Feeeelings… nothing more than feeeeelings. Or something else?

Do you ever find yourself in a mental-emotional place where your feelings contradict the thing you know to be true?  Or when you don’t feel good about the thing you know to be right, or feel bad about the thing you know to be good?

It’s annoying, but it happens on occasion, and it is important to at least be able to recognize what is going on so that the feelings don’t get the upper hand.

I’m going to tell about a weird conversation I had with the Lord to illustrate how I discovered Satan had been working on me to try to stop me from making progress.

Heavenly Father, I don’t understand what’s going on. I have to finish these minutes for the meeting, but I don’t want to do it. But I also want to do it, and here I am folding clothes when I should be working on finishing the minutes. I’ve already done the biggest part of the minutes job, and it shouldn’t be a problem to finish it, but it feels like it is a huge job hanging over my head and I don’t want to do it.  I know I’m mostly finished, but I don’t feel how close I am. I know it shouldn’t be a big deal, but it feels like a big burden. Why am I feeling like this?  I know I have troubles finishing tasks as a symptom of ADD, but this seems different.

I also know that as I make the action list from the minutes, I will be creating a task list for myself as well as the other people in the organization. And when I’m done, I’m going to feel like I have to do all those tasks immediately instead of getting on to the tasks that are most important to me that I want to do today. I know I’m going to feel like this because this has happened in the past. It is possible I’m folding clothes because I’m trying to show myself I can do some tasks anyway that are important to me before I finish the minutes. That seems to make it a control issue; I’m trying to show I have control over what I choose to do.

This seems like a situation in which my feelings are lying to me. I don’t like that. Please help me to do what I know I need to do.

Feelings? Really?  Is it “nothing more than feelings”? 

Sometimes it is Satan.

It is Satan who attempts to hijack feelings like that. Feelings are very powerful, and they are useful for motivation, but they are changeable and can be manipulated. This is why it is a great safeguard that we are promised in the D&C the Lord will tell us things in both our mind and our heart.

When I finished my prayer, it was clear to me that Satan had been trying to attack me through my feelings. And if he’s doing that to me, he probably does that to you too. My prayers to Heavenly Father talking about the situation helped me realize it and know what I needed to do. (I trust that when I get done, I will feel happy about it, and the obstructing feelings will dissipate.)

Don’t let Satan win.

How to rally your troops

http://restoredtruth.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/raising-the-title-of-liberty/

Alma 43 is the chapter in which the Nephites defeat the Zoramite-Lamanite army led by Zarahemnah.

One of the interesting things about Alma 43 is that it contains at least three separate reiterations of the causes the Nephites were fighting for and causes the Lamanites were fighting for.  The cause is mentioned:

1.     as the people form up their armies,

2.     when Moroni places his armies to catch the Lamanites, and

3.     in battle when the Nephites are about to give away. 

Moroni makes sure the Nephite army has a good cause to fight for, while the Lamanite-Zoramite army had to be stirred up to anger and hate and had to have their hatred preserved.

It is hard to tell if each iteration of the cause was written in the record that Mormon was abridging or whether it was only there once and Mormon made a point of repeating the Nephite cause at important points.   (It is easy to understand why Mormon would be happy to transmit repetitions or emphasize repeatedly the Nephites’ just cause after having lived through battles in his day that were motivated by unjust causes.)  Regardless, it is instructive to notice where these repetitions come.

Mormon tells the Nephite cause at the point when the Nephites begin to amass their troops on the border of Jershon and Antionum in response to build-up of Lamanite troops in that area.  When armies and groups are mobilized somewhere, it is important that they know why their movement is important.

9 And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires.

 10 For they knew that if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites, that whosoever should worship God in spirit and in truth, the true and the living God, the Lamanites would destroy.

 11 Yea, and they also knew the extreme hatred of the Lamanites towards their brethren, who were the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, who were called the people of Ammon—and they would not take up arms, yea, they had entered into a covenant and they would not break it—therefore, if they should fall into the hands of the Lamanites they would be destroyed.

 12 And the Nephites would not suffer that they [the Anti-Nephi-Lehis] should be destroyed; therefore they gave them lands for their inheritance. (Alma 43:9-12, emphasis added)

Their mobilization was specifically to prevent the Anti-Nephi-Lehis from being destroyed, and from the larger perspective, it was to protect the Nephite nation from their enemies and preserve freedom of religion.

