by Autumn Dickson

By the time Doctrine and Covenants 1 was written, Joseph had already written 60 revelations. In my mind, I imagine Joseph receiving communication from the Lord and writing it down so that he could try and follow and teach it. As time went on and more and more were received, it became clear that the Lord had plenty to say and that these sacred revelations should be made available to others. It hadn’t been originally considered that these words could be considered scripture; it wasn’t until later that the revelations were recognized for what they were. Joseph Smith and other church leaders decided to put them together in a book; this was obviously an inspired decision because the Lord stood ready to write the preface to His own book. This preface is Doctrine and Covenants 1.

The Lord shares a lot of goodness within this chapter. One of the things He chooses to include has been stated often enough before, but for some reason, it hit me a little harder this week.

Doctrine and Covenants 1:31 For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;

The word that really hit me as I read this verse was “cannot.” The Lord didn’t say that He refused to look at sin with any allowance. He didn’t say He didn’t want to. He said He couldn’t, and I believe this is significant. I’m sure there are aspects of “refusing” and “not wanting to,” but He chose the word “cannot” for a reason.

I believe the word “cannot” (as opposed to the words “will not”) can help us to understand Him a bit better.

In verse 24, the Lord talks about how He gives His words to His servants in their weakness. It can be hard to capture His true attitude and meaning; if we’re being completely honest, it’s pretty much impossible to express it completely accurately. But I want to try and help clarify it a bit more, and He can continue to help me know when I’ve erred, instruct me when I’ve sought wisdom, and chasten me when I get it wrong. I already know that I’m not going to get this perfect, but I’m grateful Joseph published the revelations he published despite his own weakness. So let’s explore and add layers to our understanding of the Lord together.

Cannot rather than will not

Why can’t the Lord look at sin with any degree of allowance? Note that I’m asking, “Why can’t He?” not, “Why won’t He?”

Well there’s the obvious. If He is to remain perfect so that He can continue to be our Savior, He can’t let go of the prerogative. He has to remain wholly clean. An allowance of sin would probably forfeit the characteristic of perfection.

But I believe it extends beyond that. He can’t afford to look upon sin with any degree of allowance for our sake. It’s important to recognize and feel that because it helps us utilize this doctrine for our benefit rather than to our detriment. When we understand that He refuses to be accepting of sin for us (in comparison to picturing Him scowling down at us in our weaknesses), we understand that He is trying to lift us, not condemning us.

In parenting, boundaries are essential to raise healthy, happy kids. Oftentimes, from the perspective of the child, these boundaries can be perceived as a parent being angry or expecting too much (and sometimes that’s not inaccurate because we’re imperfect). However, it is possible to love and accept the child while maintaining the same boundary. I can look at my child and say, “I understand you’re tired, and I understand that you still need a lot of practice with your emotions. I understand that’s why you hit. I love you and will keep you with me. But hitting is not okay, no matter how tired you are.” I’m not expressing that the child is suddenly unacceptable. I’m not telling my child that they are a failure. I simply can’t afford to communicate the idea that it was okay for them to hit someone else. If I communicate, “It’s okay. You’re tired,” then what will my child choose to do next time they get tired? They’ll never seek to control themselves when they’re tired because I taught them hitting is okay when you’re tired.

When I approach my child with love and a strong, important boundary, I hope they will receive the right message. I hope they will receive the message that I accept them and love them even though I have to push them to be better and can’t look at sin with allowance. I can’t afford to. I have to (for their sake!) hold that boundary.

Sin rather than sinner

It is the same with our Savior. He loves us, but He can’t teach us that He’s okay with sin. It would be detrimental to our spiritual health and progression.

The word, “cannot” is significant, but so is the word, “sin.” He can’t look at sin with any degree of allowance. His atonement was literally performed so that He can look at the sinner with allowance. The entire reason He sacrificed Himself was so that He could allow repentant sinners into heaven. He looks at us and loves us and forgives us and recognizes our circumstances and weaknesses, but He holds that proper and fast boundary. He holds it because He loves us.

