Happy New Year!! I’ve timed this message to coincide with the New Year. Longtime readers of this blog (I guess that’s really only me!) will remember this quote from Elder John A. Widstoe: “Our first gift at Christmas should be to the Lord.”
I’m going to amend that a little bit and say our first gift of the New Year is should be to the Lord. And what shall we give? It’s more about what will we give up! A piece of our ungodliness—that’s what we shall give, so that our lives can reflect His more fully.
This isn’t a radical concept; rather, there is a term for this first gift of the New Year with which we are all familiar—New Year’s Resolution. A New Year’s Resolution is merely changing our poor qualities into good ones.
A resolution maker must ask this question: What do I want to change? A person making a resolution as a gift to the Lord takes a twist on this: What does the Lord want me to change?
To me, this is a pure-hearted desire: I want to be what Christ wants me to be.
Life is a journey; every incremental improvement gets us closer to our Eternal Goal—the Celestial Realm. It should be noted that we chose this journey of mortality for a purpose—to become as God is. It’s our everyday challenge to shed the shackles of human impulse, subdue the appetites and quiet the natural man in order to become more like our Father.
In the last week, I have been reading “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and, today, I went to see the movie based on those books—specifically, this movie is based on “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.”
The story is well-known. Four children enter Narnia to become crowned king—much like we entered the world to be glorified by the Father through the merits of the Son’s Everlasting Atonement. But one of the four, Edmond, leaves the path he should be traveling and goes off chasing his appetites (Turkish delights), and nearly loses his place as a King of Narnia. Fortunately, for Edmond and all of us who have strayed from the gospel path to foolishly chase after appetites; there was a way back. Although the Path back had to be blazed through a Selfless Sacrifice of Love. Having known what Aslan did for him, Edmond dedicated his life to Aslan’s cause. Likewise, we must dedicate our lives to Christ’s cause—by doing those things that help us reflect his image.
Christ told his disciples on two continents to be examples:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
“Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;
“Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (3 Nephi 12:14-16).
Letting that light shine means doing his will. It means letting our example illuminate the way for others, so that they too may follow. But when we allow the Light of Christ to shine through us, it doesn’t just light others’ paths; it also lights our own.
As the Psalmist wrote: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105).
What will light our path is following the course Christ has created:
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
Jesus has carved the route of our journey, but we must have the courage to follow it.
The Book of Mormon tells of two major journeys—that of the Nephites and that of the Jaredites. Both of them are instructive.
To Lehi and his family, the Lord had offered the Land of Promise—much like how he offers us the Celestial Kingdom. But parts of Lehi’s family—Laman and Lemuel—were reluctant to make the journey. After journeying through the Arabic desert for nearly a decade, Lehi’s family reached a beautiful place, a land they called Bountiful “because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish” (1 Nephi 17:5).
It was comfortable! It was great for Laman and Lemuel—who were always acting out of fear rather than faith—to finally be in a place where they had comfort. For Laman and Lemuel, this was far enough. They hadn’t met their ultimate goal, but they were in a place where they could be comfortable.
Many of us, including myself, are like Laman and Lemuel—we settle for mediocrity because we do not wish to be uncomfortable. We do not wish to think of our weaknesses—we wish simply to live as easily as we can.
Nephi, however, wanted his destiny—he wanted what the Lord had offered him: A spot in the Promised Land. After conversing with the Lord, Nephi begins to construct a ship; he begins to make the changes necessary to get into the Promised Land.
Laman and Lemuel resist these changes for the sake of their own comfort: “And thus my brethren ... were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord” (1 Nephi 17:18).
Laman and Lemuel were unwilling to sacrifice their comforts so that they could have a better land. Eventually, they got there kicking and screaming, but Laman and Lemuel are prototypes of those settle when they could have had more; of those who do not become like God because they believe the change is to difficult; and, most of all, of those do not become like God because they do not consider what God’s will for them is.
Nephi, however, was smart enough to recognize that he had not fulfilled God’s will. God wanted him in the Promised Land. This was a problem, for Nephi had a weakness: He was on the wrong side of the ocean. Rather than be content that he couldn’t change his situation, Nephi went and humbled himself before the Lord and the Lord showed Nephi how to get across the waters.
Nephi succeeded because he first recognized the weakness in himself. He asked for help: “And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?” (1 Nephi 17:9). He said, “I need help here! I want to do what you want me to do, but I need some help.” Did the Lord respond? Yes, he did! Nephi succeeded.
You get the feeling that Nephi wasn’t a great man by chance? Rather, he was a great man because he was willing to be like clay on the potter’s wheel (Jeremiah 18:6). Nephi wasn’t great by chance; he was great by choice. And Laman and Lemuel weren’t mediocre by chance, but by choice! Nephi took the time to find out the Lord’s will concerning him; he had the courage to ask what he needed to change and he had the courage to find out the route he had to follow to overcome his obstacles. That, my friends, is how you build a Christ-like life.
We could all benefit from a little soul-searching. What are our weaknesses? Really, that is what New Year’s Resolutions are all about—a self-inventory and then saying, I want to change this about myself.
