Obtaining salvation from God is like drawing water from a well

2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.

3 Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. (2 Nephi 22:2-3)

Here Nephi quotes Isaiah 12 in which Isaiah compares the process of obtaining salvation to getting water from a well. I think imagining the process helps me understand better.

I can imagine going to the place of the well with an empty water pot, thirsty and with full expectation that there will be plenty of water there. Christ is our well from which we draw out salvation. Dropping the bucket down in is easy, but pulling it out takes more work, just like praying for forgiveness is easy, but summoning the real intent and maintaining commitment can be harder. Yet the joy and anticipation of obtaining forgiveness helps you continue. And you can taste the forgiveness; it is refreshing just like water.

Image 1: Travel Pot, "Staying in a nomad's Ger," http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/markandkaty/1/1305236123/tpod.html#_

Image 2: Plumpy'nut Press, "Happy World Water Day!", http://plumpynutpress.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/happy-world-water-day/

Limhi’s people humble themselves

13 And they did humble themselves even to the dust, subjecting themselves to the yoke of bondage, submitting themselves to be smitten, and to be driven to and fro, and burdened, according to the desires of their enemies.

14 And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility; and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions. (Mosiah 21:13-14)

When I was reading this recently it stuck out to me all of a sudden the different ways humility is described in these verses.

I notice that when they humble themselves “to the dust,” it is to men, and when they humble themselves “in the depths of humility,” it is to God. This suggests that humility to God is deeper than humility to men.

Verse 3 has some interesting words associated with humbling oneself (even if it is to men)—“subjecting themselves” and “submitting themselves.” This shows us that self control goes along with humility. Force is not required; the decision to obey is made without force. In the case of King Limhi’s people, they didn’t humble themselves until they had been beaten three times in battle, but if they hadn’t finally humbled themselves, they would have been completely forced into it.

It could be argued that because the people of Limhi “cried mightily…all the day long…unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions” (v14) that they weren’t totally subjected by the Lamanites. They still wanted to be free and hoped God could free them, rather than being content to be slaves. This shows it is possible to have an outward humility while still wanting out.

When they humbled themselves to God, we see that this humility consisted of mighty prayer for deliverance, which they most wanted. However, it didn’t yet extent to repentance and forsaking their sins. “And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities…” (Mosiah 21:15) It seems repentance was the final ingredient needed for total humility.

It is possible that their bondage to the Lamanites was a learning experience and training and chastisement that would help them learn to submit and subject themselves to the Lord. It would help them appreciate the lighter demands the Lord makes.

These verses make me think hard about what I do to indicate my humility to the Lord. Does my humility involve:

• Subjecting myself?
• Submitting myself?
• Crying mightily to God all the day long?
• Repenting?

I think I have incorporated a few of those factors, but I don’t think I have implemented them all. How about you?

The other Ammon and priesthood worthiness

We talk a lot about Ammon, missionary son of Mosiah, but recently I realized that the other Ammon (the one in the Book of Mosiah, the one who finds the people of Limhi) is a pretty good missionary too, though he had some problems.

32 And now since the coming of Ammon, king Limhi had also entered into a covenant with God, and also many of his people, to serve him and keep his commandments.

33 And it came to pass that king Limhi and many of his people were desirous to be baptized; but there was none in the land that had authority from God. And Ammon declined doing this thing, considering himself an unworthy servant.

34 Therefore they did not at that time form themselves into a church, waiting upon the Spirit of the Lord. Now they were desirous to become even as Alma and his brethren, who had fled into the wilderness.

35 They were desirous to be baptized as a witness and a testimony that they were willing to serve God with all their hearts; nevertheless they did prolong the time; and an account of their baptism shall be given hereafter. (Mosiah 21:32-35)

“since the coming of Ammon, king Limhi had also entered into a covenant with God, and also many of his people, to serve him and keep his commandments.” (emphasis added) – This suggests that Ammon had had a good influence on Limhi and his people somehow. This made me curious to go searching for what Ammon did that brought this about and I found it near the very beginning of the story, in Mosiah 8:2-3.

2 And he [Limhi] caused that Ammon should stand up before the multitude, and rehearse unto them all that had happened unto their brethren from the time that Zeniff went up out of the land even until the time that he himself came up out of the land.

