Abram's father remained behind in Haran, instead of continuing on to their destination in Canaan. The Jaredites paused their journey for four years and stopped seeking heavenly guidance. Don't confuse comfort for completion. We can be grateful for joyful waystations, but we need to keep moving forward.
Building My Ark
When we feel overwhelmed, God can help us build vessels to carry us safely through deep waters, as He did for Noah, Nephi, and the brother of Jared. President Oaks identified four essential elements of those vessels: faith, humility, fellowship with other believers, and patience.
“Hold Your Peace”
The phrase "hold your peace" means to remain silent and calm. The Lord instructed Joseph and Hyrum Smith to hold their peace in 1829. A number of people in the Book of Mormon remained silent for long periods of time. We can often communicate more effectively and feel less anxious by slowing down and not rushing to speak.
“There Will I Meet Thee … There Will I Bless Thee”
God instructed Jared and his family where they should travel. He promised to meet them and to bless them at the places He was leading them. He doesn't always meet our needs by coming to us. Sometimes He leads us to a place where our needs can be met.
Across the Great Deep
God led Jared and his family across the ocean in barges that they couldn't steer. He can also lead us through circumstances in our lives that are beyond our control. Like the Jaredites, we need to learn to trust Him to carry us "across the great deep."
Out of Captivity
Nephi prophesied that people in the Americas would be freed from captivity because they would humble themselves before God. Lehi and Moroni added that God intends for this land to be free and that we will retain our liberty if we follow Him.
Milk and Honey
I've been thinking about promised lands today. When God appeared to Moses on Mount Horeb, he promised not only to deliver the children of Israel from captivity but also to lead them "unto a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8). So before the Israelites even began their journey, they had a destination in mind. Lehi's... Continue Reading →
A Land of Promise
Abraham recognized that it was time for a change. "I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence," he wrote (Abraham 1:1). God had promised to lead him by the hand (Abraham 1:18), and take him to "a strange land" where his descendants would become "a great nation" (Genesis 12:1-2). The... Continue Reading →
A Tower to Get to Heaven
Sometime after the Great Flood, the descendants of Noah were gathered in a place called Shinar, which later became known as Babylonia. They collectively resolved to build "a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven." They viewed this project as a way to avoid being "scattered abroad upon the face of the... Continue Reading →
“My Spirit Will Not Always Strive with Man”
There is a cryptic passage near the beginning of the book of Genesis. After listing ten generations from Adam to Noah, the author quotes the Lord as saying: My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.Genesis 6:3 What does that mean? It sounds like an... Continue Reading →