Because of the Book of Mormon

The topic of discussion in Sunday School and Relief Society this past week was the Book of Mormon. During our lesson in Relief Society, the teacher wrote up several truths that President Hinckley identifies as being taught in the Book of Mormon. We then had a discussion focused on how these truths change our perspective. How are our lives different because we know these truths? Of the several listed, one in particular jumped out at me:

Jesus Christ is our Redeemer.

As a missionary in Italy, the majority of people I met had faith of some sort. Whether they weekly attended church functions or preferred personal worship over organized religion, most everyone I talked to claimed to believe in God. But then I realized, that although almost 100% of the people I talked to every day said they were Christian, I hardly ever heard them talk about Jesus Christ. They would talk about God and Mary and Peter and other saints or prophets or religious figures, but rarely was their faith focused on Jesus Christ.

The title page of the Book of Mormon reads that the purpose of the book is to "[convince]...the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God..." I have learned countless lessons from the Book of Mormon, but if I were to pin down the most vital, the most prominent theme of the Book of Mormon, it would be its purpose as stated: it has convinced me that Jesus is the Christ. And that knowledge changes everything for me.

Because of the Book of Mormon, I know that Jesus Christ is the source to look to for a remission of my sins. I have never been unsure about where to turn to or who could help me escape the pits and chains of sin. I have never had to wonder if there was any way to be freed from the darkness that follows disobedience. The Book of Mormon has always testified to me that Jesus Christ is my Redeemer, that He could and would rescue me if I turned to Him.

Because of the Book of Mormon, I also know that He is the only way by which salvation comes. No matter how many righteous acts I perform throughout my life, they cannot save me. There is no other person, practice, or object that mediates between me and God. Jesus Christ alone is my Advocate, interceding on my behalf before the Father.

Because of the Book of Mormon, I know that I can receive forgiveness for my sins; when I have felt God's forgiveness, I have known that it is real! That forgiveness is unequivocal, almost tangible. It is the sensation of a deep wound being totally healed, without scar, without vestigial pain. The resulting relief, hope, joy come through faith in Christ who makes me whole.

Because of the Book of Mormon, I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Light and the Life of the world—not just in a blanket-statement way, but personally. It was in the blue of the sky and the warmth of the sun as I walked to church on Sunday. It was on top of the mountains as I stood beside my good friends and looked in awe at the peaks and valleys surrounding us. It was in hugging my family when I got off the plane at the end of my mission. It was in my father's hands on my head as he gave me a blessing that promised great things in my future. Again and again, Jesus Christ has blessed me with life and has filled me with light, the promise of good things to come, the hope of joy in following His path, the assurance that endings are never permanent, but that their sorrow is swallowed up in His love.

Because of the Book of Mormon, I know that the marks in His hands and feet are a crowning symbol of His sacrifice for each of us so that we could be resurrected and brought again into the presence of our eternal Father, to go no more out. Those marks are a promise that He has never forgotten me. My trials have never gone unnoticed; His compassion has never been checked in my regard. In all things, He has walked beside me, going with me where no one else could.

Because of the Book of Mormon, "I know in whom I have trusted." He has become an indelible force in my life, an unmistakable presence in both the sunshine and the rain that fall on my path. I see His hands shaping my way, molding me—if I allow Him—to become all He wants me to be as a daughter of God.

The Book of Mormon has confirmed over and over that Jesus Christ is my Redeemer. And that has changed everything for me. I am not burdened by past sins and mistakes. I am full of hope and excitement for the future. I am not afraid of the fiery darts of the adversary. I have learned on Whom to build my firm foundation. I have found enduring peace in my faith in Christ.

The Book of Mormon has brought me to an empowering knowledge of my Redeemer. What has it done for you?

Anika

Believing in the Future

It was the first Sunday in January 2016. I sat down in my home ward Sunday School class, and the teacher announced that we would be watching Elder Holland's devotional address, "Remember Lot's Wife." Since he figured most of us were in the goal-setting mindset, our instructor said he hoped this particular talk would help us as we considered our personal plans and hopes for the coming hear. As a newly returned missionary, I was all about keeping up my goal-setting streak, and I was ready to receive whatever goal-achieving wisdom Elder Holland was going to dispense.

