The End. (Or is it the Beginning?)

©Darrell Wyatt

My heart is full this morning, as I have just finished the journey that I began a little over six months ago. Words cannot describe the blessings that I have received in recording my thoughts as I have read the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ.  I have grown to know and love each of the authors and prophets.  I have felt of their pain and their joys, of their trials and their triumphs.  But most of all, I have felt the overwhelming love that each of them had for our Savior, even Jesus Christ.  Most of these men did not live to see Him, of whom they had spent many years testifying and prophesying.  They were shunned and tortured and even killed because of their belief in a Messiah who had not yet come.  I have been abundantly blessed to be a benefactor of their sacrifices.

Moroni spoke, in this last chapter, of the many gifts of God.  He explained that while the gifts may be different for each person, they all come from the same God.  Some will have the gift of wisdom, some knowledge.  Others will have the gift of faith or healing or the ability to work miracles.  Still others may be bestowed with the gift to prophesy or to have the gift of tongues, and some may be able to see angels.  Each and every one of these gifts comes by the power of the Holy Ghost. 

And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God.  And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them. (Moroni 10:8)

I believe that we have all been given at least one of these gifts, even if we do not realize it.  I know that my gift from God is the gift spoken of in verse 11:  exceedingly great faith.  And what an amazing blessing this has been.  I have never, ever had to struggle with my faith.  I know, beyond any doubt, that the church I belong to is Christ's church, restored to this earth with the same structure and keys as were on the earth during His mortal life.  I know, with every part of me, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.  It is another testament of Jesus Christ.  I have been blessed to always know this.  I know that it does not come this easily for everyone, which is why I know that my faith is a gift from God.  For this I am eternally grateful. 

I suppose I decided to keep this record of my thoughts for kind of selfish reasons.  I wanted to be able to look back and to see how it has transformed my life, one day at a time, and it really has done that.  Although I have finished reading and writing, I am not done.  The lessons I have learned have given me the knowledge and perspective to start today as a changed and better person.  It's just the beginning.

Because I chose to use such a public forum in which to write, I know that there others who have been reading along with me.  My hope is that I have adequately conveyed the truthfulness of this book to them.  I have such a strong testimony of Jesus Christ, and of his visit to this continent after his crucifixion.  His teachings are real.  His love his pure.  I am grateful for the sacrifice that He made for me.  I love Him more than I could ever, ever put into words. 

I join with Moroni, in extending a challenge to all who may read this.  No matter what preconceived notions you have about this book, please read it for yourself.  I can say with much confidence that in doing so, with a prayer in your heart, your life will forever be changed.

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.  (Moroni 10:4)

I know this promise to be true.  "And now I bid unto all, farewell." (Moroni 10:34)

Click here to read what I read today: Moroni 10

I'll Sure Try

"In today's chapter, Moroni was reading a letter sent from his father, in which Mormon detailed the wickedness of all of the people around him - both Lamanite and Nephite.  In parting, he tells his son to "be faithful in Christ" (Moroni 9:25).  This reminded me of an encounter I had with my little girls, just two days ago.

©Darrell Wyatt

Bye, mom!", yelled one of my daughters as she ran out the door for school. "Bye, honey!  Be good!  Choose the right!", I yelled from the other room.  Her response made me giggle. "Well, duh.  What else would I do? "  A few minutes later, her younger sister headed out the door.  "Bye, honey!  Be good!  Choose the right!", I called to her.  She let out a long sigh, followed by, "I'll sure try." 

The difference in responses gave me pause for a moment.  I had said the exact same words, with the exact same emotion to both girls, and got two completely opposite reactions.  Perhaps it's because of their distinct personalities.  The older daughter is fun-loving and loud and a little impulsive, while her little sister is quiet and thoughtful and a little scatter-brained.  Two different personalities, two different responses.  I loved the confidence in the first answer,  "What else would I do?", but I had the feeling that she wasn't really paying much attention.  While I sort of just threw the words "Choose the right" at them, with not a lot of thought, my younger daughter actually stopped to take them to heart.  In her deep sigh, I could feel the inner struggle she was having.  "I'll sure try." 

When the girls returned home from school, we entered into our usual routine of chores and homework and chaos.  Somewhere in the middle of it, my youngest daughter, as she most always does, began to tell me of some drama or other that unfolded at school that day.  This little girl is quite a detailed storyteller.  She includes everything - right down to what the people involved are wearing, and unfortunately I sometimes tune her out. I listened, but I was distracted by all of the other things happening around us.  I just sort of nodded and threw in an "uh huh" here and there so she would feel like I was listening.  Because of this, I don't remember much about the story.  What I do remember, though, is how it ended.  "And then, I remembered that you told me to choose the right, so I just turned around and walked away."

Wow.  I sometimes take for granted the influence that I have on my children.  I must remember to give them righteous advice, much like Mormon's parting words to Moroni to "be faithful in Christ".  Moroni knew the importance of being faithful, and my children know the importance of choosing the right.  As a mom, though, it's my job to make sure that it's always on their little minds.  We all need a little reinforcement from time to time.  Were it not so, we wouldn't need things like the scriptures.  They are our Father in Heaven's way of sending us on our way with a reminder to "be good" and "choose the right".  If we can just say to Him, in the words of my littlest girl, "I'll sure try", I know that He will be pleased. 

