2 Nephi 1- Thou Knowest the Greatness of God .

G- Gratitude 
R- Respect 
E- Extol 
A- Action- Ask. 
T- Thought -Teach

I believe that the goodness of God exists within each one of us. I remember my grandmother teaching me to love all, and look for the good in everyone. All of my life I have tried to live by this credo.  I believe when we look for the good in others we discover the possibility of "knowing the greatness of God." (v 2) I have learned to use this acronym in both prayer and when I interact with others. When I encounter new people, situations, or try new talents, I try using this acronym as a guide. I believe I will find it not only offers a recipe for "great" success but also helps make me aware of God's greatness that exists in all who love him and revere life as his sacred gift.






G is for Gratitude
Gratitude is such an amazing blessing. When we truly weigh our lives where does our true joy come from?  In starting all of our prayers, conversations, personal interactions and encounters with gratitude, I believe we can never go wrong.
Once I started a new conversation with a stranger by saying, "It is such a blessing to meet you. I am very glad that our paths have crossed." Both of us were so refreshed by the power that gratitude brought to the meeting that we forgot to be stymied by the awkwardness of the moment.

All cultures practice gratitude:  Thank you. Gracious. Malo, Wer danken dir, Tak, Merci, Kansha Shimasu,

God shows us his gratitude by granting us freedoms and filling our hearts with his peace. 

R is for Respect 
My grandfather taught me the importance of shaking hands with those we meet, looking them in the eye and calling them by name. Once when I was working with a sales clerk, I said, "Thank you Doreen." She looked pleasantly surprised and a bit quizzical before she realized I merely had read her name-tag. When we use a person's name, show gracious body language, or pay attention to another human being by looking them in the eye, we are practicing respect for all that they have to offer us. We are saying. "I don't know it all. I need your help. You are important."

God shows his respect by listening to our prayer. If we will do the same, we might be surprised to hear his spirit speak to our hearts. I love nature and have often awed at how God shows us respect through the mere consistency of his actions.  The sun never fails us. The flowers always bring beauty. Each of his creations show their respect for him by fulfilling the measure of their creation.

E is for Extol - 

After greeting them with gratitude and respect, extolling others for their virtues is one way to help create a sincere and loving atmosphere. When others know that you have taken the time to consider their talents and their abilities, their likes, they are more likely to listen to you.

The scriptures teach me how how to praise my God. Prayer also teaches me how to praise. When I listen, I always hear his love and esteem for me. God extols our goodness, our talents, and all that is good in us. He wants only for us to find empowerment through his love. 

A is for Action through Asking 

After giving gratitude, respect and praise, it's perfectly appropriate to ask for what we might have need of. Most of our interactions with others is based on the exchange of business, ideas, direction, love, emotion. etc. James taught, "If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not."James 1:5

God will ask us to help him help others. Jacob was told "and thy days shall be spent in the service of thy God." It is through service to those in need that the Lord's work is accomplished. 
Lehi taught that God will when asked, "consecrate our afflictions for our gain." (v.2)
The word "ask" appears in the scriptures 209 times. We need not suffer alone. 

T is for Teaching through thought. 

Now we are on firm ground for conducting "great" business. It is time to listen for the thought that teaches us, or to offer a thought that might give guidance. This is where the conversation begins.
I like to think of it like playing a round of ping pong. If you are doing all the pinging... (talking). there is little exchange happening. Take a breath and let God get a word in.
My son says I talk too much. My brother had a nick name for me..."...." that basically said the same. I do have a need to express myself, but I am working at letting the exchange of teachable thoughts work their way back and forth through a conversation. :)

Greatness comes to those who learn how to treat others well. God is great for many reasons... and in this chapter Lehi's young son, Jacob is being reminded that he, as Lehi's "firstborn in tribulation", and as his "firstborn in the wilderness," has known "the greatness of God." Lehi said that Jacob "beheld the glory of God in his youth," (v 4) and that "thy soul shall be blessed."(v.5)

I have been privy to many miraculous events in my life. I have known God's love, mercy, guidance and blessings. And where I could choose from a plethora of such accounts I believe the most potent account of God's greatness comes when I put his example, his love, his mercy, his gratitude, his respect for me to task. Truly God's greatest gift was his plan that allows me to grow and learn and understand the magnitude of his love for me. The greatest lesson of God's greatness comes when I emulate his actions toward me and try to live his example, as best I can.

