Power in the Scriptures

When I was young my dad told us that we were going to start memorizing scriptures as a family. I was not thrilled by this prospect and for the next several years, I became extremely grumpy every time the family got together to read the scriptures and memorize specific verses that my dad had picked out. Over time, I got used to it and resigned myself to the fact that I had to memorize these scriptures in order to get dessert on Friday nights. 
A couple of years ago, my dad told us that he would let us pick out scriptures that we wanted to memorize every week. So, I began finding scriptures for myself to memorize. Every week I memorized a scripture (usually very last minute) and passed it off with one of my family members.

Coming out on my mission I have used the scriptures every single day. As I began reading through and studying The Book of Mormon again, I found that many of the scriptures were familiar and that after reading them one or two times, I could repeat them with no problem. I had found the scriptures that my dad asked my family to memorize years ago. 
Just this last week I decided that I was going to skim through the entire Book of Mormon and find all of the scriptures that I had memorized all those years ago. I decided that I would write down all the references and then I would write down the scriptures themselves so that I could remember all of them and begin to memorize more scriptures.

This morning I was not in the best mood and was not feeling particularly hopeful. Before personal study I had a thought flit through my mind: You should start going through those scriptures, Sister Herring. I put that thought aside and concentrated on reading the Book of Mormon. Again the thought passed through my mind and again I put it to the side.
Yet, while I read very good scriptures and I learned some wonderful things, I was not feeling much better. Once again, I had the thought to begin finding and studying those memorized scriptures. I began doing so and immediately found scriptures that the Lord had been trying to direct my mind to.
For example, Jacob 3:1,2 says, "But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction. O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever." I found great peace and felt my Heavenly Father's love for me as I remembered the simple verses that I had forgotten from so many years ago.
Elder Richard G. Scott said, "Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change." ("The Power of Scripture," Ensign November 2013)

The scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, were written for us. They are to teach us, help and guide us, enlighten our minds, bring us peace, and bring us closer to God and Jesus Christ. A memorized scripture is a friend that will never change, that will always be there, and that will always help us to feel the Spirit. As we seek greater understanding of the scriptures, memorizing specific verses that are personal to us will help us to more fully see and feel the power that is in the scriptures.

The Key: The Book of Mormon

I was sitting in a mission meeting. We were talking about why The Book of Mormon is so important and how we can teach better by using the Book of Mormon. I thought about it for a minute and then raised my hand and commented: This information, this good news of the Gospel that we bear is not something we share just for fun. This isn't something that we offer to teach people because we find it humorous or simply because we have nothing better to do. We do it because it is necessary. It is essential for each of us and for each of the people that we come into contact with, each of God's children, to understand His plan for them and to accept Christ's restored Gospel. The Book of Mormon is how they will come to know that the Gospel is true.
In 2 Nephi 3:12 it says, "...that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, (The Book of Mormon) and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, (The Bible) shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrine and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord."
The Bible and Book of Mormon together confound false doctrine. These two books go hand in hand and because The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the Gospel, it clarifies many parts in the Bible that are vague or unclear because of the plain and precious parts that were taken out of the Bible over hundreds of years.
The Book of Mormon, when read, understood, and applied into our lives, will lead to a greater measure of peace. It leads to a greater understanding of our purpose here on this earth. It also helps us to understand that God did reveal His Gospel to His children in the Americas, proving that He is "the same yesterday, today and forever" (2 Nephi 27:23) and that He loves His children no matter where they are in the world. The Book of Mormon also lays out very plainly the teachings of Jesus Christ and the things that we must do in order to return to live in the presence of God, namely: have faith in Christ, repent of our sins, be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end faithfully.

The Book of Mormon "is to show...that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations." (Title page of The Book of Mormon)
The Book of Mormon is a second testament to the divinity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Throughout the Bible we are told that "in the mouth of two or three witness shall every word be established." (2 Corinthians 13:1) The Book of Mormon is this second witness to the words of Christ found in the Bible.
It is the word of God and as we read it we are promised that we "will get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than by any other book." (Joseph Smith) We are also promised that if we will seek to know of its truthfulness, the Holy Spirit will testify to our hearts and our minds that it is true and that it is the word of God. When we know that The Book of Mormon is true, we will also come to know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints "is the Lord's kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah." (Introduction to The Book of Mormon)

The Church is true. I found that out through reading and praying about The Book of Mormon. No matter who we are or where we are on our road of life, The Book of Mormon will teach us the things that are essential for salvation.
The Book of Mormon is the key.

