Out of The Dark Cloud

The other night we were reading scriptures from the Book of Mormon Stories Book (the one with pictures) with the kids before bed.  When it was my turn to read, something really stuck out to me and pointed me in the direction I needed to go.

The story comes from  Helamen Chapter 5 where the missionaries, Nephi and Lehi, had gone to preach to the Lamanites (those not part of the Church of Christ).   Nephi and Lehi weren't received warmly, they were thrown into prison and the Lamanite solders tried to kill them. Nephi and Lehi were protected by the power of God.  God then caused the prison walls to shake and the people were frightened.

All of that part of the story was familiar to me, but the next part is what really stood out to me this time reading the story.  (Which we accidentally reread the same story from the night before because we weren't paying attention to where we were.  The first night I didn't notice it, but the second night I did.  I guess it's good to read things twice.)

After the prison walls shook, it says in Verse 28: "And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of ^adarkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them."   

Many of us have times in our lives where we too feel like we are "overshadowed with a cloud of darkness."  When we are in the cloud of darkness it is impossible to see which way to go.  Our own efforts are fruitless.  It may be because of trials or because we left the things we knew to be true.  

They then heard the voice of the Lord telling them to repent and stop trying to kill Nephi and Lehi.  In verse 35 it reads: "Now there was one [named Aminidab] among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented  from them.

36 And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi..."   In his life, Aminidab had wandered from the Lord, however, in this experience when he was surrounded by darkness, he hears the voice of the Lord and then acts on it and "he turned him about" and looked upon the Lord's servants Nephi and Lehi.  Do we embrace those moments when we hear the voice of the Lord in our lives? Do we follow the voice of the Lord and turn ourselves about to face the Lord and His servants and listen and obey them?  If we are to turn, we must leave behind the old life and embrace our new life as followers of Christ.  Isn't that what we want? To be able to see through the cloud of darkness that we feel surrounded by.  Aminidab could see clearly once he turned to the Lord and his servants. Aminidab was then able to explain to the other Lamanites who these servants of the Lord were and teach them to pray and repent until they had faith in Jesus Christ.  

God sent the dark cloud to them to remove all means of worldly explanations, to get their attention, to help them to realize that they can't do it on their own, that they need Jesus Christ.   When we are in the cloud of darkness it is impossible to see which way to go.  Our own efforts to remove the dark cloud are fruitless.   Christ is the only source of Light and Truth.  And the one thing that is always available to us is communication with our Heavenly Father through prayer.  It was prayer that removed the dark cloud from the Lamanites.  As we seek the Lord in prayer, He begins filling us with light.   

[A few months ago, I an experience where I was told through the Holy Ghost and the speaker at the church meeting that I have been in a fog for a while.  I was told to go to the temple because the temple parts that fog so that we can see clearly.  It was clear to me at that moment that the Lord was speaking to me and that I needed to commit myself to going to the temple at least once a month to help me to come out of this fog (or darkness) and see life from an eternal perspective again.] 

Now there are 3 types of people who were in the dark cloud:

1. Nephi and Lehi: followers of Christ, His servants. They were in the dark cloud too, however their faces were shining and full of light. They were looking heavenward and were talking to angels.
2. Aminidab and other Nephite dissenters: They had been taught the gospel previously but had left the Church.  Aminidab was in the dark cloud, but heard and recognized the voice of the Lord, turned about to the Lord's servants, and then taught the Lamanites who Nephi and Lehi were. 
3. Lamanites: They had no knowledge of God or His teachings, they had lived wicked lives. They were in the dark cloud and heard the voice of the Lord, but they were scared and couldn't run away because it was too dark. Once it was explained to them by Aminidab they began praying until the dark cloud left and they too were filled with joy.  

The dark cloud was upon all three types of people.  We sometimes think this is only happening to us, but the truth is it is happening to all. What type are you in this story?  Nephi and Lehi had the Spirit of the Lord with them, they knew God and Christ and had an established relationship through prayer when the dark cloud came.  Because of that relationship, Nephi and Lehi weren't scared, they were confident, they were still filled with light, and continued to communicate with heaven despite the dark cloud.  

