4.49 - Moroni 1-6 - Part 2, Moroni Blesses the Latter-day Church of Christ AI transcript and summary - episode of podcast Choosing Glory

Go to PodExtra AI's episode page (4.49 - Moroni 1-6 - Part 2, Moroni Blesses the Latter-day Church of Christ) to play and view complete AI-processed content: summary, mindmap, topics, takeaways, transcript, keywords and highlights.

Go to PodExtra AI's podcast page (Choosing Glory) to view the AI-processed content of all episodes of this podcast.

Choosing Glory episodes list: view full AI transcripts and summaries of this podcast on the blog

Episode: 4.49 - Moroni 1-6 - Part 2, Moroni Blesses the Latter-day Church of Christ

Author: Lili Anderson
Duration: 00:42:29

Episode Shownotes

To purchase my book, Choosing Glory, visit: https://lilianderson.com/product/choosing-glory/ --also available on Kindle and as an audio book To support this podcast and access extra content, subscribe on Patreon where you can submit specific questions: https://www.patreon.com/choosingglory?fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Full Transcript

00:00:04 Speaker_00
Hi, this is Lily de Hoyos Anderson, and you're listening to Tues in Glory. Thank you for joining me for part two of these first six chapters in the final book of the Book of Mormon, the Book of Moroni.

00:00:19 Speaker_00
All six chapters take not quite two and a half pages of text in the Book of Mormon. So these are, as I said, very brief chapters that Moroni adds

00:00:33 Speaker_00
He wasn't thinking he would, but he hopes it will benefit the remnant of the Lamanites and, of course, the Latter-day Church that he saw. So I'm going to begin, though, with a little bit of a mother's moment and then a father's moment.

00:00:50 Speaker_00
And I hope that when I talk about mothers, that women who have not had the opportunity to have children in this life will also see themselves, because

00:01:01 Speaker_00
I love that concept that are we not all mothers, that God gave us motherliness as women, and that we can cultivate that great gift and we can become better at it with or without children at this time in our lives. And as I have said again and again,

00:01:26 Speaker_00
absolutely believe that God has promised that he will heal our wounds and that that includes the fulfillment of the righteous desires that he placed in us in a temporal sense. I believe that will happen during the millennium.

00:01:42 Speaker_00
I'm going to do some extra content on that, in fact, soon. So here's a mother's moment, but again, really for all women to recognize that this is in us and about us and that we can continually strive to warm up a cold planet.

00:02:03 Speaker_00
It's a really cold planet, and we have talked about this. I've expressed before my concern that we have rampant abortion dogma out there to the point that women are becoming cold about motherhood, that they're not

00:02:23 Speaker_00
nurturing that natural warmth and desire to protect children inside of themselves and the whole planet is paying a price. Okay, here's the quote. It's from a woman named Donna Ball.

00:02:39 Speaker_00
Motherhood is a choice you make every day to put someone else's happiness and well-being ahead of your own.

00:02:47 Speaker_00
to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you're not sure what the right thing is, and to forgive yourself over and over again for doing everything wrong. Okay, not everything wrong, right?

00:03:03 Speaker_00
But for feeling that sometimes, that like, I really don't know what I'm doing, I'm in over my head. I think every parent can feel that way. Mothers on the front lines, especially those who,

00:03:14 Speaker_00
choose to be full-time mothers in a world that really decries that value and spurns it, I think it's easy to feel like you're doing everything wrong.

00:03:23 Speaker_00
But brothers and sisters, we need mothers, we need fathers who are willing to put the needs of their children in a priority position, not to be a victim. You can go too far, you can be a total victim as a mother, that's not the goal.

00:03:39 Speaker_00
to sacrifice appropriately. Sacrifice brings forth blessings.

00:03:44 Speaker_00
Losing ourselves helps us find ourselves if we're doing it for Christ's sake and to bring His children along, not just to bear them, but to teach them and nurture them and encourage them and help them to know that they are safe in a dangerous world because they have family.

00:04:03 Speaker_00
And that's powerful, brothers and sisters, but I actually I had a great time at the temple with my granddaughter and some family members there.

