Scripture Reading Day:4 1 Nephi 12-13

It was a long day today which is why I am sitting here at 2 am doing my reading, but I did it and that's what's important. I'm sure I may miss a day or two over the next year for various reasons but I'm not about to do it 4 days in for a silly reason like being too busy. It only takes 10-15 minutes. I may be a little too tired to really study like I should but again, at least I managed to read something.

These 2 chapters bring talk to a great and abominable church that will come forth and be the mother of harlots. Harsh words there. It makes me wonder which church it's referring too and whether it's one in existence now or one that is still to come. I have my suspicions but it's just speculation and I won't spout off on things I really know nothing about. That's just asking for trouble.

Well, off to bed with hopes of reading chapters 14 and 15 earlier in the day tomorrow.

Scripture Reading Day 3: Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi Ch 8-11

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1Nephi chapter 8 is the chapter with Lehi's dream of the iron rod and the tree of life.

I've always loved this story and the analogy of the path to the tree as our path of righteousness in this life. Even when I'd fallen off the path and was floundering in the ditch, the truthfulness of this spoke to me.  It's hard path to take with the rod and it's an incredibly tough journey to fight your way back to the rod. I've been there and I've done it and in the last 6 months I find that life is easier holding on to the rod than off.

I only hope that I can continue to have the strength to hold on when it's so easy to let go.

Scripture Reading Day 2: Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi Ch 4-7

It's the second day of my year long scripture reading goal. Yesterday I read about Lehi's vision, his family leaving to live in the wilderness, and his sons returning to Jerusalem to retrieve the brass plates from Laban. Today starts out with Nephi having Laban delivered to him by the Lord so that Nephi can slay him and pose as Laban long enough to get the plates and get out, taking Laban's servant along for the ride. How hard would that be? I am an extremely non-violent person and I can't imagine being told to kill someone. It would be a very difficult thing for me to do, probably more difficult than dropping everything to live in the wilderness, but then again, I actually enjoy camping.

Once the boys get the plates home, and everyone celebrates their not being dead, Lehi is quick to study them intentlly, prophesying that these brass plates will reach every nation. I found the scripture 1Ne 6:6 sort of interesting. It states:

Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the children of men."

So he's basically telling those writers that will come after him to stick to the important facts and leave out embellishments or unnecessary tidbits. To me that means that nothing in the book is unessential. Every verse has some worth  so I guess I would be wise to pay attention to every single verse then.

Image by More Good Foundation via Flickr

Now,after everyone is home and settled again, Lehi tells the boys that they must go back and find some wives to take with them into the wilderness. They do as they are told but on the way back Laman and Lemuel get mighty ticked off at Nephi and tie him up. I know the stories well enough to know that this is just the beginning with these two.When I read the illustrated version to my kids, one of my sons remarked. "What is their
problem?" It made me laugh, I mean really how much does it take for these two to get the point? I had to remind my son that he doesn't like taking orders from his little brother either and he seemed to understand after that. Some people are just more stubborn that others. I should know, I've been one of them for awhile.

Tomorrow I'm onto  chapters 8-11.

Scripture Reading Day 1: Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi Ch 1-3

Today is the first day of my year of scripture reading goal. I plan to read a couple of chapters per day and if I stick to my plan, I'll have completed the Book of Mormon, D&C, Pearl of Great Price and the Bible exactly one day from today. This is a major part of my plan to arm myself with more knowledge of the gospel and to gain an even deeper testimony so that I may be better equipped to handle temptation in the future. I've fallen off the path once and I know how easy it can be to fall but that climb back up is steep and rocky and beyond difficult.

I'm starting today in the Book of Mormon. I'd like to think I have a small testimony of the gospel. I believe in all the things I've heard and I know the way I feel now that I'm back in the church as opposed to how I felt before. However, I think it's crucial that I read the book for my testimony to grow. I've only ever read bits here and there but I am determined this time to read the whole thing.

As I read through the very first chapter I had one verse kind of stick out to me. In that chapter it tells of Lehi receiving a vision and trying to warn everyone to change their ways or they will be destroyed. Verse 19 reads:

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"And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of the Messiah, and also the redemption of the world."

Wow, does that ever sound familiar. I look around and I see the LDS church being mocked for the same thing. People don't want to hear what we're saying and so they make fun of us. I just couldn't help but see the similarities there and I hope that in the future I can be brave and keep doing what I need to do even in the face of public ridicule. I couldn't imagine having to drop everything and take off, leaving my house, my stuff, and everything else behind. Then you get to what I think is one of the ultimate scriptures to remember 1Ne 3:7

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things that which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." 

I find that the promise in there is rather comforting. Sometimes it's really, really hard to do what you are supposed to. Sometimes it feels almost impossible but you read that and realize it's not impossible. If it's something that the Lord asks of you he will provide a way for you to do it. We have to realize that we're not alone in this. When it comes to doing the will of the Lord we have to remember that he has our back. It's only when we stop doing his will that we lose that help. I've tried to live without that help and I'll tell you that life was rough. I, personally, need to make an extra effort to remember this.

Tomorrow I'm moving forward with chapters 4-7.

Scripture Reading Goal

I've read bits and chunks of the scriptures but I feel that I lack  a basic understanding of all 4 scriptures. It's embarrassing to spend 5 minutes looking up a scripture reference only to realize you are looking in the Bible when you should be looking in the Book of Mormon and I'd like to change that. I've been busy (who hasn't) and it's not always easy to find a moment to sit down and read the scriptures but I know I work best with aconcrete goal and a clearly mapped out plan to reach that goal.

So, a few days ago I sat down armed with all four of the gospels and worked out a plan that would allow me to read all four over the course of the next year. It sounds like an enormous goal but it actually ended up amounting to about six pages per day or two to three chapters. I feel like that is a good amount for now. It's a decent amount to read without being overwhelming or hard to accomplish.

I thought about starting on Jan 1st but found I didn't want to wait that long. So I'm going to start tomorrow, November 1st, 2010 and finish November 1st, 2011. I'm excited to start and to be able to share my feelings on each reading everyday.

Little Intro

Hello, my name is Rachel and I am married with 3 kids. I was raised LDS but stopping going to church when I was a teenager due to some personal issues I had with a handful of people in my ward. My husband has a similar background and we've both remained inactive for all of our adult life until this point. About a year ago we started questioning what we were teaching our children. We had the basics down, how to walk, talk, use the potty, read, etc. Then as they got older we started being concerned about the sort of values and belief system we were instilling in them.

My daughter enjoyed spending many Saturday nights with Grandma and going to church with her on Sunday. One day she came home and asked me why daddy and I didn't go with her. I had no answer. In the spring of this year we decided to move and used that as an excuse to seek a fresh start in a new neighborhood and we headed back to church.

It's now been seven months since we began attending church again and the difference in our life has been dramatic. We are closer as a family and even though life can still be tough, it seems easier to face those trials now.

Now, despite several months of activity under my belt, I still feel as though I'm playing catch up. I look at the wonderful people in my ward and I'm in awe of their strong testimonies and knowledge of the scriptures and gospel and I feel so behind and inadequate.I know the only way to do that is to do the work and arm myself with knowledge and so I'm going to strive towards that, using this blog as a place to express my thoughts and work through my feelings as I walk this path.