Press Forward

The past week has been a huge transition time. Transfers can be stressful but they're always a great adventure!
In the last week I have learned so much and I have already begun to love the people here in my new area. "Whom the Lord calls, He qualifies." I know that is true.
I was very hesitant to come to this new area. I have always struggled meeting new people and trying new things - except for food - and I love the people I have spent four and a half months with! How in the world could I just move on without any thought for them and for the past?
2 Nephi 31:20 says, "Wherefore, you must press forward with a perfect brightness of hope, having a love of God and of all men..."
My answer was right there!
Press forward. Move where you are called to move. Love everyone, no matter what. Trust in God and believe in His ability to help you to accomplish all things that He has commanded.
Sometimes we are called to do difficult things. Sometimes the things we are asked to do seem impossible. However, "all things are possible to them that believe." (Mark 9:23) No matter the difficulty, no matter the seeming impossibility of the tasks that are laid before you, the Lord has prepared a way and He will continue to prepare a way.
So when the way seems to be blocked or when the burden seems too much to bear, don't give up. Don't give in. Press forward and hope for a brighter dawn.

Because I love Him

Something funny happened the other day. I was sitting in a lesson and had a little thought run through my head: "What are you doing here?"
Well, I'm teaching people about Jesus Christ. I'm helping people to understand God's plan for each of His children. I'm hopefully being a good example to others and helping them to feel the Spirit as they are taught.
Again the thought came to me: "Really, Sister Herring. What are you doing here? What are you doing on your mission? Why are you here, hundreds of miles from home, talking to people you've never met, moving around Northern Virginia? What are you doing?"
I thought about it for a few minutes. Then the answer came.
I am doing what I have been called to do. I am on a mission because the Lord needs me here. I am hundreds of miles from home because I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that only by following it can we be saved. I talk to people I've never met before because I love my Savior and I love the people here and I know that they are children of a loving Heavenly Father who wants them to receive the truth of His Son and be happy. I am moving around northern Virginia because, through our mission president, God is sending me to these varied places all over Virginia.
"My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ, by helping them receive the restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ.
That is why I am here. That is why I am on a mission. To invite others to "[taste] as I have tasted, and [to see] eye to eye as I have seen." (Alma 36:26)
To do the things that the Lord has commanded.
Because I love Him.

Christ's Invitation: Come Unto Me

 I was sitting in a mission conference last week and a comparison came to me: "Come, follow me"   versus "Come unto me." There is a single word difference between these phrases yet as I thought about it, the differences are more than one simple word.

The phrase "Come, follow me" is a commandment. We can always choose whether or not we will obey that commandment but it is a commandment nonetheless. We are commanded to follow the example of the Savior.
When we follow someone, we look up to them, generally speaking. We do as they do. We follow their example. We are trying to be like them.
In the Bible, Christ's disciples were to give up their livelihoods, their riches,

everything that they owned, in order to follow the Savior of the world. Likewise, we are commanded to follow Christ's example in all things. We are to "take up our cross [and] follow [him]." (Doctrine and Covenants 112:14)
"Come, follow me" implies that we are looking up to someone - in this case, Christ. We are seeking Him. This phrase also implies that we are being obedient to the things that Christ commands. We obey the commandments that we are given and we seek to do what Christ would do. We seek to say what Christ would say.
As we seek to follow Christ, we become more Christ-like. In the Gospel, as we follow Christ's example, we are gaining a testimony of Him and of His divine mission as the Savior of the world.

Then there is the invitation to "Come unto me." In Matthew 11:28, Christ says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He asks us to come unto Him so that He may bless us and so that He may help us to overcome all the things that we will go through in this life so that we may grow through each and every experience.

As we come unto Christ we will be shown our weaknesses (Ether 12:27) and yet the hand of grace will be extended to us so that we may overcome those weaknesses (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Coming to someone implies that we are walking toward someone who is waiting for us. It implies that we are seeking, not only to become like them, but to be in their presence and to be with them. This invitation to "come unto me" also indicates that He desires to be with us. He loves us enough that He desires us to be in His presence.

To "come unto [Him]," we must seek not only to do as He did, but to become as He has become. We must seek to learn of Him and His example and then to apply those attributes in our own lives. One of those attributes is charity. As we have charity - the pure love of Christ (becoming like Him, following His example) - "[our] confidence will wax strong in the presence of God." (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45,46) As we follow Christ's example, we will then seek to come unto Him. Coming unto Christ implies a conversion to Him and to His Gospel and teachings.

Christ loves us. Our Heavenly Father loves us. They both desire the very best for us, as stated in Moses 1:39, "For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." The motivation behind everything our Heavenly Father does, is to better us - to bring us back into His presence. As we are obedient to His commandments He will bless and prosper us. That does not mean that everything will turn out exactly the way we want it to, but it means that we will grow and learn in the way that the Lord knows is best for us.
May we ever seek to come closer to Christ. As we do, I know that He will bless us and we will be "encircled about eternally in the arms of His love." (2 Nephi 1:15)