By Shannon O.
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as Mormon, and a student at BYU I am reading The Book of Mormon. I was assigned to read chapters one through three for my Book of Mormon class. In chapter one, verse twenty it reads, “And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.” At the beginning of the chapter readers discover that Lehi, an ancient prophet in Jerusalem, has had a vision that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. Lehi, around six hundred B.C., warned the people of Jerusalem that if they did not repent they would be destroyed. The people of Jerusalem, or the Jews, did not listen to Lehi. They were angry with Lehi for telling them to repent and they wanted to kill him. Lehi’s son Nephi is the one writing this verse of scripture. Nephi supported and believed in his father. At the beginning of this verse Nephi explains how the Jews reacted when Lehi told them Jerusalem was to be destroyed. Then Nephi writes that he will show readers how the Lord has blessed him in his life because of his faith. He explains that the Lord blesses everyone that has faith.
Lehi preaching in Jerusalem
There is one major principle that I obtained from reading this verse. The principle is that there will be challenges in life, but if I have faith the Lord will bless me. I believe that one of the ways the Lord prepares us for future events is through trials. I know that when I put my trust and faith in the Lord I am blessed. The Lord will bless everyone that puts their faith in Him.
I have had many hard times in my life; nevertheless, the Lord has blessed me greatly. My Mom has been a single Mom my whole life. It has been really tight financially and she has struggled to support my four brothers and me. She has always put her trust and faith in the Lord. She makes sure to look for the blessings the Lord has given her and she prays to give gratitude for the blessings she has received. Because of her faith, my family and I have been blessed financially. If someone were to look at the numbers in our financial situation they would say that there is no way that it should add up. We should not have been able to live in the houses we have lived in, participated in the costly soccer/orchestra activities, and have enough food on our table. We have always had the money for the things that we need even though it doesn’t make sense. I know that the Lord has blessed us financially because of my Mom’s strong faith.
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