Click here to read what I read today: Moroni 9

Special Preparation

I have been abundantly blessed in being the mother of a special needs child.  I have learned much of patience and long-suffering, of meekness and humility.  I have also gained a greater appreciation for and understanding of the solemnity of the covenants that we, as members of Jesus Christ's church, make throughout our lives.

When our son turned eight, my husband and I really struggled with whether or not he should be baptized, as most children born into the gospel are.  We knew that the age was right, but neither of us felt that the time was right.  He did not have the understanding that we felt was necessary to participate in this important ordinance.  After expressing our concerns to the Bishop, he read to us from the handbook the section pertaining to baptizing those with special needs.  We all came to the conclusion that there was no concrete answer.  It was up to us as his parents to decide what we thought was right, and so we decided to hold off.

For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law.  For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing - (Moroni 8:22)

Young children, and most especially special needs children, do not yet have an understanding of sin and repentance.  Because of this, baptism is reserved for an age at which they may be held more fully accountable for the choices that they make.  In my son's case, he still didn't have that understanding at the age of eight.  It wasn't until he was closer to thirteen years old that we felt that he possessed the level of awareness that we were comfortable with and decided that it was time.

It was a truly a blessed day, filled with family and friends.  I believe that because we waited until he was ready, our son will always be able to remember the feelings that he had on this, the most important of days.

I'm grateful for many things that my son brings to my life.  I'm grateful for his smile and his innocence.  I'm grateful for his sense of humor.  But most of all, I'm grateful for the important reminder that the ordinances performed within the boundaries of the gospel are not just rituals.  They aren't just something we do because we're members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  These ordinances are of deep importance and full of meaning, and it is up to each of us to make sure that we are prepared to make and keep the covenants that accompany each one.  

Click here to read what I read today: Moroni 8 

Charity Sometimes Faileth

A few years ago, not long after we moved into our current neighborhood, one of the women in our ward was diagnosed with cancer.  It was her second bout with this dreadful disease, and this time it was a tumor in her brain.  She went downhill very quickly, needing a surgery that ended up taking her hearing in one ear and severing the nerves on one side of her face.  Cancer is devastating, no matter who it attacks, but it was particularly tough in my friend's case.  She is the mother of seven children, the youngest of whom was five years old at the time of this latest diagnosis.  She was the perfect picture of a stay-at-home mom.  She gave her family only the healthiest of foods.  Everything she made was completely from scratch, and she was proud to say that they never ate store-bought bread.

It may sound strange to those who do not know her, but when I spoke to her at the beginning stages of her illness, this was one of her greatest concerns - "What are my kids going to eat?"  Well, this happened to be one area in which I could be of service.  I could not take her disease away.  I could not even make her physically feel better.  But I could bake wheat bread.  That very Sunday, I brought over four loaves of hot, whole-wheat bread.  She called me the next day, and with much gratitude in her voice, she told me that my bread was the closest to tasting like her own that she had ever had.  And so it began.  For the next year, I brought their family an average of four loaves of bread a week.  Sometimes it was more, depending on my schedule, and sometimes it was less.  No matter how many though, they were always appreciative.

I do not tell this story to brag about my service.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  You see, my friend is still very sick, more than three years after all of this started.  And for about a year and a half, I have literally done nothing for her.  I stopped making bread.  I stopped taking turns with the other women in the neighborhood driving her to chemotherapy appointments.  I have even stopped dropping by to check on her or just to chat.  Because I feel guilty about my lack of service, I even began avoiding her in the halls.  It was subconscious at first, but in the last few weeks, I have been kind of overwhelmed by guilt.  If she talks to me, I don't ignore her.  I am pleasant and friendly, but I keep the conversation short, hoping that it won't reach a point where I feel it necessary to apologize for my behavior.

©Darrell Wyatt

It's not just my friend that I stopped serving.  I have stopped doing just about anything for anybody.  I don't even volunteer at the school unless I get roped into it by a friend.  I'm not sure what happened to cause me to go from one extreme to another.  Perhaps I grew tired.  Maybe it was my depressed state.  Whatever it was, it was wrong, and I need to get back on the charity wagon.  But how?

But charity is the pure love of Christ...Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love....(Moroni 7:47,48)

Pray!  How is it that I can forget something so simple and so very important?  Of course Heavenly Father will help me be more charitable if I but ask him.  Of course!  And I do want to serve others, and I do know how to.  What I need Heavenly Father's help with is the motivation to get started and to keep going.  I know that if I ask Him, He will give me the boost that I need.  I will be charitable again, and I will be able to receive all the blessings that I've been promised will come with that service...namely that I "shall be like him" and that I "may be purified even as he is pure" (Moroni 7:48).  Talk about motivation!

Click here to read what I read today: Moroni 7