3 And he [Ammon] also rehearsed unto them the last words which king Benjamin had taught them, and explained them to the people of king Limhi, so that they might understand all the words which he spake. (Mosiah 8:2-3)

Ammon must have repeated for King Limhi and his people everything from that powerful sermon of King Benjamin’s and explained it all. Undoubtedly this would lead the people to want to repent and make a covenant with God as King Benjamin’s people had. I have personally seen in my life recently how sharing stories of courageous, righteous acts can inspire others to do the same thing.

But back to Mosiah 21:32-35.

And it came to pass that king Limhi and many of his people were desirous to be baptized; but there was none in the land that had authority from God. And Ammon declined doing this thing, considering himself an unworthy servant. (v33)

Verse 33 shows us something important—for a baptism to occur, there must not only be someone who wants to be baptized, there must also be someone else with 1) authority from God who is 2) spiritually prepared to baptize. All the priests of Noah were gone, but fortunately, Ammon somehow had priesthood authority… except there was a problem--Ammon declined to baptize on the grounds he didn’t feel worthy at that time.

I think we can get a number of lessons from this.

First, Ammon is a good example of understanding his own spiritual status. We have no idea why he considered himself unworthy, but it is commendable that he had the courage to decline even when he was the only one around with authority. (That must have been very difficult; think of the pressure that was on him!)

Second, it shows us how important it is that priesthood ordinances be performed by worthy individuals. Ammon valued worthiness as a priesthood holder more than just making people happy by “going with the flow.”

Third, it shows how important it is to live so as to always be spiritually prepared at any time to perform priesthood ordinances. Ammon probably never imagined he might someday be the only one around with authority to baptize, and modern priesthood holders get to see the consequences of this so that they can learn not to make the same mistake.

Another good thing about these verses is that they show something very interesting—the covenant with God can be a separate act from baptism, but baptism still has to take place eventually as a witness or testimony of that covenant. How might this principle be important? Some people find the gospel at a time in their lives when they can’t get baptized immediately. For instance, a teenager whose parents will not allow him/her to get baptized can still make a covenant with God to serve Him, and keep that covenant to the time they come of age to get baptized. As another example, individuals in prison who find and believe the gospel can’t get baptized until they are released, but making a covenant with God can serve them for the time in prison until they can be baptized as a witness they made that covenant.

Ammon is an interesting character in the Book of Mormon. He taught the words of King Benjamin such that many people were convinced they needed to covenant with the Lord and get baptized. Yet his unworthiness stymied him from exercising his priesthood power fully. I hope the men of the church can avoid his predicament.

In which Moses almost has his life shortened substantially

The following occurs as Moses and his family are traveling back to Egypt to deliver Israel from bondage according to the instructions the Lord had given Moses.

24 ¶And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met [Moses],

and sought to kill him.

25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

27 ¶And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.

28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. (Ex 4:24-28)

This is a very weird incident. It seems like the Lord becomes angry suddenly and arbitrarily. Thankfully, we have the Joseph Smith Translation to help us.

24 And it came to pass, that the Lord appeared unto him as he was in the way, by the inn. The Lord was angry with Moses, and his hand was about to fall upon him, to kill him; for he had not circumcised his son.

25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and circumcised her son, and cast the stone at his feet, and said, Surely thou art a bloody husband unto me.

26 And the Lord spared Moses and let him go, because Zipporah, his wife, circumcised the child. And she said, Thou art a bloody husband. And Moses was ashamed, and hid his face from the Lord, and said, I have sinned before the Lord.

27 And the Lord said unto Aaron, go into the wilderness to meet Moses, and he went and met him, in the mount of God; in the mount where God appeared unto him; and Aaron kissed him. (JST Ex. 4:24-27)

When studying this story, my first question was, “What does Zipporah mean by ‘Thou art a bloody husband’?” It seems extra odd because Zipporah was the one that did the circumcising, so she’s the one who gets bloody, if anyone does. We can tell she’s frustrated with Moses, even if we don’t understand her exact words. Throwing the cut foreskin at Moses’s feet seems petulant, as if it is the last straw.

Looking deeper, it seems like she becomes an additional witness to the Lord’s anger, since both the Lord and she are angry at the same time. This gives us a hint that she also had some spiritual perception. She knew what had to be done, and because her husband wasn’t doing it, she did it.

Did she consider her husband bloody because he had made her do a bloody job? Or did she consider him bloody because he had almost been killed by the Lord? Maybe she was saying that his disobedience was putting his whole family at risk. If he disobeyed, he would be killed, and then she would be left a widow without protection (and these were days when there wasn’t life insurance) with a child to raise. Maybe she was saying the equivalent of “It’s a dangerous and deadly thing to be the wife of a disobedient prophet,” or “You’re a dangerous man to be married to.”