Mormon reiterates the Nephite cause as he tells the Nephites were about to use spying as a strategy to find out what their enemies were doing.  He figured that some of his readers might be leery of the Nephites using spies (with the lying that is implied in that strategy) to beat their enemies, so he reminds us of the Nephite cause.  Happily, if we are alert, we can see that the spying consists of placing men in the wilderness to watch for when the Lamanites come (v28), and sending men to watch the Lamanite camp to see where they go (v23).  There is no direct engagement with (lying to) the enemy.

23 But it came to pass, as soon as they had departed into the wilderness Moroni sent spies into the wilderness to watch their camp…

28 And Moroni placed spies round about, that he might know when the camp of the Lamanites should come.

 29 And now, as Moroni knew the intention of the Lamanites, that it was their intention to destroy their brethren, or to subject them and bring them into bondage that they might establish a kingdom unto themselves over all the land;

 30 And he also knowing that it was the only desire of the Nephites to preserve their lands, and their liberty, and their church, therefore he thought it no sin that he should defend them by stratagem; therefore, he found by his spies which course the Lamanites were to take. (Alma 43:23, 28-30)

All that watching of the Lamanite army (and watching for it to come) would get very boring if the Lamanites weren't doing anything (or it wasn't seen coming).  During the long periods of inactivity, the spies would need to remember the cause they were fighting for, so that they could remember the important contribution they made to the cause, even when it seemed like they weren't contributing at all.  A report of "Lamanites still in the same place" is just as much of a contribution to the Nephite cause as a report of invading Lamanites, since a "Lamanites unmoving" report would contribute some piece of mind. (If we apply this to ourselves, a visiting teaching or home teaching report of "families all well" contributes just as much to the cause of Zion as a report that one of our families needs help.)

Third, Mormon reiterates the Nephite cause when the Nephites are about to give way before the Lamanites to show why the Nephites ultimately did not give up and resumed their best efforts in the battle.

45 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.

 46 And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.

 47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion.

 48 And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their hearts with these thoughts—yea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage. (Alma 43:45-48, emphasis added)

Assuming all these iterations of the Nephite cause were in the unabridged record of how Captain Moroni rallied his men, we see that he is determined to keep their cause in mind at every important point.  We also see that when the battle gets especially difficult and they are about to give up, he again reminds them of their cause and this gives them the courage to call on God for help.   Interestingly enough, when the Nephites have the Lamanites at their mercy, Captain Moroni stops the battle to talk to the Lamanites, and we see that he even tries to rally and inspire them too with words about justice and faith.  (Too bad they rebel.)

I think that this attention to inspire and rally with important causes also inspired concern in Moroni’s army for each other and their leader.  I notice that when Moroni was attacked, one of his soldiers instantly came to his defense.  But when Zerahemnah had his scalp cut off, not a single Lamanite lifted a finger on his behalf.  Zerahemna could command his men, but he hadn’t reached their hearts.  His leadership over them was rooted in stirring them up to anger and preserving their hatred of the enemy.  Moroni’s leadership was rooted in love, defense of country, liberty, religion, and family.  His army saw all this in the way that Moroni prepared them for battle, so they defended him just as he tried to defend them.

One of the things I learn from all this is how important it is to remember the causes we are fighting for.  This also shows me how wonderful people are who have that ability to rally us and inspire us to persevere in the best causes.  What are some causes we believe in?

·      Freedom of conscience, freedom to practice our religion

·      Common decency and morality to keep our families safe from blatant and ubiquitous temptations of the worst sorts

·      Justice and equal enforcement of the laws

·      The cause of Zion and building up the kingdom of God

Another thing this teaches me is how our important it is to us to be inspired when we’re in a tricky situation where we have to stay strong and fight for our standards.  When someone rallies us by reminding us of the cause we are fighting for at those moments, oh how wonderful it seems to us!  Renewed determination can help us find strength we never knew we had.

A final thing I get from this is how important it will become for us to be able to rally others.  Mothers and fathers rally their children.  Teachers rally their students.  Coaches rally their players.  Politicians rally their supporters.  CEOs and managers rally employees. 