And with the Lord’s help, we can change! We can be better!
Too often, though, a test comes quickly when we begin to consider our weaknesses—we fall prey to that nasty little voice that says, “I’m not good enough; I can’t change.” That is a lie—one of the most prevalent lies spread by the Adversary to prevent men from coming unto Christ.
The Lord would have you realize otherwise. Your weaknesses are not shortcomings but obstacles on the Pathway to Perfection:
“I give unto men weakness that they may be humble,” the Lord has told us (Ether 12:27). Thus, the Lord gave each person a weakness—more accurately, many weaknesses—to overcome in order to be perfected in Christ.
And how do we overcome this? “My grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27--verse appears in its entirety at the end of this article).
What makes this verse so interesting is what is happening in the verses before it. Moroni, the last of the Nephites who is compiling the Jaredite record, begins to sulk because of his weakness-his inability to satisfactorily express his faith on the plates. Moroni bemoans how hard it is to inscribe the letters because of the awkwardness of his hands:
“And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them.
“Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words” (Ether 12:24-25).
The wonderful promise in verse 27 is then revealed to Moroni. And isn't interesting that in the next few pages, we see this Moroni-who had beheld his weakness in recording this record upon the gold plates-etches into the record the scripture missionaries go door-to-door to spread, Moroni 10:3-5:
“Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
“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.
“And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:3-5).
This is The Great Dare of Mormonism: Read the Book of Mormon, ponder it, pray about it—and God will tell you by His Spirit that it is true. I have taken this challenge. I have read. I have pondered. I have prayed. And the Spirit hath borne record that it is true—not just once, but many, many times. And a testimony burns within my heart at this time. And it’s not just been me who has searched, pondered, prayed and found—but millions and millions and millions of people have. And they too believe. This Great Dare was made by Moroni—a man of great faith—whose faith shines in these great verses. The man who was once worried that we would mock must be pleased that so many of us believe. His is but one example of the Lord making weak things become strong.
Isn’t that great? The Lord shows us through Moroni that we can change. But not just Moroni—so many of the great scriptural heroes first started as weak people—who then humbled themselves before the Lord, and, the Lord, made their weak things become strong unto them. Look at the great litany of scriptural heroes of whom this is true:
· Alma the Younger spent his early days persecuting the true believers. After an angel confronted him, he spent three days in torment because he believed he could not change. Then, he remembered his father teaching about one Jesus Christ. Alma prayed to Christ and received the forgiveness he sought. We remember Alma as one of the greatest prophets of the Book of Mormon.
· The Four Sons of Mosiah, Alma’s companions in persecuting the church, also reformed their lives at the angel’s appearance. They spent 14 years among the Lamanites, converting many of their enemies.
· Paul is a companion story to Alma’s. He too began persecuting the church, was rebuked by an angel and then became a powerful missionary.
· Peter thrice denied the Christ. But he was forgiven and placed as the head of the Church.
· Alma the Elder started out as a priest in the court of Wicked King Noah, but he received Abinadi’s call to repentance and became a mighty prophet.
· The Anti-Nephi-Lehies went from bloodthirsty soldiers to such devoted followers of Christ that they laid down their lives rather than break the covenant they had made with their Lord. Among the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were the great mothers of Helaman’s Army, who started out as sinners and are now hailed as the great example of motherhood.
The message here is clear: We can change!! We can! We really can! The Lord can help us! Make those resolutions with confidence--the confidence not in yourself, but in Christ!
The second great journey of the Book of Mormon is the Jaredites. They showed us dependency on the Lord. We have already talked about how Christ created the way and how his words light the way—the Brother of Jared reiterated this point for us, when he asked the Lord to be the light for the Jaredite journey:
“And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea” (Ether 3:4).
The Brother of Jared asked Christ to light his path. We may ask the same through our humble prayers, and He shall respond.
“And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness” (Ether 6:3).
Not only did Christ light the path, but he also provided the power, which moved the Jaredites:
“And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.
“And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.
“And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.
“And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind” (Ether 6:5-8).
I like this journey description because it sounds familiar? Buried in the depths of the sea? Man, have I felt like that! And who rescued me? Christ!! And where do Christ’s path, His wind and His words all lead us? Toward the Celestial Kingdom—to a safe return to our Heavenly Father.
Like Nephi, like the Brother of Jared, we can get there. We don’t have to settle for mediocrity like Laman and Lemuel did, we can stretch ourselves to greater lengths, and the Lord will help us achieve our destiny.
A New Year’s Resolution is part of shedding those habits that will hold back our progress. It’s a courageous attempt to say, “I can change, and I will change! I’ll need the Lord’s help, of course, but if he can light the way for the Jaredites, he can light the way for me. If he can show Nephi how to make a boat, he can show me how I can overcome!” Overcoming those stumbling blocks by humbling ourselves to Lord and adhering to his commands are the beginning of the construction of the ship. It’s like asking for the Blueprint and asking the Lord to direct our path.
A New Year’s Resolution is a simple thing—but “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6)—in this case, a Christ-like life.
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Ether 12:27 in its entirety reads: “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”
