for your sakes 2 Nephi 6 Elizabeth Smart My Story

Tonight my son tonight gave us all a great lesson on service.  It was a simple lesson. He read a wise quote on how service to one another brings us closer to God and then he had us discuss why and how we can serve one another. What benefits do we receive and why does service make us feel so good? Why do we do it?

Jacob teaches words of  Isaiah

Somewhere in our discussion the thought came to me that when we teach one another, as my son did tonight, we are serving one another. We want others to learn of God. We want them to glorify God. and we want our loved ones to know to whom we can  "depend for safety" (vs. 2 ).  During Jacob's time, it seems the people had looked to Nephi as a king, but mostly as a protector and someone who would provide them with safety. Jacob points out that he had been ordained and consecrated by Nephi to serve the people through the teaching of the word of God. 

All of this made me think of Elizabeth Smart. I recently read her book, "My Story." As I read this chapter where Jacobs teaches the people about safety from those who do not believe, and how the Lord will protect them that do believe, her story kept playing in my mind. 

I recognized how the words of her father, mother, her grandfather and even her Sunday School teacher were spoken in service, "for her sake." How they were spoken with sincerity and love and backed up with good works of caring.  Their words gave her strength to endure and continue to believe in a God who did not forsake her. When it came down to the very base of her trials, it was the words of the prophets and the faith she had in those whom had served and taught her that gave her the strength to carry on. Through the midst of her trials, she would gain her own witness that what they had taught her was true. 

Jacob speaks for the "welfare of souls, with great anxiety and with diligence." (vs 3) He taught them the words of his father Lehi and of the prophets of old that told of the world's creation. He taught them of present truths and of future truths. He speaks of Isaiah that they "may learn and glorify the name of your God." (vs 4) 

We all hope that the words we hear will sink in and we can know their truth based on the experiences of others. No one signs up to be the messenger of our own experiences. We all hope we can learn from others. Elizabeth had experiences that no other child her age should ever have to endure. And as I think of her story, I realize how her story relays to us how faith in God precedes our modern day miracles.

 She was like Isaiah described when he spoke of the Gentiles who believed in Christ,  "they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children." And she knew, like the Gentiles after their trials, "of the Lord" and she was not made to be "ashamed." For there is no shame in her trial. She bore it with courage, and strength and a faith that most girls her age have not been taught how to cultivate. Because of the love of her family, because of the service of her community of which she both partook and received, she learned to trust that a higher power would bring her home to her place of safety. 

Isaiah speaks of those who wait on the Lord. He says "for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me." 

I believe that those who believe in Jesus Christ as Jacob goes on to teach about - his birth and life here on earth - those who believe in him have learned to serve and to nourish their faith with patience and temperance. They have learned to combat the tug of war of life with service through word and deed. 

We all look for safety in this world. We build our homes, we create networks of friends and associates for safety, we attain an education, we seek shelter from storm and financial crisis, and we strive to prepare for all that might go wrong. But what Jacob was teaching was that the best safety comes from believing in a the power of the covenants that we make, as children of Israel, with God. He wants us to know that in the end of our trials, if we have kept our covenants and kept our hearts pure, we need not be ashamed, "and the people of he Lord shall not be ashamed." (vs 13) 

I was struck by  Elizabeth's story in a most amazing way. You would have imagined that after her return home, she would had needed untold hours of therapy and counseling. That she would not have been able to return to school or a "normal" social life. That because of what someone tried to take from her she would have naturally felt great shame. But if she was ashamed, she did not show it, nor does her story convey it. Why? I believe it is because she never gave up on her God. And God responded to her faith, providing her with miracles that continued long after her rescue, guidance and opportunity to regain her life. 

On the third night of her thirst, when her tongue was thick and dry, while her captors suffered in their sleep, she awoke to a tall glass of cold ice water. In a camp where there was not one drop of water and where the spring was a distance down the trail, God had sent her manna from heaven. And when her captor had left her for 7 days without food or water, God sent rain to fall only on her tented secluded valley. God heard her prayer and knew the sanctity of her pure heart. There were many miracles that spoke to the relationship between her and her God. As long as she kept God in her trial, she had no need to be ashamed. 

