Journey of Faith Video Reflections

I have seen some of this movie in my other BOM class. I thought it was really interesting to note all of the proof that has been found over the years that supports what is in the BOM. Joseph Smith prophesied to someone that if they lived into the next century, they would see proof unfold that supported the BOM's content. There is just absolutely no way that Joseph Smith could have written this on his own. Everything, every detail, is so perfect, that a man with an eigth grade education could not have invented something like this in his wildest dreams. There were cities discovered that were mentioned in the BOM, cities that before had gone undiscovered. The Lord revealed these things in His own time.

I will admit, I fell asleep watching some of this movie; I had a very late night last night. But the video brings up things that I don't think we think about too often; they start to really talk about Lehi and Sariah and Nephi as actual people. I know that for me I don't always think of them as actual people; but they really, really talk about who they were. They talk about Nephi's interest in blacksmithing, and about how he took the time to comment on the detail and craftsmanship of Laban's sword. They talked about how Lehi would have looked to his sons Laman and Lemuel, and how crazy he must have seemed to them. I think one thing important to note is that the way Laman and Lemuel behave is very characteristic of people back in that time. Even though they disagreed with their father, they still left with him, because that was the custom of the family members in that time period. Every tiny detail is absolutely perfect, from the customs to the geography and the descriptions of different locations. Like the man in the video said, this is from God.

Project #3

For my project this week I decided to share what I'd learned with my roommate Kenzie and her friend, Jacob. I talked to them about what I had learned about repentance in class today. Although I didn't actually learn something while teaching them, class helped me clarify a confusion that I'd had before. I'd read somewhere that we aren't supposed to repent everyday, yet we were being told to repent always. I learned that we aren't always repenting of huge things, but that by keeping Christ and his Atonement in our hearts, we are daily repenting. We are remembering the sacrifice of Heavenly Father's Only Begotten Son so that we could return and live with him again. Although repentance is a painful process, the Lord is the one who experienced the real pain; he is the only one that can wash away our sins, and the Atonement and God's grace are the only ways we can come to live with Him again. It is amazing that Jesus Christ loved us so much that he died for us. Although I don't remember him from the pre-existence, he remembers me while I am here. He loved me enough to die for my sins, me who is so unworthy. He died so all of us could have salvation. Yet everyday I do things that insult his sacrifice for us; we all do. Thanks heavens for repentance. Without it, we would all be lost causes. I know there are things that I need to work on in my life. I am not perfect, and none of us are; sometimes it seems impossible to be as Heavenly Father is, for he commands us to be perfect even as He is perfect. Yet, we can still live with Him again, through His and Christ's sacrifice. Heavenly Father felt so much pain to sacrifice His Son, but He loved us enough to support this plan of salvation. I hope that I can appreciate it more in the future, and come to love my Heavenly Father and my Savior as much as they love me. I hope I can come to love my fellow man in the same way, too, and that I will be humble enough to do what I need to do to live with my Heavenly Father again. We must all remember that repentance is an everyday thing, and that we should not procrastinate repenting of our sins, because one day it will be too late, and we will be judged for our works. Let us all strive to be a better people, and come to love one another even as Christ and our Father in Heaven loves us.

Book of Mormon Project #4

For this project, I chose to memorize 3 Nephi 11:29, which reads: "For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another." I was not so much learning something new by memorizing this scripture, but rather reinforcing a truth that I have heard before; however, it is one that is very important and one we should all remember. Sometimes we get to caught up in our daily lives that we don't stop to think of the little things we might say or do. We might have a bad morning, and snap at a roommate or loved one, or fight with that person, and think nothing of it. However, when we are doing things like this, the Spirit is leaving us and we are inviting Satan into our lives. I don't think that people really think about this, and I know I certaintly don't; this scripture has reawakened me to the truth that when we are contentious we are of the devil. It may seem harsh to say that, but that's the reality of the matter. Since I decided to memorize this scripture, hopefully I will be able to keep this truth in my mind as I go about my life now, and try to be as kind to my fellow man as I can. I know that I whine and groan about people, and even get into verbal fights with some people; I'd certaintly forgotten about this scripture up until I happened upon it when looking for one to memorize. However, maybe because of some things that have recently been happening, God wanted me to find this scripture, to reinforce this truth in my life. It is certaintly something that I can work on, being non-contentious, and I'm sure there will times when I will need to work on it further. However, because God is patient, He will allow me to work on it as much as I need to; hopefully I will take advantage of His patience and mercy and live my life according to the things Christ taught, so that I may return and live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again.