Line Upon Line: Easter Edition

Yesterday I had a new experience with the principle of learning line upon line.

[For more on that concept, see 2 Nephi 28:30, where Book of Mormon prophet Nephi talks about this concept he learned from the Lord God, that was also taught by his favorite biblical prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 28:10)]

I was reading the Come Follow Me chapter about Easter. I had read a little the day before, and listened to 1 Corinthians 15, but felt like I “wasn’t very far” in my study.

While eating some banana bread, I pulled up the app. Mentally I was chastising myself for starting the day later than I wanted to, especially since it meant I was now multi-tasking – eating breakfast while studying my scriptures (not always a very productive or ideal situation for me personally).

But I bowed my head and prayed to my Heavenly Father. I thanked Him for the food I had to eat and told Him I wanted to learn from the scriptures and feel a greater connection to the Savior, especially in this Holy Week leading up to Easter.

This question was presented in the manual: What do you learn about the Living Christ from His words in Doctrine and Covenants 29:5, 38:7; 62:1?

I clicked the link in my app to the first reference and read

Doctrine and Covenants 29:5

5 Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom.

After reading the whole verse, this is what I thought:

They, God and Christ, are generous and present

I read it again, and this is what came to mind:

Not only is Christ present, He is advocating for us

I read it once more: 

He wants us to be happy, and acknowledges that will take effort on our part - "lift up your hearts and be glad"

At this point I thought, it doesn’t really matter how fast I read, what matters is that I seek to know my Savior better as I read and ponder His words.

With that thought, I read the verse a final time. Instead of a one line thought, this is what I gleaned:

Reading Doc & Cov 29:5 several times continued to bring new insight (recorded above). This most recent time, I was hit by the last phrase, that it is God's good will to give us the kingdom. Sometimes the word, or role, of advocate implies to me that there is an uphill battle to be fought. That the advocate has to change the mind of the person they are presenting the case to. But that final phrase in the verse says God wants to give us the kingdom, not that He'll only bestow it grudgingly on a few. God is inclusive, not elite. He is doing all He can to help us succeed.

Part of the point of learning line upon line is that we can learn a little here and a little there. And sometimes, as we continue to seek knowledge, we are given deeper or greater insight.

What line are you hoping to add to?

I encourage you to take it to God in prayer. He is eager to teach and to bless us with increased knowledge.

I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am grateful to know that He is here – He rose from the grave after His crucifixion. He is on my side, and by my side. I can trust in Him and lean on Him. I can allow Him to lead me to God the Father.

Spidey Sense: When did you last use yours?

One day while living and working in Alaska I was wandering downtown and decided to walk past my office building.

As I turned the corner, one of my colleagues called out to me, "Your spidey sense must have been going off again - I can't find my key!"

My key was in my pocket, so I was able to let her into the building and we chatted for a few minutes about her shift and then parted ways.

Her "again" referred to another time a few weeks before where I felt like I should stop by and say hello. I no longer remember the details, but I know she was in need that day too and I was able to fill her need.

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This experience came to mind today when I had a virtual meeting with two women who are serving missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Talking to missionaries is always uplifting and inspiring to me. There is a light and happiness about these incredible people who dedicate themselves to a cause they believe in and who choose to focus on others. They have chosen to put their life and education on hold, pay to receive training and for their room and board, move to a new area, and committed to teaching all those who are interested about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

During our conversation they challenged me to pray and ask God to help me think of someone who I could reach out to and share some of God's love and truth with.

What a cool challenge! Who can't use some extra love and light in their life?

As they made the challenge, I thought about my interaction with my colleague in Alaska. For years I have regularly prayed for God to help me find someone I can serve. I say something to this effect:

Heavenly Father, please help me to be aware of the people around me and to know how I can share thy love and light with them.

Or something like this:

Heavenly Father, please allow me to be a conduit of thy love to those around me.

Or this one:

Heavenly Father, please help me know who I can serve today.

Then I go about my day. Typically, these prayers help me become aware of little things - like holding a door open for someone, smiling at strangers, allowing someone else to go first while merging in traffic, or sending a message to a friend or family member who is on my mind.