And consider verse 14. "he will manifest himself unto …the destruction of their enemies, when that day cometh when they shall believe in him, none will he destroy that believe in him. Elizabeth knows that statistics that she should have been. The miracle of her life is that she has lived to tell us. Seventy-four percent of abducted children who are ultimately murdered are dead within three hours of the abduction and twenty percent of those reported abducted by non family members are not found alive. (Child Abduction Facts, www.parents.com) 

Elizabeth was kept safe by powers higher than the world is capable of defining. Jacob believed that teaching the people about safety through the words of Isaiah was a good way to convey the strength of the Lord's power. Isaiah taught about the destruction and eventual regathering of Jerusalem so that the people would know that God will protect his covenant people, "for the Mighty God shall deliver his covenant people. For thus saith the Lord: I will contents with them that contendeth with thee." (vs 17) 

All this so that we might know… for our sakes… that "all flesh shall know that I the Lord am they Savior, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." (18) 

I wonder how Elizabeth's story might have been different if she had not been served in her parents teaching, for her sake. Or if she had not listened to the words of her Sunday School Teacher or felt the sincere love and faith of her parents and grand parents? I wonder if she might have had the faith to survive and endure all that she had to suffer. I wonder how differently the story might have been if she had not known faith as a child? 

Her words were not defiant or rebellious. Her story was one of hope and deliverance for those who have ever felt a trial of unspeakable terror and fear. Her story was given with grace and with dignity that only a woman of God and of faith could give. 

I watched a few interviews and again I was taken back by the courage she portrays. She was not bitter nor angry but emitted an aura of faith and sureness that comes deep from within the heart of a person who has known of God's love and safety. 

And that is what Jacob wanted us to know. That is what Elizabeth wants us to know.  That faith can be taught through words and service, and how once taught and learned well it can help us all to "learn and glorify the name of our God." 

How the word of God is the best safety. And it is given with a hope that it will save not only our sake, but the sake of our families. The word of God is after all  as Jacob taught "for our sakes." 

A Father's Letter 2 Nephi 2-3

Learning to love the temple brings us to joy. 

The opportunity to write a letter to my son about his future recently presented itself in the form of a high school homework assignment. Wanting to impress upon her students the importance of family culture and religious belief in our lives (in relation to their world studies) she asked each parent to answer a series of questions concerning their hope for their child's marriage and educational goals. It was a very interesting experience and one that made me realize the importance of what Lehi was doing when he wrote letters to his very young sons Jacob and Joseph.

Have you ever considered that we don't have letters to Lehi, Nephi or Sam? Did he speak to them or did he hope that the words he used to convey his deep convictions to his younger sons would be heard by his older sons. Because there are several times in both letters where he refers to all of his sons I think the answer here is yes. (vs 2:14, 28, 30)

In this same spirit I have taken the letter that was originally written by both my husband and myself for our youngest son and placed it here for all of my children and younger members of our family to read.

Temple Open House with Great Grandpa

With that I want to say how very joyful my life has been because of my children. From my children I have learned so many wonderful lessons and been given so many heavenly gifts. Surely there would have been no other way for me to obtain these gifts but through the trials and gifts of family life.

The diversity of life has never abounded more about me than when I am with my own family: to me they represent my love, life and hopes and dreams. Six beautiful children: each with their own view, their own hopes and their own dreams and yet each capable of understanding and living the laws of both heaven and earth and finding the joy that each law brings. I have a very unique perspective on life not necessarily because of my choice of faith, but because of the opportunity that each of my children have given me to exercise my faith.

To my daughters I ask for your indulgence while reading and understand that much of the message might be lost if I were to change all of the adverbs to read as neutral gender. As you read please make the adjustments needed to fit your life circumstances and know that if this assignment had been given while you were yet in high school, your father and I would have wanted to convey the same essence of meaning.

