Actions Affect Ourselves

3 Nephi 9:12 And many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations.

Of course, the Nephites who lived in the cities that were destroyed weren't totally innocent. They may not have killed the Savior, but they still brought their punishment on themselves. Let's try not to make the same mistake. Sure, we may suffer unfairly because of others' sins, but unless we repent, we will also suffer, fairly, because of our own.

Actions Affect Others

In 3 Nephi chapter 8, we read about great calamitous destructions that came upon the Nephites (and presumably the Lamanites as well), in part because of their own wickedness, but also in direct response to an intensely wicked act for which they bore no responsibility. The descendants of Lehi did not crucify the Savior, but they experienced horrendous (super)natural disasters anyway.

Naturally, this seems unfair. People should be punished for their own sins, not for other people's sins and transgressions. Yet, we are often affected by the actions of others, and other people are often affected by our actions, for better or worse, whether they deserve it or not. We need to think and act carefully, so our actions don't negatively affect others, and we need to be aware that some of the hardships we experience may be the results of the actions of others, not necessarily signs of divine disapproval.

Regardless of how our actions affect others and how others' actions affect us, we can take some comfort in knowing that, in the end, God will make sure that everyone is treated fairly. The cosmic scales of justice will be balanced, and everyone will ultimately get what they deserve. But until then, we unfortunately need to put up with a little bit of unfairness. Mortal life sometimes isn't fair. Part of the test is seeing how we deal with the unfairness of life. So, let's do good for others, whether they deserve it or not, and let's be patient in our afflictions, whether we deserve them or not.

Everything will balance out in the end. But in the meantime, we'll just have acknowledge and accept the fact that people's actions can and will affect other people.

Unimpressed by Miracles

3 Nephi 7:19 And in the name of Jesus did he cast out devils and unclean spirits; and even his brother did he raise from the dead, after he had been stoned and suffered death by the people.

20 And the people saw it, and did witness of it, and were angry with him because of his power; and he did also do many more miracles, in the sight of the people, in the name of Jesus.

What I find amazing as I read about Nephi in this chapter is how amazing his miracles were, yet the people hated him for it. At this point, the people weren't impressed by miracles at all. I find that almost ridiculous, but I also wonder how true that is with us. If we saw miracles like that, how impressed would we be? If we saw a person working miracles, would we think they were a prophet, or would we suspect they were a charlatan, a magician, or even a devil-worshiper? There are few good people who can work miracles, but lots of wicked people who might pretend to.

So, maybe I shouldn't be too quick to judge. I'd like to think that, if I saw someone raised from the dead, I'd know it was a miracle, but really, I think I'd wonder if the guy was ever really dead.

"Great Power"

3 Nephi 6:15 Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this—Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world.

What was this "great power" that Satan had over the Nephites? I can only think of one "great power" that Satan uses regularly. He can talk to us. And we sometimes listen."

That's basically it. That is the "great power" of Satan. Maybe some Satan-worshipers disagree with that, and there was a dark force that exerted some influence on one person on one occasion, but for the rest of us, the most power he will ever exercise over us is the "great power" of talking to us.

The only reason Satan has any power at all is because we sometimes listen to him. If we stop listening to him, his "great power" won't do him any good. His only ability will be to talk to a brick wall or shout into the void. We can make sure his lies fall on deaf ears. And if we do that, we can take away his "great power" and leave him completely powerless.

Sure, he can have "great power" over us, but that's only true if we listen to him.

At the Top of Their Wishlists

At the top of my mother's wishlist (and probably God's too) is a message that goes something like this:

* * * * * Most of all, I wish to know that my children and grandchildren
1) have testimonies of Jesus Christ and His restored gospel,
2) are living good, happy, useful lives, and
3) like me
4) love and support each other.

These are good things to want, and while I'm not doing perfectly at all of these all the time, I'm happy to say that, in general, I'm doing pretty well with this list, and I regularly strive to do even better.

Actually, come to think of it, we already know what God's wishlist looks like. The items on that list are called Commandments, and at the top of that list, you'll find these two:

Matthew 22:37-40 

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

 That's what's most important. Love God. Love each other. Live good lives. That's as simple as the Gospel gets. So, to show my love for my Heavenly Father and for my wonderful mother, I'm going to try to live the best life I can and show and strengthen my love for both of them and for everyone else.

Love is important. So important, that the best people I know put it at the top of their wishlists.

The Undaunted Defenders

3 Nephi 4:8-10 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites, when they saw the appearance of the army of Giddianhi, had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies.

And it came to pass that when the armies of Giddianhi saw this they began to shout with a loud voice, because of their joy, for they had supposed that the Nephites had fallen with fear because of the terror of their armies. 

But in this thing they were disappointed, for the Nephites did not fear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for protection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they did receive them.

When we face daunting challenges, as we all occasionally do, we should remember to turn to the Lord, as the Nephites did. Instead of fearing our problems, we should trust our God and call upon Him for help in overcoming our challenges. In the strength of the Lord, we can overcome anything the world throws at us. It may take time. It may take an eternity. But if we stay on the Lord's side and never give up, we can overcome any challenge, even our most daunting ones.

Ponderize - Power and a Promise

Ephesians 6:10 And now, my bretheren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 

Hmm, two mistakes. I said "And now" instead of "Finally," and I left out a comma between "Lord" and "and." Still, not bad for how little I practiced it this week. I need to practice more with this week's Ponderize verse.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Another short one, immediately following the last one. It may be kinda cheating, but it's what I feel like doing. And who knows? Maybe I'll memorize the whole armor of God section this way (but don't bet on it).

In the meantime, I like how Ephesians 6:10 tells us a good way to gain spiritual power and how Ephesians 6:11 tells us what that power will allow us to do. I like promised blessings, especially those that involve the promise of strength and victory. Those are the sorts of blessings I'd like to have right now, and I hope that ponderizing these verses will help me figure out how to get them.