00:04:12 Speaker_00
Of course, her parents were there, and her other grandmother was there, and some of her, anyway, other family was able to come on both sides, which was really lovely. Quote for men, we need good men in the planet, and I hope

00:04:30 Speaker_00
I hope that you feel that from your Heavenly Father and from the women in your life. And I know that doesn't always happen. Women, let's appreciate our men. Men, let's appreciate our women. Anyway, this is a short quote by, actually it's unattributed.

00:04:44 Speaker_00
A strong man stands up for himself. A stronger man stands up for others. To repeat, a strong man stands up for himself. A stronger man stands up for others.

00:04:58 Speaker_00
When I was looking that up and deciding to quote that today, I thought about something that's been in the news lately, and it's a terrible story about a man named Daniel Penny.

00:05:11 Speaker_00
this is happening in new york city and daniel penny is a twenty six-year-old marine veteran and architecture student maybe you've heard some of these stories over many weeks now i don't know it could even be months he was riding the subway with many other people in the car when a man named neely i forget his first name but jordan neely

00:05:33 Speaker_00
entered the car was obviously in some sort of drug-induced or slash schizophrenic event because apparently he was schizophrenic and he had this big outburst on the subway car issuing death threats and saying somebody was gonna die that day and he didn't care, he went back to prison, he wanted to go back to prison, things like that, and had people who were truly fearing for their lives.

00:05:58 Speaker_00
He was dangerous and making these threats and Daniel Penny, to stand up for others, put him in a hold and kind of wrestled with him to get him on the ground and kept him in a hold. Another man jumped in to kind of help.

00:06:21 Speaker_00
When he let go, that man still had a pulse, but later died. And New York City charged him with manslaughter. which is just, again, look at the attack on good men.

00:06:36 Speaker_00
Here's a young 26-year-old Marine vet who's a student living a good life and trying to make something more of his life with education, and he sees a dangerous situation. This guy is threatening to kill somebody.

00:06:52 Speaker_00
He's in a schizophrenic event, and he's also drug-fueled. And this man, out of the goodness of his heart, to stand up for other people, subdues him, the man dies. But what was it?

00:07:07 Speaker_00
Was it that he's been using drugs, synthetic pot apparently for a long time, which is dangerous, plus schizophrenia is a very serious mental illness, and who knows what would have happened if Daniel Penney hadn't intervened, but now they're charging him with manslaughter.

00:07:26 Speaker_00
It turns out that Jordan Neely was a repeat offender with a violent history, including other subway assaults.

00:07:36 Speaker_00
and he had an open bench warrant at the time of his death, but they go after the man who stood up for his companions to try to make that group of people who were afraid and potentially going to be victims of this man, this Jordan Neely, and instead he is charged, and he's on trial.

00:07:57 Speaker_00
He's on trial. It kind of looks like he could be Well, they're making a good case apparently, but who knows? Who knows? I mean, may they let him completely off because this is ridiculous. He should never have even been charged given the circumstances.

00:08:15 Speaker_00
And this is what happens to good men. So, I mean, can you think about it? Think about how that makes good men feel. Like, what do I dare do that is manly, that is masculine, that is, honoring my priesthood, and am I going to get condemned by society?

00:08:32 Speaker_00
So Daniel Penney faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top charge. He also faces a charge of criminally negligent homicide on top of that. Anyway, again, a strong man stands up for himself, a stronger man stands up for others.

00:08:47 Speaker_00
Now, do you see the Marxism here? Do you see that this whole social justice warrior ridiculous, and it is grounded in Marxism, critical race theory in a way, well, critical theory, period.

00:09:00 Speaker_00
Because Neely, the man who died, and we don't wish death on anybody, but he was playing with fire the way he was living his life anyway, had an open bench warrant, had been chronically guilty of violent assaults.

00:09:17 Speaker_00
And then he's on drugs and he's schizophrenic and, you know, did he deserve some help in some way? Well, it would have been good if he'd gotten it, but here he is threatening people, but he is poor.

00:09:29 Speaker_00
He was a minority, member of a minority group, homeless, a drug user, and so he was oppressed. according to critical theory and according to Marxism.

00:09:43 Speaker_00
Daniel Penney was a white man, a veteran, an architectural student, sober, productive with the future, so by definition of the two of them, he must be the oppressor. That's what's going on. And it's insane. It's evil.

00:09:58 Speaker_00
and it's causing a complete chaotic approach to our society. If good men are penalized for trying to protect their neighbors and stand up for others, where are we going to be?