We see that rallying others with true and unselfish principles will be more successful than trying to use fear or anger or hate or grievance.

Finally, we can rally ourselves by reminding ourselves what we are working and fighting for.  For example, every so often it gets really hard for me to continue blogging about the scriptures here.  I ask myself,  “Why do I keep doing this?  This is a ton of work!  I’m always worrying about whether what I have written is good enough!”  I have to remind myself that I’m not doing this for fame or fortune.  I’m doing it to share what I’ve learned so that others can come to understand what I understand and learn what I am learning.  I’m doing it to help others appreciate the scriptures more deeply.  I’m doing it in hopes of persuading to repentance.  I’m doing it to try to bring others to God.  Remembering that gives me strength to keep at it.

How do you rally your troops? 

Pioneer, O pioneer

http://thoughtsonlds.blogspot.com/2010/07/pioneer-day.html

Ed D. Lauritsen wrote a poem entitled "Pioneer," that was published in the Dec 1997 Ensign which I think deserves to be remembered, especially at this time.  I really wish someone would put this to music.  Take your time as you read each line, and see how the sensory language pulls you in.

Pioneer

 

Hear the midnight mobs still hounding,
Hear the gunshots still resounding,
Hear the fist on doors still pounding,
Pioneer, O pioneer.

 

Smell the smoke of houses burning,
Feel the Mississippi churning,
Taste the tears of grief and yearning,
Pioneer, O pioneer.

 

Hear the icy night wind screaming,
See your breath in lamplight steaming,
Keep awake! There’s death in dreaming,
Pioneer, O pioneer.

 

Chip a frozen grave for brother,
Grip the trembling hand of mother,
Live one day, and then another,
Pioneer, O pioneer.

 

Lash and bend and drag and carry,
Ration every root and berry,
Grit your way across the prairie,
Pioneer, O pioneer.

 

Climb the mountains, steep and looming,
Hear the crashing boulders booming,
See the oxen straining, fuming,
Pioneer, O pioneer.

 

Gaze at last with soulful sighing,
See the object of your trying,
Join the thankful singing, crying,
Pioneer, O pioneer.

 

Tame the desert, bring the waters,
Raise up Zion’s sons and daughters,
Steady them while mammon totters,
Pioneer, O pioneer.

 

Send your stripling missionaries,
Send them over seas and prairies,
Send them while the Spirit tarries,
Pioneer, O pioneer.

 

Watch us now from where you’re waiting, 

See the millions congregating,

Shout in holy celebrating!
Pioneer, O pioneer.

Be sure you take a look at this page of little stories about the pioneers from modern prophets and apostles.  

After 168+ years, we are still inspired by their experiences.  

Not understanding the word of God and other obstacles to bearing fruit

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. (Matt 13:19)

This shows us how important it is to understand God’s words.  The things we hear and don’t understand are easily taken away and discarded.  This also suggests how important it is to teach the gospel plainly and simply.

When I was reading this from the parable of the sower, I also started to see that the four types of ground not only illustrates four different ways that different people respond to the word of God, but also illustrates the obstacles we are all up against to receive it.

The first obstacle, of course, is understanding it.  The Lord tries to make this obstacle as small as possible by making the gospel simple and easy to understand because if we don’t understand, we lose it really fast.

The second obstacle is tribulation and persecution.  If we can’t stay steadfast, we lose our place in the kingdom and the gospel seems like a fair-weather philosophy.  (Thank goodness it is not though.; it can get us through hurricanes.)

The third obstacle is competing concerns of the cares of the world and the temptation for gain and riches, which can certainly steal our energy and commitment—“choking the word.”

The fourth obstacle is simply us and our limitations and weaknesses. 

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Matt. 13:23) 

Bearing fruit thirty or sixty-fold doesn’t seem like a problem or an obstacle, but if the goal is bearing a hundredfold, we see there is still some obstacle in the way.  Maybe it isn’t really a limitation in us; maybe the obstacle has to do with how much seed we sow and grow.  Maybe there is something about the law of the harvest here.  The fourth obstacle we have to overcome is lack of commitment, which determines how much we put into obedience and discipleship.  