God teaches us through others, through revelation, through scripture study, through example, through his "grace and truth" (v. 6) . 

Genesis 4: 8-27 Cain & Abel

Two Sons

One will credit the Lord

The other will spin fable.   

One will praise God

The other will honor Babel.

One will live by faith 

The other will kill to reign.

One will offer righteous sacrifice

The other will demand selfish gain.

One will teach God’s Holy way

The other will learn anger’s wrath.

One will follow his Father’s plan

The other will walk a worn path.

One will find peace from mother earth

The other will war in spiritual dearth.

One will reap God's blessings of love

We will call him  ….. Abel.

One will plot Mahan's curse of Cain. 

We will call him ....marked by his own label.   

                         Linda Conkey Shaw & Mark E. Shaw

Copyright May 5, 2011

Mark and I had a fun time writing this poem together. It is a deeper poem about the sons of Adam, Cain and Abel and it is about each of us. 

Abel was:  obedient, observant, respectful, favored, a sheepherder, a respecter of the earth, younger than Cain, close to his parents, 

Cain was: the older of the two. There really is no conclusive evidence to suggest that he was Eve's first born. In Moses we are told that Adam and Eve had both sons and daughters so that there was most likely a family. 

As I read through this several times, I was struck with how the story is really about the family of man. This story in many respects represents the first family feud, the first trial of anger, the first jealousy, the first temptation by Satan (outside of the GArden), so the first real trial of choice with a real understanding of all that was taught and without the constant companionship of the Father and his son, Jesus Christ. It was a trial of the Holy Ghost. 

We know from the book of Moses that Adam was taught how to find direction from God while outside of the Garden. He was instructed how to offer sacrifice and how to live by faith. He was to teach his children these things. The children were to learn from their parents. 

The first generation:  Here's the catch. Cain and Abel were never in the garden. They could only listen to stories their parents told. They had not experienced the joy, the peace and the desire to return to Father's presence would not have been as profound as it was in Adam's or Eve's life. What I am suggesting is that temptation came easier to those who did not have the experience to remember. And that is where the faith came into play. 

The first faith: Each of us must be born of parents who have lived lives of experience. We can choose to accept their advice or reject it. If we reject it then we must take responsibility for our own choice and the paths we trod. Each of us when we leave our homes are like Adam and Eve, we are cast from a garden where all of our needs have been met: food, clothing, shelter, love. We must learn to not only fend for ourselves with regards to food, shelter and clothing, job, etc, (the physical needs) we must also learn to love one another. 

Cain would have been the oldest. He would have experienced more of Adam and Eve's mistakes as they first left the garden. He would have seen and felt more of his parent's frustrations. His parents needed to make sure they countered these experiences with lessons of love and acceptance. I'm not blaming Adam or Eve.. I'm not blaming anyone. Life is meant to have experience. WE all must have it the experiences we need to grow. Each of our lives are custom created by a loving God to help us grow the most. 

This story of Cain choosing to walk away from all of the love of his mother is one to help us learn about not anger and murder, but rather the reasons anger comes. 

Why does anger come to you? Are you content? Are you frustrated by life's demands? Are you living in fear of not getting all you want or are you putting your faith in God to give you all you need?  

Anger comes to us all. It is part of being human, but anger only becomes a liability, a disability, a curse of mahan, when we allow is to rule our lives. Anger put to good use can be a good catalyst for change... or it can destroy ... relationships (families) , lives(Abel) , livelihoods (Cain lost his sacred trust with the earth and was called to be a vagabond) . It can become our label. or we can choose God and become able. 

Testimony (Helaman 5 17-20

Helaman 5:17-20

Preach = Teach + power+ conviction

Every month our church allows those, who so feel the need, to stand up before the congregation and bear their testimony. This is called Testimony meeting. My husband and I recently enjoyed the fruits of our preteen son's testimony as he taught us about service, friendship, and the power of God's spirit as he experienced it.

