This week in my pathway religion
class we are reading in 2nd Nephi chapters 9-16. The beginning of the Isaiah chapters. (Insert overwhelmed, deer in the headlights
look here.) I love reading the
scriptures, even reading Isaiah. I feel
like I am reading poetry. Or Shakespeare. As in I love how it sounds and I love to say
it out loud, but in reality I am comprehending about 4.26% of what is being
said. I am happy to report that after
utilizing this week’s study skill, symbolism, I was able to bump that number up
a bit. The key for me was understanding
that I can’t rush though these chapters.
I had to slow it down. Like, WAY
down. Looking up words, using those tiny
letters by words to find other scriptures to help me understand what was being
said, or to understand the context it was being used in. Thinking after reading a verse, “What is he
trying to say. What can I liken this to
in my own life”. That helped a lot. I felt like if I understood where he was
coming from, and the situation he was in it, it would help me understand what
he was talking about.
My biggest takeaway this week
was in the beginning of 2nd Nephi 9:9.
And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels
to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the
father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled
our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and
stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all
manner of secret works of darkness
2 Nephi 9:9
In
this particular passage Jacob is talking about the resurrection and how men
will be judged according to their works.
I loved this scripture because I felt like it gave a great insight into
the emotional state of Lucifer. “to be
shut from the presence of our God, and remain with the father of lies, IN
MISERY, LIKE UNTO HIMSELF”. Referring to
Lucifer as the ‘father of lies’ is so fitting, because he tries, often succeeds
in making sin look fun, desirable, and like it won’t hurt us at all. But in reality, if we make that choice, and
continue down a path of sin and unrighteousness, we will be miserable. We will not know happiness, peace, love,
comfort, forgiveness, and confidence through Satan. This comes from seeking out a relationship with
our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I
feel like in my own life, I have that friend who’s world is always falling
apart. It isn’t really, but she thinks
her life is so much more miserable than anyone else’s, and will make it her job
to let everyone know how miserable she is, thus making my time spend with her
miserable. This is Satan.
He is in a place that knows no happiness. And Misery loves company. Just like a friend who gossips and complains,
leaving you feeling uncomfortable and emotionally drained, Satan wants me to
feel like I am not good enough, or not deserving, or not strong enough to keep
the commandments of God. This is his
lie. Only through keeping the commandments
will we be truly happy. I love getting
insights into Satan, because I feel like the more I know my enemy, the better I
will be at defending myself and my family against him. So thank you Jacob and Isaiah,
for
that lovely peek into Satan’s existence.
Oct 24, 2015
This week, In Pathway...
Posted by R A C H A E L on Saturday, October 24, 2015 0 thoughts
Oct 9, 2015
Pathway Progress
I have not updated my blog in a while. Okay, almost 3 years. Many things have happened, we’ve been blessed
to have another beautiful little girl, and we are in Arizona, and we are very
happy. One other new item is that I am
going back to school. I chose to use the
pathway program through the LDS church education system, and part of my class
is to write about what I am learning, and share it on a website or a blog for others
to read. If you would like more information
feel free to contact me!
This week in my religion
class we are reading in 1st Nephi chapters 15-22. There is a lot that happens in those chapters,
and it helped me tremendously to use the institute student manual, but here is what
I took from this week’s readings. In 1st
Nephi chapter 19: 21-24 Nephi explains why he is writing and recording all of
these things of a spiritual nature. He
is writing to his people in an effort to persuade them to follow Christ, and
remember Him.
In verse 23 Nephi says after trying to persuade his people to
believe in Christ WHY he is reading them the books of Moses and Isaiah.
“For I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be
for our profit and learning.”
This is the meat and
potatoes of what I learned from the readings this week. I am not supposed to go through the motions
of reading and robotically recite what I read.
I am meant to read, and then think how this can help me in my life. I am to ponder on the things that I have
read, and learn from them. Whether that
be following a righteous example, or a cautionary tale about Laman and Lemuel,
and how to avoid their downfall. I think the thing that I loved most about this
is something I wasn’t expecting. Later in
chapter 20 Nephi talks about the ‘furnace of afflictions’. I loved his example of how he had suffered
many tribulations and afflictions, and yet still through all of it he expressed
his gratitude to the Lord for the things he did have. If we liken these scriptures to ourselves,
the way I see it is this:
Nephi went through some
hard stuff. I have been through some
hard stuff. I know everyone has. If I apply Nephi’s example to my life I gain
an understanding of a few things:
Posted by R A C H A E L on Friday, October 09, 2015 0 thoughts
Labels: I'm a Mormon, Mormon, Nephi, Pathway