. Replaceable In Doctrine and Covenants 35, the Lord tells us that He gave the keys of the kingdom to Joseph Smith. If Joseph chose to abide in the Lord, he would keep those keys. If he didn’t, another would be placed in his stead. This makes a lot of sense. Heavenly Father wouldn’t throw His entire plan off kilter because Joseph couldn’t get it together. He would have enabled someone else to come and restore the kingdom. It makes sense, but I personally took this principle beyond its proper bounds as I was growing up. I thought that this sentiment meant I was easily replaceable to the Lord, and He was perfectly willing to leave me behind. As I have reflected on my own, God-given feelings as mother, I have been able to better place myself in His shoes. If one of my children ever decided to totally destroy their own lives, I would keep moving forward for the sake of the rest of my children. You don’t sacrifice all of them because you lost one. But despite the fact that I would keep moving forward, despite the fact that I would delegate their family responsibilities to my other kids, despite the fact that I would “replace” them, I would never forget them or stop hurting over them. When Mormon continued to pray and fight for his people, he was without hope because he knew they were choosing their own destruction. He knew that the Lord would stop protecting them. I think sometimes we subconsciously equate that lack of protection and moving forward with Him being angry and not loving us anymore. This is absolutely false. If one of my kids got deeply into drugs, continually stole from me, and perpetually hurt their siblings, I wouldn’t house them any longer. I would cease protecting them and move forward. Depending on age, that might mean sending them to a rehabilitation center or simply kicking them out if I didn’t have the legal power to take them to rehab. But I wouldn’t house them any longer. At least, my completely inexperienced and naive self believes this is how I would react. I can understand the sentiment of parents who are in this situation and feel things such as, “I love them. How can I abandon them when they need me the most?” I get that. I really do. True love brings out the desire to forget about yourself and protect the one you love. This isn’t an evil or morally wrong sentiment. I’m also not telling anyone they need to be kicking their kids out because everything is so situational and only the Lord can help you know the right course to take. I’m not telling anyone they are wrong for how they’re choosing to handle difficult situations like this. What I am trying to do is help us understand how Heavenly Father feels. When it comes to Heavenly Father, He ceases the protection at a certain point. This is not because He abandons them when they need Him most. It’s not because He loves His other children more. Heavenly Father ceases the protection because He loves the wayward child. He is wise enough to understand that people often have to hit rock bottom if they’re ever going to turn around. He loves that individual child too much to enable them. He loves them too much and knows that He can’t teach them, “You can still have everything you want and need. I will protect you no matter what you do. You can keep hurting yourself and your siblings.” Instead, through His actions, He teaches, “It is more important for you to learn the hard way. I’m giving you a gift by teaching you to live better. I love you too much to do anything else. I will still be waiting when you’re ready.” That was a long tangent that was meant to help us understand the mind of God as He handles His children here on earth. It is meant to help us understand the love He feels as He wisely chooses His reactions. I share this tangent for two reasons. One. We need to comprehend that Heavenly Father isn’t some nebulous Being that administers mercy and justice in perfection. Rather, He is a loving, feeling Being. He perfectly loves, and that perfect love helps Him perfectly know how to administer mercy and justice according to our needs. Two. It is essential to understand that even though Heavenly Father may have to move forward without us, even though He may choose to cease protecting us, we are irreplaceable to Him. Even if I had to make the decision to let my child hit their rock bottom, I would never forget them. I would miss them for as long as they chose to remain separated, even if it meant that I would miss them forever. I would be long-suffering. In other words, I would suffer long because I would love long. It is the same with our Heavenly Father. Just because He chooses certain reactions in response to our rebellion does not remove His love, it is evidence of His love. Just because He has to administer justice and have a Judgment Day and move forward with those who want to move forward doesn’t mean He will ever stop feeling the ache of the child He lost. You are irreplaceable to Him. You will never be forgotten if you choose to remove yourself. I testify of a Heavenly Father and a Savior who act out of love. I testify that we have been given a glimpse of how They feel as we work to react to those we love around us. We were given these feelings so that we could understand Them. I testify that They will wisely do the right thing, but I also testify that you will leave a hole if you choose to not follow. You are essential and important to Them. They will suffer long without you.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Mormon 1–6 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Mormon led his people; the end of Nephite civilization (4 Nephi, Mormon 1–7) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading The archaeological record of western New York is persuasive evidence that Book of Mormon peoples did not live in that region. The Cumorah of the Nephites (Mormon₂’s hill) and the Cumorah where Joseph Smith unearthed the gold plates (Moroni₂’s hill) are not the same hill. Dr. John E. Clark, professor of anthropology at BYU, explores this in his article “Archaeology and Cumorah Questions,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 13, no. 1–2 (2004): 144–51, 174. In the second half of the nineteenth century, a legend about a cave in New York’s hill Cumorah began to appear in the writings and sermons of several Church leaders. This legend claimed that the hill contains a cave in which there were hundreds of different records written on plates; however, all of the accounts of this story are late and secondhand. See Cameron J. Packer’s article, “Cumorah’s Cave,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 13, no. 1–2 (2004): 50–57, 170–71. The numbers of war dead described in the Book of Mormon are massive—so large, in fact, that it’s quite likely that Mormon₂ and Moroni₂ were purposely exaggerating. See Stephen Smoot, “Why the Book of Mormon’s Battle Numbers Don’t Add Up (And Why That’s Evidence for Its Authenticity),” Ploni Almoni (blog), 9 May 2016. Is the hill near Manchester, New York, where Joseph Smith received the plates of Mormon the same hill where the final battles between the Nephites and Lamanites took place? Book of Mormon Central examines the evidence in KnoWhy #489.     Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 4 Nephi, Mormon 1–7 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