Preaching usually conotes a listener enduring a teacher's reprimand. One of the functionalities of the gospel that sets the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints apart from other religions, is that it allows its members to explore their own feelings and share them monthly with one another. This allows the congregation to learn through the power and testimony of new converts, young converts, old time seasoned members, as well as anointed church leaders. As I listen to the individual stories of members of my ward, I am often drawn closer to them in the relization that we share similar life struggles. I am reminded of my own struggles and have (in many a testimony meeting) been touched in special ways.

The power of words is very real. Nephi and Lehi saw this as they stood and bore their testimonies to those dissenters who had need of repentance. They also understood as they traveled from city to city declaring the word of God to those who had lost hope.

What always amazes me about the sharing of my testimony either in written word or in spoken testimony is the power of the Holy Ghost that surges through me as I sift through my life to uncover true feelings, true doctrines, and true practices. What is important in the understanding of personal testimony is not who it comes from, but that it comes with a sincere honest spirit that desires to speak the truth.

As our GuitarGuy stood before us on the first week of July, he bore a simple heart felt testimony of the power of being with good peers, and helping another find his way in God's church. It was not showy. His words were not obscure. His words told of a group of twelve year old boys who enjoyed living God's standards in a boyscout camp environment. He told how he was proud to be a member of the church and how his troop stood out for their acts of service and their ability to motivate and honor their scout code. I know that my testimony grew that day. As I looked around the chapel, I saw several of my son's friends sit just a bit taller that day.

Words and Phrases

vs 17 preach with great power - When you set out to teach the word of God, the Holy Spirit gives you power so that others will hear your voice. The Holy Ghost will always be where there is truth. You do not have to teach with a loud voice, or profound words. You only have to speak, like our GuitarGuy did, what is in your heart. The Holy Ghost will do the rest.

vs 17 they did confess their sins - Truth leads us to an honest heart. I believe we all want to have the blessings of having an honest heart. When we hear the truth given to us with the power of the Holy Ghost we have the desire to confess and make retribution to those we have offended

vs 18 they had what they should speak given to them - The joy of writing about scripture is I don't know what I will say until I begin to write it. It is given to me... When we stand to bear our testimony to those who will listen (testimony meeting) if we will listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can find direction to speak what we should. Often times it does not have anything to do with our own personal growth, but we might say something that means a great deal to others. The Holy Spirit knows these things.

vs 19 convinced of the wickedness to the traditions of their fathers - I heard a saying in church last Sunday. A mother said to her daughter: "You are the best of my best attempt to do good". Families try to do what is right. Many times we are led astray and family traditions then become the norm for generations. I.E. Tobacco was introduced to the American Public in WWII when it was given free to the soldiers. The tobacco company knew that it was addicting and that it would enslave not only one American soldier but generations of Americans. Why? Because children tend to do what they see everyday. It took a massive public campaign to convince the public of the wickedness (dangers) of smoking. Preaching did not do it for all. Only the teaching of the younger generation who then pleaded with their parents to stop so that their lives would be prolonged held the answer. We have to all take a look at what small pervasive traditions our families share that need to be corrected so that we can understand the truth of God that is within us.

Shifting Sands and Treasures in Heaven

Morris Island Lighthouse, Folly Beach S.C.

Helaman 5: 8-14

Shifting Sands

The beach is a wonderful place to rest and relax. The soft warm sand squishes between your toes and gives way as you saunter along the shore. It slides and makes way as you burrow your bottom into its supple surface under the shade of your beach umbrella. And it drips, drips, drips, one drop at a time as you let a wet handful sift through your fingertips to create a tall sandcastle turrets. Sandy beaches are great places to walk, build castles, and lie on as you bask in the summer sun.

Sand however has its limitations. Today my daughter and I tried riding our bikes on the beach. As we did our tires sunk into the sand leading us to change our gears and try again. What appeared to be firm and secure ground merely gave way under the weight of our tires, causing us to loose our balance and fall. As I turned we to leave the beach we noticed several tire marks where a car had foolishly tried to do the same. Unfortunately, for him, it appeared that he had to be dug out.. Also, as we rode our bikes, (on the hard pavement of the street) we noticed that all of the homes along the shoreline are built , not upon a sandy foundation, but rather upon fifteen-foot pilings that have been driven deep below the surface sand.