00:10:13 Speaker_00
This is a terrible thing and I hope they don't get away with it, but anyway. This is what's going on in our world. Let's talk about chapter six. This is the longest of the chapters that Moroni writes at this point.

00:10:28 Speaker_00
As I said, now we're going to follow three chapters that are longer, that are really the writings and teachings of his father Mormon. So Moroni is a man of few words, but he says some beautiful things in chapter six that we want to talk about.

00:10:41 Speaker_00
And I'm just going to kind of go through it. Verse one, I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized, and they were not baptized, save they brought forth fruit, meat, that they were worthy of it."

00:10:55 Speaker_00
Now, I just wanted to comment that, like, of course, today, if we raise children in the church, or if we ourselves were raised in the church, we don't wait until we're old enough to maybe know exactly how to bring forth all the fruits of baptism.

00:11:13 Speaker_00
Now, I hope we're teaching our children, I hope that they're prepared for baptism, and they understand the concepts.

00:11:19 Speaker_00
But let's be clear, and I know I've discussed this before, but I'm going to discuss it again, that as I would tell my own children, and now my grandchildren, when you're baptized at age eight, you haven't even hit the big temptations yet.

00:11:35 Speaker_00
I mean, I've gone through puberty. You don't really have hormones racing through your system. I'm not saying that, as we know, that Satan doesn't really work on them until after they're eight anyway.

00:11:45 Speaker_00
And hopefully during that time, we have taught them so much that they become prepared for temptation and not to succumb. But yes, big temptations can come as we grow up and experience different seasons of life. So,

00:12:05 Speaker_00
Obviously here, Moroni is saying that you have to bring forth fruit, meat, and to repentance, or they didn't baptize people at all. And those would have been older people, right?

00:12:18 Speaker_00
But what I think is important for our children to understand is that the water itself, again, I know I've repeated this before, but the water itself doesn't cleanse them because there's not too much to cleanse in an eight-year-old, seriously.

00:12:36 Speaker_00
It's not the water that cleanses them. The waters of baptism, hopefully with an understanding that they are going to enter covenant with God, that Jesus Christ can cleanse them from their sins as they repent.

00:12:55 Speaker_00
So when temptations come, yes, we hope that they will avoid or resist temptations for most of their lives or as much of their lives as possible, but we all fall short of the glory of God and we all need to repent.

00:13:12 Speaker_00
And baptism is the signing of the contract that allows us to know that we can be washed clean of our sins through Jesus Christ. That's what baptism is for these young kids.

00:13:25 Speaker_00
Now, if we were baptized older, later in our lives, at an older age, then it would be appropriate for us to say, like, what do I need to put on the altar before I'm baptized? Can I bring forth that fruit of repentance?

00:13:39 Speaker_00
Nevertheless, again, joining the church at any age, there's a learning curve, and there may be things to understand better and improve in and Repentance will be necessary.

00:13:50 Speaker_00
So anyway, the issue is really not to see baptism as at the end of the road, but as a beginning of this covenant that we can be made clean, and the water is a symbol of that.

00:14:05 Speaker_00
But what actually makes us clean is not the water, it is the blood of Jesus Christ. and our own efforts to bring forth the fruits of repentance as needed as we go along.

00:14:17 Speaker_00
I do always try to work in that true repentance is not a revolving door, where we go commit the same sin, and then we go and repent, and we commit the same sin again, and we repent.

00:14:31 Speaker_00
I mean, yes, we may be weak, and there are some things that we might repeat before we fully grow past them and are blessed to overcome those weaknesses.

00:14:43 Speaker_00
But the idea is not to abuse repentance by thinking that, like, well, I will just carelessly sin knowing that I can always say I'm sorry and be forgiven. Does that make sense?

00:14:55 Speaker_00
I mean, I've talked to enough bishops that I know that that sadly happens sometimes where people just say that they're, you know, well, we're going to do this, but we can always repent. We can talk to our bishops, whatever.

00:15:06 Speaker_00
That kind of cold-blooded aforethought, sin aforethought, you know, I think is problematic and not the real fruit, right? We need to hate the sin. We need to try to avoid doing it again.

