Fix You

For anyone who knows me, they know that I am probably a little bit too much of a fan of Coldplay. I think they do a great job making music that comes from the soul. I think this may be why their songs are able to connect with me and so many others. One such song is "Fix You." After laying out the struggle of trying "your best but you don't succeed," Coldplay writes "lights will guide you home...and I will try to fix you."

In Alma 8, we read the account of Alma who has given up his political office to go around the land proclaiming repentance full-time. He visits a few towns and has success before being shut down completely by the people of Ammonihah. In response Alma begins to leave but the scriptures read "it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul...it came to pass that while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him" (Alma 8:14).

The angel would tell Alma to return to Ammonihah one more time and after obeying, Alma has moderate success in his endeavors. However, I think this scripture is meaningful for me because it is something that I feel as though I can relate to very much. There have been times where I have been giving everything I have got to do what is right and have felt incredibly dejected and almost alone when faced with disappointment. I think that during these times I have found myself deeply sorrowful and have even caught myself wondering why God would allow me to pass through failure when I have been trying so hard to do everything right.

I think the answer for me and for anyone who has felt or is feeling like this is hope--hope that a light will guide you home. For Alma, an angel came to him and comforted him. For me, it has been my angel family members, friends, or sometimes the Lord Himself through prayer who have helped guide me home. The real principle is this, love is not as allusive as it may feel at times.

When Alma needed comfort most, he did receive it and so can we. I know it can be awfully discouraging at times to feel like you are doing everything right only to be rewarded with a less than desirable outcome, but it is in these moments that we can learn to rely on others. The other principle I think may be less evident from Alma's story is that hardships help make us into God would have us become. I know trials are hard, but I do know that as we look for help, we will find it. I also know that if we persevere, God can "fix" us into who He knows we can become! So next time you are really struggling after giving your all, look up and try to see what God is making of you.

Feeling Like a Black Sheep, eh?

When you Google the the definition for the word infinite, the definition that you will find is "limitless or endless in space, extent, or size." This is a fairly tough concept to wrap our minds around, but we generally understand that something that is infinite is understood to be limitless. 

With that understanding in mind, we sometimes hear Christ's atonement (His suffering and death for us) described as infinite, and we understand that it can be enough to cleanse and strengthen anyone, anytime, anywhere. However, it has occurred to me over time from my own experience that while we understand this concept intellectually, I think that we at times may actually really feel in our hearts as though there is a limit to His atonement--a place, a time, a person that it does not cover. Unfortunately, I believe that this person more often than not for most people is themselves.

Many of us have known someone who has been touched by Christ's grace, and we know that many others have and can be as well, but at times it can be difficult for us to believe we can be included among these people. In Mosiah 29:20, the king of the Nephites reminds his people of how a part of them had recently been in bondage and teaches "[God] did deliver them because they did humble themselves before him; and because they cried mightily unto him he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work with his power in all cases among the children of men, extending the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him." 

The part of this teaching that I would like to call out is that Mosiah states in no uncertain terms that the Lord extends mercy in all cases. This means so much to me as I have felt before in my life that while the atonement was efficacious for others, I did not know if it could be efficacious for me. The strangest irony in this thought, though, is that as I have mentioned, this is not a unique thought--many of us at one point or another have felt this way. The atonement is in fact infinite and fortunately for us all, it does include all of us. I came to know this by calling upon Him for mercy myself and learning the truth that even for people who are certain His atonement won't work for them, sorry, (but not so sorry) it will.

For any of my friends or family who are living life wondering what others are talking about when they talk about how their lives have been changed by Christ, I would just invite you to try calling upon Him to strengthen you. For those of my friends and family who feel as I have in the passed in that they feel isolated and outside the bounds of His grace for whatever reason, I would just invite you to do the same. 

I don't know very many things absolutely, but I do know this. Christ loves us so much and anyone who trusts Him enough to try calling on Him sincerely can feel His truly matchless love as well. 

Make That Change!

Within The Book of Mormon, there are many different groups of people that readers encounter. However, two of the most notable groups are the Lamanites and the Nephites--long-time enemies of each other. Very early on within The Book of Mormon, the Nephites flee their homeland as instructed by the Lord, and the Lamanites then proceed to inhabit the land of Nephi. Later on, though, a group of Nephites led by a man named Zeniff decide that they would like to go live back in the land of Nephi if the Lamanites will let them. The Lamanites surprisingly do go for this with the implicit agreement that they will allow the Zeniff's people to live there peacefully. However, later on the Lamanites attack and while they are initially repulsed, we learn that predictably, the Lamanites agreed to these terms in hopes of enslaving Zeniff's people.