A Utopian Society by Autumn Dickson Fourth Nephi describes a people who were all converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ together. It talks about what their lives looked like and how they felt. Fourth Nephi also describes how everyone was wicked again within three hundred years. Fourth Nephi describes exactly why the Lord has a Judgment Day. It can also help us see what’s going to be necessary before the Saints are allowed to go and build up Zion again. Judgment Day Fourth Nephi can help us better understand Judgment Day and the Lord’s purposes. Heaven is bestowed, but it is also created by those who live there. Heaven is bestowed in the manner that Christ paid for our sins so we could be cleansed to return to Heavenly Father. He also died so that we could be resurrected and receive perfectly whole bodies; this is another important aspect of heaven. Heaven is also bestowed in the manner that Heavenly Father has created a beautiful, glory-filled place for all of us to live after we die. But even though there are certainly aspects of heaven that are given to us as gifts, there are also aspects of heaven that the people create. Listen to the heaven that was created by the people who lived after Jesus Christ visited the Americas. 4 Nephi 1:3, 15-17 3 And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift. 15 And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. 16 And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God. 17 There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God. What is heaven? What does it mean to live in heaven? Heaven is living with our Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ again. It is living with everything we need and never worrying about having enough. It is having perfectly whole bodies that don’t decay or have infirmities. Heaven is also being surrounded by people you can trust. You can look around you and be completely selfless. You can completely let go of what you need because you know that your neighbor is likewise looking out for you. You never have to be wary of people who might hurt you because everyone you’re surrounded by loves you, and you love them. That’s not something Heavenly Father forces. That’s something that we have to be. Look at what happens later in the chapter after some time passes from when Christ visited. 4 Nephi 1:24-25 24 And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride, such as the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world. 25 And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them. Their little heaven had burst. I picture myself living during that time. Perhaps you’re willing to be selfless and have all things in common among everyone, but because there are selfish people who want to have more, you actually have to be careful. There will be people who will take and not support back. The entire utopian society collapses if you can’t trust those around you to also be giving and work hard to help support everyone. In Doctrine and Covenants 90, the Lord counsels Joseph Smith Sr. to keep his family small as pertaining to those who didn’t belong to his family. The Lord counseled Joseph Smith Sr. to be wise in how much he opened his home to those in need. We want to help everyone we can, but if everything is gone, there will be nothing left with which to help. Because we do not yet live in heaven, we have to be wise in how we distribute. You don’t leave your own family destitute by giving away everything to everyone else. And this is precisely why the Lord has to have a Judgment Day. This is why He has to judge and separate us. Otherwise we would just keep living the way we’re living here except with resurrected bodies. There has to be a Judgment Day so there can be a heaven to live in. This isn’t just applicable in regards to temporal wealth; it’s applicable in every aspect of how the Lord asks us to treat one another. Zion Zion is a fascinating concept to me. I’ve always pictured what it would be like for the prophet to tell us it was time to head to Zion. I think a lot of us have imagined what that day would be like. Like heaven, I think sometimes we believe that Zion will just be handed to us on a silver platter. Nope. Zion is something that we create. We don’t get to go build up Zion until we’re ready to be a part of it. When we have created Zion within our homes, wards, and stakes, then the Lord will know we’re ready to create it altogether in one place. Zion doesn’t just happen. It’s not given to us. We make Zion if we want to enjoy Zion. Now we still live in a mortal, fallen world. The Lord doesn’t expect us to start living in a utopian society where everything is common among everyone. We can’t survive a completely utopian life in a world that doesn’t reciprocate. It’ll just ruin us. The Lord is wise about this. So we don’t necessarily start living that utopian lifestyle in that manner yet. However, Zion starts in an individual heart. It is built heart by heart, person by person. Zion means you stand ready to forgive and let go of old grievances so that there can be peace. Zion means you stand ready to let go of your possessions and trust that the Lord has surrounded you with people who are like-minded. Zion means that you stand ready to give people the benefit of the doubt in any interaction. Once again, we don’t live in a utopian Zion yet. There are people who want to cause harm and hurt others, so we should be wise in how we interact with others. But we can prepare ourselves and others will prepare themselves. The wheat and chaff will be separated, and we will be able to enter into that Zion society with the purest hope that we can experience as much heaven as is available here on earth. As a child, I remember learning that Satan would be bound in the Millennium for a thousand years. I remember asking my dad why they let him go at the end of the thousand years. Was it prophesied that he would “escape” somehow? Obviously, my literal and limited understanding as a child has grown to understand that Satan didn’t have his hands tied behind his back. The world was simply choosing to be righteous enough that Satan had no effect. We choose Zion, and the Millennium, and heaven. We create it. In the last April General Conference, Elder Holland posed the philosophical question, “…it has always been intriguing to me that Jesus felt the need to pray at all. Wasn’t He perfect? About what did He need to pray?” Elder Holland gave his beautiful answer, and I add my own philosophical opinions to it. Asking the question, “Why did Jesus have to pray if He was perfect?” carries the implication that we have the wrong definition of perfection. In our world, we think that being perfect means you can do everything and not need anyone. You can be happy completely on your own. You are a self-sustaining, blooming little island. This is utter garbage. Real perfection is connection, the kind of connection we observe in 4 Nephi. Heaven is connection. It’s connecting with people who want to genuinely, peacefully, good-naturedly connect with you. This doesn’t mean that every introvert suddenly needs to become an extrovert. It doesn’t mean that you have to be connected to every single person at any given moment. I believe it means you truly treasure the most important and long-lasting sources of happiness, your family and close friends. It means that you can have a boundary without worrying about anyone purposefully crossing it. It means you won’t have to worry that others will assume the worst of you when you have a boundary because they will also be the kind of people who give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Zion, the Millennium, heaven are going to be rather pleasant. The people in the beginning of Fourth Nephi were experiencing a heaven on earth, and it eventually fell apart because the people destroyed it themselves. Someday we won’t have to worry about that anymore. Someday we will be given the opportunity to go live with our Heavenly Parents and Jesus Christ. Christ will make sure we’re cleansed, and He will help us don our resurrected bodies. If we choose to follow Christ, to trust His judgment of others, and stand ready to freely give to those who freely give back, we will be prepared to go there. I’m grateful that I have Heavenly Parents who were wise enough to create this plan. I am grateful for a Savior who enabled this plan. I am grateful that They were wise and kind and selfless enough to teach us how to be like Them.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 27–4 Nephi – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Keeping a Sacred Record by Autumn Dickson Christ continues His teaching and prophesying amongst this portion of the House of Israel. He teaches about the sacrament, keeping records, and the last days. He teaches them to study and appreciate the words of Isaiah. There is a lot of content here. At one point in time, He asks Nephi to bring forth the Nephite records that had been kept. After looking through them, He notices that the account of Samuel the Lamanite is missing. Samuel had been commanded to go and warn the Nephites that Christ was coming; Samuel did so. There is a faith-inspiring event that occurs because of Samuel’s prophecies in which the believers are about to be put to death by the unbelievers if Samuel’s prophecies don’t come true. The details had been prepared beforehand by the Lord, and the believers are saved by His timing. It’s wonderful and there are a myriad of principles we can draw from that story. When Christ notices that this account is missing, He turns to Nephi. 