1 Nephi 3

"5 And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord.

 6 Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou hast ^anot ^bmurmured.

 7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I ^awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no ^bcommandments unto the children of men, save he shall ^cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

This journey through life will give you hard things. You can either: Face it head on or murmur about it. But I don't see how the later will help you very much.


I have been watching someone I love deal with a really hard problem right now. I wish there was something I could do. I wish there was something that I can say, but there seems to be nothings. I am sure Nephi felt the same way towards his bretheren, people he loved very much.


His brother's were faced with hard things and they had to do it. But they were so mad about it that they made this situation worse by murmuring about it. Nephi had to do the same thing but he saw it as a blessing. A hard thing yes, but none the less a blessing.


And so it makes me wonder, how do I get the insight that Nephi had? How do I look at things the right way when I am dreading them very much. How to you turn around some problem that seems horrible to you and you don't want to deal with it?


Its a good question. Right now I would guess three things would help:


1. Pray to have your heart changed.
Nothing can do more wonders than God simply changing your heart. The mind seems to follow the heart anyways. We make up ideas and reasons for what we feel is right. Remember mind follows heart.




2. Develop a better understanding of the situation.
What if a van of people drove by you yelling profanities and insults. How would you feel? What if you read on the side of the van, "St. Bursitis Home for the Mentally Challenged." How would feel then? More knowledge of a situation can change how you feel very fast.




3. Plead for charity.
Nothing can get you through anything more than the pure love of Christ. He saved the world because of it. Imagine what you can do with some of it.


May your paths be better ones.


-Brandon Fegenbush

1 Nephi 2

"19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy ^afaith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

 20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall^aprosper, and shall be led to a ^bland of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands."

In this life of challenges and struggles we seem to have a never-ending supply of difficulties that try and tramp us down. Yet we, I find joy in the knowledge that we can seek the Lord and He shall make all things work out for us. The best way to have success in life, especially with our economy and the way the world is going is to trust in the Lord. 

I know that my personal peace and steadiness in life comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even today, I got so mad I wanted to spit, punch a wall and just in general scream and yell. I know that I was losing my cool too because I hadn't read my scriptures yet for the day. The scriptures are the best way for me to keep my cool in life and gain all the blessing that are available to me. It is a value that is worth more than all the gold in the world. 

-Brandon

Book of Mormon: 1 Nephi 1

Ok, so I am reading this first chapter and this thought came to my mind: I really like reading the Book of Mormon because it talks so much about Jesus Christ. Even this 1st chapter where Nephi is giving us an introduction to this record he can't but help to mention Jesus. And I love him for it.

What is also interesting is how he describes how the Lord looks. He is described as a Pillar of Fire and also as one Who's luster is above the sun at noon-day. Yesterday I had the opportunity to look over the ocean on a dark overcast, windy and chilly evening. And as we rushed to pack up all our things before the sand and wind stripped the flesh from out skins, I stood with my mom for a minute, next to the car and looked out over that vast ocean.

What caught our eye was the glistening water at the edge of the world. The sun broke through the clouds there and illuminated the water with a dancing glow and dazzling sparkels. We couldn't help it. We stood there entranced by its beauty.

I noted that the dark contrast of the sullen sky and the cold water made this ray of sunshine all the more prettier and fascinating to watch. And so this is how I might envious our Savior, especially in this world we live in. We are filled with so much hate, resentment and desire to hurt one another. We revel in lustful living and seek comfort in phrase such as, "Well they are doing it too, so I must be okay." "It's really okay if you look at it from this angel." or "I tried and that is what all I was suppose to do."

Point is this: we live in a dark world. We are children of light. We are drawn to light. And when the Savor of this world stands before us He will be even more amazing than those dancing lights of ray on the edge of the world. He will be much closer to us and we will feel that fiery burning glory upon our faces.

And remember: The best sunblock for heavenly flames is righteousness.

Latherup. This is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

P.S. In case you didn't know, I love the Lord Jesus Christ will all my heart and want to be found worthy before Him in my last days. And I know I have weakness but I am working towards becoming clean and being more like He is.

-Brandon Fegenbush

Favorite Verse: 20
"And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had ^acastout, and stoned, and slain; and they also ^bsought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender ^cmercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of ^ddeliverance."