Sometimes, like a child, we look at verses like this and think, “He won’t ever accept me. He won’t forgive my sins.” We have to mature to the extent that we realize He can accept us and forgive our repentant hearts while maintaining his refusal of sin. We have to choose to see this verse for the act of love that it is.

There are few things more satisfying than when my kids recognize the love I put into my responses. It is so fulfilling when my kids feel grateful that I push them to do chores, to forgive each other, and to learn to control their tempers. I often teach this sentiment directly rather than hoping the message is inherently understood. When my kids are complaining that I’m requiring something of them (and when they specifically complain that I must not love them), I quite passionately explain that I choose to do these things because I love them. It has somewhat sunk in because when my oldest daughter is well-rested and in a good mood, she has expressed a sentiment along the lines of, “Mom, I don’t want to do this, but I know you’re making me do it because you love me.”

We are the child in this scenario! We can look to the Lord and say, “I see what You are expressing. I’m grateful that You want me to be more.” Like a child, we can choose to read that verse and see condemnation or we can see the wisdom and love of an Eternal Parent. We can refuse to allow Satan to make us believe that the Lord is turning His back on us because nothing would please Satan more. He wants us to get confused and misunderstand what the Lord is trying to say.

He that repents and does the commandments

There is a verse that comes right after the verse we read in the beginning.

Doctrine and Covenants 1:32 Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;

This verse can be confusing. The Lord forgives those who repent and follow the commandments, but usually forgiveness and repenting imply the fact that we didn’t keep the commandments. Satan likes to whisper that we have to stop sinning before the Lord forgives past transgressions, but that’s not true either.

Let’s look at a parent and child again.

There are times in the lives of my children when they need to hear that I love them deeply. A lot of times, this need appears as misbehavior. They’ve done something wrong and if I want them to do better, a huge portion of my message needs to be the idea that I love them and they’re going to be okay.

I try to express this, and I try to express it in this extremely specific manner (even if not in so many words).

I don’t say, “I love you, but we have to do better.” I say, “I love you, AND we have to do better.” A very small word but a very significant difference. The conjunction “but” implies the phrase, “on the contrary.” However, the phrases “I love you” and “We have to do better” are not contrary; they’re complimentary.

I get it. This is such a nuanced little principle, but it’s so significant. If we can teach our loved ones and if we can learn this principle for ourselves, it will change the nature of our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

We will hear phrases like, “Keep the commandments,” or phrases that imply, “We have to do better,” and we will begin to simultaneously hear the message, “I love you.” Because that’s exactly what those phrases are. They are messages, pleadings, and expressions of love. If we can connect those phrases, our children will better recognize the love of their Heavenly Father and Savior, and it will change their entire experience with this high-demand gospel. The high-demand will translate to high-love.

I testify of a Heavenly Father and Savior who love us. I testify that whenever They speak to us, there is an implied message of love. They feel that love constantly, and all of Their responses are drawn out of that love. It’s hard to understand and believe that because the responses that we sometimes give to others around us can be rooted in selfishness, but it is never so with Them. We can read any of their words and find the implied, “I love you,” because They perfectly love us.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Doctrine and Covenants 1 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

This week, we are studying the bicentennial proclamation called, “The Restoration.” It has been approximately 200 years since the beginning of what we call the Restoration in which the Lord once again actively taught His gospel to a prophet on the earth. With the clarified doctrine came the priesthood authority to bind us to the Savior in a way that He could save us.

Proclamations are interesting things. They are official statements given by our leaders. They reaffirm and clearly teach exactly what we believe. Oftentimes, proclamations are given for specific audiences whether for the church as a whole or even to the world outside church membership. It can be extremely informative to those who know nothing about what we believe.

As for the rest of us, it can seem like a summary of things that we have been taught repeatedly throughout the course of our lives. I can find summarized accounts regarding the Restoration in a million places. Why did we need to send out yet another message with the same information?

Then again, why do we have stories in the scriptures that teach the same principles over and over? Why do we have monthly testimony meetings in which we hear the same basic idea that the Savior supports us? Why do we continue to go over the same material in general for years and years?

There are a lot of answers to this, but one pretty thorough answer is that we need to apply the gospel to our lives. Because our lives are constantly changing, the need to process and apply the gospel in different ways is necessary.