00:15:20 Speaker_00
So, neither did they receive any anti-baptism, save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Again, these are the things that Christ taught. The new sacrifice, instead of animal sacrifice, a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

00:15:33 Speaker_00
We've talked about that before. We could talk a lot more about it, but let's not today. and to witness that they truly repented of their sins.

00:15:40 Speaker_00
And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end."

00:15:46 Speaker_00
So, I guess what I'm saying is that they really took baptism seriously, and that's what Moroni is trying to tell us, that this is not something to be handled casually.

00:15:55 Speaker_00
Again, when we're young and we may not understand all of that, that is pleasing to the Lord, that we introduce our children to the gospel, and this is how the Church offers this covenant to those who are

00:16:08 Speaker_00
born in the church or their families join the church before they're the age of eight. There's nothing wrong with that. But let us teach our children what that really means and how to benefit from this covenant of baptism.

00:16:21 Speaker_00
And be serious about it, be intentional about it, be true in our bringing forth the broken heart and the contrite spirit and being determined to take upon ourselves the name of Christ and serve him to the end.

00:16:33 Speaker_00
And then after they receive baptism, this is verse four, we're wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost. Again, this is pretty condensed, right? Because that means sanctification.

00:16:43 Speaker_00
wrought upon and cleansed, so it's not just confirmation, it's actually being purified through the power of the Holy Ghost that can give us the cleansing that is promised by the atonement of Jesus Christ.

00:16:59 Speaker_00
And it can actually purify us, that birth of fire, baptism by water and then baptism by fire, that come from the Holy Ghost. So this was serious stuff.

00:17:11 Speaker_00
These people were really understanding the covenants and they were taking them seriously and growing in them and fulfilling the requirements of the completion of the covenant so that they could actually benefit fully from baptism and from the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost.

00:17:27 Speaker_00
And then their names are taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer.

00:17:36 Speaker_00
That's a great thing to contemplate, being continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith. The author and finisher of their faith, Jesus Christ.

00:17:51 Speaker_00
Now that's a beautiful phrase. I believe Paul uses that in the New Testament as well. So these are phrases that come from the Spirit, because Moroni didn't have the... He predated Paul, and Paul didn't have the Book of Mormon.

00:18:04 Speaker_00
So these words come from the Spirit, the author and the finisher of their faith, of our faith, if we choose to allow Him to do that. So I'm going to come back to that.

00:18:16 Speaker_00
In verse 5, the church meets together off to fast and pray and speak with one another concerning the welfare of their souls. I wanted to mention something that my daughter Caitlin said to me the other day.

00:18:26 Speaker_00
She saw some discussion online about people with a rumor that church will eventually go to one hour. I don't know how soon that will or will not happen, but some people complained when it went from three hours to two.

00:18:39 Speaker_00
And apparently in that discussion, some people were saying, I don't know why they would reduce it to one.

00:18:43 Speaker_00
They should bring it back to three because we hardly get a chance to meet with our fellow members of the ward or fellowship or visit or get to know each other and so on. And so they were concerned about losing sort of more of that.

00:18:58 Speaker_00
And it was stated, Caitlin made some comments in the conversation as well as others along this line, that this is the direction of the church, that it be home-centered, church-supported. Certainly during the COVID time, there was a need for that.

00:19:18 Speaker_00
There was the need for people to be able to worship in their homes.

00:19:25 Speaker_00
And they had set us up with this curriculum, this great curriculum, that we were prepared as a church to continue without this big having to rush out all kinds of information or materials. We were primed for that.

00:19:42 Speaker_00
And that may happen again, or whatever version of that, as well as the fact, and this was a nice point that Caitlin made, I thought, she said, when it comes to the fellowship, That's on us.

00:19:57 Speaker_00
Like there really isn't much time as it is in the two hour block to visit with people unless you are really late to your classes. So how might that prepare us for Zion? What might be the purpose of that?

00:20:12 Speaker_00
But to help us become a Zion people where we are concerned for the welfare of each other's souls. So how are we doing?

00:20:23 Speaker_00
I know we live busy lives, brothers and sisters, but are we reaching out to our neighbors and our friends and trying to connect when new people come in?

00:20:36 Speaker_00
You know, this is something I mentioned before, having lived inside Utah, outside Utah a couple of times, I mean, well, several places outside of Utah, growing up outside of Utah, but then coming back,

00:20:54 Speaker_00
And this is not a diss, brothers and sisters, please understand me. But we do tend not to reach out as quickly to new people in Utah. Now, some wards are better than others.

