And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.

And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.

But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.” – 2 Nephi 32:7-9.

I think about a few things when I read this passage.

One
I have the gospel – so there is no excuse for me. Knowledge is available to me right now, I simply need to seek it. Nephi explains that it is written plainly. Alma also explains, “…and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full,” (Alma 12:10).

Two
There are many people who are seeking knowledge. I need to allow myself to be a tool in the Lord’s hands so I can help share my knowledge with others who may be seeking it. I can do this in a loving and inviting way – by following the Spirit.

Three
When we pray, we enable the Spirit of the Lord to enter into our lives and hearts. When the Spirit is with us, we obtain knowledge – He enlightens our minds and helps us to understand gospel principles. When we pray, the Spirit is able to consecrate our works to God. I love that we have this kind of companionship with Diety. Often, I’ve found myself ready to embark on some kind of task. When I’ve decided to pray beforehand, I’ve often come away with added insight and direction on how I ought to accomplish the task at hand. Usually, this guidance is something that I would never have otherwise done, but it was true inspiration from God.

Heavenly Father doesn’t want us to waste time on this earth. He wants our works to be benificial to both us and others. This can happen when we consecrate our performances to him through prayer. When we do so, our performance is then made beneficial to our souls. What a promise!

I know that the Lord has guided me. Often, when praying, I will feel a Spiritual impression. Sometimes, what the Spirit is prompting seems counter-intuitive – it doesn’t make much sense to me, but I’ve found that if it is something the Lord is prompting me to do, and if I do it happily, then soon I will see that it garners a result that is much better than whatever I was planning to do on my own. This success comes becuase when I pray, I allow God’s power in my life. His power is greater than mine. When I pray, I allow God’s perspective in my life. His perspective is infinite – while mine is severely limited. Additionally, the Lord’s love for me, and for all of His children, is perfect. I know that when we ask Him, then we receive. He wants to bless us, but usually we are the ones holding Heavenly Father back.

Four
As I seek to share the gospel, prayer needs to be a big part of my actions. I need to pray for those I love; I need to pray for strength; I need to pray that the Love the Lord has for His children will fill my own heart; I need to pray that my faith will be strengthened so I can overcome my fear; I need to pray that the Spirit will guide me to share the gospel; and I need to pray that the Spirit will accompany my testimony and go to the hearts of those who hear it.

Five
Prayer is important in sharing the gospel when it is uttered by the person who is having the gospel. If I can persuade others to pray, then they will better be able to feel the Love of God. They will also receive the blessings that the Lord promises to those who pray. And that is what I want: for those whom I love to receive the infinite love and blessings that Heavenly Father has for them.

And when these things have passed away a speedy destruction cometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I have seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass; and they sell themselves for naught; for, for the reward of their pride and their foolishness they shall reap destruction; for because they yield unto the devil and choose works of darkness rather than light, therefore they must go down to hell.

For the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man. And when the Spirit ceaseth to strive with man then cometh speedy destruction, and this grieveth my soul.

And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus is the very Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God;

And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith.

But behold, I prophesy unto you concerning the last days; concerning the days when the Lord God shall bring these things forth unto the children of men.

After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea, after the Lord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten.” – 2 Nephi 26:10-15.

Nephi explains that after Christ comes, the Nephites will be destroyed. [They were]. The reward for such foolishness and pride is destruction – the Spirit of the Lord could no longer dwell with the people of Nephi, it didn’t take long before they were destroyed.

Often, I think that we think it is unfair for God to “punish” people. When I read this scripture, it becomes a little bit more clear. God doesn’t necessarily destroy. He doesn’t punish. He edifies and protects. However, he will not force us to be edified and protected – we must choose. If we choose to ignore him, and if we do it so often that the Spirit of the Lord can no longer dwell with us, then what happens is we are left alone. Then, it is Satan who destroys. It is Satan who punishes. And because we have rid ourselves of the protection of the Lord, we face Satan alone and powerless.

So – choose the Spirit!

The Nephites, as we know, were destroyed. In fact, all of Israel was scattered and a great apostasy filled the earth. Both Jew and Gentile must be convinced that Jesus is the Christ.

The rad thing is: Christ manifests himself to anyone. The only requirement – believing.

I believe in Christ. And He has manifest himself to me. I haven’t seen him in the flesh, but I have seen Him with my spiritual senses. I’ve felt His love. I have felt strengthened by him when in the midst of trial and difficulty. I have been the recipient of so many miraculous blessings, I often feel like it is “unfair” as my blessings are so much better and more abundant than I deserve.

I’m sure that Jesus Christ wishes to manifest Himself to more people, but first they must believe. The step before belief is where I come in – Before someone can believe, they need to hear! The Lord needs many mouthpieces. He needs servants who are willing to testify of Him.

We live in the last days, and the Lord has promised our ancient fathers that their posterity would not be forgotten. The Lord has restored the fullness of His everlasting gospel to the Earth. It is found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love this gospel, and I’ll show my love by sharing it.

But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and call things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;

And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom. – 2 Nephi 2:24-29.

Today’s scripture is the condensed version of the Plan of Salvation-

1. God is Wise.
2. Adam fell that men might be.
3. Men are here to have joy.
4. The Messiah came to redeem us from the fall.
5. We are free to choose:
   1. Liberty and eternal life through the Mediator.
   2. Captivity and death according to the devil.
6. Lehi’s plea:
   1. Look to the Mediator, obey, have faith, and choose LIFE.
   2. Do not choose death.

How does this relate to Missionary Work? I’m thinking about that – and I guess it is all about agency. If i exercise my agency to go to Christ and obey His commandments, then it natrually follows that His love is stronger in my life.

As my relationship with my Savior has grown, I have felt my love for others increase. I have felt of His love for me, and I know that this love extends to all of us. I know that those whom I love can have the same blessing of happiness and peace if they choose to come to the Savior. I also know that this kind of love isn’t always apparent. It isn’t gold or glittering. It doesn’t hold the same kind of worldly value that material posessions do. It is abstract, but not fictional. I can’t assume that others know why I’m happy. I can’t assume that others know I have peace in my soul. I need to share this love with them by showing compassion, kindness, and by sharing my own testimony.

I have been blessed to know that in this life, we can make a choice: Life – liberty and happiness; or death – captivity and misery. It is simple. And the way to receiving life (I can’t imagine why anyone would choose otherwise), then we need to choose Christ.

Not everyone knows this truth. Many people are looking for life, liberty and happiness in various forms. Of course they come up short. Because I know where happiness is to be found, I need to share this information with others.

oh…ps…Because I have felt this happiness, I feel obligated to share it. I feel like it’s not really fair to keep it to myself. I feel like the best way to show my gratitude to my Savior for His atoning sacrifice is by enabling others to partake of it.