The Enemy of My Soul

I was reading this week in 2 Nephi chapter 4 - one of my favorite chapters. Nephi mourns the fact that he has weaknesses but then rejoices in the Lord. There are a couple thoughts that come to mind in pondering these verses.

First, if even Nephi, as great a prophet and example of strength that he is, gets discouraged, as in verse 19 where he says "My heart groaneth because of my sins", it gives hope to the rest of us, that even those we look up to face many of the same temptation and problems as we do.

Then later he turns around his attitude and says, "Rejoice, oh my heart, and give place to more for the enemy of my soul." I wonder, what was Nephi's "enemy of his soul." Was anger against his brothers? Then I think what is the enemy of our souls? It's different for each of us - it could be addictions, or inability to forgive, or laziness or pride or covetousness or any number of things. But whatever the enemy of our soul may be, we follow the counsel and example of Nephi to overcome it through calling on the Lord even as Nephi did in faith.

I love the final verses of that chapter:

Oh Lord, wilt though encircle me around in the arms of thy righteousness ... O Lord I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever ...Yea I know that God will give liberally him that asketh."

I was reading today in Jacob 1:8 and was impressed by Jacob's wish that he and his brother, Joseph, could convince all men not to rebel against God but that all men would believe in Christ and bear the shame of the world. It is interesting how often we, as members of the LDS church, have difficulty bearing that shame of the world. Just like in Lehi's dream, we see the people in the large and spacious building pointing their fingers and mocking us when we will not join them in partaking of earthly pleasures and sin. It must be something that is built into our human nature that we seek approval and acceptance by other people to the point, at times, when we compromise our standards or feel ashamed of who we are and what we believe. I hope that I can become the kind of person who is self confident and faithful enough to declare my beliefs in any situation and not ever feel ashamed of my beliefs and standards.

Quotes

Quotes from today's lesson:

Elder James E. Faust shared the following analogy: “Thomas R. Rowan … said: ‘Author and commentator Malcolm Muggeridge once told a story about some frogs who were killed without resistance by being boiled alive in [a] cauldron of water. Why didn’t they resist? Because when they were put in the cauldron, the water was tepid. Then the temperature was raised ever so slightly, … then a bit warmer still, and on and on and on. The change was so gradual, almost imperceptible, that the frogs accommodated themselves to their new environment—until it was too late. The point that Mr. Muggeridge was making was not about frogs but about us and how we tend to accept evil as long as it is not a shock that is thrust on us abruptly. We are inclined to accept something morally wrong if it is only a shade more wrong than something we are already accepting’” (National Press Club Forum).

After sharing this analogy, Elder Faust said, “This gradual process was foretold by ancient prophets” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1989, 40; orEnsign, May 1989, 32).

President Ezra Taft Benson said: “The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and lays down contention. (See 2 Ne. 3:12.) It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day. The type of apostates in the Book of Mormon are similar to the type we have today. God, with his infinite foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and philosophical concepts of our time” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1975, 94–95; orEnsign, May 1975, 64).

On the Morrow

I think one of the great sermons of the Book of Mormon is the one Jacob gave to his people in Jacob chapter 2. As I was reading this earlier today I came across something I hadn't noticed about how quickly this sermon was prepared.

"Wherefore, I must tell you the truth according to the^aplainness of the ^bword of God. For behold, as I inquired of the Lord, thus came the word unto me, saying: Jacob, get thou up into the temple on the morrow, and declare the word which I shall give thee unto this people."

What I noticed is that Jacob only had less than a day to prepare this magnificent sermon. But upon closer examination, it actually was not written by Jacob, but he was just passing on the the word which the Lord gave him to declare.

There are two lessons I learn from this. First, that we should not put off promptings from the Lord. We need to follow them in a timely manner. The other lesson is that when we have occasion to speak, we should not rely on our own wisdom, but seek to know what the Lord would have us say.