Sand shifts. In the sun’s heat, the wind’s whistle, and the wave’s wash, sand shifts.

Helaman taught his sons about the need to recognize life’s shifting sands. He counseled them to place their faith in eternal truths that “fade not away” or shift with the crowd’s whim. What are the sands of life that appear to be safe, but when you walk on them they lose their ground? They bring moments of fun but fail to live up to eternal laws. There are many ways that we can relax and enjoy ourselves, but we need to be careful not to build our life’s hopes and dreams on sands that shift .

Helaman taught his sons that eternal lasting rewards are found in the redeeming love our Savior Jesus Christ. He taught his sons the need to “remember, remember “ and to build upon the rock of our redeemer Jesus Christ.

How do we determine if the earthly pleasures we find so enticing are shifting sands or treasures in heaven? How do we know what is real? Real may not be something we touch. Real may in reality be something that touches us and leads us to the “precious gift of eternal life”.

Words and Phrases

Vs 8 lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven – treasures in heaven do not shift, change, or go the way of the earth. They are eternal, lasting, and sure. The elements of life do not change them. They do not fade. When we rely on Jesus Christ's atonement, we lay up treasures in heaven.

vs 8 Precious gift of eternal life – We are taught that God’s work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39) His purpose of sending his son was to give us hope that we might strive for eternal life… truths that matter, truths that last.. truths that touch us and change us for the better.

Vs 9 O remember, remember, my sons, the words – words are important part of striving to gain eternal life. Words spoken by King Benjamin, and various other prophets speak of truths that will teach us how we can find and uncover the gift of eternal life within us.

Vs 9 no other way nor means – Jesus Christ is the only way we can have immortality. His atonement is the only way we can be saved not in our sins, but rather from our sins. (vs 10)

Vs 11 Why Jesus? Because God gave Jesus Christ power to redeem us from our sins… if we will repent.

Vs 11 How? He sent angles to tell us about repentance and its conditions. He sent angels to help us understand how the Redeemer Jesus Christ has power to bring salvation to our souls.

Vs 12 your foundation – Foundations support homes, buildings, and all things that are built. As we walked Folly Beach this morning, I noticed that Phase I of the restoration project for the Morris Island Lighthouse was completed. A small ship-worm had eaten through all of the foundation timbers and the lighthouse had begun to gradually settle toward the ocean (floor). A few million dollars of restoration has corrected this problem and the lighthouse now stands erect on a foundation of concrete footings. It will stand for many years to come as a guardian to the Carolina coastal waters. It is amazing to me that the foundation of such a mighty lighthouse that has protected thousands of ships from destruction did not face destruction because of the pelting waves, or gusting winds, but rather from a small mollusk worm that, like termites ate away until the timbers resembled tattered lace.

Vs 12 Rock upon which ye are built – Lighthouses that are built upon rocks stand for eons of time. Rocks do not allow infestations. Rocks do not shift like sand, or face infestation like timber. The oldest working lighthouse in the world was built upon a foundation of rock. It stands today in Spain as a national monument and reminder to the strength of rock foundations.

A foundation wheron if men build they cannot fall – Sand is not a foundation to build on as it shifts. But truths that stand firm in the face of trial, persecution, fads, and the whims of man will be as a rock. They will be as a lighthouse to you as you seek to gather your eternal treasures to take back to heaven. These truths come from our Savior Jesus Christ.

Vs 13 Helaman taught to his sons; We need to teach one another. Teach our children, our sons and our daughters. We need to love them so that they will listen and learn from our examples.

Vs 13 which are not written, and which are written – There is a great power in words. Words spoken with sincere sink deep into our hearts and help us make decisions from day to day. But sometimes its not our words, its what we do. We need to teach.. do what I do… and what I say.

14 And they did remember his words- Helaman’s sons remembered what he taught. Why? Because he was a man of his word. I noticed that while he was alive there were years of peace and prosperity, but soon after his death contention again began to enter the land. Why? I think that a strong leader who knows good from evil and can sway people.. not just by his words but by his actions.. by what is not written.. by the way he loved his sons, the way he loved his family. The way he treated others and loved his people more than the earthly possessions that like “shifting sands” lose their value once our eyes are closed to our earthly life.