00:21:05 Speaker_00
And actually, I'm glad to say that I'm in a ward where we're pretty friendly, I think. And we'll hear from new people every once in a while saying that they have felt welcomed by the ward.

00:21:17 Speaker_00
I know that people can slip through the cracks, and that's always hurtful and tragic. Some words are pretty good, but I know that it can be hard because there are a lot of extended family networks in Utah, so people get used to...

00:21:32 Speaker_00
having dinners with their families, or meeting with their families for special events, and they don't always reach out to the new family and say, hey, come over to dinner, or let's get to know you, or let's spend a little time, or just taking over a loaf of bread, or some cookies, or something to meet them and see if they need help getting to know people, or their way around, or just feel connected.

00:22:00 Speaker_00
So in a Zion society, we need to do that, right? We need to be concerned for the welfare of our neighbors and friends. And I think it's a good reminder that church isn't supposed to replace initiative.

00:22:17 Speaker_00
It does facilitate a lot of things, but what a great thing if we could just think more in Zion ways. Like, how can we be concerned for the welfare of each other's souls? OK, we could talk about that for a long time. Let's move on, though.

00:22:32 Speaker_00
Of course, they meet together to partake of the sacrament. And they were strict to observe that there should be no iniquity among them.

00:22:39 Speaker_00
And then Moroni goes on to explain that if someone was found to commit iniquity and there were three witnesses in the church who did testify to that, and if the person who was guilty did not repent and confess not, their names were blotted out.

00:22:54 Speaker_00
So he's just saying that they kept the integrity of the church membership. As I've talked about, this seems to be a time in the church where they're waiting for some of the sifting to be more concerted.

00:23:14 Speaker_00
It seems like this last gathering, this last invitation to all people to come in and dropping address standards at FSY, not really enforcing them at BYU, any of the BYU campuses.

00:23:35 Speaker_00
It seems like it's sort of like, look, for right now, we just want everybody to have an opportunity to come in to the church, but that doesn't mean the standards have changed. That doesn't mean that it's still serious if we are

00:23:54 Speaker_00
living an active, quote-unquote, life in the Church, and yet we're not really truthfully living our covenants. If we become Pharisees, where we profess to be one kind of people, but inwardly we're not, or in our secret lives we're not.

00:24:10 Speaker_00
Brothers and sisters, the day will come when all of that is sifted out. And certainly when Christ comes, liars and hypocrites will be cleansed from off the face of the earth.

00:24:23 Speaker_00
So let us recognize that even if it's not correct, I should say completely or instantly or in a seemingly timely way, taken care of by the church organization, nobody gets away with anything. But that means I don't get away with anything either.

00:24:42 Speaker_00
So I should tend my own garden and not worry about who's getting away with what temporarily, because it will never be a complete escape from the consequences of our choices. It's just to give us time to choose to repent and get credit for it.

00:25:01 Speaker_00
And of course, in verse 8, as often as they repented and sought forgiveness with real intent, they were forgiven. What a gift to all of us.

00:25:09 Speaker_00
Now, their meetings were conducted by the Church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit and by the power of the Holy Ghost.

00:25:14 Speaker_00
For as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach or to absorb or to pray or supplicate or sing, even so it was done.

00:25:22 Speaker_00
Now, again, if you're ever in a position of leadership or just when you're asked to participate, let's try to work on the quality of our participation, of our lessons. Sometimes there's a lot to

00:25:39 Speaker_00
be sad about there when it comes to the spirit in our meetings. And how sad is that? I hope that our meetings are quality meetings, because this is the goal.

00:25:52 Speaker_00
And if you're in a position of leadership, it's great for you to make sure that the focus is on Jesus Christ. All the meetings, notice that's not just sacrament meeting. That's whatever auxiliary meeting.

00:26:05 Speaker_00
Our youth meetings should be focused on helping to bring people to Jesus Christ. That doesn't mean they have to be always somber or that we can't have fun sometimes.

00:26:17 Speaker_00
Wholesome activities are fine, but if every time we're just trying to entertain the youth instead of helping them to come to Christ, we're betraying them. We're betraying them.

00:26:29 Speaker_00
We're just opting for competing with the world to make these church meetings fun and exciting and new, instead of recognizing that we have something that nobody else has on the planet.