3 Nephi 23:12-13 12 And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written. 13 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded. Keeping adequate records was obviously important to Christ. He’s a busy Man, and He knows how to fill His time with the most important priorities. Why does Christ ask us to keep records? How to keep a sacred record Before we delve into the reasons why, I’d actually like to talk a little bit about what I believe Christ means when He talks about keeping records. Nephi may have been commanded to write on gold plates, but things are different now. On a surface level, I think that keeping a record can be far more broad than we once assumed. It’s so easy to take pictures nowadays; take pictures of the things that matter to you. You can write in a journal. You can type a journal. I type my journal on Google Docs so that I can access it from my phone wherever I am. You can even just open up the notes app on your phone and record something quickly. Start a gratitude journal; it was actually this specific habit that started my regular journal writing. Make a video or photo book with captions about things that are important. You can even use voice recordings that you transfer to your computer once a month and sort into files according to date. So much of the scripture that we read was given orally and recorded afterwards. There are likely even free programs out there that will dictate your recordings into typed pieces that you can put in a safe place on your computer. Record your testimony twice a year at Easter and Christmas. What I’m trying to say is, you don’t have to be a good writer to record important things. What will it look like in your life? The second principle (and probably more important principle) stems from the Lord’s commandments in general. When the Lord gives us a commandment, He is usually trying to change us somehow. If your record isn’t changing you, then you’re not getting the best return on your investment and you’re going to discontinue the practice. Record a hard lesson you learned. Record how the Lord helped different details come together. Record a dream that felt different than your other dreams. Record your feelings and not just events. Record the feelings that don’t necessarily feel perfect or worthy. Record yourself as you are and simply allow the Lord to be a part of it. When the Lord gave the Law of Moses to the Israelites, He wanted them to draw closer to Him. He didn’t really care about sacrificing animals; He wanted them to understand Him and draw near to Him in ways that they could comprehend. It is the same with any commandment that we receive today. It’s not about the recording. It’s about utilizing a powerful way to draw closer to the Lord. When you’re recording, include the Lord in the process. Even if you’re recording silly details, include Him. Maybe even record them to Him. He likes to hear about all of it. Ultimately, keeping a record can be much broader than it used to be. We don’t have to engrave upon plates. We don’t even have to write on paper. The most important principle is that the process changes you. What are you going to record that’s meaningful? How are you going to record it? If you’re going to make a goal about keeping records, make a goal with those questions in mind. My sacred record There are likely a myriad of reasons I haven’t discovered yet, but I’d like to cover a few of the ways that keeping a sacred record has changed my life in powerful ways. The most overarching change it has created in my life has been increased faith in Jesus Christ. It sounds super simple, but the effects are potent. There are two specific ways records have helped increase my faith. Keeping a record has increased my faith because it allows me to process my life with God. There were so many times in my life when difficult things would come up, whether from my own flaws or from the nature of mortality. Sometimes, I’d put my head down and muscle through on my own because I was stubborn or self-destructive. However, other times I did it on my own because I’d simply forget to include God. Sometimes difficulties would come along, and it wouldn’t even occur to me that I should turn to Him because there was no habit to do so. I didn’t have a strong enough relationship with Him that it was natural to turn to Him. Keeping a record has been instrumental in changing that. I’ve kept a regular journal since I was 14 because I love writing, but it wasn’t until the mission that I really started to include the Lord as I recorded. And because it became a habit to include Him, it didn’t change when I talked about difficulties that came up. As I learned to include the Lord and as I would write about something difficult, I could be inspired by how He would respond. I would be thinking about the difficult thing, and I would remember to include Him. This would naturally lead to me praying for help. Here’s a real life example to illustrate that process. When we were living in that hotel in Virginia, I would start writing about all of my fears so that I could release them. Because I had learned the habit of including the Lord, I would naturally start to view these fears in a new light. I would be afraid of making a mistake and missing out on the path that the Lord wanted us to take, but when I wrote it down and put it into the ether, it made it easier to examine my thoughts and find which ones were based on faulty understandings of the Lord. It made it easier to look at the thoughts and change them according to what I had been taught about the Lord. Or if I was angry at someone, I would write about it. Putting my thoughts outside of my brain where I could look at it enabled me to observe my thoughts in a more objective way. When I also chose to include the Lord, it made it that much easier to change those thoughts to be closer to the reality of eternal things. Observing them so consciously allowed me to change my thought patterns with the Lord, and it allowed me to change. Keeping a record has helped me “watch” the Lord influence, support, and stretch me; it has increased my faith. The second way keeping a record has increased my faith is by allowing me to see more than I saw before. I debated whether to tell this story, but if President Monson can share a story about almost starting a forest fire, I can tell this one. In family home evenings lately, we’ve been talking about fire safety. I taught my kids to not open the door if smoke was filling their room. I taught them to open their windows and scream for help if they could, and we review this quite regularly. I was so proud of myself for being so prepared and teaching my kids. But unfortunately and fortunately, my four year old is particularly adventurous. He’s capable and smart and brave, and this comes with pros and cons from the viewpoint of a parent. One evening, my son opened his window, pushed the screen out, and climbed onto the roof. Luckily, our neighbor across the street saw him, yelled at him to get back inside, and texted us. Needless to say, he’s learned his lesson, but here’s the part that is particularly relevant to this post. I type my prayers at least once a day. The next day, I opened up my computer to delete the old prayer and start typing a new one. As I went to delete the old one, my eyes locked on one of the things I had been inspired to pray for the day before. I prayed that the right adults would be in the lives of my children at the right time to protect them. I hadn’t thought of it in this specific context, but the Lord had. The Lord likely would have protected my son anyway because apparently it’s not his time to die despite his frequent escapades. However, because I recorded something sacred, I saw the Lord’s hand where I wouldn’t have recognized it previously. The Lord inspired me to pray for the right adults to be there (because I knew I wouldn’t be there all of the time), and then I was able to see how He manipulated the details and protected Warner. This has happened over and over and over. I record things, and my eyes are spiritually opened and all of a sudden I see that the Lord was directly involved. He would have been involved anyway in some cases, but