Sometimes being strong...

[marc]

...means letting go. We are all the products of our our upbringing, our choices, our environments. Like molecules we float through life being acted upon, being the cause of and causing more chain reactions. This forum, for example is a microcosm of a much greater world where both Zion and Babylon are found, where differences of opinion and disputations prevent us from finding common ground. Hopefully for each of us there comes that point in time, sooner than later where, like Lehi, we learn to completely let go of the world we live in. Nephi learned this very early in life.

Most have not yet found themselves in the dark and dreary wilderness. Not truly. When we have truly learned to let go of the world and enter in at the strait gate, then do we find ourselves alone, tested, like a parent who lets his child take those first steps alone only to take them alone as the parent sets Himself up across the room to guide us into His arms. Nephi learned this pattern early and in his two books, showed us how he did it and how we can do it. It requires letting go completely of the world and with our eye single to His glory, we begin our path along the iron rod. The world, even our own church, in all its correlated glory, does little to shed light on this most important key. It's all there, however, but takes more faith and understanding that most seem to have.

When you have found yourself in that powerful embrace of the First Comforter and it is taken from you, you hunger for it; thirst for it. Nothing else matters. And it's easy to want to give up hope despite knowing what ultimately lies ahead. You have no desire whatsoever to return to Babylon; to your old ways. If you understand what Nephi was desperately trying to tell us, you'll get it. And when you find yourself lost, confused, depressed and unwilling to continue. Remember his last, best advice before being stopped by the Spirit:

7 And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.

8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.

9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.

Pray for strength. Pray to let go of whatever it is you're still holding on to so that you can take the next step and the next one until you find yourself in the embrace of the Second Comforter.

[abundanceofwater]

post of the year.. hands down.

[MelissaM]

THank you. This has been heavily on my mind lately. How much of my unbelief is ground into me because of the traditions and outlook and blindness of how I have been raised and how I have perceived the world?

I think letting go of all of that is key and the Book of Mormon is an an instrument for doing so. It can take as long or as little time as I perceive need for.

[marc]

You're welcome, Melissa. This is one of Nephi's most pivotal chapters. Those three verses speak volumes, especially verse 9. And studying Nephi's life and his prayers, we can easily see that the Lord consecrated all of Nephi's "performances" for his own welfare and for his family and his people.