I believe that what my colleague identified as a "spidey sense" is an example of God's hand in my life. His answer to my prayers. His direction in my life - giving me an opportunity to help one of His children.

When is the last time you benefitted from someone following their "spidey sense"? 

My invitation to you is to tell that person thank you for what they did - in person, via text, write a letter, make a phone call - we all need to know that what we do, even the little things, matters to someone.

Oh, and next time you feel inspired to go somewhere you weren't planning to, or when someone pops unexpectedly into your mind, accept the invitation to follow your spidey sense and reach out in love. You never know, you just might make someone's day!

Likening Scriptures: Work, the Verb

Something I love about my religion is how applicable it is to my day to day life. And that we are encouraged to “liken all scriptures unto us” (1 Nephi 19:23).

As I’m seeking to build and grow a business, I decided to read all the references to the verb work in The Book of Mormon. I’ve just begun and already I feel I have learned so much.

Reading in 2 Nephi 5:15 it talks about how Nephi taught his people to do fine craftsmanship. They built buildings and created art and beauty in their community. They learned skills from someone who had already honed those skills.

For me this was a cool reminder both that there are incredible people who I can seek knowledge and skill from AND that I have skills and abilities that I can seek to share with others.

There is power in creating beauty, in being industrious, in expanding and enriching our minds - because we also improve the world and people around us in the process.

The last thing that I gleaned from that verse comes in the final phrase, “which were in great abundance.” In the scripture I believe it is specifically referring to ore, which was found in the land where they lived. For me today it is a reminder to find and use the resources I have. To use those materials or skills I have “in abundance”.

I’m grateful for the scriptures, and for a Heavenly Father who loves me enough to provide personal direction as I read from His words written and preserved by those who came before me. I’m grateful for continuing personal revelation and the chance to see God’s hand in my life and feel His love as I intentionally turn to Him.

Look Up!

There are two experiences from the past week that relate to the idea of "Look Up!" (which refers to a song lyric from my childhood, but I'll get to that...)

Yesterday I was walking along Central Park West: It's the day before the 4th of July and there are a million tourists in New York City. One of them was a little girl on a bike. It has a bell on it, which she rings as she runs her handle bar into my leg from behind. A second after that, her father says, "Allie, pay attention!"

Despite by bruised leg, it was a good remind of the need we have to "Look Up!" in this world. And it reminded me of a song my dad used to play all the time when I was a child:

Look up! Look up!
The stars in the heavens cry out!
Look up! Look up!
Your course does not lie on the earth or the sea,
it lies in the heavens above;
look up! Look up!

Look up by Stephen Kapp Perry

This idea was  also driven home while I was volunteering as a group captain for Youth Conference (where my church takes the 14-18 year olds on a faith promoting trip each summer). The youth love to leave New York City and have a chance to see other places. We took them to a retreat in Lancaster Pennsylvania where there were stars and campfires and ziplines and fresh air and no tall buildings. It was awesome.

On the second day, in one of the classes, the teacher asked if anyone had seen the stars the night before. Several youth excitedly chattered about how many there were and how inspiring it was to see them. The teacher went on to compare the feeling of seeing all those stars to feeling God's love, knowing He is there in our lives, and using that as a barometer. Out in Lanchaster we could see countless stars. This has always helped me feel closer to God - seeing His creations, trying to wrap my mind around all that He is capable of - while still being aware of us each individually, it is truly awe inspiring.

In contrast, the teacher asked how many stars we can see while we're in NYC. The answers: "I've seen three one time." and "I think the 'stars' we see in the city are actually planets, right?"

The analogy/ challenge the teacher then gave is something I've been thinking about since: If we feel like our closeness to God is more like only seeing two or three stars (or planets :) in NYC, we should ask to feel the full majesty of His love for us. He's our Father, He wants us to know and love Him. He wants us to feel His love. And all we have to do is "Look up!" or in other words, get on our knees, close our eyes, bow our heads, and ask - He will answer.