To our child.
 The days are quickly approaching that you will begin to court and date young women. These days are important because they help you work through and decide what characteristics you would enjoy in an eternal mate. Marriage is a serious commitment that if done with careful consideration will bring you a lifetime of happiness and companionship.
 Marriage is not to be taken lightly. Our faith teaches us that the person we choose to marry will become our eternal companion. If you choose to follow the credo of our faith and marry at the sacred alters of the Lord's temple, you will be making not only lifetime but eternal covenants between you, your mate and God.  These covenants are an important step in helping both you and your mate understand the seriousness of your commitment toward one another.
 While we don’t have a specific person, chosen for you to marry,  (this practice went out of style hundreds of years ago),  we do believe that it is important for you to consider characteristics that might be deemed important in a mate. A few that we have considered include: loyalty, humility, willingness to serve others, a love of  faith and family, a cheerful and independent disposition, and one who is not afraid to work hard.

 Work is one characteristic that the modern conveniences of life have eroded the importance of. Long ago men and women married out of love and need. A farmer needed a woman who could do the work necessary for survival. A woman likewise depended on her husband to be able to work their land hard. Survival depended on it. Today’s need for a relationship based on the merits of hard-work may not be as apparent as it once was, but it is still equally as important. What has changed is the type of work needed to make the marriage successful.
 A successful marriage happens when both parties share the work, do their part and learn to serve one another. Communication is hard work. Planning for financial, spiritual, social, emotional, and educational needs is hard work. Even planning for fun involves a commitment.
 It is often easy to confuse fun with love. When we have enjoyable memories and experiences with a person we begin to develop fond feelings for them. Love is more than fun. Be sure that you look for a young woman who enjoys life and will help you enjoy life through shared experiences.
 We cannot tell you what age to marry.  We would hope that life and its many events will not prevent you from marrying as a young adult. While there are many unknown experiences and insecurities that come with marrying at any age, a youthful marriage when done with the correct spirit and intention can bring much happiness.  Frugality breeds strength.  And marrying with a youthful heart will help you forge a bond of love as you and your spouse work through many of life’s challenges. 