Importance of frequent provisioning

Alma 57 is another chapter in which the great acts of the stripling warriors in the second part overshadow the text of the first part. So we will look at that first part. Here Helaman reports how he was able to regain the city Cumeni. Notice how important provisions become to this story.

6 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the twenty and ninth year, we received a supply of provisions, and also an addition to our army, from the land of Zarahemla, and from the land round about, to the number of six thousand men, besides sixty of the sons of the Ammonites who had come to join their brethren, my little band of two thousand. And now behold, we were strong, yea, and we had also plenty of provisions brought unto us.
7 And it came to pass that it was our desire to wage a battle with the army which was placed to protect the city Cumeni.
8 And now behold, I will show unto you that we soon accomplished our desire; yea, with our strong force, or with a part of our strong force, we did surround, by night, the city Cumeni, a little before they were to receive a supply of provisions.
9 And it came to pass that we did camp round about the city for many nights; but we did sleep upon our swords, and keep guards, that the Lamanites could not come upon us by night and slay us, which they attempted many times; but as many times as they attempted this their blood was spilt.
10 At length their provisions did arrive, and they were about to enter the city by night. And we, instead of being Lamanites, were Nephites; therefore, we did take them and their provisions.
11 And notwithstanding the Lamanites being cut off from their support after this manner, they were still determined to maintain the city; therefore it became expedient that we should take those provisions and send them to Judea, and our prisoners to the land of Zarahemla.
12 And it came to pass that not many days had passed away before the Lamanites began to lose all hopes of succor; therefore they yielded up the city unto our hands; and thus we had accomplished our designs in obtaining the city Cumeni. (Alma 57:6-12, emphasis added)

Essentially Helaman besieges the Lamanites by disrupting their supply lines. It is very interesting how this is described. It says that the Nephite army surrounded the city “a little before they were to receive a supply of provisions.” This tells us that Helaman had observed that the Lamanite supply came according to a schedule, so he used that schedule to get in the way. Then there is another little interesting detail—“at length their provisions did arrive”—that “at length” sounds like the Lamanite provisions were significantly delayed. What kind of effect did this have? At first, the Lamanites were still determined to keep the city, but then “not many days had passed away before the Lamanites began to lose all hopes of succor,” so they gave up the city. (Unbeknownst to them, another Lamanite army with provisions was coming their way in verse 17, but the Cumeni Lamanites had lost faith, so they couldn’t wait and they gave up.)

Satan knows when we are scheduled to receive reinforcements and provisions, so he tries to get in the way. We get a supply of strength ever week at church. Just two weeks ago, a woman in our ward shared her experience of having to work hard to resist Satan’s temptations as he tried to prevent her from going to church. Even though she felt like her health problems (of a physical frailty type) provided her with a legitimate excuse to stay home, she also had the feeling that it was important to come to church and she was elated to tell us during Relief Society that she had experienced a spiritual outpouring that had made it worth it for her to come. She had prevented Satan from disrupting her spiritual supply lines.

We get a supply of strength from going to the temple. So of course Satan will try to get in the way of us going then too. I remember as a teen that my Mom told me that she always seemed to be hit with extra opposition just as she and Dad were getting ready to go on the 100-mile trip to the Chicago temple. She told me Satan would try to prevent it. I began to see it too at the beginning of our youth temple trips, which happened twice a year. Someone would always join the car pool group feeling irritated and cranky for seemingly no reason and it seemed that Satan was trying to destroy our peace. Thankfully, the prayer to bless the trip seemed to smooth things over. Other obstacles are: forgetting temple recommends, late starts, car troubles, etc. I can just imagine the troubles that families with children face.

We get a supply of strength from general conferences. So Satan tries to disrupt that experience for us too. When I was a college student, it seemed like every time conference came around, inexplicably I’d have loads of homework dumped on me, and though I had gotten to the point that I was determined to watch conference and let homework go, it was still tempting to allow the stress get to me and affect my attitude between sessions and my relationship with my husband. I didn’t even notice that I had this problem until my husband pointed it out.

We can get a supply of strength from a number of other things, such as prayer, scripture study, and fasting. We can get it from religion classes, gospel discussions, family home evenings, church broadcasts, and church magazines. But it is often up to us how often these things are in our lives. The more sporadic they are, the more Satan will try to get in the way.