it was much more powerful because I knew that He was involved. I watched Him easily sway the currents that were moving in my life. I watched Him show up and prepare me. I saw it happen repeatedly in the past, and it has helped me trust that He will show up in the future. Conclusion As I’ve written down my experiences, observed them with the Lord, and changed accordingly, I’ve learned to see how He’s supporting and stretching me in all of the best ways. I’ve been able to observe my thoughts more objectively and more accurately apply what I knew about the Lord rather. As I’ve written down prayers, things I’m worried about, things I need help with, or things I’m grateful for, the Lord is given consecrated time to work with me and open my eyes to how He is handling all the details that come my way. The more I record, the more I see the Lord. The more I see the Lord, the more I trust Him. The more I trust the Lord, the happier my life has been. It’s as simple (and as powerful) as that. I know from personal experience why the Lord asks us to keep records. My records aren’t always about traditionally spiritual things. Oftentimes, they’re about very temporal things. And yet, they have become sacred to me because keeping a record has taught me that the Lord is involved in all aspects of my life. He is involved in your life. He is manipulating the details in your favor, whether that is in the form of a trial or a tender mercy. He will continue to be wholly involved in your life regardless of whether you recognize Him because that’s simply how much He loves you. But until you’re able to recognize Him, you’re going to continue to fret and worry about what’s coming next. The most powerful blessing I’ve received from keeping a record is that I recognize the Lord, and it has enabled me to live my life with a peaceful faith and trust.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 20–26 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Jesus Christ’s ministry among the people of Nephi, part 2 (3 Nephi 19–30) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.) Class Notes Additional Reading The words doctrine and gospel have very specific definitions in the Book of Mormon. Noel Reynolds explores this in two articles: “The Gospel of Jesus Christ as Taught by the Nephite Prophets,” BYU Studies 31, no. 3 (Summer 1991): 31–50; “The True Points of My Doctrine,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 5, no. 2 (1996): 26–56. When Christ was with the Nephites, he felt it was important to bless each of the children one by one and pray to the Father for them. Those children were to become the second generation of the Zion people that Christ was forming; as such, their preparation was vital. See M. Gawain Wells, “The Savior and the Children in 3 Nephi,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 1 (2005): 62–73, 129.   Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 19–30 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

Experiencing Christ by Autumn Dickson I want to highlight the timeline of events in chapter 17. Jesus has just spent a ton of time with these people. He has come to them in glory, not as the mighty but humble mortal who lived in Jerusalem. He has taught them and blessed them, and He recognizes that their capacity to receive more is already bursting at the seams. Receiving spiritual knowledge and spiritual things extends far beyond sitting in front of the risen Christ. It requires a built up tolerance for spiritual things. It requires a strength we can’t observe, an endurance that can’t be measured in mortality, and these people had maxed out. The Lord invites them to go home and pray and ponder. The people didn’t ask Him to stay, but they wanted Him to. He felt this, and He decided to put aside His to-do list for a short time and show compassion. He healed many of them. They worshiped Him. He blessed their children. Then something rather interesting happens. Christ commands everyone to kneel, and He joins them. I want to share three verses. 3 Nephi 17:14 And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel. Christ is troubled by the wickedness He views on earth. He begins an incredible prayer that couldn’t be written. 3 Nephi 17:18 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome. The people were overwhelmingly happy after hearing Him pray. 3 Nephi 17:20 And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full. There are characteristics of Christ that we can pull from this happening. There are principles we can learn from Christ and how He felt during what was occurring around Him. Where His feelings came from Before we delve into His specific feelings, I want you to reflect on your own life. During this reflection, I’m trying to conjure up memories of when you were overwhelmed at all the problems in humanity. There might have been a myriad of things that evoked these emotions, but it’s the memory of the emotions I want to bring about. Perhaps you read a horrible news article. Perhaps you heard some incredibly startling and troubling statistics. Perhaps you observed patterns of poverty or abuse. Maybe it was a documentary or a dramatization of true events. There are a million different events across the world that can evoke these emotions. Personally, I get these emotions whenever I think about the mothers and kids who are affected by wars. Those are always the stories that get me. And then I want you to try and conjure up feelings of when you were surrounded by people you loved and people who loved you back. Maybe it was family; maybe it was a group of really good friends. Maybe it was a parent, a sibling, or a single friend. For this particular “feeling” memory, I recall quite a few different times. I remember how it felt as a kid when all of my seven siblings would come home to visit for holidays. I remember a specific group date with two other couples where we literally laughed so hard we were crying. By recalling these memories of times when we have felt certain things, we can find ourselves relating to Christ. I think it’s important to be able to relate to Him. If we ever want to have a personal relationship with Him, relatability is crucial to that connection. I believe that sometimes we create Christ as this “other.” Obviously, there are things about Christ that we can’t comprehend yet. There are aspects of Him that we worship even though we can’t process exactly what it means. This is good. It’s important to recognize these things. But I still hold to the idea that it’s important to humanize Him in order to connect with Him. Christ was looking at these people around Him. He was experiencing really beautiful things, and He was surrounded by children who loved Him and He was able to bless them. Somewhere in the midst of that experience, His mind caught hold of unpleasant circumstances that were happening around the world. Maybe as He looked at the faces of the children, He remembered other children who weren’t finding themselves in such beautiful circumstances. It affected Him, just as it affects us. And then soon afterwards, He was brought back into the present moment as He looked at all the people around Him. He loved them, and He felt their love returned. It made Him happy. I’m not trying to bring Christ “down” to our level where we can understand Him better. Rather, I’m trying to highlight the very real pieces of Him within us. The entire spectrum of feelings we experience in mortality are divine. From the heartbreak and compassion we experience over tragedy to the deep joy and contentment we experience amongst someone who accepts and loves us, all of these feelings are Christlike. They are all essential parts of eternal life. These feelings are part of what makes us like Christ. Those emotions we describe as so very human are actually like God. Living forever would be empty with the full spectrum of experience and feeling. We came to mortality to feel all of these things so that we could better understand God because until you’ve felt it, you simply can’t understand. It was the people The other principle I want to draw from observing Christ’s feelings is the fact that His joy was made full from simply being around these people. I remember thinking about what it meant to worship Christ when I was younger. I used to try and determine what it meant to worship Him in very black and white