This may be called a proclamation rather than scripture, but in so many ways, they are incredibly similar. They are inspired words written by holy men. So in many ways, we can apply our same scripture study tactics when we read these words.

What do we learn from the Restoration Proclamation this week? How do we apply it in our own lives? Surely there are many different ways to liken these words to our lives as there are many different lives being led right now; let’s just talk about one.

The Restoration Proclamation testifies of Joseph Smith’s First Vision in which he went out into the woods to pray. He was confused about what he needed to do, and so he decided to turn to the Lord about it. In the words of our proclamation, “He had questions regarding the salvation of his soul and trusted that God would direct him.”

The salvation of his soul

At first glance, it may feel as though we don’t often turn to the Lord with the specific concerns that Joseph did. Perhaps we are seeking to follow the Lord and protect the state of our souls, but how often do we directly approach Him about the salvation of our souls?

And yet, how often do we approach Him with variations of that same question? If we really think about it, aren’t most of our questions regarding the state of our soul in one way or another? Whether we’re seeking answers to questions or pleading for help because we’re worried about something going on in our lives, it can often be drawn back to the fact that we’re looking to be safe and happy in our futures.

In this manner, we all can relate to Joseph. We all want to know that we’re on a path that’s going to lead us towards an eternal future that is going to be content and okay and happy. Even those living without religion in the world are seeking that same end; they just want to know that their future is going to be okay (no matter how long or short they may believe it to be).

It’s the next part of that sentence that not everyone relates to, and it’s that part of the sentence that can actually change our lives.

Trusted that God would direct Him

Joseph believed in a God who wanted to answer his prayer. He trusted that God would lead him in the right direction.

Joseph did not have a lot of knowledge by the world’s standards. His education was short-lived, and even the short-lived formal schooling was spotty at best. There were a lot of things that Joseph didn’t know, even religiously. I think of one experience Joseph had while translating The Book of Mormon. Emma described Joseph as becoming pale and asking her if Jerusalem had a wall around it. When Emma replied that it did (because it was described in the bible), Joseph was relieved because he was worried he had been deceived.

Joseph definitely learned the gospel throughout his mortal life and by the end of it, I would guess that he knew a lot about a lot, specifically in regards to spiritual matters. However, he didn’t start out that way. He started out very unlearned, but he knew the most important things. Potentially one of the most essential pieces of knowledge that Joseph had was that he knew God would answer His prayer and lead him along.

A knowledge of truth, any truth, is commendable and good. However, some truths are far more valuable than others. I grew up learning the gospel in my home and at church. I could recite any number of doctrines that we believed, not to mention different things I had learned at school. However, it took me a while to trust and feel and know that God wanted to lead me along in my life. Since I have become confident in that fact, my life has changed and become hopeful.

Do you know that God wants to lead you along? When you kneel down to pray, when you are faced with uncertainty, when you don’t necessarily hear any direct answers from Him, do you have a confident knowledge that He is there guiding the details? Do you feel safe in His ability to save you, in any aspect of the word “save?”

Confidence in every aspect of the word

Faith in a specific principle changes how you live your life.

When you have faith that you’re going to be alive tomorrow, you do your laundry and eat food and set things up to be prepared for the next day. When you have faith or knowledge (or if you find yourself at any point on the scale between those two) that Christ is actively involved, loves you, and has the power to deliver His promises, you look at everything differently.

Moments of limbo aren’t necessarily fun, but they don’t induce panic. When He is quiet, you aren’t scared that He’s mad at you; you trust that He will respond in a way that you can hear Him if He needs to respond. When you repent, you rejoice in the fact that your place with Him is secure because of His immense power. When you have a major certification test that will largely determine your career or when you are jumping into the unknown with your entire family, there may still be some hesitation and anxiety, but it doesn’t produce despair. Things may not turn out how you like, and it’s okay to feel disappointed about that. However, when you ultimately know that the Lord will guide you in the salvation of your soul, it ultimately trumps all the other emotions. You look forward to the future, when the Lord is going to fulfill all His promises, and it affects how you look at today.