To Moses, this must have really stung. Here he was, about to go down to Egypt and carry out this mission to lead Israel out of bondage, and even before he starts, he has gotten himself in deep trouble with the Lord because of disobedience. (For Moses to not circumcise his son would be like President Monson not baptizing his son at age 8.)

Zipporah’s reproach must have brought back the terrible feelings of inadequacy. He must have spiraled down into depression, which caused him to hide his face from the Lord. (I know what that feels like.)

“I have sinned before the Lord,” Moses said. It’s a simple admission, but there is so much unspoken turmoil of feeling packed inside it, such as the following:

“What I did was terrible,”

“I did it in the most blatant way, even knowing I was doing wrong and determined to do it anyway.”

“I feel terrible about it.”

“I don’t know how to make it right.”

“I don’t know if the Lord will forgive me.”

“If I can’t be freed of this sin or any desire to disobey, I will not be able to do the Lord’s work, and I will be cast off forever”

Moses had to go through repentance too.

After this, the Lord sends Aaron to go find Moses and meet him. When Aaron meets Moses, he greets him with the kiss of brotherly affection. The love of an older sibling is a wonderfully encouraging thing. I can imagine that meeting Aaron in the mount of God, where God had appeared to Moses, must have been a very happy experience. (This reminds me of how neat it is to meet family in the temple.) So Moses tells Aaron everything and then has the joy of seeing Aaron accept his words. This success must have further fortified Moses. Then they go together to the Israelites, and thus begins the struggle for deliverance.

What does this mean for us today? It shows us that even Moses, as great a prophet as he was, had to learn lessons about obedience. It is another example of the principle that where much is given, much is required, and he who sins against the greater light will receive the greater condemnation. It shows us that the Lord really can and will take a prophet out of mortality who presumes to disobey the commandments. But it also shows that the Lord is merciful when prophets repent. It also shows us how seriously we should take the parental responsibility to bring our children up in the covenant.

Gratitude challenge: 10 aspects of the economy I’m thankful for

I want to continue to cultivate gratitude, so in addition to my post “Take the Gratitude Challenge,” I thought I’d continue my list, this time with 10 things about the economy that I’m thankful for. (Yes, I know the economy is troubled, and people are having a very difficult time, but there are things about having an economy that make our lives better, so we really need to remember these things.)

1. I’m thankful for money. It is wonderful to have something that can be used as a universal means of exchange. Using money means that it is a lot easier to exchange our services for things that we need. Rather than having to search hard to find someone who needs our skills and has something we need, we can use money in our exchange.

2. I’m thankful for prices. Prices mean that I have a way to compare value and decide what I can or can’t afford. (Prices also cause me to be even happier when I find something FREE!)

3. I’m thankful for savings. I’m glad it is possible to save because it means that I can sacrifice now for something big I want in the future. It is wonderful to be able to store money for use later. Building savings makes financial preparations possible.

4. I’m thankful for banks. I’m grateful for banks because they eliminate worry about whether our money is safe or not. Without banks, everyone would have to find a secret place in their house to keep their money and they would always be worried about being robbed. Also, without banks, if you needed to borrow a lot of money, you would have to get a very rich person to agree to lend, or get a lot of your neighbors to agree to lend. Borrowing from banks makes it simpler.

5. I’m thankful for checks. Checks are something to be grateful for because it means you don’t have to carry quantities of cash around with you to pay someone. It means that you can pay someone exactly what you owe while keeping your money in the bank.

6. I’m thankful for credit. Credit causes a lot of problems if we don’t use it very carefully, but when we do, it can be very helpful. Credit means that you can get what you need when you know you will have money but don't have it yet; people are willing to trust you that you will eventually pay them. I am thankful that people trust enough to give credit.

7. I’m thankful for taxes. You may think I’m crazy, but yes, I’m also thankful for taxes (within limits, of course). Paying taxes means that no one person is burdened with the full cost of providing services for the public good. It also means that I can help pay for roads and schools and the protection of police and I don’t have to worry about exactly how to spend that money.

8. I’m thankful for contracts. They make it possible to make a complicated exchange over a period of time. They also make it so that you don't have to renegotiate an exchange that you know is going to happen often in the future the same way each time. I’m thankful they can be written down so that each party remembers what they agreed to do and what they can expect from the other parties in the contract.