terms. I wanted to know what specific acts of worship there were. It’s interesting because I think I used to imagine experiences based off of what I knew from idols. It was about abasing yourself and putting God up on the pedestal. That’s what I believed of worship. I have now come to believe that the central aspect of worship is connection with God. The acts are less significant; it is about the feeling. There are acts of worship that more readily evoke this connection that is essential to worship, but the act itself isn’t necessarily relevant. The moments I have held God in the highest esteem have been the moments that I have felt close to Him, not the moments where I separated myself from Him because of my unworthiness. Even now, as I picture King Benjamin’s sermon about us being less than the dust of the earth, I don’t picture a scowling king telling his people to bow down and pray to a Being that towered over them and loved to rule over them. Surely King Benjamin was right when he said we were less than the dust of the earth, but this knowledge doesn’t have to mean any level of hatred towards ourselves. I know that’s how King Benjamin felt because I’ve felt it. I know what it means to have my eyes opened to how the Lord has been patient with me and to have that accompanying feeling of, “Thank you. I can’t believe You did that for me.” If we do it right, the knowledge of our nothingness should be accompanied by a deep reverence and gratitude and connection with the Lord for loving us anyway. Which brings me back to this account of the Lord being filled with joy as He was surrounded by people who believed in Him, utilized His gifts, and loved Him. Perhaps other apostate gods that we read about in literature desire different kinds of worship. They want to be admired and placed up higher than everyone else. However, the true God, the God that we worship just wants to be close to us. If we want to worship Him, we have to draw near to Him. If we truly want to please Him, we need to allow Him to stand near us through everything. He won’t force Himself on us, but we have to learn that He wants to be with us. That’s what pleases Him. That’s what fills Him with joy. That’s what makes His sacrifice worth it. He just wants to be near us, love us, and feel our love in return. We feel a desire for unity. We desire acceptance. We desire to sustain and support those we love. We desire closeness and understanding. These are not weak, human emotions. They are Godlike emotions. This is what Christ desires; He doesn’t need it, but He sure wants it. I’m grateful for a Savior who loves me. I’m grateful that I was sent here to mortality so that my eyes could be opened to this human and divine spectrum of emotions. I’m grateful He created the earth so that I had a place to come down and feel what He feels. I’m grateful that He has opened my eyes and helped me to understand that so many of the feelings I experience here are reflections of His life. I’m grateful that He has helped me see that there is so much of Him within me.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 17–19 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Be Perfect by Autumn Dickson The Savior appears and starts teaching the people immediately. He elaborates on fulfilling the Law of Moses and lays out His higher law for the future. He teaches them about a million different things from prayer to judging to His personal characteristics. There is so much. In the very first section of the Come Follow Me manual, we find one of the most intimidating exhortations. 3 Nephi 12:48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect. The Lord commands us to be perfect. I think logically we all understand that the Lord doesn’t expect us to be perfect just yet. We understand that the entire reason He suffered the atonement was because He knew that we wouldn’t be perfect. So why command it? Why give us what we can’t live up to? There are two critical understandings we need in order to understand how and why the Lord gave us the commandment to be perfect. Waiting until we were “ready” Understanding why the Lord would give us such a commandment can be better understood when we observe the context of the rest of His teachings in this chapter. Christ is teaching about his fulfillment of the Law of Moses all leading up to that last verse in chapter 12 where He asks us to be perfect like Him and His Father. The sequence of this is significant, and it can teach us a lot about what He is asking and why He is asking. Context and purpose are everything if we hope to fulfill what He desires of us. Let’s look at the context of what the Savior is teaching so that we can understand His purpose. The Lord gave the Law of Moses back in the time where the Israelites had just been freed from slavery. He didn’t do this because He has lesser standards for different groups of people. In the end, we will receive all that the Lord has by living as the Lord lives. There is no other way to find those blessings. And yet, the Lord gave the Law of Moses because He understood that they had just come out of slavery. Their understanding of morality was childlike at best. They likely believed that life was one big test of whether you get caught when you do something wrong rather than doing right when no one is looking. The Lord understood this, and He didn’t punish them for it. He never lowered the standards for the Israelites; He merely gave them a stepping stone. One day, if we wish to live the kind of life that He lives, every single one of us will have to live according to this higher law and we will have to live it perfectly. But the Israelites needed a stepping stone before they were prepared as a whole society for a higher law, and the Lord is wise enough and loving enough to give that stepping stone. As the people spent more and more time away from slavery, and as generations passed and trauma slowly healed, the people became more prepared for this higher law. However, it’s significant to understand that even though they were becoming more prepared, they weren’t “ready” for this higher law in the sense that they would be able to keep it immediately. They had grown in their capacity to do what’s right after having the Law of Moses for so long, but they still weren’t capable of living the higher law perfectly yet. The Lord didn’t give them the higher law because they could live it perfectly; He gave it to them so that they could become capable of living it perfectly. And that is critical understanding number one: The Lord gave us the commandment to be perfect because if He had waited until we were ready to be perfect immediately, we would have never become perfect because we wouldn’t have strived for it. The only way for us to fulfill that commandment was to begin striving for it. Think of it in this manner. I teach my kids to control their tempers and not hit each other. My six year old isn’t even ready to live this law perfectly. When Warner comes after Evelyn, torturing her over and over, she eventually gives in and chases him around the house until she catches him and can tackle him. Emotionally, she is unprepared to live my law of loving her brother enough to control her temper. Logically, she’s not capable of sinning yet because she’s not eight. One could make the argument that I’m cruel for expecting something of her she can’t do, something that she’s not even guilty for yet. But I feel like most of us can understand that that’s a stupid argument. I give her the law. I don’t do it because I believe she’s capable yet. I don’t have expectations for her to fulfill it perfectly. I give her the law because I want her to start practicing. She will never learn to not hit if I wait until she’s ready to live it perfectly before I give it as a law. The same goes for the exhortation to be perfect. He didn’t give us this commandment because we were ready to live it right now. He didn’t give it to us so He could hold it against us. He gave it to us so we would have a standard to look to, something to work towards, something to strive towards. The perfecting process would have been held off indefinitely if it wasn’t given as the standard. The Lord already won When I think about the Lord commanding us to be perfect, I think of Nephi. Nephi was commanded to go and get the brass plates in Jerusalem. He hadn’t even left for Jerusalem when