00:26:47 Speaker_00
preach of Christ and teach of Christ, and again, just help our children focus on what a gift it is to be in the Church of Jesus Christ. And our youth, again, it doesn't mean we have to be unfun.

00:26:58 Speaker_00
It just means that we talk about him unashamedly, and we point out that whatever we're doing can have a Christ-centered focus.

00:27:08 Speaker_00
This is what our prophet said just recently in this conference, was a more, what did he say, focused discipleship might have been the language he used. Are we doing that in our meeting so that the spirit really can flow? Okay, I'm on my soapbox.

00:27:27 Speaker_00
But let's go back. Let's go back and talk for a moment about this beautiful idea that Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. So, let's see, where did I put this? This is from a speech given by John S. K. Kauwe.

00:27:47 Speaker_00
the third, who was, and I don't know if he still is, but he was the BYUH president. And he gave this devotional address in January of 2021. So it's been a few years. The title of his remarks was, Jesus Christ, the finisher of our faith.

00:28:09 Speaker_00
And he tells a sweet story. It's kind of long. I jumped around a little bit because I didn't You know, I knew it was long, but let's see what I can share here. I might skip parts.

00:28:20 Speaker_00
A few weeks ago, he said, I was at the beach with our family, and his wife and kids are paddle boarding, but he was playing in the sand with their three-year-old, Kaleu.

00:28:30 Speaker_00
He pointed to a hole that a crab had dug that morning and asked me to dig and find the crab. So we dug and we found the crab. The hole was deep and steep on the sides. The crab attempted to run out of the hole but could not. We had captured the crab.

00:28:44 Speaker_00
That was exactly what Caballo had hoped for. We left the crab there and watched it for a while. It tried several times to climb out of the hole. Each time it climbed, it moved sand, making the walls of the hole rougher and slightly less steep.

00:28:57 Speaker_00
You know how sand is. So even though it was this pretty deep, steep-sided hole, the crab, as he pulled at the sides trying to get up, he was creating sort of a little bit of a ramp for himself. So it was less steep.

00:29:10 Speaker_00
It tried and tried, each time getting slightly closer to the top. The crab was just a few more attempts from escaping when it stopped trying. It just sat there. It didn't bury itself. It didn't keep trying to climb out. It did nothing.

00:29:25 Speaker_00
Kaleo looked at me with his puzzled face and said, Dad, what is it doing? Is it dead? But the crab was not dead. At that point, we decided to help it. We widened the top edge of the hole where the crab had been climbing previously.

00:29:38 Speaker_00
We also brushed the edges of the hole to complete the textured path to make more of a ramp that was less, you know, sheer. Then we waited again, but still the crab didn't try to get out. It just continued to sit there.

00:29:54 Speaker_00
Kaleo was still worried about the crab and wanted it to go free. So I reached into the hole and guided the crab up the path that it had created with its own efforts.

00:30:02 Speaker_00
And then what we had completed for it, the crab easily climbed out of the hole and ran to the ocean where it disappeared in the waves. And I'm skipping a little bit in this speech.

00:30:11 Speaker_00
He talks about perseverance and how perseverance is mentioned eight times in the Book of Mormon and six times in the Doctrine and Covenants. that we are pled with by the prophets to endure to the end.

00:30:23 Speaker_00
So eight times in the Book of Mormon, six times in the D&C, the Lord's prophets encourage us to endure to the end.

00:30:29 Speaker_00
Kaleo and I wanted the crab to climb out on its own, but we saw that it needed help and encouragement to overcome the challenges that it faced. It simply no longer had the capacity to persevere.

00:30:39 Speaker_00
Finally, he talks about some other things, but I'm skipping again in his speech. And he says, finally, we are entitled to the guidance and the support of the Spirit as we seek to progress in this mortal life.

00:30:50 Speaker_00
We didn't want it to be hurt, the crab to be hurt by exposure to the sun and wind. So we had widened and added texture to the last part of the hole, the part that the crab had not had the capacity to change with its own efforts.

00:31:04 Speaker_00
Then, knowing the path was prepared, we encouraged the crab to leave the hole. That added support and encouragement. Getting the crab going, again, made the crab's efforts sufficient.