9. I’m thankful for buying on the internet. Buying on the internet makes it easier for me to find things that I need even when I can’t find them for sale in my town.

10. I'm thankful for budgets. Budgets are HUGE. A budget make it possible to see how actual spending compares to planned spending. It makes it possible to be sure that we are spending less than we earn. It helps me make more realistic spending plans and helps me see how my savings progresses toward big purchases. It helps my husband and I stay unified financially because we both know where the money should go and how much. It helps me spend responsibly. It gives me opportunities and incentives to spend carefully. It helps us avoid impulse spending so we can spend according to what is really important to us.

Quite likely you’ve read this list and have said to yourself a number of times, “Yes, that’s good in theory, but right now…” Yes, yes, I know, corruption has occurred. It is a sign we have to get back to the economic basics. Making this list has shown me that if we don’t misuse or corrupt these aspects, we really have much to be thankful for about the economy.

When God remembers His covenant

Recently I was reading an article by Steven L. Olsen called “The Death of Laban” from the Maxwell Institute, and I ran across a paragraph about the term "remember" that I thought was particularly enlightening, so I wanted to share it with you.

Throughout the Book of Mormon text, the term remember has a different connotation when applied to God. On several occasions God declares that he will remember his covenants or his people (e.g., 1 Nephi 19:15–18; 2 Nephi 29:1–14; 3 Nephi 20:29; Mormon 5:20–21; 8:21–23). Given God’s omniscience, the meaning of remember as “call to mind” may seem absurd. More appropriate in this context might be the synonyms renew or restore, as in the Lord “remembers” (i.e., restores) his covenants with Israel when Israel “remembers” (i.e., recalls and commits to live) her divine covenants. In short, not only does the term remember frequently refer to keeping or preserving covenants, but it has covenantal implications in general usage throughout Nephi’s record.²⁹

How does this help us find meaning when we hear the sacrament prayer phrase where we promise to “always remember him”?

Peter talks about God’s view of time

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,

that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,

and a thousand years as one day. (2 Peter 3:8)

I across some interesting differences in the JST for the above verse:

But concerning the coming of the Lord, beloved,

I would not have you ignorant of this one thing,

that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,

and a thousand years as one day. (JST 2 Peter 3:8)

First, I notice that the JST turns Peter’s saying from “don’t be ignorant” to “I would not have you ignorant,” which is a substantial alteration of tone from commanding to charitably solicitous for the saints to learn something that he believes will help them a lot. (This for me hints that the concept will have more importance to us than we think.)

The second change seems inconsequential, but when plumbed, it yields intriguing suggestions. We are used to this idea that one day to the Lord is a thousand years and a thousand years as one day, but the JST seems to take away the sense that this conception of time for the Lord is general, and instead applies it only to the COMING of the Lord. How can that be, if the coming of the Lord is only one point in time?

But concerning the coming of the Lord…

one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,

and a thousand years as one day.

To me this seems to say that when the Lord comes, the changes of a thousand years will be packed into one day and wickedness of the past thousand years will seem like a bad dream of a day, and going forward into the Millennium, it will seem each day as if we’d always been doing things that way for a thousand years.

How might this help us? The context of this verse shows that Peter was addressing those who doubted the second coming and who thought that history would just continue on unchanged as it had for centuries, since they had not seen anything change the whole world so abruptly. This verse helps by explaining that whether the state of things has been a thousand years long or one day long, the Lord can work such marvelous changes that one thousand years of habits and traditions seems like one day, a tale that is told.

I know there are also people who prefer to think that God is not governed by the linearity of time passage. We tend to want to think of God as a time traveler when we doubt His ability to plan so far in advance and doubt His power to work His will among men, especially among the stubborn and unbelieving. However, any of us who have seen the Lord’s tender mercies in our lives and who have considered all the little conditions that had to be put into place so far in advance to bring them about know that if the Lord can be so merciful in such subtle ways to us, then He does indeed know all and have all power to work His will, preparing far in advance for the changes to come.

This verse could also be a statement about how the Lord explains the second coming in the scriptures, which, if we have been alert, we will have noticed. The Lord dwells upon the good, the anticipated events with such great detail that it is as if one day lasts a thousand years. He also brushes over the evil days, such as the time that Israel has been scattered, as if it were only a short time, packing a thousand years of history together and speaking of it as if it were only one day. If we were to put a name to this, we could call it “the accordion time model,” stretching out the good and collapsing the bad. I've seen this in the Book of Mormon too, such as when Nephi explains to his brothers that Israel will be scattered, but then will be gathered again. We see it in the Book of Isaiah as well, where the scattering of Israel is predicted and then the gathering of Israel is predicted in the very same chapter.

