- Start at the general level. What do the scriptures say? What's going on in the story? This is a great time to find "power scriptures."
- Next, take it to the "we" level. How could this help the people close to you? What can you and the people you associate with work on and do better?
- Most importantly, bring it down to "I" level. How does this affect me and the way I'm living my life right now? What can I do to try a little harder to be a little better? At the grocery store, the items they want to sell the most are put at eye level. The authors of the Book of Mormon have done the same. You will often find the most important and meaningful things at "I" level. Pretty cool, right? :)
Now I want to share a scripture with you. It's found in 3 Nephi 22:7-8 "For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." I know I've had times when I've felt like I've been forsaken. The Lord will turn away from us because of wickedness, but He is anxious to welcome us back with open arms. The key is we have to be standing there, facing Him, reaching out in return.
One way that we can turn to Him is by always showing our love and gratitude for the Lord and all that He has done for us. There is a wonderful parable that James E. Talmage gave us. It's called the Parable of the Grateful Cat.
A scientist was on a walk through the woods when he came to a pond. There were two boys, one holding a picnic basket, followed by a mother cat. Then one of the boys reached into the basket and pulled out a baby kitten. He then threw it into the pond to drown. Just as they were about to launch another kitten, the scientist stopped them. He asked how they could do this to these poor kittens. The boys explained that they had been told to drown the kittens because the family already had the mother cat and didn't need kittens as well. The scientist asked if he could keep the kittens. The boys said yes and handed him the basket. As the scientist began to walk away, the mother cat followed him.
The following day, the scientist had some distinguished guests at his home. The mother cat walked in, holding a freshly killed, whole mouse in her mouth. She dropped the mouse at the scientist's feet and walked back out.
Why is this story so meaningful? Well, do you think the scientist felt incredibly honored to receive such a gift? No, probably not. Was he taken aback by the mother cat's generosity? Not likely either. But from the mother cat's perspective, that was one of the best things she could offer. It meant so much to her, and she chose to give it up to her master out of gratitude for saving her babies.
Now, bringing it back to "I" level. We are commanded to pay tithing and fast offerings. Do we give up ten percent of our income because the Lord needs the extra money? Of course not! Because He is the Almighty and all-powerful, He could use whatever means He wanted to bring about His work. But why tithing then? When we pay tithing, we give up a little of what's precious to us. It means something to the Lord because we are giving Him something that's valuable to us, just as the mother cat chose to give the scientist her freshly caught mouse. He can then turn it into something much more valuable, such as a temple where we can make covenants with Him. He has a way of turning things we give Him into things we desperately need.
Finally, one more simple way that we can show love to our Father in Heaven is attending church.
The official name of our church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My teacher dissected the name for us, and I found it incredibly powerful.
One way that we can turn to Him is by always showing our love and gratitude for the Lord and all that He has done for us. There is a wonderful parable that James E. Talmage gave us. It's called the Parable of the Grateful Cat.
A scientist was on a walk through the woods when he came to a pond. There were two boys, one holding a picnic basket, followed by a mother cat. Then one of the boys reached into the basket and pulled out a baby kitten. He then threw it into the pond to drown. Just as they were about to launch another kitten, the scientist stopped them. He asked how they could do this to these poor kittens. The boys explained that they had been told to drown the kittens because the family already had the mother cat and didn't need kittens as well. The scientist asked if he could keep the kittens. The boys said yes and handed him the basket. As the scientist began to walk away, the mother cat followed him.
The following day, the scientist had some distinguished guests at his home. The mother cat walked in, holding a freshly killed, whole mouse in her mouth. She dropped the mouse at the scientist's feet and walked back out.
Why is this story so meaningful? Well, do you think the scientist felt incredibly honored to receive such a gift? No, probably not. Was he taken aback by the mother cat's generosity? Not likely either. But from the mother cat's perspective, that was one of the best things she could offer. It meant so much to her, and she chose to give it up to her master out of gratitude for saving her babies.
Now, bringing it back to "I" level. We are commanded to pay tithing and fast offerings. Do we give up ten percent of our income because the Lord needs the extra money? Of course not! Because He is the Almighty and all-powerful, He could use whatever means He wanted to bring about His work. But why tithing then? When we pay tithing, we give up a little of what's precious to us. It means something to the Lord because we are giving Him something that's valuable to us, just as the mother cat chose to give the scientist her freshly caught mouse. He can then turn it into something much more valuable, such as a temple where we can make covenants with Him. He has a way of turning things we give Him into things we desperately need.
Finally, one more simple way that we can show love to our Father in Heaven is attending church.
The official name of our church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My teacher dissected the name for us, and I found it incredibly powerful.
- The: singular, there is only one
- Of: shows ownership or possession
- Latter-Day Saints: that's us! This sets this particular day and age apart
So, because the name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints ("of" is in bold for a reason), Christ owns this church. But look again, it is also our church. We jointly own it with Christ. But with that ownership comes great responsibility and work. We must be working together with Christ. Make that partnership the most successful one there ever was :)
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