00:31:15 Speaker_00
Now, I hope you're already getting the message here because it's really quite beautifully shared. And finally, it was on its way, having overcome the disturbance we created in its life.

00:31:25 Speaker_00
The Lord had promised to help us in similar ways, adding His support to ensure that our efforts will be sufficient to overcome the challenges that we encounter. Now, think about that crab.

00:31:39 Speaker_00
Think about the holes we find ourselves in, not necessarily because of our own troubles. They had created the problem for this crab. Life creates these problems. There must needs be opposition in all things.

00:31:50 Speaker_00
Sometimes it's our own errors or weakness or foolishness. Sometimes it's the challenges and trials of life. And either way, sometimes we are trying to persevere and endure, and we kind of get to the end of our strength.

00:32:05 Speaker_00
And I love this, that the Lord helps us in similar ways, adding his support to ensure that our efforts will be sufficient to overcome the challenges we encounter.

00:32:16 Speaker_00
Each of us faces challenges in life when our own knowledge, effort, and capacity to persevere feel insufficient. We may also feel that we are simply exhausted and need respite and additional support to continue onward.

00:32:33 Speaker_00
Under these circumstances, we are all susceptible to fear, anxiety, and doubt.

00:32:41 Speaker_00
In those difficult situations, we can be comforted by the faith that the Lord knows our needs, and He will prepare the path before us, and He will give us the strength to carry on.

00:32:54 Speaker_00
In 2 Timothy 1, 7, we are taught, for God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

00:33:08 Speaker_00
He ends with this, I testify to you that when we have faith in our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, we can access that spirit of power, love, and of a sound mind. Okay, forgive me if I get really personal here for a minute.

00:33:23 Speaker_00
So I needed to purchase a car and I didn't want to. It's been almost 20 years since we bought our last car. It's a great car and gave us very minimal problems. I think we had one sort of major repair, but it wasn't even that horrible. And

00:33:46 Speaker_00
The rest of the time, we just kept up on service. And brothers and sisters, it's been a real blessing. We're not the kind to replace cars if we don't have to. And so I hadn't thought about that. Of course, I've been trying to get the house finished.

00:34:01 Speaker_00
And I think I told you that a few weeks ago, the last construction work was done. There are just a couple of things that need to be tightened up. But it's really done. And it's not put together yet. So I have to replace some furnishings that were lost.

00:34:16 Speaker_00
really grateful to be on this end of it. It's been a very long journey and I have been exhausted and spent by it. And I've had some really wonderful people helping me for whom I am extremely grateful. They have been like angels.

00:34:30 Speaker_00
Now, the last thing I wanted to do was buy a car, but I prayed about it because some of my kids were saying, you need to be in a newer car. Your car could break down at any time.

00:34:41 Speaker_00
It's run a good race, but you know, it's time to replace it and you're on your own. So you should have something more new that will be more reliable and not likely to break down.

00:34:53 Speaker_00
So I prayed about it and I asked the Lord, if I need to get a car, let me know. Well, I had to call AAA twice.

00:35:01 Speaker_00
And then even after that, the check engine light came on and it turned out to be something very simple, but I had to take it into AutoZone, whatever. So I'm like, okay, Lord, I'm pretty sure I'm getting a message here.

00:35:10 Speaker_00
And actually, after the first two times, and thankfully, they were small repairs, very small repairs, but still, it was kind of like, okay, Lord, I think I'm getting an answer.

00:35:20 Speaker_00
Now, I have had a lot of brain fog this year with this health problem that I've had, and brain fog is real. And in fact, it is more of a miracle than you know that if this podcast is coherent, It is a true miracle.

00:35:36 Speaker_00
And some people who are friends or providers that help with certain parts of my health care know it's a miracle. And I am grateful for it.

00:35:46 Speaker_00
And I know that your prayers and your putting me on the temple roll, as some of you have done, anyway, I know that that has been a sustaining power. And I'm really grateful for it.

00:35:53 Speaker_00
And I've certainly added my own petitions to the Lord that I could continue to contribute in this small way when I am doing so little else with my energy levels. Anyway. I thought, okay, I need to get a car.

00:36:07 Speaker_00
Now, I've had such limited energy that I really, you know, I looked a lot of things online and I probably spent way too much time watching videos about cars.