If we have turned from the Lord, we too, like Aminidab will feel the darkness. But if we listen to that still small voice within us and follow the Lord we too can be brought into the Light--the Light of Christ.

I think it is interesting that the one that taught the Lamanites who Nephi and Lehi were, was someone who was raised in the Church but had left the Church.  Although he was not active in his faith, he recognized the hand of God when it was before him and he testified of the power of the Lord.  There was power (perhaps light to their souls) given to the Lamanites to look towards the Lord's servants.  They chose to pray and the darkness was lifted and they were forgiven.

I finally feel like I am coming out of the dark cloud I have been in for quite a while.  The Teaching for our Times lesson last Sunday was from two talks: Stand Ye in Holy Places and The Privilege of Prayer.  Both talks focus on prayer and our relationship to our Heavenly Father.  For me, prayer and scripture study turn me from grumpy mom to happy mom.  Just yesterday, I was sitting with my daughters in the family room.  I was playing with the baby and I felt it --Happiness.  Happiness with where I am, who I am, I felt whole again and felt like I actually had something to offer my children.  I want to keep feeling this way and I want to share it with my friends and family.

Coming To Ourselves: the Sacrament, the Temple, and Sacrifice in Service

It is so hard for me to feel the full meaning of the sacrament lately because I don't understand the meaning behind the words of the hymn or the sacrament prayer.  I guess I need to study the sacrament prayer in spanish so I can understand it. In reading this talk by Elder Robert D. Hales, I love how he says that participating in the sacrament means that "we prayerfully seek forgiveness for our sins and shortcomings...and make specific personal commitments to follow the Savior during the coming week."  This gives me hope.  I feel like I try and change and be a better parent/person, but I'm always one step forward two steps back.  That is what the sacrament is about change.

Quote of the Day:

Mountains to Climb by Henry B Eyring


But President Monson has also wisely taught that a foundation of faith in the reality of those promises takes time to build. You may have seen the need for that foundation, as I have, at the bedside of someone ready to give up the fight to endure to the end. If the foundation of faith is not embedded in our hearts, the power to endure will crumble.


Our choosing the right consistently whenever the choice is placed before us creates the solid ground under our faith.


We never need to feel that we are alone or unloved in the Lord’s service because we never are. We can feel the love of God. The Savior has promised angels on our left and our right to bear us up.¹⁰ And He always keeps His word.

A Tender Mercy

After days of being sick with Bronchitis, we had little food left to prepare a dinnertime meal with and I had even less energy to do so.  I don't remember if it was aloud or just in my heart that I offered a  little prayer "Heavenly Father if it be possible, please let someone bring us some dinner tonight."  Then I went to take a badly needed nap.   Before I was done napping I heard a knock at the front door and my husband (who was also sick) opened the door to find his parents and aunt there.  They were returning home from the family party that we missed the day before and decided to stop as they were passing our house on their way.  They stopped by and brought plates of leftover food from the party.  I was so comforted that Heavenly Father answered my prayer. My family was fed and I could continue sleeping instead of getting up to go fix dinner.  I was able to sleep for a couple of hours and when I got up finally felt like I was starting to get better.

This was a tender mercy from the Lord.  No one but Him heard that plea of my heart.   And it reminds me that He does know me and want what's best for me.   Thank you Father.

 Nephi writes, “But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Nephi 1:20).

Easter

Out of the Dark Cloud

The other night we were reading scriptures from the Book of Mormon Stories Book (the one with pictures) with the kids before bed.  When it was my turn to read, something really stuck out to me and pointed me in the direction I needed to go.

The story comes from  Helamen Chapter 5 where the missionaries, Nephi and Lehi, had gone to preach to the Lamanites (those not part of the Church of Christ).   Nephi and Lehi weren't received warmly, they were thrown into prison and the Lamanite solders tried to kill them. Nephi and Lehi were protected by the power of God.  God then caused the prison walls to shake and the people were frightened.