he testified that the Lord never gives a commandment unless He opens the way to fulfill that commandment. Nephi “failed” more than once in his attempts. He didn’t agonize over his failed attempts. He didn’t worry that the Lord had disowned him. He kept believing that the Lord would provide a way, and the Lord did. Each misstep and obstacle that Nephi experienced weren’t true failures; they were steps he had to live through in order to be ready to be led by the Lord. Because of his simple belief that the Lord would provide the way, Nephi had already won the battle. He had basically already received the plates before even leaving for Jerusalem because of that simple faith that the Lord would provide the way. You can’t fail with the Lord on your team. Our second critical understanding in relation to the commandment to be perfect is this: The Lord already provided the way. He already won. Our destiny to be perfect is set and coming if we simply continue trying. The Lord has provided the way for us to become perfect. He believes in us. He stands ready to teach us everything we need to learn, to guide us through each experience and failure we desperately need in order to actually fulfill that commandment to become perfect. Like Nephi, we have nothing to fear. If we love the Lord and keep trying, then we are 100% safe. The Lord paid for our sins and already won the battle. That means that all of the missteps and failures and obstacles are not evidence that we have failed His commandment; they are opportunities to step towards that commandment. They are precisely what we need to become perfect. The commandment to be perfect is a gift, not a measuring stick with which to beat ourselves. If we look at it in the manner in which the Lord gave it to us, we will see it for what it is. We will see it as a glimpse of what He has in store for us. We will see it as our ultimate end, our literal destiny, if we simply continue trying. The commandment to be perfect is the ultimate testament to His love, a sign that He literally wants everything for us. Being perfect was always your destiny. It is your birthright as a literal son or daughter of God. It is something you will grow into. It was given to you now so that you could work towards it, not so you get it right the first time. In summary, there are two critical understandings when we think about the Lord’s commandment to be perfect. If the Lord had waited to give the commandment, we never would have made it because we never would have strived for it. He had to give it to us before we were ready so we could grow. The second critical understanding is that the Lord will provide the way. Work towards that perfection without all of the pressure. The pressure adds nothing to your journey except discouragement and extra exhaustion. The pressure was on the Lord to live perfectly and fulfill the atonement, and He already won. Now we just keep practicing, and we’ll get there. I believe in a Lord who does everything for our benefit. I believe that every tender mercy comes from Him, and I believe that all of the obstacles and failures we’re experiencing on earth can be turned into gifts when combined with the power of His atonement. They can become contributions towards that ultimate goal of perfection because they can be powerful learning tools. We have every reason to rejoice in the Lord and trust Him.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 12–16 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Jesus Christ’s ministry among the people of Nephi, part 1 (3 Nephi 8–18) by Mike Parker (Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This post will cover the content for the next two weeks, plus part of the following week.) Class Notes Additional Reading John W. Welch explains that everything in 3 Nephi, especially the ministry of the Savior, echoes themes related to the temple and the presence of the Lord in the Holy of Holies. Welch, “Seeing Third Nephi as the Holy of Holies of the Book of Mormon,” Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 19, no. 1 (2010): 36–55. The great destructions and thick darkness in the Book of Mormon lands described in 3 Nephi 8 have all the indications of intense volcanic activity. Several Latter-day Saint scientists have written about this; their conclusions are summarized in these brief articles from Book of Mormon Central: “What Caused The Darkness And Destruction In The 34th Year? (KnoWhy #197),” 28 September 2016. “Is There Evidence of Sunken Cities in Ancient America? (KnoWhy #429),” 1 May 2018. “Is There Evidence for Great Destruction in the Land Northward at the Death of Christ? (KnoWhy #530),” 6 September 2019. Immediately before Jesus’s appearance at the temple in Bountiful, the people there “were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place great” (3 Nephi 11:1). What was this “great and marvelous change”? Clifford Jones argues that it refers to “the essential, infinite change wrought by the Atonement.” (Jones, “The Great and Marvelous Change: An Alternate Interpretation,” Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 19, no. 2 (2010): 50–63.) When Jesus appeared at Bountiful, “the whole multitude” of the people there “fell to the earth.” (3 Nephi 11:12) This description echoes Lehi₁’s dream of the tree of life, in which he saw “multitudes” of people who “did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.” (1 Nephi 8:30) For more on the connections between these two passages, see Matthew L. Bowen, “‘They Came Forth and Fell Down and Partook of the Fruit of the Tree’: Proskynesis in 3 Nephi 11:12–19 and 17:9–10 and Its Significance,” Studies in the Bible and Antiquity 5 (2013): 63–89.   Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 8–18 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.

Giving Your Broken Heart by Autumn Dickson We have reached the crowning jewel of The Book of Mormon. We have reached the climax, the epitome, the purpose of The Book of Mormon. Christ has arrived to reach out to His people in other parts of the world. When Christ’s voice pierces the darkness that the Nephites and Lamanites had found themselves in, He started to teach them immediately. He proclaims the destruction, but He also invites them to come and be healed. Before He even directly appears before them, His voice teaches them that the Law of Moses has been fulfilled. Of all the things the Lord could have chosen to express with His voice through the darkness, one of the things He chose to tell them was that the Law of Moses was no longer in effect. While this may seem like a slightly less significant happening when compared to all the destruction and His literal presence amongst these people, it heralded the incoming of a higher law. It brought about the new way to draw closer to Christ, and this new way would become the standard for all the generations afterwards (including our’s). It was a big deal that the Law of Moses had been fulfilled. It is a big deal that we have been given new ways to approach Christ and learn of Him. Christ visited the Nephites and Lamanites. Living according to His new law is how we invite Him to visit us, to make Him a part of our lives. Here is how Christ told them about the fulfilled Law of Moses. 