This is true of any question we’re bringing to the Lord. It is true from the smallest details to the catastrophic times in our lives. The Lord will guide you in your salvation, and salvation includes the very mortal aspects of life that you’re experiencing now. He will guide you, but until you trust that He’s guiding you, you’re going to continue to struggle in ways that are unnecessary. So work on building that trust and knowledge.

Enabling power

When you know the Lord is going to guide you in the salvation of your soul, it changes how you feel about your day and your future. Beyond that, trusting in the Lord’s ability to guide your salvation makes you powerful.

I am convinced that it was Joseph’s trust in God that prepared him to open up the restoration and change the world. It was that specific knowledge that enabled him to survive his chaotic, traumatizing life, and it was also that specific knowledge that enabled him to move mountains. He knew that God, the Omnipotent and loving Being, was on his side. How could he fail?

When we experience God, both in our temporal lives and in the worshiping tools we’ve been given, we collect moments of trust. When we come to trust Him as Joseph trusted Him, not only will we feel more hope, but we will be the powerful tools He wants us to become.

I am a powerful mother who changes the lives of her children because I believe (and therefore, allow) God to guide me in how I choose to respond to the agency of my children. I am a powerful wife because I believe (and therefore, allow) God to guide me regarding how to be happy in my marriage. I am a powerful person because I believe (and therefore, allow) God to guide me in any aspect He chooses to do so. And when He feels quiet, I allow my confidence in His ability to reach me bring the peace I need to move forward of my own accord.

I testify of a Heavenly Father and Savior who are actively involved. I have seen it again and again and again and again, and thus far, it hasn’t gotten old. I have much more confidence in Him than I used to, but I still often find myself surprised by how prepared He is to pull me in the right direction. I testify that He is powerful enough to deliver, and I testify that He wants to deliver. If you do not feel at peace, then the only missing ingredient is your trust in Him. You don’t need to beat yourself up about that; it takes time to build trust. Don’t beat yourself up; rather, take the opportunity to get to know Him and allow Him to prove Himself to you.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

The message I want to share about Christ today is a message I have taught indirectly through other topics for some time. It is a message that has changed my relationship with Him, and therefore, it is a message that has changed my life into a joyful and hopeful one. I am so immensely grateful for it.

This year in Come Follow Me, we have read The Book of Mormon. It is called The Book of Mormon because of the prophet, Mormon, who compiled all of the records together so that they might one day be turned into a book. There is a book subtitle that is extremely important; book subtitles are meant to give context and help a reader prepare to look for the message that was meant to be received. The subtitle of The Book of Mormon is, “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” The entire book was written with that purpose in mind. Every chapter was crafted to help us understand Him and how He works among the children of men.

There have been a great many times in my life where I have misinterpreted this book, and there will likely be many more times in the future where I likewise continue to misinterpret it. Because of these misinterpretations, I have often assigned characteristics to my Savior that simply don’t fit Him. I have seen anger and wrath, rather than desperate attempts to wake His children up. I have seen condemning warnings, rather than loving advice that was meant to challenge me and push me to live my life at a higher plane.

I testify that The Book of Mormon testifies of the true Christ, and I testify that the Spirit can help us to know Him as He is.

An extreme level

I want to teach what I mean on an extreme level. I teach it this way for two reasons: one, because I believe that seeing it in an extreme case can help us decipher it in more subtle cases and two, because I have observed a common phenomenon that I think could use a direct approach.

I have a dear friend that I grew up with; she was abused by her father. For a long time, she stayed close to the church and tried to follow its teachings. She went to church with her family as she watched her abusive father get called as a priesthood leader in the ward, and she would go home and listen to him scream at her family as they ate Sunday dinner together. In fact, she talks about how she can still smell the pot roast and hear her father yelling. He was manipulative and sneaky. He was narcissistic and controlling. When he praised his kids, it was because it made him look like a good father. When he spoke of his love for his wife, it was in his own defense of how he always treated her right. He was extremely insecure, and those closest to him suffered because of it.

And yet, despite the turmoil at home, many people at church adored him.

Our brains are funny things. The Lord created our brains in a very specific manner. Your experiences, especially those very early experiences at home, often form the framework with how you view the rest of your life. Your brain does this on a literal scale. It’s physically forming connections that push your thoughts in certain directions.

