Sorry, Nephi...

Jan. 27, 2017

Lately, I’ve been attempting a new approach to scripture study.  I’m still trying to make sure that I can get on track with it, but I try to listen to a talk from general conference once a week and then find scriptures daily that correlate with the topic that I can ponder throughout the week. It helps me make the scriptures more applicable, because it has always been a struggle for me…admittedly, I fell asleep on many occasions during studies on my mission, and before that, I even fell asleep in sacrament meeting! Hopefully making this an active part of my life will help me to treasure the scriptures more.

Going along with that fun little theme of applying the scriptures, I think it goes along perfectly with what I learned in class this past week.

But first, a confession…I used to not be able to stand Nephi.

I couldn’t really tell you why now. Even a few months ago on my mission I remember trash-talking Nephi, because he just frustrated me to no end. He was just too good. I like to visualize my stories, and Nephi just reminded me too much of self-righteous individuals. This is my ode to Nephi; my apology to him, because in truth: Nephi is a really great guy.

And I officially decided he was human this past week in the cute little exchange he has with our favorite stubborn idiots Laman and Lemuel: by shutting them down after his own vision when he asks them, “Have ye inquired of the Lord?”

Burn to Laman and Lemuel in 1 Nephi 15 right there. Why does this matter? To me, this is why that phrase is so telling of Nephi’s character, and one of the reasons I’ve learned to like him: he’s actually the perfect example of someone who has complete faith and trust in the Lord. Why that never hit me before, I don’t know. But Nephi’s story is the perfect beginning to the Book of Mormon because it sets up what having the full gospel can do for you when you apply it. He sucks you into the story, all by just being himself. He isn’t passive in his faith, but active, and chooses to act. His words aren’t because he’s self-righteous, but because he believes in the best righteous power: Our lovely Heavenly Father! So thank you, Nephi, for pumping all of us up to read the Book of Mormon: I have newfound motivation because of you.

What is a Prophet?

Jan. 14, 2017

Well, I’m pretty new to this – sharing personal thoughts about the things that mean most to me is a bit intimidating! But I’ve been challenged to create a blog in one of my college classes to share my thoughts on one of my favorite things: the Book of Mormon. Not a bad way to start 2017, if I do say so myself. So, without further ado, I present: Post 1.

“Do you have a testimony of Joseph Smith the farmboy or Joseph Smith the Prophet?” – Brother Griffin in class this week, as we discussed the “miraculous coming forth of the Book of Mormon.”

These words send me on a montage of flashbacks from my mission. I served in the Bible Belt, and the biggest problems I faced dealt with Joseph Smith and what a prophet truly was. Drunk men mocked us as we walked by, making fun of our worship of a man with “magical goggles.” Another man shouted us off his property whilst making me fume on the inside because he’d claimed to have read the whole Book of Mormon and couldn’t believe that we’d be stupid enough to put faith in a book that was “clearly written by a man on ‘shrooms.” When we tried to explain what a miracle the Book was, people would only grasp what they wanted it to be: they took it as yet ANOTHER translation of the Bible. Had I not had a testimony of it before, I sure was going to need to study what had happened to know what I believed. 

It wasn’t until class this week, however, that all the unfinished thoughts about what I had read and felt and seen during that time seemed to culminate into coherent thoughts of what I had learned – especially when phrased like THIS. It had never occurred to me to separate the terms when referring to Joseph. Any other prophet that you read about in the scriptures seems to be only that: a holy man of God who doesn’t seem to have too much personality beyond that. Sure, we know that Elijah was a bit sassy and Moses did NOT like crowds when it came to public speaking, but there isn’t much else to them besides being a chosen mouthpiece of the Lord, delivering rich doctrine straight from heaven. However, we have the wonderful opportunity of getting to know our modern-day prophets – we live in a time where history is very well documented. And because of that, we get to know just how marvelous and miraculous it is that we have prophets. We get to learn just how involved God is at helping us hear words from Him because he loves us so much.

There is no way that a farmboy, with 3 years of “rural” education under his belt, could plausibly write such a book. There are several that worked with him that give very convincing details of how it wasn’t Joseph that did these things. But those details aren’t really what matters – because what truly matters is whether or not I believe the things that came from God through him. And THAT’S where the difference lies. I could give you logical facts all day that prove him a prophet, or I can pay attention to the spirit I feel when I read the Word. It’s a separation of someone being human and the pure truth delivered. I have a testimony of Joseph the prophet, not the man. We all have testimonies of the Prophets, not the men they were and are. I’m excited to continue to make this connection in my reading with all the prophets I encounter – so far, I can already see more humanity in Lehi and have the greater opportunity to appreciate what came through him just by understanding what a prophet is. I implore you all to ponder what it means to be a prophet, because it’s helping me think about the men behind the words – and, more importantly, the Man that delivers the words. They truly do come from the “gift and power of God.”

Painting taken from the fabulous Walter Rane