Lessons I Learn from War

I love the war chapters in the Book of Mormon. There are so many things in them that can be applied to our lives today. A few weeks ago one of those life lessons came to me while I was reading in Alma 43. In this chapter the Lamanites are angry at the Nephites go to fight against them. The Lamanites fight stronger than they have ever fought before and the Nephites become very scared and start to flee but their captain, Moroni, reminds them that "they [are] doing that which they [feel] [is]their duty which they owe to their God for ... the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families and their lands their country and their rights, and their religion."  When they hear this the Nephites, "[cry] with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage. And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them." 

As I read this chapter I felt like this story was in the scriptures for me. The Nephites are righteous, they are doing what they believe is their duty to God. But they still fear and begin to lose the battle. Their righteousness and obedience alone cannot protect them. It's not until they cry unto the Lord- or pray- that they recieve the power to defeat their enemies. I think this part really hit me because this is something that I do so often in my life. I work hard and do what I should but I forget to call upon the Lord in my specific times of need. In the Bible Dictionary under prayer it says "The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them." Sometimes we have to ask God for help before He is able to grant it. I know that God loves us and wants to help us in our lives so that we can accomplish our righteous desires. I know that in my quest to achieve those things I should not forget to pray to my Heavenly Father and ask for help. I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father, for the ability to pray to Him at any time. I'm grateful for the scriptures and that I can read from them and find answers and direction that I need for my life.

What Sound DOES a Giraffe Make?

I've been an aunt since I was 8-years-old so I have been around kids in an "adult" capacity for a long time. One of the things I like to do with kids is play the 'animal noises' game. You know the one I am talking about; it is when you pick up a stuffed animal and ask the child what noise it makes. Sometimes an animal will trip me up. One that I always have a problem with is the giraffe. What noise does a giraffe make? I have no idea. I pick up the dog- "bark", I pick up the cat- "meow", pig- "snort", even a bunny is ok, you just wiggle your nose. But the giraffe!? I just sit with the stuffed, orange, long-necked, mammal in my hands; staring, and wondering: "What noise does it make?". I have faced this dilemma for so many years and one day I realized, I have somewhere to turn. There is an amazing resource at my disposal that can help me to find the answer. Yes, I'm talking about google. When I turned to this ultimate source of knowledge so many things appeared before me; youtube videos, Yahoo!Answers, wikipedia. They all were happy to provide me with answers. It was amazing. I had spent literally years contemplating this question and suddenly I had answers. I actually felt a little silly not thinking of it earlier. Of course, you have a question, you turn to google.

Google can be a great source for those kind of questions. The amazing thing is that we can receive answers to life's questions from the true ultimate source. If we have questions, or need direction, we can ask God our Heavenly Father, and He, unlike google, will always have the answer and it will always be true. We are promised in James 1:5 that "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."1 That means that if you have a question, you can ask God and He is not going to say "That is a stupid question" or "You are not supposed to ask me questions", He's going to answer you! 

In 1820 a young boy named Joseph Smith had a question, he wanted to know which church to join. He searched for an answer for a long time and one day he read that verse from James 1:5. After he read it he said that "at length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is ask of God."2 Joseph did ask, and, as the scriptures said he would, he received an answer. As he was praying for direction, he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and they told him that he must not join any of the churches because Christ's Gospel had been lost from the earth. Over time, through revelation from God, Joseph Smith was able to restore the Gospel as it had been taught by Jesus Christ and all the prophets.

I know this is true I know because I have prayed about it and received and answer. I know that anyone who "ask[s] with a sincere heart, with real intent"3 can also know these things are true. God is our Heavenly Father, He loves us and is trying to help us live happy lives. Because He loves us He is going to answer us when we turn to Him in prayer. Please, if you haven't, or even if you have, tonight when you are saying your prayers, ask. Ask God if these things are true. Have faith that He will answer, pay attention to how you feel, and if you don't receive an answer right away, keep trying. God will answer you in a way that you can recognize. I know these things are true, and I invite you to know as well.

2. Joseph Smith History 1:13
3. Moroni 10: 3-5