I have often wondered about faith. Sometimes we pray, and we get the chicken we desire so greatly. Other times, a child is taken from us, even amidst great outpourings of faithful prayers. In the Book of Mormon, Helaman's son, Nephi was given the power to do great miracles through his faith. The Lord spoke to him, and said this:
Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God.
Behold, I declare it unto thee in
the presence of mine angels, that ye shall have power over this people,
and shall smite the earth with famine, and with pestilence, and destruction, according to the wickedness of this people.
Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people.
And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be rent in twain, it shall be done.
And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast down and become smooth, it shall be done.
And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this people, it shall come to pass (Helaman 10:6-10).
Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people.
And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be rent in twain, it shall be done.
And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast down and become smooth, it shall be done.
And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this people, it shall come to pass (Helaman 10:6-10).
What power Nephi had! What faith to move mountains and call down destruction, and seal in heaven and on earth! What makes a faith like Nephi's?
I think the answer is found in the two verses preceding this passage:
I think the answer is found in the two verses preceding this passage:
Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I
have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word,
which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not
feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my
will, and to keep my commandments.
And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will (Helaman 10:4-5).
And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will (Helaman 10:4-5).
Nephi obeyed the Lord with unwearyingness-- even valuing this obedience above his own life. He came to the point that he would not ask for anything contrary to the will of God. He wanted for himself and others what the Lord wanted for him.
I want to be that kind of disciple.
2 comments:
One thing about faith that I read and that stuck with me was from this article, where it says that when our prayers are answered, that is a faith promoting experience, and when they are not answered, that is faith perfecting. http://www.lds.org/ensign/2011/04/faith-and-infertility?lang=eng As I read this article I was able to liken it unto me through Corey's movie Mouth business, that's how I'm learning my lessons of faith, others through infertility. God teaches all of us many lessons in many different ways!
We watched the movie 17 Miracles last night - that's a movie that goes along with these thoughts too - there were miracles of healings and food along with the "thy will be done" of dying and starving.
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