As a kid I can remember reading this story and thinking "Oh man! Bad idea to intentionally surround yourself with your enemies". Despite my skepticism of this move, I have still always tried to draw inspiration from Zeniff's people's ability to at least still stay strong in the faith even when surrounded by those who opposed their faith as long as they did. However, this time as a I read, I could not help but think about how strange it is that even once Zeniff realizes the Lamanites are not actually interested in being friends but are rather interested in enslaving His people that he doesn't pack up and lead his people to safety. Rather, Zeniff's response to realizing the Lamanites are likely to attack again is only to "set guards round about the land, that the Lamanites might not come upon us again unawares and destroy us" (Mosiah 10:2).

 I believe that his answer to this threat reveals perhaps a human flaw that when we are able to successfully survive something, we feel as though we can survive anything on our own power. As anyone who has read the next few verses and chapters knows, Zeniff's people are eventually enslaved despite his efforts to keep them safe. I think the principle this teaches is that we are not actually invincible. If we place ourselves in terrible places in our lives and do not get out of them once realizing that we are in a terrible place, we will likely fall. I think the truth "pride cometh before the fall" is really at the heart of this principle.

I know that at times I have been guilty of believing I can take on the world and not falter, but I think the truth is that only one has been able to do so successfully. I also think we have a tendency to blame God once we are enslaved after staying our bad places. For me personally, I feel as though God has always given me strength to get out of my bad places when  I have accepted that it is a bad place. I think for us, we need to be realistic in our expectations of our ability to not be influenced by others around us and recognize when we need to move to safer ground. This can mean changing friend groups, changing jobs, or just making large personal changes. While I know change is hard, I think in the long run, changing early can save us from greater pain. May we all recognize when we have been blessed with a chance to right our lives and take those chances as God gives them!

Starting- Just Do It!

As a looked through motivational quotes this week on the internet in an effort to inspire me amidst this week of midterms and assignments, I came across the old adage, “the beginning is always the hardest part.” I can certainly attest of this when it comes to getting ready for a test! However, I have found myself pondering upon this adage in the context of faith as well this week and would like to share with ya’ll my thoughts on this.

I have found that when it comes to the struggle of faith, (whether it be beginning to believe, trying again to believe, or just building upon existing faith) this adage seems to hold true. Contemplating the vastness of faith and God’s infiniteness can leave one’s head swirling. For the person who decides much like a determined student to succeed in their quest for faith, I feel certain that the most difficult question to be answered along the path remain will always be “where do I start?”.

This week as I read through King Benjamin’s words found within Mosiah 4:9, though, I was reminded of what I believe the answer to this difficult question is. King Benjamin teaches, “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth.” I believe the answer of where to start with faith begins with finding a belief in God.

I can remember heading into school one morning years ago while at BYU and pondering this very verse. At this point in my life all those years ago, I had begun to truly question the origins of my beliefs—had I come to espouse certain beliefs because of my upbringing or did I in fact, of myself believe in my faith along with its many tenets. This was truly upsetting to me, though, and despite a lot of introspection, I wasn’t really quite sure I could even answer the basic question with full conviction that I knew that God lived.

As I looked out across the Utah valley that morning, though, I saw the majesty of Mount Timpanogas just the sun began to break behind its peak. I saw the trees lining the rivers I passed. I saw all sorts of life—birds, humans, small pets—out and about enjoying the scenery. It was beautiful.

After taking in the nature for a little while, my attention was then drawn to something else—I saw a tall building.

For the first time it hit me how feeble our manmade creations are. As grand as that building looked, it had nothing on the mountains, trees, or life I saw all around me. It struck me as odd as I marveled at this skyscraper’s insignificance, though, how caught up and proud we are as a species despite obviously not being in contention for the best developers of beauty.

It was then that I recalled these words of King Benjamin. As I pondered upon his words, I began to desperately give all I had in that moment to believe in God and that it was He who had overseen the creation of all the beauty around me. As I did so, I felt a calm, reassuring peace settle over me, almost like a gentle voice telling me, “I’m glad to see you can see me.”

This scripture has come to mean to me that we begin our faith by believing in God. While this first step seems daunting, He is certainly not hard to see if we but look around. I believe that King Benjamin hoped that his words, while seemingly simplistic, would lead those sincere in their efforts to find faith to find Him. King Benjamin had seen evidences of God in all creation and I am grateful that I stopped to look as well.

I don’t know that everyone is as touched or inspired by seeing nature’s unrivaled majesty as I am but I know that God knows each one of us and can find a way for each of us to know Him personally if we will look for Him. I would just invite you all as my friends, no matter where you are at on your search for faith, to try to see Him today and believe.