But I ended up hearing a much different message, one I hadn't realized I desperately needed to hear.

"The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead, we remember that faith is always pointed toward the future."

I had only been home from my mission for two weeks, and every day, I had wished to go back. In my last area, I had gotten to a place where I felt confident and strong, where I had overcome so many of the reservations and struggles that I had fought with as a younger missionary. I felt on fire. I wanted to give and go on giving. And that's when my mission ended. I had finally felt able to give God something worthwhile, something tangible, but time beat me to it. So I looked over my shoulder, back towards Italy and its people, my companion and our members, and just wished to be there again. Part of me wished to make up all the times I had fallen short and to give God the best of everything after all I had learned. Another part wished to embrace once more the courage I had found to share the Gospel with everyone on those cobblestone streets, to pray my heart out for our investigators, to hold out a copy of the Book of Mormon with my own promise of its impact. I wished to be engaged forever in serving God, and what seemed the best way to do that was nearly six thousand miles away and sealed in the past. 

But as I sat in that Sunday School class, listening to Elder Holland, a sense of peace sprang up inside. My past was to be learned from but not lived in. God's timing, though I didn't understand it, was what it was supposed to be. I was looking over my shoulder and longing to go back to where I had been, but God was asking me to instead look ahead and trust that what was to come could be as good as, if not better than, what lay behind. 

It clicked. My whole life, I had been looking forward to serving a mission. Based on stories I had heard from others, I had thought of the mission as the ultimate, the moment, the maximum experience. And after it was over, I didn't know how to construct any meaningful framework around my life. I mean, the mission was everything, right? I could never be as happy or find the same sense of purpose in anything else. Yeah, marriage and family are important, but everyone just talked about the mission, how they'd go back in a heartbeat, how it was the best two years, how they've never been so happy...

But with Elder Holland's words, a new door opened. God's path for me lay in the future and not the past. Serving a mission was wonderful and it was right, but now it was time to move on to new and better phases. God hadn't intended for the mission to last forever, otherwise it would have. So I had a choice: I could live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder at my mission, at its ups and downs, its highlights and its trials, and become fixated on them, or I could count my many blessings, gather up the lessons I had learned, and stride into my future—a place God promised could be better than what I was leaving behind. 

I chose that day to have that faith-focused mindset. I chose to believe that what lay ahead was better than what I was leaving behind. As it turns out, the last year and a half have been the best of my life. Not because I've left the past behind entirely, but rather because I have tried to gather its embers in order to light my future. 

Thanks to my mission, I've been more outgoing, more willing to reach out and talk to other people than I have ever been before. As I have, I have developed friendships and relationships—including with many of you reading this now:)—and each has blessed me immensely. I love being around people, listening to their experiences and their perspectives and simply enjoying the goodness that they radiate. 

Thanks to my mission, I have worked harder in all of my endeavors. Work, school, volunteering, callings in my ward—I have been more engaged in all of them. I recognize that while results often do not come immediately, persistence pays off, if only in personal satisfaction at a job well done. I have learned to not be disappointed when my expectations don't play out exactly as I imagined. Rather, I have come to appreciate that life often has a mind of its own:) 

Thanks to my mission, I live sincerely. I focus on being in the moment; I don't want to come out of a meeting or a class or a conversation with another person and realize that I wasn't really there at all. I am more engaged because I know the value of experience that is grounded in wholehearted living.

Most of all, thanks to my mission, I have an infinitely closer relationship with my Heavenly Father and my Savior. They are a daily, active part of my life. Decisions I make, goals I set, opportunities I pursue are fundamentally tied to my ultimate objective of becoming like Them. Their direction and help have been a daily constant for me. My mission gave me a spiritual foundation that has allowed me to continue growing and building towards an ever brighter future.

When it comes down to it, "remembering Lot's wife" has helped me to focus on the future and believe that the best is always on the path ahead of me. The past is a fundamental building block, but it is not the sum of my existence. Wonderful as it may have been, God has more in store.

So believe in the path ahead! Trust the Lord to lead you to greater heights and more beautiful vistas. He is, after all, the God of "good things to come."

Anika