The end of 1 Nephi

I just want to say that our computer has been out of commission for a few days, and then it was a little hard to get back on track. But I am here and back on track. I LOVED General Conference over the weekend. It was amazing. The thing that hit me strongest was when President Monson spoke about service. It made me think about who I am serving and how I can serve more and who and how I should be serving that I am not. If you haven't seen General Conference you can watch it online at http://www.lds.org/.



So 1 Nephi has ended with chapter 22. I am past there now, but I want to write a few things from that chapter that stood out to me. Verse 17 says, "Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire." Ok, I just think this confirms which team I want to be on. After listening to our Prophet, President Monson, speak I feel like when I read the words of the Book of Mormon prophets or the Bible prophets I can feel their strength even more. The Spirit has spoken to these men of God to lead us and prepare us and if we will listen and obey we will be preserved. The Lord has said it. Verse 20, "And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake,, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people. (21) And now I, Nephi declare unto you, that this prophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute judgment in righteousness." When I read these words I realize I have a lot to work on, but I do not have great fear because I do know I am trying to do what the Lord wants. If I knew He would be here today I would probably do more things like visit a whole bunch of sick people and preach the gospel in a greater capacity....but I know that I should have those feelings in my heart daily, not just as a result of panic:) So there would be some fear or embarrassment I think, I don't know how I would be able to get over that. I guess by doing much better! I think my greater fear would be for people I know that do not have the gospel and that I haven't been more diligently sharing. Its a hard thing to know how much you should be sharing so that the Spirit is felt and it doesn't feel pushy or scary. When I say it's a hard thing does that make me sound like Laman and Lemuel? Anyways, I am thinking of good friends I have had that know my beliefs but I haven't had great success in sharing the gospel with them. I fear for them and that maybe I didn't do enough to bring the gospel to them. Most of these people do not live near me. Do you think just mere contact through emails and blogs is enough? I do not want to face the misery of thinking that I didn't do for someone what I was supposed to do.

Verse 26, "And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power;" I remember learning at church that if we will be righteous we take away Satan's power. It is only us who actually gives him the power. I love knowing that and I hate it at the same time. I love knowing that I, with my Savior, have the power to take away Satan's power. I hate knowing that when I have fallen into temptation, no matter how small, that it was me who gave Satan that power over me. There is no one to blame...there is no innocence in those moments, but thankfully there is repentance and forgiveness!

The last few verses Nephi testifies, it again reminds me of our current Prophet and apostles. They testify to us so that we will know the truth of all things and so that we know TODAY what direction we are to go in. I think it is amazing how their words can touch each and everyone of us in exactly the way we need it. Verses 30-31, "Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider that the things which have been written upon the plates of brass are true; and they testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments of God. Wherefore, ye need not suppose that I and my father are the only ones that have testified, and also taught them. Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen." I love the last words, "And thus it is" It is just a very commanding statement. He is just saying, so here it is, it is what it is. This is truth, no "if" "ands" or "buts". Be obedient and endure, that is just it.