How can we use the Book of Mormonn to help us become more like Christ?
In what ways does it help us recieve revelation... how do we learn about God's nature when reading it?
As you try to have more powerful experiences with God through the Book of Mormon this week please share insights that you have about life in general and how we can make the activity, "Book of Mormon read" more powerful for The Lord's Missionaries.
This past week as I have read in the Book of Mormon, I learned about the desire to helpp others come unto Christ. While reading in Alma 2 I noticed that, while their strength in numbers gave them confidence innitially, the Lamanites began to flee form the Neohites despite being, "so numerous that they could not be numbered."
ReplyDeleteI realized that the true reason why the Nephites were victorius was the reason why they fought- for their flocks, wives, children, city, etc.
...
it was NOT for themselves.
It was witnessed to me again that Chirst does not think of himself and it is THIS quality that allowed him to sacrifice infinitely, give infinitely, and bless infinitely.
I feel like in order to make these reads more powerful we need to help missionaries learn more about Christ's personality and realize what they need to do to become more like him.
The Doctrine of Christ is everywhere in the Book of Mormon...surprise! No, but really.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this was standard lesson material, but some Sunday School teacher long ago told me that Alma 5 was for people who weren't ready for the "higher" message and that Alma 7 was for people who were more righteous, and therefore ready for the "good stuff," and so the obvious moral is to be reverent.
But this time around I realized that both chapters teach the Doctrine of Christ!
No matter where you are in your conversion journey--beginning, pre-baptism, post-baptism, less-active, active-member....the Doctrine of Christ is for you. And it is for our missionaries, and for everyone they will teach. Our message is the same for everyone. Hallelujah.
On a sidenote, I overheard a missionary in our zone say, "we should just go and read the Book of Mormon with her, like in class. It's really powerful." And my heart felt all warm inside.
I have been developing a great love for the Book of Mormon! There is Power in the Message it brings to us of hope! That by turning to the Savior and living His gospel that we can BECOME! We can become our true selves, who God intended us to be. I truly believe that if we all seek to have revelatory experiences in our personal study of the Book of Mormon that naturally it will make itself manifest in our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to share with the zone my experience just before zone mtg this last week. Lisanne had challenged me to live this principle by studying the Book of Mormon for 30 minutes before zone meeting and it would become clear to me what I should share with the zone. Wow! What an experience I was in for... As I studied I felt a direct connection to my Heavenly Father and not only received guidance for Zone Mtg, but received confirmation as to where I am headed in life and where I can improve. I know that our Heavenly Father desires to be a part of our lives and will help us see a vision for who we can become and help us achieve it.
During part of my study I was reading in 3 Nephi 27 and in verses 10-11 it talks about the church being built upon "my gospel". I thought about this as having our foundation and character being built upon the gospel of Christ. In verse 9 it says that if we are built upon His gospel that whatsoever we do in His name the Father will hear us. I had to ask myself "Am I built upon the Gospel of Christ? Am I allowing it to change me? not just that I exercise faith, but am I allowing it to become a part of who I am? not just that I repent but that I am a repentant person seeking to change, not just that I have been baptized but that I am a covenant making person and that I remember and honor my covenants, not just that I have the right to the Holy Ghost but that I have received it and that I am doing everything I can to become what God is communicating to me through the Holy Ghost! That one day I may stand with confidence in the presence of my God! Perfected through my Savior Jesus Christ! Needless to say I have been inspired to change.
Also thank you to Kyle and Kate for sharing your experiences!
As some of you might know Brother Richardson and I had been struggling with our last group of elders. The day before their last class with us I was seriously praying so hard and trying to figure out what the Lord needed me to do so that he could touch them in the way that their hearts would actually take note and listen then be able to apply. I knew that it was up to our BOM read to start the lesson, they finally started opening up their hearts because of the experience of Jesus Christ in 3rd Nephi ch11. The spirit was able to teach them because I stopped talking and the Book of Mormon taught them what god wanted them to know.
ReplyDeleteDemaree
It's been awesome to see the difference in teaching when we are truly focused on Christ. I've had the tendency to focus only on the "what" and "how" of missionary work, but everything changes completely when we bring it back to Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteFor example, in the Book of Mormon I mostly looked at how it can help people overcome their issues, but when I changed my view on what revelation is (a method to get to know God better), I saw it as a medium with which we learn the true nature of God, thus allowing us to develop greater faith in Him.
As I've let this new revelation grow, I've gained a greater testimony of the missionary lessons and how they testify of Christ. Take the Restoration for example. We often thing that it's the lesson about Joseph Smith. I realized, however, that it's an entire lesson showing how much God loves His children, and how much he wants us to listen to Him and return to Him. It's awesome! I could go on more, but it all boils down to this: All things, especially in missionary work, testify of the true nature and character of Jesus Christ. It's spectacular!
Thank you for your comments! I know that you will be blessed as you keep applying these principles in your lives! Love you all!
ReplyDeleteI had a great experience with the Book of Mormon this week, as prompted by Brother Sisneros! While we were doing our first day welcome of the new missionaries, we read Helaman 5, about how to rely upon the "rock of our Redeemer." As one of he missionaries read the scripture, Brother Sisneros challenged him to study about what "the rock of our redeemer" really was. I realized that I also needed to know more about that, so I made it a subject of my personal study for two days.
ReplyDeleteAs I have read and studied, I've come to understand that the "rock" is Christ's doctrine. (Probably shouldn't be that surprising, but it was pretty cool to see.) It is interesting that there are many things upon which we can build our foundation that seem strong, but it is during time of struggle that we can know if we are really built upon the foundation of Christ. I reflected upon my experienced where I felt tested or struggling and realized that I needed to more surely ground myself upon the doctrine of Christ instead of just upon past experiences with the spirit or an emotional conviction that the Church is true.
The study has really changed my prayers too. Last night, I began rolling through a list of my activities for the day with the Lord, as per the usual when it is late and I am trying to review the day, but the spirit reminded me that just planning for the day was not grounding myself on the rock, the doctrine of Christ. So I began considering what I needed to repent of and how I needed to change to come closer to Christ, and the entire tenor and depth of my prayer changed. This study was a wonderful blessing to me.
Also, I checked back in with the missionary to whom Bro Sisneros issued the challenge, and he ALSO is having some great experiences studying about it! So, it was definitely inspired. Win win.
So going along with Jessie's post above, I was reading in Alma 37:45 today, that:
ReplyDelete"the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise."
If we are grounded in the doctrine of Christ, He carries us through the ugly life-parts, and we don't have to struggle through alone. It gives us peace in this life, and eternal joy in the next. Hallelujah.