Hi, Im Ginny Farrell for those who don't know me. Im related to the other Farrells and we're one of, if not the biggest family in the branch. I was asked to talk on 1 Nephi 3:7, "and it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." Nephi is saying like yea, I will be obedient, because I know whatever the Lord commands is accomplishable. The Lord will never give me something I can't handle. When we think about that story, that was a daunting task. They had to sneak back into the city and it was a twelve day walk or something like that, I don't know I've never been. But I mean, I walk from the couch to my room and like I'm exhausted, so I can't even imagine walking all that way. Then when they get there they are wanted men because Laban said they were thieves. My friend says he likes to think of them as like parkouring out of Jerusalem to avoid being caught. Again, things I can't imagine doing. After Laman fails, instead of giving up, Nephi says no we need to stay and get the job done. I understand the doubt that Laman and Lemuel felt I would be like really you wanna go back. Ok, next time you can be thrown out. However, Nephi reminds them of why they came down. They didn't know the reason, but they decided to follow the commandments. There are countless times when Nephi and his family are asked to do hard things and they tend to listen. They were asked to live in tents and that in itself would be horrible I would not want to do that. They were asked to return to the city they just left to get some plates that they didn't even understand the whole value of. Nephi was asked to kill a man and defy the rules he had grown up with and strived to live by. They are beaten and persecuted, sometime members of the family make life harder for those striving to live the Lords commandments. Yet, Nephi remains strong in his faith. He does what the Lord asks even when it is hard. One thing that is important when we read the scriptures is to apply the scriptures in our own lives. We are asked to do hard things so why do we persistently try to do them?
Why:
Why do we do these hard things? There are many answers, but the main ones I think of are trust and joy. We do things we don't want to do, because we trust in the Lord. We don't need to understand the reasoning, sometimes we just need to remember who the commandment came from. We listen to the prophet, because we have faith that he is the mouthpiece of our Heavenly Father. Trusting with all our hearts is embracing the task and pushing aside doubts and just listening. I feel like I've had to trust a lot lately. I had to trust that the Lord wanted me in the branch, away from my friends in Bartlett and Im ok with it now, but at the time I didn't really have a desire to leave. Literally the gospel is really good at teaching us to just take the leap of faith and trust in the Lord. It works out when we listen, so trust more and trust wholeheartedly. Second is joy, living the gospel is joy. It's not easy, but it's simple. It is easier to live in the gospel free from so many things that can bind us down when we have all of the "freedoms" the world supplies. I've been reflecting on why we do these things and even if I wanted to do it. I felt unmotivated, tired, worn, and kind of sad sometimes. I didn't want to go to stake things, school, work, seminary. I wanted to sit on my couch and mope around. I still don't want to go to work, school, or seminary and I still want to sit down on my couch and do nothing, but I have more energy to do the things the Lord wants me to do. I really was having a hard time persisting in the things I know to be true. I prayed a lot and said I'm tired and I don't feel like I can keep doing this. Im tired of being tired, standing out, persisting even when sometimes its easier just to give into temptation, not understanding why I'm here, not doing things I saw so many people enjoy. I was worn out. I remember reading the scriptures thinking of why in modern times we do these things and as I read I realized that it was sincerely joy. I wasn't even necessarily focusing on the scriptures it was just a question I had in the back of my mind while I was dedicating time to ponder and reflect on the gospel. That's part of the reason it is important we read our Scriptures everyday it helps us to find time in our busy schedules to reflect on things that have an eternal part in our progression. The Holy Ghost is better able to speak to us when we put ourselves in that quiet and holy mindset. Anyways, I also thought about how Life is going to be hard, its life, but its much easier when we have the Lord's church on our side and we understand our purpose here. Men are that they might have JOY. We weren't placed here to suffer and hate it. We were placed to live, love, experience joy, and so many of the blessings that come from following the commandments. I was focusing on the negatives from the church, I pushed aside all the happiness that it has brought me. I say that I'm related to Nephi because we are both large in stature, but I was acting more like a Laman or Lemuel. However, It was only when I was struggling to actively live the commandments that I was sad. I am a senior in high school, so there is still a lot of unmotivation happening, but not in the gospel. The gospel gives energy, laughter, and it has shown me the life I want to live comes from being here. If we want our lives to be joyful and full of blessings then we have to follow the commandments.
I've talked about why we follow the commandments, but I think it is also important that we have the right attitude as we follow the commandments. The people in the scriptures listened with pure intent and mostly willing hearts. They understood that with the Lord on their side, ultimately everything will work out for their good. Often times, as members of the church we are asked to do things and sometimes these things are difficult. It can be difficult to keep the sabbath day holy, go to seminary, don't drink tea/coffee, not listen to explicit music, be temple worthy, and ultimately stand out from our peers. However, when we do these things with purpose and a willing attitude we are blessed so much more. We are allowing ourselves to see the blessings that the Lord is granting when we listen. We shouldn't do things just to get blessings though, we should do things because we love our Savior. At the beginning of the year, I had no desire to go to seminary. I like actively hated it and thought about how I didn't want to go. I actively hated it for like most of the first quarter honestly. I thought I've already studied the New Testament and Book of Mormon its pointless for me to go. It only makes me more tired and irritable. Plus, my favorite seminary teacher was released. I focused on that I hadn't seen the blessings and it was when I was talking to my dad about this that he reminded me that maybe I just hadn't noticed the blessings of it and maybe they were yet to come. Just because I hadn't noticed them didn't mean they weren't there. After my parents forced me to go to seminary I tried to rebel by like sitting angrily. I know, I'm a rebel, but like now thinking back that was so stupid. It only effected me. Once I embraced that I was going to have to go, I decided I might as well focus on the good. Then, it got a lot easier to just sit there not angrily. It's really early in the morning, so we mostly just sit and listen, but anyways. Once I swallowed my pride, mornings got a lot easier to deal with. I don't love seminary, but I allow myself to be able to feel the Spirit more and be happier. Being bitter is just too time consuming. We should be like Nephi and just embrace it and go. Lehi's family gave up everything and those of his family that accepted it and listened were so much happier.