We have so many sources of strength to supply us, and this story from the Book of Mormon shows us that it matters how often we are supplied. The Lamanites were scheduled to be supplied only once in a while, and if something got in the way, they were in big trouble. In terms of spiritual things today, if the only provision we get is at church on Sunday, if we miss church, we’re in big trouble. (Personally, I really don’t see how a member can get by today just by going to church.)

Not only did an army get in the way of the Lamanite provisions, the people who were to supply the men and provisions delayed sending them, and that delay, added to the obstruction, caused the Lamanite army at Cumeni to lose all hope of succor. They lost hope that help would ever come because the previous delay sent a message that headquarters didn’t care about them. This shows us that if we delay reinforcing and supporting our children or those who depend on us, they will feel like we don’t care and they will lose hope and give in to… whatever. So how often do we mentally, physically, and emotionally and spiritually reinforce and supply our families, particularly our children, as they are under siege? How often do we seek strength from the Lord?

It seems that the Lamanites actually learned from their mistakes, and in the very next chapter, Helaman reports that “the Lamanites were also receiving great strength from day to day, and also many provisions” (Alma 58:5). The Lamanites figured out that it was much better to supply many provisions to their armies daily than to only send a big shipment every once in a while and risk having the big one disrupted. It is the same for us. It is best for us to give plenty of spiritual reinforcement to our families daily with family scripture time and family prayer than to only do a big thing once in a while. It is better to build the 3 month supply in increments than to get it all at once. It is better to receive our strength from the Lord through daily scripture study and personal prayer than to have a big spiritual binge session every once in a while.

Have you ever had experiences when your spiritual provisions were disrupted? If so, how did you remove the obstacle? If you’ve never allowed a disruption of your spiritual supply line, please tell when you realized the importance of it and how you have prevented that disruption.

Image: Dvids Defense video & imagery distribution system, http://www.dvidshub.net/image/292348/army-food-service-workers-serve-soldiers, U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Joseph Rivera, 120th Public Affairs Detachment

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

I’m continually looking for new ways to understand phrases in the scriptures and one that has always eluded me was “prepare ye the way of the Lord”. My question has always been, “The Lord is pretty powerful; why does He need us to prepare the way?” The main thing I always thought of was of John the Baptist preparing the way for Christ.

Thanks to Desert Highway Ministries, I found a fascinating insight here.

So the general gist that I get is that there are obstacles between us and the Lord that keep Him from coming closer to us. Those obstacles are our sins, and in spite of all He wants to do for us, He can’t get closer until those obstacles are removed through our repentance. How hard are we making it for God to get to us? What obstacles are you putting in His path? (I’ve made a mental list of the obstacles I have to get rid of.)

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low;
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough places plain:
(Isaiah 40:3-4)

In verse four, we are given a list of various obstacles that need removal.

“Every valley shall be exalted” – Certainly valleys could symbolize depression. Sometimes I get into a blue funk just because I can. Fortunately, I know how to get out. (see the chapter of my book on obtaining joy here) For others with depression from chemical imbalances, it may require professional intervention and medication. Escaping depression allows us to experience the joy that the Lord wants for us.

“every mountain and hill shall be made low” – I feel that this is talking about how we need to remove pride from our lives. I have troubles with pride often and I’ve found counting my blessings and remembering how the Lord has blessed me humbles me. Removing pride prepares us to receive the greater truths that He wants to teach us.

“and the crooked shall be made straight” – I feel that this is talking about how crime is an obstacle that we need to remove. Dishonesty of any kind, crooked dealings certainly estrange us from God. Removing crookedness gives us confidence.

“and the rough places plain” – I think this could be talking about maybe two different things. It could be referring to the abrasive parts of our personalities and how we need to put some polish on our social skills and learn how to smooth things over. It could also talk about teaching styles and changing from an attitude of trying to make it hard for people to learn something (like weed-out classes) to trying make ideas as clear as possible. I think this prepares us with charity.

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together:
for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
(Isaiah 40:5)

Here is the promise we are given about what will happen when we have removed those obstacles between us and God. His glory will be revealed to us. I take that to mean both spiritual and literal. Spiritually, we will understand better what the Lord is like, because we will have made ourselves more like Him. And literally, as we remove the obstacles, sooner or later He will visit us and we will see Him face to face.