Monday, September 26, 2011

How does the Lord make Nephi’s words strong?

We know Nephi considers himself a much better speaker than writer because he knows it is the Spirit that carries his spoken word into the hearts of men and he can tell when that is happening. He seems to feel a lot less confident of his writing because he can’t tell when it will make the right impression or not. (Aside: Every time I read his worries, I just want to yell," NEPHI, HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!? YOUR WORDS ARE GREAT!!")

In spite of his feelings about his weakness as a writer, he tells us how he knows the Lord will make his words strong.
4 And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life eternal.
5 And it speaketh harshly against sin, according to the plainness of the truth; wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I have written save he shall be of the spirit of the devil. (2 Nephi 33:4-5)
There are six good purposes in that list. So to apply this to our lives, especially to those of us who blog about the gospel, even if we feel our gospel writing is weak, if our words
  • Persuade others to do good
  • Make known to people of their ancestors and families
  • Speak of Jesus
  • Persuade others to believe in Jesus
  • Persuade others to endure to the end, which is eternal life
  • Speak harshly against sin using the plainness of the truth
...then the Lord will make our written words strong. It seems having a righteous intent and sticking very carefully to that is a big part in the Lord’s ability to make our words strong. I am encouraged by this, especially since so much sharing the gospel is online through the written word and we have no idea who may be reading what we’ve written.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've thought a lot about this sentiment of Nephi's. One thing I've noticed is that Nephi loved Isaiah, and Isaiah is a poet. I also love poetry. Have you ever tried to make a poem that expresses faith, and is good? Not cheesily inspirational, but Isaiah-like?

Always, I felt like Nephi needed to give himself a break when it came to his words - because they are amazing, and when I think about it, I think I understand what he means. It is the Spirit that makes his words amazing. It is not his use (or lack of use) of chiasmus, simile, or metaphor. He isn't a writer. He isn't a poet. He's a prophet.

I also love what you say about blogging. I've been at the blogging thing for a while, and recently, I've had to ask myself, what is my purpose? I think that I want to be better at being simpler and helping others to feel the Love the the Savior has for them.

As always, I love your posts. :)
-chococatania

Jocelyn Christensen said...

This seems like part B of your previous post...and all of it is so true and so useful to understand. I know from experience that this is true as well!

Becca said...

I am encouraged by this, too! I write about the scriptures and when I do I feel very inadequate. Most of the time I end up just quoting a lot of scriptures, and then bearing testimony about them. I don't really know enough to "expound" on scripture, really, but I do have a strong testimony.

Ramona Gordy said...

Thank you
Sometimes I feel that what I am writing in my own blog,may be too personal,or may be too much from my own experience's, but I am learning and it is confirmed by your post, that maybe what I am saying can help someone.