Peace in the Land through Gratitude Helaman 11: 17-22

Seven o'clock, time to wake. Time to get the son out of bed. Time to eat breakfast. Time to shower and dress. Time to go to school. Time to ...... What makes it all bearable?

Our lives run in cycles. One clear message of the Book of Mormon is that there are many cycles in our lives. Cycles of nature and cycles of human nature. Unlike nature that lives a course bound to preprogramed cycles, we have within us the ability to recognize the cycles and correct them, but only if we will heed the lessons of history, the lessons of scripture.

When my son looks up at me and says, "Good Morning." When he reaches out for that one hug that he needs to energize his determination. When my husband gives me one last snuggle before charging into his day. When I feel appreciated for all that I do, I feel peace. Gratitude brings the "energy of peace" to my life.

Gratitude is not a cycle of nature. Gratitude comes to us as a virtue. To garner it we must purposefully reach deep inside and seek it out. We must identify it, label it and then share it. We share it through smile, attitude, gesture, manners, kindness, selflessness, words, prayer, body language, and communication. We find it by receiving gratitude as it passes like a spark of electricity from one human to another.

Gratitude is something that tends to be easily forgotten in the day to day trials and responsibilities of life. Gratitude tends to be wrung out from us in the cycles of life, but it need not be. We can learn to balance our lives and find the daily joy that gratitude can bring. When we find the balance, we find peace.

The people of Nephi's time had lost all sense of their gratitude towards God and towards their fellow man. They had allowed the cycles of their lives to put them into holding patterns of "greed and need." Only when God intervened and helped them remember the importance of the basics of life did they once again find peace. Only when their lives were reduced to a form of basic functionality and almost death, did they remember to show gratitude first to God and then to one another.

Words and Phrases

vs 17 the Lord did turn away his anger - gratitude turns away anger. respect turns away anger. love for and appreciation for what others do for you turns away anger. service to others turns away anger. Remembering others turns away anger.

vs 18 the people did rejoice and glorify God, - They were happy to be alive. Happy to not have perished as did the thousands. Happy to have made it through a great trial of faith. But still they believe ... not because of Nephi's words, but because of his signs and miracles. I wonder how many years will pass before they forget? I wonder how convicted they are to the God who has saved them?

vs 18 they did esteem him as a great prophet - Look what he had to do for them before they would believe. I'm not so sure that Nephi should be happy with this, but he is and it is a good thing that they did not die by sword or famine. Finally he receives some respect and the people begin to see peace for the gratitude that is within their hearts.

vs 19 not a whit - not any less, not any lower than Nephi, but this is Nephi's story not Lehi's.

vs 20 began to prosper again - gratitude is a good thing... it brings blessings of esteem, respect, and honor to all people. Gratitude shares the wealth. Gratitude is about all people, not just one or one group. Gratitude teaches respect, honor, discipline, hope, love, communication, and understanding.

vs 21 exceedingly great peace - prosperity, gratitude, blessings, hope, = peace... no greed, no need, no stealing, not robbery, ... just a balance of life's cycle and gratitude.

vs 22 and also they had peace ... 3 years now they have known peace. 3 years of no grief, of no trial, of rebuilding their lives after the great destruction of famine. Three years? is that long enough? How do you keep the balance? Will they keep their gratitude? manners, respect, communication and love for one another.?

Records of Every Kind: Helaman 3: 14-18

Helaman 3: 14-18

Our family has always loved sports. Our Actuary-Dad has taught the children to enjoy baseball from the perspective of numbers. They learned what RBI, ERA, and the W/ L columns of the NBL standings meant long before they really understood the rules of the game. Each child (when we lived in Clevleand) had a Daddy-date to a monthly baseball game. While there, their father would not only share the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds of the ballpark with them, but teach them how to score a game. The wonderful thing about scoring a baseball game correctly, is that when you look back at this one sheet of paper, you can see the entire game. Just a few marks on a piece of paper help a skilled scorer recall the power of key plays and relive the emotions of a winning inning.