All of that part of the story was familiar to me, but the next part is what really stood out to me this time reading the story.  (Which we accidentally reread the same story from the night before because we weren't paying attention to where we were.  The first night I didn't notice it, but the second night I did.  I guess it's good to read things twice.)

After the prison walls shook, it says in Verse 28: "And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them."

Many of us have times in our lives where we too feel like we are "overshadowed with a cloud of darkness." When we are in the cloud of darkness it is impossible to see which way to go. Our own efforts are fruitless. It may be because we left the things which we knew were right or trials of life that test us.

They then heard the voice of the Lord telling them to repent and stop trying to kill Nephi and Lehi. Then in verse 35: 

"Now there was one [named Aminidab] among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them.

36 And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi..." 

In his life, Aminidab had wandered from the Lord, however, in this experience when he surrounded by darkness, he hears the voice of the Lord and then acts on it and "he turned him about" and looked upon the Lord's servants Nephi and Lehi. Do we embrace those moments when we hear the voice of the Lord in our lives? Do we follow the voice of the Lord and turn ourselves about to face the Lord and His servants and listen and obey them? If we are to turn, we must leave behind the old life and embrace our new life as followers of Christ. Isn't that what we want? To be able to see through the cloud of darkness that we feel surrounded by. Aminidab could see clearly once he turned to the Lord and his servants. Aminidab was then able to explain to the other Lamanites who these servants of the Lord were and teach them to pray and repent until they had faith in Jesus Christ.

God sent the dark cloud to them to remove all means of worldly explanations and to get their attention to help them to realize that they can't do it on their own, that they need Jesus Christ. When we are in the cloud of darkness it is impossible to see which way to go. Our own efforts are fruitless. The only thing we have is communication with our Heavenly Father through prayer. It was prayer that removed the dark cloud from the Lamanites.

I think it is interesting that the one who taught the Lamanites who Nephi and Lehi were was someone who was raised in the Church but had left the Church. Although he was not active in his faith, he recognized the hand of God when it was before him and he testified of the power of the Lord.

There was power given to them to look towards the Lord's servants.

There are 3 types of people who were in the dark cloud:

1. Nephi and Lehi: followers of Christ, His servants. They were in the dark cloud too, however their faces were shining and full of light. They were looking heavenward and were talking to angels.
2. Aminidab and other Nephite dissenters: They had been taught the gospel previously but had left the Church.  Aminidab was in the dark cloud, but heard and recognized the voice of the Lord, turned about to the Lord's servants, and then taught the Lamanites who Nephi and Lehi were. 
3. Lamanites: They had no knowledge of God or His teachings, they had lived wicked lives. They were in the dark cloud and heard the voice of the Lord, but they were scared and couldn't run away because it was too dark. Once it was explained to them by Aminidab they began praying until the dark cloud left and they too were filled with joy.  

The dark cloud was upon all three types of people.  We sometimes think this is only happening to us, but the truth is it is happening to all. What type do you fit into in this story?  Nephi and Lehi had the Spirit of the Lord with them, they knew God and Christ and had an established relationship through prayer when the dark cloud came.  Because of that relationship, Nephi and Lehi weren't scared, they were confident, they were still filled with light, and continued to communicate with heaven despite the dark cloud.  

If we have turned from the Lord, we too, like Aminidab will feel the darkness. But if we listen to that still small voice within us and follow the Lord we too can be brought into the Light--the Light of Christ. 

I finally feel like I am coming out of the dark cloud I have been in for quite a while.  The Teaching for our Times lesson last Sunday was from two talks: Stand Ye in Holy Places and The Privilege of Prayer.  Both talks focus on prayer and our relationship to our Heavenly Father.  For me, prayer and scripture study turn me from grumpy mom to happy mom.  Just yesterday, I was sitting with my daughters in the family room.  I was playing with the baby and I felt it --Happiness.  Happiness with where I am, who I am, I felt whole again and felt like I actually had something to offer my children.  I want to keep feeling this way and I want to share it with my friend. I want her to feel that happiness too.