As we spoke about before, marriage, like our spirits has the opportunity through the celestial temple marriage to be for time and all eternity. It is our prayer that you will live a life worthy of such a lofty and divine goal. When two partners believe that marriage is a covenant with God and that they must qualify to enter this covenant they both learn to practice self-restraint and self-improvement. When we enter into the bonds of marriage at the sacred holy alter of the temple, we invite God to be the third partner of our marriage and help us to overcome all of the obstacles that await to weaken your family.
 Marriage is a sacred covenant between man and woman that is meant to bring joy. When children are allowed to come into this union the joy that you feel is beyond any earthly feeling that you might ever know. We cannot tell you how your life has come to influence my own. Your birth has been such an eternal gift to us that we know we are, even now, unable to fully comprehend it. This knowledge that we lived before we came to earth and will live after we die is paramount in your making the choice to marry within the walls of the holy temple of God. We pray that you will give it serious consideration.
 Even though we believe in your power to make wise decisions regarding whom you will marry, successful marriage is dependent on both partners willingness to work through their own problems in life as well as those of their marriage.  It is important that you do all you can to assist your spouse patiently to work through their difficulties, but if you find that your own safety, security, or emotional stability becomes compromised because of your spouses unwillingness to cooperate or make significant changes in their life choices, the ending of your wedding vows would, while wrought with great heartache, be allowed. But this decision is not made lightly nor without serious consequences to the lives of all involved. Especially when children, young tender spirits who rely on the security of their parents union, have been born.  Marriage is meant to be a place of refuge from the world; It is meant to bring security and joy to both parties.  Marriage and family is the classroom where we learn to practice patience, love, charity, discernment, wisdom, service, communication, companionship, sacrifice, and above all joy. Man is that he might have joy. This joy comes from understanding one's relationship to self, others and the spiritual laws that govern.
 Joy comes when we learn to make choices that empower us. Joy comes when we learn how to attain self-actualization through education, service and preparation for life challenges. My son seek learning for all of your life. Seek a partner that likewise enjoys learning and has the ability to remain flexible through life’s many changes.
 We have never told any of children who to date or what to consider in a marriage partner and  we don’t believe in meddling with the matters of the heart. But if we were to see a prospective partner that gave us serious pause as to their ability to bring you happiness we would, with great consideration, want to speak to you about it.  We would never forbid you to marry, but it is our hope that you would choose a partner who would help you to foster a healthy extended family relationship.
 Life is a journey. Who we choose to take with us on this journey is critical not only to our survival but to our happiness. You are a gifted and talented young person. You have great potential to do all that you dream of. You are bright, disciplined, handsome, musically and artistically gifted, and physically athletic. We are sure as you continue to foster your love for learning your gifts and talents will continue to grow. You are personable and love people. This talent shows as you interact and treat others and young ladies of your acquaintance with respect and admiration. Many of these friendships will help you as you consider your life path. We cannot choose this for you, we can only support you in your endeavors and pray with fervent faith that as you stand at the crossroads your choices will reflect the values and love that we have attempted to instill in you and your siblings.
 As your parents we believe it is our job to help support you and guide you on a path of wisdom and prudence. The gift of agency is yours to use to the best of your ability. We are  striving to help you learn how to use it well. The gift of agency can assist you in many avenues of life. It can help you discover the powers that want to weaken you and steer away from them. Likewise it can help you discover the powers of faith that builds you up and empowers you.
 Our greatest dream and desire is to see you use your God given agency in such ways as to create a pathway of possibilities and success; to help you find joy. Joy is different from happiness. Joy comes through spiritual encounters and when we touch our hearts with eternal truths.  Our lives together has already taught you of our fierce and often tough love for you. We would do nothing to rob you of your agency, but will continually pray for you to have the strength to use it in service to others and to your God. We will continually pray  for you to recognize the markings of truth along your life path.
 We love you. You must know this by now. Though we realize that at this young age you can not possibly comprehend the sacrifice and  work we have given to keep you safe, guide you and help you find the life that will bring you joy.  As you are our youngest, you must be aware that our life candles may not always burn beside yours. For this reason you have many siblings to turn to. Though they are not your parents  they are old enough to guide you and offer you respectable counsel.
 If you remember nothing else from this letter, remember that your mother and father love you. We thank God for your presence in our lives. We place great hope and desire in the idea that you will live in such a manner that you will attract a bright and intelligent young woman. And that the two of you with mutual respect for God and one another will want to marry not just for time, but for time and all eternity. That you will want to bring children into this world and that through the experience of raising a family you will forge an eternal love that will bring you the eternal joy that your loving Heavenly Father has intended.
  With love
Your mother and father.
aka Mom & Dad

Genesis 22 A Lamb for an offering

When God asks us to sacrifice, he always provides a lamb in the bushes.

It's been a long week for me. A week of second guessing myself and choosing direction.  A week of travel, meetings, and family time that has caused me to wonder why I read and ponder and study the scriptures the way I do.  Why am I on this scripture journey? And that led me to consider if Abraham ever wondered why his love for God had brought him to the place where he was willing to listen to obedience and love for God over ethical reason, over family security?  His faith was so sure that he didn't know how God would answer his pleas, but he knew he had to obey, and that his answer would come in and through his obedience. In practicing obedience he would find the answers and understanding of God's law that he longed for.  God had kept his promise before, why would God forsake him now? He didn't know where the Lamb for an offering would come from, but surely as he prepared and did all that God required of him, he knew that the lamb would be there. He trusted God. And in trusting God, he learned to trust himself. God knew how Abraham would respond. The test was for Abraham to learn how Abraham would respond. 

Concerning Abraham, President Hugh B. Brown said,  

"God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac because "Abraham needed to learn something about Abraham" (in Truman G. Madsen, The Highest in Us [1978], 49). 

Elder George Q. Cannon spoke about Abraham in the April 1899 Conference. He said: 

“Why did the Lord ask such things of Abraham? Because, knowing what his future would be and that he would be the father of an innumerable posterity, he was determined to test him. God did not do this for His own sake; for He knew by His foreknowledge what Abraham would do; but the purpose was to impress upon Abraham a lesson, and to enable him to attain unto knowledge that he could not obtain in any other way. That is why God tries all of us. It is not for His own knowledge; for He knows all things beforehand. He knows all your lives and everything you will do. But He tries us for our own good, that we may know ourselves. ... He required Abraham to submit to this trial because He intended to give him glory, exaltation and honor; He intended to make him a king and a priest, to share with Himself the glory, power and dominion which He exercised” (GeorgeQ. Cannon, in Conference Report, Apr. 1899, 66).