3 Nephi 9:19-20 19 And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings. 20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not. Christ will no longer accept sacrifices according to the Law of Moses. He doesn’t want burnt offerings or the shedding of blood. He wants a different kind of sacrifice. He wants us to offer the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. The way this is worded is fascinating to me. When we think of sacrifice, we often picture giving up something we really love and adore. We believe that we’re going to receive something back which is the whole reason we agree to it. However, we are still giving up something that holds worth for us. Which is why I find this new law so interesting. I can understand why Christ would ask for a broken heart and contrite spirit. It makes sense when you understand that the Lord is trying to change us, and a willingness to change often helps that process. However, Christ specifically asked for these things as a sacrifice. What can we learn from the way He worded this? Broken hearts hold value If Christ is asking us to offer up broken hearts and contrite spirits as a sacrifice, it implies the idea that these things are valuable to us. If you were to list things that were valuable to you, a “broken heart” might not be at the top of the list. And yet, sometimes our actions and underlying feelings can give us greater hints about what we value than our logical minds. For example, I can talk all day long about how much I love my kids. However, I remember an experience one day where I was praying for them. I wasn’t at my best at that particular point in my life and so I started praying that they would feel my love even though I wasn’t showing it very well at the time. I think there are appropriate times to pray for that. However, in that particular moment, the Spirit whispered to me that I had prayed for the wrong thing. I loved my kids, but I wasn’t valuing them sufficiently at that time. How could I expect the Lord to just help them feel prioritized when I wasn’t actually prioritizing them? I could talk about how much I loved them all day, but until it changed how I was acting and feeling, then I was really just loving myself. I could tell you that I loved my kids more than myself, but my actions and underlying feelings during that time period were hinting at something different. The same goes for a broken heart. We may not consciously value our broken hearts, but why do we sometimes withhold our broken hearts? Why do we hide our vulnerability? Why do we often continue to kick against the pricks rather than allowing our spirits to feel contrite? We’re not doing it for funsies, so there must be some reason we want to hold onto these things rather than handing them over to the Lord. I had an experience some time last year; I believe it illustrates a time when I was withholding my broken heart and when I finally released it to the Lord and the resulting experience. I want to try very hard to maintain the point of me sharing this and not get distracted by the actual subject matter. It’s important to me that we take the principle I’m trying to teach so that we can apply it to all of our different situations rather than trying to hyperfocus on what my broken heart was about. Last year, I had a quiet moment where I started thinking about Heavenly Mother. It had never bothered me before that She was relatively unknown or that we didn’t talk about her. I hadn’t put much thought towards it up until the time I became a mother and learned what it meant to be a mother. Her role is likely far more significant than we realize, and I started to wonder if She ever felt unappreciated because everyone was so quiet about Her. She likely has much more perspective than I do, but it affected me. I held onto those feelings for a while, not willing to give up how I felt about it. It suddenly felt all wrong, and I felt very right. I held tight to that feeling of my being right. But then I started to reflect on the relationship I had with my Heavenly Father. I thought about the Savior and how He had sacrificed so much for me. I thought about how He had shown up for me multiple times, and I reflected on how I had sincerely felt His love. I didn’t understand why Heavenly Mother wasn’t more openly appreciated, but I decided that I’d had enough experiences with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that I still trusted Them. Instead of holding onto my rightness, I held onto the relationship I had with Them. I turned to pray, and I remember asking, “Why?” but how I asked that question had suddenly changed dramatically. Rather than asking, “Why?” in my determined rightness, I asked, “Why?” but I also mentally said, “Okay.” I let my heart feel sad over the issue, and I turned to Him for comfort regarding the issue. I gave Him my broken heart. I’m not going to go into detail regarding the answer I received. It was very personal to me, and I believe that my answer was for me. He spoke to me in a way that I understood, and it changed everything. I don’t want to talk about how He answered me. I want to highlight the fact that giving my broken heart to Him changed things for me. I had held onto my broken heart believing that I was right in doing so, but the experience of giving it up had been beautiful, and I’m so grateful I did. Different circumstances require giving up your broken heart I believe that with certain issues throughout our lives, it’s going to be an elaborate dance as we work towards having that kind of experience. Handing your broken heart to the Lord has to be done in your heart; it’s not something you can fake or force. It requires examining where you’re at and accepting where you’re at so that the Lord can work with where you’re at. I have very little advice on how to go about this elaborate dance of handing your broken heart over to the Lord because that process has been so different for different circumstances in my life. The Lord has had to patiently walk me through that process because half of the time, I didn’t even realize I was withholding a broken heart. He would have to guide me in how to experience my feelings before handing them over to be worked through with Him. I guess my only true advice is to turn to Him. You can even ask Him to walk you through the process because you don’t know how to do it on your own. You don’t have to know how to hand it over to Him; He can teach you how if you ask. I believe that handing over your broken heart can be related to issues you don’t understand in the church. I believe that it can relate to personal circumstances when you don’t understand why He allowed you to enter into certain trials. I believe that anything that can break our hearts can be taken to the Lord. I also believe that handing over your broken heart or finding your way towards a contrite spirit can often feel like a sacrifice. You have to sacrifice your pride and question whether you see the whole picture. You have to sacrifice your desire for Him to just fix things instead of allowing mortality to take its course. You have to sacrifice your desire to keep yourself safe and allow Him to step in. I testify that it’s worth handing over. I’ve never been disappointed when I’ve handed my heart over to the Lord. I’ve also learned that the process of truly handing my broken heart over can take years of trying and failing and patience. As I’ve accepted the need to work through things and not just come to simple, clean answers, I’ve learned that this process of submitting your heart to the Lord has been a worthwhile experience. I trust Him. When He opens my eyes to the details He has adjusted in my life, I see that He has never let me down. Just like with any sacrifice, the Lord offers more than He asks for.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 8–11 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

Nephi Waited All Day by Autumn Dickson The chapters this week are full of some intense events that all occurred within a very short span of history. Within approximately 30 years, we find the almost-genocide of a religion, a major war in which an entire nation comes together to live in the same place, and a governmental collapse. I mean…how long did people even live during this time period? That’s quite the life to have. Though there were many tragedies and anxiety, there were also great miracles. One such miracle was the birth of Christ in Bethlehem with its accompanying signs in the western world. Before this grand event, we find that almost-genocide. Non-believers were convinced that the prophesied signs of Christ’s birth had past, and they were prepared to put the believers to death. Nephi, an immensely righteous prophet of the Lord, found himself in charge of a people who were condemned to death. Here is where we find Nephi at this particular point. 