How does this help us? It helps us not feel cheated if bad times seem to last longer than the scriptures seem to give us an idea of. It also gives us an idea of the Lord’s way of thinking—He dwells upon the good times and anticipates them centuries and even millennia in advance, rather than dwelling upon the bad.

Mosiah the messenger

10 Therefore, he [King Benjamin] had Mosiah brought before him;

and these are the words which he spake unto him, saying:

My son, I would that ye should make a proclamation

throughout all this land among all this people,

or the people of Zarahemla, and the people of Mosiah who dwell in the land,

that thereby they may be gathered together;

for on the morrow I shall proclaim unto this my people out of mine own mouth

that thou art a king and a ruler over this people,

whom the Lord our God hath given us….

18 And now, it came to pass that Mosiah went

and did as his father had commanded him,

and proclaimed unto all the people who were in the land of Zarahemla

that thereby they might gather themselves together,

to go up to the temple to hear the words which his father should speak unto them. (Mosiah 1:10,18)

Here, King Benjamin gave Mosiah a command to proclaim a gathering of the people to the temple the next day. In verse 18 we are told that Mosiah went and proclaimed to all the people as he had been asked to do.

It seems that Mosiah acted as his father’s messenger and visited everyone in the land to let them know. Somehow it touches me to think of Mosiah as the town crier for his father. It shows something of his life of service and his williness to do what must have been a mundane task.

3 Tiny Habits

Recently I ran into a method that explained to me why and how I was able to get in the habit of reading the scriptures every day. BJ Fogg, a PhD from Stanford has a motivational method called “3 Tiny Habits” he developed to help people make positive changes in their lives in about a week. He recommends that if you are trying to develop a good habit, then you make it something extremely small that you can do in about 30 seconds every single day and then tie that action to something that you already do everyday, so that the first action becomes a trigger for the new action that you are trying to make a habit.

So, if you want to get in the habit of reading your scriptures every single day, make it your goal to read just a single verse. That’s it. (And don’t underestimate the power of reading a single verse! I have felt my entire outlook on life change from reading a single verse on those days when that was all I could do!) The beauty of starting a tiny habit is that it is also painless. If you think reading only a single verse is too short a time, just remember that scripture that out of small things come that which is great.

When I first started reading my scriptures on my own, I tied my reading activity to the activity of getting into bed at the end of the day. I was able to read just about every day for two years because of that. After that two years, I changed my routine to reading in the morning, so I tied it to the activity of getting dressed. A few years ago, I changed my routine again and I tied my reading to the activity of eating breakfast. I can see that I have been able to maintain my reading habit because I tie it to something else I always do. It also shows me that my family was able to consistently do family scripture study because it always came right after dinner; we couldn’t leave until we read the scriptures together. Scripture study was tied to dinner.

So, why is my title 3 Tiny Habits? Well, if it happens that your new years resolutions are implementing family prayer and family scripture study, all you have to do is figure out an activity that you already do as a family that you can tie those small habits to. Make it short so it is painless. And as the third habit, how about giving each person a hug and a kiss? (My family growing up actually tied this habit to family prayer.) That will make it so that each person will get at least one physical sign of affection each day.

Vengeance as a whirlwind

Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord. (D&C 112:24)

Having grown up in the Midwest and seen how tornados form and their conditions, this verse is telling. The clouds form, the sky gets a very unnatural color, the wind rises, and in the middle of the roiling clouds, the funnel drops and turns. It roots up everything, tears it apart, and scatters it far and wide. Tornados tend to have narrow paths...


so when this verse says vengeance will come “as a whirlwind…upon all the face of the earth,” we are to understand that it will hit everything.


The impulse to take revenge when you've been wronged is so strong that it can suck you in almost without realizing it, especially if everyone else around is wrung by the same drive.

STAND IN HOLY PLACES AND BE NOT MOVED.

Image #1: 620CKRM Willy Cole Blog, http://www.620ckrm.com/blogs/willycole/?p=983
Image #2: Watercooler Weather, http://watercoolerweather.blogspot.com/2008/05/here-we-go-again.html
Image #3 Ultimate Chase : Deadly Florida Tornado Damage Photos, http://www.ultimatechase.com/Chase_Accounts/florida_tornado_damage_photos_2007.htm