00:36:18 Speaker_00
comparing models and so on I have a lousy back and neck so a comfortable seat and ride were really important and that kind of narrows you down and whatever and then it took me quite a while to get over the sticker shock of cars used and new these days I was you know stunned as I said we haven't bought a car for decades and I

00:36:39 Speaker_00
But all of this was overwhelming sometimes, and of course, my kids were great about talking about things. But the truth is, brothers and sisters, I needed to make this decision.

00:36:49 Speaker_00
And I was overwhelmed by it, because I didn't have Chris to talk about this and to consult with and have him make this decision with me. And I've been so used to that for all my adult life.

00:37:06 Speaker_00
You know, I was trying to be prayerful, and I have found, I think I've mentioned this before, that I can see that I need to, again, not have a spirit of fear, but of power and trust in the promptings of the Lord.

00:37:23 Speaker_00
And I was having a hard time with that, because I'm a data collector. Naturally, I'm a data collector, and I just want all the information I can get before I make such a big decision, and certainly with such a big purchase.

00:37:38 Speaker_00
cautious and hesitant, and I think I let a couple of really good deals go by.

00:37:44 Speaker_00
Seriously, I mean, the things I seriously thought about that came and went because, I mean, I didn't have a lot of quick energy anyway to act on them, but furthermore, making this decision in the first place was hard.

00:37:56 Speaker_00
So I prayed about that, and I prayed that the Lord would accept the efforts that I had made, and that of course He knows

00:38:09 Speaker_00
the struggles that I have had, and how much I have missed having Chris, too, for all kinds of reasons, but this as well, to be my companion and partner in these kinds of decisions.

00:38:25 Speaker_00
So I prayed about that, and I said, Lord, You know that I probably let those deals pass by, but I trust that You have a way to help me. Find another good deal, and I will try to be ready to act on it.

00:38:44 Speaker_00
I mean, of course, like I said, it took me a long time to even get up the energy to go and do test drives. Harper, bless his heart, went with me the first couple of times to test drive, but then he's busy too, so I didn't want to impose all the time.

00:38:57 Speaker_00
managed to get out and do a couple with great effort. And I really replaced my fear with trust that the Lord would not abandon me in my weakness, because I probably could have acted sooner and gotten a good deal.

00:39:13 Speaker_00
But I just said, I'm not going to be afraid. I'm not going to be afraid. I'm going to trust that He will finish the process for me and with me.

00:39:24 Speaker_00
And I had not read this story, but the Lord did bring to my awareness another deal that actually turned out to be better than either of the previous deals.

00:39:37 Speaker_00
There were so many, I mean, it's a free market, and there were so many choices to make, it was killing me, and I really felt led, and I did act on it, and it was exhausting because, I mean, again, I didn't know it took so many hours to go through the process.

00:39:52 Speaker_00
So I came home after that purchase trashed, but brothers and sisters, When I read this, I felt like it was such a gift to me, that I felt like that crab.

00:40:03 Speaker_00
I did what I could, and then I was pretty much just out of gas and saying, Lord, I need help to finish this. And I know I am limited right now, and you know I'm limited right now, so please help me. And He did.

00:40:24 Speaker_00
I am out of that hole and grateful for it, brothers and sisters, that the Lord is so kind that our efforts are sufficient with His support to deal with the challenges that we encounter.

00:40:41 Speaker_00
And again, the Lord knows our needs and will prepare the path before us and give us the strength to finish the task before us. Let us choose glory.

00:41:01 Speaker_00
We can learn to live celestial law and keep trying in our weakness and keep reaching for the next layer of understanding and revelation and being tuned in to things that are available to us that are beyond our own strength.

00:41:18 Speaker_00
I know the Lord wants that for us and I know He will help us when we are completely at the end of our strength. And you know, brothers and sisters, sometimes it's a long time before we're at the end of our strength.

00:41:34 Speaker_00
Sometimes we wait upon the Lord a very long time. This year has been a lot of waiting. It's been a lot of waiting, and this was not a quick process. I've been working on this for much longer than I'm going to explain here, but I

00:41:51 Speaker_00
know that we can do those things that will prepare us to build Zion, and greet the Lord when He comes, and hopefully be like Him when He appears, so that He will know us because we know Him.

00:42:08 Speaker_00
As ever, thanks to my wonderful husband, Chris Anderson, and Doug Larson of Point Digital. Take care.