3 Nephi 1:12-13 12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying: 13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. Nephi prayed all day, and the Lord’s voice came to him, comforting him and telling him that the sign was coming soon enough to spare his people. We love the Lord who delivers us. We love the stories of miracles when He comes in and saves the day, and we testify boldly of His sacrifice that made Him the ultimate hero. However, do we also love the Lord who waited all day before responding to Nephi? Do we trust Him when we’re in the middle of a crisis and receiving nothing? Do we have faith in the last-second Lord and the Lord who allows for tragedy? Nephi was a good man In the first chapter of 3 Nephi, we find Nephi who is the son of Nephi who is the son of Helaman. Just to give you a quick recap, Nephi Sr. (the son of Helaman) was the guy who preached to the people on his garden tower about the death of the chief judge. He was also given the sealing power from the Lord in which he called down famines and wars. He was a great man. This Nephi, the son of Helaman, “departs” within the first few verses of 3 Nephi. We don’t know much about his departing, but we know that’s the last we hear of him. Nephi Sr., son of Helaman, also named his son Nephi. So Nephi Jr. is who we’re working with right now for this post. He is the leader of a people who is about to be put to death for believing in a coming Messiah; he has also just apparently lost his father. The combination of his father’s departure and the new mantle of leader over a threatened people likely weighed on him. Think of all the new leaders we hear from. How many times have you heard them describe their feared inadequacy? How many times have we heard about new leaders feeling overwhelmed and scared of the mantle they were being given? Nephi (I’m dropping Jr. now since we know who we’re talking about) had this mantle placed upon him at a particularly tumultuous time, both in terms of the church and his personal life. The Lord didn’t pull any punches. If my child came to me in these particular circumstances, praying about whether they were going to be okay, I feel like I would have responded immediately. That would have my natural inclination, to immediately ease their worry and suffering on top of so much they were already feeling. I would have worked quickly to remove any burden they felt as they were trying to lead my people to be faithful. But not so with the Lord. A day might not seem like very long to wait relatively speaking. However, the Lord was really cutting it close to crunch time. Nephi was counting down the time to the impending death of himself and his fellow congregants, awaiting the Lord’s response. I’m sure Nephi was pleading with the Lord for comfort, but I also imagine that Nephi was pleading with the Lord for direction. Should the people depart? Should they arm themselves? I’ve gotten answers to “wait” before, but Nephi was getting nothing for a while despite his seemingly pressing need. An effectual struggle A few months ago, we talked about Limhi and his people and their effectual struggle. As a reminder, “effectual” means to bring the intended result. We discussed how Limhi’s effectual struggle taught the people what they needed to learn. They were repenting of sin, and being released immediately from any effects of their sin would have likely just taught them, “I can do whatever I want and not experience consequences. Look! I sinned a ton, and I didn’t have any problems. I can definitely go back to sinning.” The effectual struggle did not pay for their salvation, and it wasn’t a result of the Lord exacting vengeance. The effectual struggle was a merciful, beautiful lesson given to the people of Limhi to drive them to be better and avoid their bonds. Since that lesson, I have been taught that every struggle in mortality can become an effectual struggle with the Lord. Even when we are righteous and seeking the Lord like Nephi, the Lord still has lessons for us to learn. Effectual struggles are essential for those lessons; we couldn’t learn what we needed to learn without them. More importantly we couldn’t become what we need to become without them. For instance, patience is a highly underrated characteristic of the Lord. We hate learning and practicing patience, but patience is one of the most beautiful characteristics the Lord has. Can you imagine where we would be if the Lord grew impatient with humanity? Someday, we will hopefully step into the shoes of the Lord and do as He does. However, that is going to require a patient being. Patience isn’t something that comes with a perfect life. You don’t learn patience as you receive enough rest, get enough alone time, or have everything sufficient for your needs. Those are beautiful gifts of eternity, but those gifts will not help you develop the patience you need to do what the Lord does, namely being patient when everything seems to be going wrong. Only an effectual struggle can help you develop that resilience. Sometimes we experience trials for “no” reason. We get to the end, and it didn’t feel like there was an overarching lesson or purpose. It feels random and tragic and unnecessary. However, as we turn to the Lord, perhaps we’ll recognize that sometimes the purpose is to stretch and practice our patience. You can’t become patient unless you’re given an opportunity to practice it, and we have to become patient to be exalted. The lesson for Nephi and his people I don’t know what lesson Nephi specifically needed to learn as the Lord remained quiet during a crucial time. Perhaps there were many lessons. Perhaps all of the followers had different lessons they needed to learn as they waited on the Lord to let them know it was going to be okay. I know that the Lord wasn’t ignoring Nephi because He was too busy, because He wanted Nephi to squirm and struggle, because He was insensitive to the things that Nephi was experiencing. No, the Lord was providing an effectual struggle. I can guess at one potential lesson. Just like with patience, we need an opportunity to practice faith in order to increase our faith. There comes a point in your testimony where you start to feel pretty sure that God is there and aware of you. You have learned that lesson. God has shown up enough in your life that you know He’s got you. You have developed that faith. But the Lord calls on us to stretch and grow our faith beyond that. After you know He’s there, He wants to push us to trust that He’s going to show up at the right time with everything you need. You’re not going to have to practice faith with nothing to lose. Imagine if the story we were reading was different. There was no antagonism towards the believers. There were people who didn’t believe in Christ, people who believed that the time for the sign had passed. However, these non-believers didn’t give a rip about whether others believed a sign was still coming. The believers might have still looked forward with faith or the sign to come, but they had nothing to lose. If it never came, they didn’t really lose out on much. There was no test. There was no stretch. There was no effectual struggle. There was no opportunity to really decide whether you were going to hold on because it didn’t actually matter if you held on. The Lord gave them an opportunity to stretch when He remained silent for a time. It was an opportunity, not a punishment or a sign that He didn’t love them. It was the only way for them to become like Him. Surely these trials can take different forms. There will be times in our lives where we receive respite and care, and we’re immensely grateful for those times and we enjoy them. However, those effectual struggles are actually the tender mercies that we came to earth for. Utilize them. You don’t have to love them. Christ didn’t love the idea of suffering in Gethsemane so don’t put pressure on yourself to grin and bear it. But utilize the opportunities you’ve been given to stretch your faith and patience and whatever other gifts come from being tested. Recognize what they are for. Don’t use them as “evidence” that you’re being punished. Use them as evidence that the Lord is preparing you. Understand that there was no other way to give us what we had asked for: a chance to be like Him. I testify that you’re safe. I testify that the Lord is going to show up at the right time. I testify that you’re not going to be abandoned. I testify that the Lord’s overwhelming love is what drives Him to push us beyond what’s comfortable. I testify that appreciating the purpose of the effectual struggle of mortality can make our lives a fulfilling and less bitter process. If you wait on the Lord and trust Him, you are in no danger. Not really. Not when we’re talking about the eternities. We have already won so take your turn being stretched and recognize the struggle for what it is.     Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – 3 Nephi 1–7 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.