My husband cherishes his scoring cards not only because they help him recall every detail of each game, but because they help him remember each of our children at different moments of their growing up years. Isn't it wonderful how records help us recall our lives? Isn't it wonderful how the keeping of good records helps us want to recall our lives? One of life's greatest joys is a memory cherished.

The Nephites kept records: on war, arguments, political disputes, religious preaching, prophecies, their industry of shipbuilding, what they shipped (captain's logs), the building of temples, places of worship, prisons, and the news headlines of those who chose to do "wickedly". (vs 14) These records served many purposes one of which was to keep them strong and aware of their standing.

I've noticed that most humans are apt to want to keep good records when we are doing well, and poor records when life isn't going quite the way we would hope. When we begin to slip in our behaviors, the ability to keep accurate records slips and the story line somehow becomes skewed.

Case in Point: I have watched my GuitarGuy mature and grow as a preteen in the game of golf. This was reflected well when he returned from playing golf with his father and sister and said, "I got a 54 and I did a very good job of keeping an accurate score." I congratulated him on his ability to practice his integrity. It has been something that his past golf scores have not reflected.

When you look at it, the Nephite story doesn't sound too very different from today's news headlines. Nor from the many different things that we keep records of.

My Lacrosse-Guy son is a professional accountant and understands very well the critical nature of an accounting firm's integrity. He and I have discussed the practices of larger firms and how many of them forget to consider the consequences of their actions.

I am reminded of an accounting firm that was recently held in world acclaim for their accounting practices.(Anderson) Once they began to allow a bit of "transgression" (arrogance, pride, etc )into their work, lives, and daily routine, the records began to slip. Finally the complany slipped out of existence. The Nephites slip out existence also. Why?

As I read these short verses I was struck with the correlation between their record keeping and their decline as a people.

Vs 1 - 43 rd year - no contention (a little pride) records kept

vs 2 - 44th-45th - no contention records kept

vs 3 46th - much contention so that people left Zarahemla took their records with them. ?

vs 13 - 46th year.. many records kept..

vs 15 many books and many records of every kind kept chiefly by the Nephites.

vs 16 records were handed down from one generation to another... until what?

vs 16 until they

1. fell into transgression...

2. they were murdered

3. they were plundered and hunted

4. they were driven forth and scattered

5. they were no more called Nephites but became wild and ferocious.

What came first their lost desire to keep accurate records or their inability to remain true to their covenants with God? How important is record keeping in the life of a family? Why would it be important for a family to have records that remind them of good times and happy memories? Why does the prophet of the Lord command us to keep journals? Where do we learn the most when we write our records, or when we read over our records at a distant date?

Some of the benefits I believe record bring are:

1. Truth- Numbers don't lie. Numerical records tell stories of their own. Data is an invaluable perspective.

2. Integrity. When people know that records are being kept they are less apt to tell "fish stories".

3. Perspective.. Records bring good perspective in our lives. They help us understand the many different facets of our lives on different levels, and from different view points. Numerical, artistic, emotional, attendance, etc.

4. Balance : Records help us maintain our balance as we forge forward into unchartered waters. If we are unsure about something and records have been kept we can weigh the difference between the record and our current situation

5. Emotion: Record keeping provides a private place to express ones emotions in such as way as to not divulge private information or hurt others feelings. It can always be erased if need be

6. Good Feelings: Records keeping helps us relive good and happy moments of our lives.

7. Disputes: Record Keeping helps dissolve disputes

8. Discipline: The act of record keeping helps us learn the art of mental, emotional, and intelectual discipline.

9. Morality: Record keeping helps us see the moral behavior that is or is not present in an activity. We may have been too caught up in the energy of an activity to realize exactly where it was leading us. By taking time to recall it is made much clearer.

10. Accomplishments: Record keeping not only keeps tracks of our accomplishments but encourages the continuation of accomplishments. When we realize that we receive good kudos for jobs well done we are more likely to want to continue on this path.

11 Standards - Record keeping tends to raise the bar on standards. People who know that "someone will know (weather it be parent, child or authority)will usually choose a higher road.

One of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child is the keeping of a child's life accomplishments. This acts as a guiding post on their pathway to success and a reminder of where they have been.