Sometimes it feels like when I sit down to write I am listening to obedience over reason. I don't have a clue how many people I am reaching?   Do my words matter? Is it a wise use of my time, my faith? But I know, like Abraham,  that God is reaching me: one person, one mother, one daughter, one sister, one grandmother, one handmaiden of the Lord, one family.  When there are so many other things I can with my time I wonder why I write so deeply about what I learn? The beauty is that every time I write... every time I am obedient to the promptings to analyze and present my thoughts on the scriptures, I find "a lamb" in the bushes, some surprise that God has prepared for me that I would not have seen if I had chosen to disobey. Usually it comes in a learned principal that raises my spirit up, or stabilizes the ground I stand on. Or it might teach me a new perspective that becomes imperative in my own families peril of survival, but not always. Sometimes it merely brings me peace. A peace that I am certain Abraham felt when he realized where his loyalties lay and the rewards that his faith would bring him and all of his likewise obedient progeny. 

The sister missionaries in my daughters mission

I have a daughter who is currently on a mission for our church. Her leaders have kept a mission blog and I read it from time to time. Tonight when I read through it I was amazed at how much sacrifice is given by each missionary and by each leader. There is one photo of the mission president and his wife washing dishes. Mission Presidents come from all walks of life: wealthy, poor, educated, not so educated, successful businessmen, farmers, sportsmen, educators, etc. When they come to serve the Lord they come to serve. The only prerequisite they need is a willing heart to sacrifice what or whom they love so that others can learn and feel of God's love.  Fortunately the law of blood sacrifice passed with the atonement by Jesus Christ. God now proves us by asking us to present our willingness to serve and love one another. It starts in our family with our spouse, our children, our parents and then moves to our neighbors our church community, our school or city of residence. We are asked to forsake selfish pleasures and desires for the welfare of something larger than ourself.  When we do this we find .... our own joys.  But mostly.. we find ourself. We discover what we hold dear. Each choice to serve and obey defines us. It draws us into the circle of God's love. 




It's not because God needs to know who we are and what we are capable of, it's because like Abraham who was given a commandment to sacrifice the very thing he had lived his entire life for, the very promise that God had given him, we are brought to our own personal trials so that we too might know where our loyalties and our joys lie. 


I have found that when I read and contemplate the scriptures each week, I am able to make my relationship with him more active. No longer am I a passive receiver of words.  By writing what I learn the lessons become imprinted on my heart and act as a guiding star in my daily decisions. How often have I considered Sarah and Abraham and their love for one another, their epic story of love, fidelity, faith, and what they sacrificed for me so that I might have a higher understanding of God's law. How grateful I am to my friend who challenged me a year ago to read Genesis. Never in my wild imaginations could I have conceived how profoundly this book of holy scripture would forever change me. By making a consistent effort to commit to feast on his words I have found great peace and comfort in my trials. I have learned to let anxiety pass me by and understood better what it means to trust in the Lord with all my heart, might, mind and strength. I have not known fewer trials, but I have had the strength to use my trials as stepping stones. And isn't it true that with each trial we face if we don't make it into a stepping stone, it becomes a stumbling stone that stresses us and causes us to loose our way. 

Concerning the stress and trials that Abraham went through to discover these truths Elder Neal A. Maxwell  said our lives “cannot be both faith-filled and stress-free....

“Therefore, how can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1991, 117; or Ensign, May 1991, 88 ).

Most focus in Genesis 22 is on  the fact that he is offering his son, that he has ignored the moral law of not killing your own, that it goes against everything God had taught him, or that it is just so horrible to consider that he would give his son. We focus on Isaac and his grief and pain. Abraham's sacrifice is hard to consider because Abraham's trial is our own. It is why we have a hard time pondering it. It is the sacrifice we forsake to serve another, to stand as a witness, to show God and ourself that the love within us is the love we believe it is.