The Lord has shown time and again that he is able to do miraculous things with ordinary people. This chapter talks about prophesies that Joseph of Egypt gave concerning the future of his people. One speaks of Moses:
2 Nephi 3:17
And the Lord hath said: I will raise up a Moses; and I will give power unto him in a rod; and I will give judgment unto him in writing. Yet I will not loose his tongue, that he shall speak much, for I will not make him mighty in speaking. But I will write unto him my law, by the finger of mine own hand; and I will make a spokesman for him.
It occurred to me here that Moses' job could have been done by just about anybody. The Lord gave him a rod and a spokesman and wrote unto him his law. Moses was a great prophet, I think anyone would have a hard time arguing otherwise, but after reading this scripture I think his major qualification was that he was willing to go where the Lord asked him to go, and do what the Lord asked him to do. And because of his faith, the Lord was able to make something great out of his service.
The Book of Mormon is an interesting example of this principle. Those of us who have read it and believe it will testify as I do that it has had a powerful effect on our lives. Personally the book of Mormon has changed my life in several ways and it was through reading the Book of Mormon and then applying the principles therein that I gained a true testimony of Jesus Christ and the power of the atonement. The book is powerful, but many of it's authors complained that they were not able to write much because of the awkwardness of engraving on plates. (Jacob 4:1 ,Ether 12:24) And Moroni went on to say that he was afraid that people would make fun of his words.
Ether 12:25
Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words.
Yet the Book of Mormon has had a powerful effect on millions of people. Well this chapter in 2 Nephi explains why.
2 Nephi 3:21
Because of their faith their words shall proceed forth out of my mouth unto their brethren who are the fruit of thy loins; and the weakness of their words will I make strong in their faith, unto the remembering of my covenant which I made unto thy fathers.
Because they had the faith to make the record, and faith that it would reach their descendants God has made something mighty out of their weakness. I thought as I reached the end of this chapter that if I wanted to, I could be like that. If I just went to work. I just started doing something... anything good. We don't need a special calling for God to take our ordinary efforts and make them extraordinary... we just need to make some effort.
Showing posts with label Ether 12. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ether 12. Show all posts
Monday
Sunday
Ether 12
Ether 12:12
For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.
This makes me wonder whether or not God is unable to perform miracles unless we have faith because he doesn't have power to perform miracles without our faith, or is it one of those situations where God has said that he will not perform miracles unless we first have faith and he cannot lie, so he is bound by his word. I imagine it is probably the second one.
Faith is an interesting subject, as are most abstract ideas. It's difficult to grasp what exactly faith is and what it means. We know it's principle of action, that true faith prompts us to take action. I understand faith to be confidence in someone or something, specifically something that has not occurred, that can not be confirmed or proven, or that has an unknown outcome. My favorite scripture on faith is in Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11:13
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
For me this means that when we have true faith in the gospel and in the savior then we are more attached to the promises of the next life than we are to the things of this world. We are convinced of our own divinity and we see ourselves as out of place in a carnal world. To me that's the real question, do we have enough confidence in God and his covenants and our own eternal nature, that we do not put temporal things as our priority, that we don't set our hearts on the things of this world, that we lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven?
Ether 12:26 and 27
...my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness; And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness, I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
I had this thought a while ago while discussing this chapter in a Sunday school class and I wondered why I had never thought of it before. We talk a lot about Ether 12:27 but I think we overlook verse 26. In these verses we learn two things that God's grace can help us do. We all know that God's grace is sufficient for those who are humble and have faith that it can help them overcome their weaknesses, but we also learn that God's grace will help the meek to not take advantage of others weaknesses.
What does it mean to take advantage? At first, I thought it meant that we don't exploit others because of their weaknesses, but how could the gentiles possibly exploit Moroni for his weakness in writing? So, I think maybe it means that we put ourselves above another, that we discredit them or ignore or refuse to acknowledge their legitimacy, because of something they lack, because of their weakness. This can sound like a difficult thing to do, but God's grace is sufficient for us, that if we desire and have faith we will learn to take no advantage of other's weaknesses.
I also think that maybe that's what it means to be meek, that we don't take advantage of others weaknesses. And maybe what it means to be humble is that we are willing to recognize our own weaknesses. I can't help but think how many marriages cold be strengthened, or even saved if people could accept and work on their own weaknesses and not take advantage of their spouse's weaknesses.
For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.
This makes me wonder whether or not God is unable to perform miracles unless we have faith because he doesn't have power to perform miracles without our faith, or is it one of those situations where God has said that he will not perform miracles unless we first have faith and he cannot lie, so he is bound by his word. I imagine it is probably the second one.
Faith is an interesting subject, as are most abstract ideas. It's difficult to grasp what exactly faith is and what it means. We know it's principle of action, that true faith prompts us to take action. I understand faith to be confidence in someone or something, specifically something that has not occurred, that can not be confirmed or proven, or that has an unknown outcome. My favorite scripture on faith is in Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11:13
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
For me this means that when we have true faith in the gospel and in the savior then we are more attached to the promises of the next life than we are to the things of this world. We are convinced of our own divinity and we see ourselves as out of place in a carnal world. To me that's the real question, do we have enough confidence in God and his covenants and our own eternal nature, that we do not put temporal things as our priority, that we don't set our hearts on the things of this world, that we lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven?
Ether 12:26 and 27
...my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness; And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness, I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
I had this thought a while ago while discussing this chapter in a Sunday school class and I wondered why I had never thought of it before. We talk a lot about Ether 12:27 but I think we overlook verse 26. In these verses we learn two things that God's grace can help us do. We all know that God's grace is sufficient for those who are humble and have faith that it can help them overcome their weaknesses, but we also learn that God's grace will help the meek to not take advantage of others weaknesses.
What does it mean to take advantage? At first, I thought it meant that we don't exploit others because of their weaknesses, but how could the gentiles possibly exploit Moroni for his weakness in writing? So, I think maybe it means that we put ourselves above another, that we discredit them or ignore or refuse to acknowledge their legitimacy, because of something they lack, because of their weakness. This can sound like a difficult thing to do, but God's grace is sufficient for us, that if we desire and have faith we will learn to take no advantage of other's weaknesses.
I also think that maybe that's what it means to be meek, that we don't take advantage of others weaknesses. And maybe what it means to be humble is that we are willing to recognize our own weaknesses. I can't help but think how many marriages cold be strengthened, or even saved if people could accept and work on their own weaknesses and not take advantage of their spouse's weaknesses.
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