The Lord built our brains like this on purpose. When you put your hand on a hot stove, you learn very quickly that you don’t want to do it again. He did this because in many ways, it protects us. Babies, in their first few years of life, form millions of neural connections every single second. This pruning and building in the brain is happening at a much faster rate than any other point in our lives. Everything a baby experiences forms one of these connections, and this is how they learn so quickly.

Let me put that in the context of my friend.

Because of her early experiences at home, her brain taught her to mistrust certain characteristics. This is what we know as “triggers.” She has an extreme mistrust of the prophets and apostles because those men have similar characteristics (white, male, priesthood leader) to someone who was harmful towards her, and her brain sends flashing warning signals in her mind whenever she hears them speak. She finds them creepy; she assumes their dishonesty. She believes they’re simply seeking their own benefit.

Our blueprint for everything gets originally created at home when we are young children (hmmm I wonder why families were so important to the Lord…). This blueprint can change, but it is very difficult to physically alter some of those connections that were so thoroughly put in place when we were simply babies, especially connections that were formed, repeated, and cemented over and over and over and over and over again.

After everything she experienced at the hands of her father, after all the harm it caused her, is it any wonder that her brain would send neon flashing signals that she needs to be wary of these other men who reflect her father? Is it any wonder that she imagines those men, preaching at the pulpit, going home to be unkind to their families? Is it any wonder that she doesn’t want to hear about a Savior who preached about Himself? No matter how many good actions we can read about the Savior in the scriptures, she will see the facade that her father created.

Needless to say, she’s not a member anymore.

The more subtle connections

Now, like I said, this was an extreme example, but the principle remains and it has plentiful implications. What you experience at home is the blueprint through which you view everything, including religion, leadership, and God. What you know about Christ often starts with how your parents loved you.

So when I read The Book of Mormon, or any words about Christ, I am going to interpret how Christ is acting according to what I learned at home.

Implication number one. We take the name of Jesus Christ upon us when we are baptized. One of the ten commandments is to not take His name in vain. Surely, we don’t need to be saying unholy variations of “Oh my gosh,” but more importantly, we need to act in a way that reflects Christ if we’re going to try and call ourselves members of His church. The damage that can be caused by people who call themselves Christian but act decidedly un-Christian is immense.

This doesn’t mean we have to act perfect because that’s impossible. No one will be able to perfectly reflect the Savior even when they’re the prophet, His literal mouthpiece on the earth. There is a responsibility on the part of the giver to try and reflect the Savior, but there is also a responsibility on the part of the receiver to be compassionate to weakness, to decipher honest but imperfect attempts to resemble Him, and to separate the imperfections of their daily interactions with the perfection of the Savior.

Which leads me to my second implication.

To know Him

Home is the blueprint in which we view the Savior. This doesn’t mean we go and blame our parents if we don’t feel close to the Savior. As I have become a parent, my eyes have been opened to just how hard it is to do the right thing. My parents did a fantastic job, and because of that, I know that my brain was literally set up to have healthy relationships as well as a good foundation to build upon. My parents were not perfect, but they gave me a pretty dang good starting place with which to know my Savior.

There are other reasons we don’t blame our parents for the gaps in understanding about our Savior. There have been times when I have tried to communicate to my children, “I love you so I’m setting this boundary, and I’m pushing you to be independent even though it’s uncomfortable for you.” I fully, whole-heartedly (mostly because they tell me in plain terms) that the message that was received is, “You don’t care that I’m uncomfortable; you must not love me.”

The blueprint we form at home comes from direct instruction and actions from our parents, but it’s also formed on erroneous interpretations that came about because we were tired toddlers or angsty teenagers.

All of this is important to understand because it empowers us to change our blueprint on purpose. It empowers us to change the lens in which we view the Savior. It allows us to disengage with the characteristics we projected onto the Savior that simply aren’t there.

If you often feel like you’re annoying, this is going to affect your relationship with Christ. If you feel like you’re a constant burden, you’re not going to turn to Him for help. If you think nobody cares what you do or how you act, this is going to be reflected in how you choose to follow God.

The Savior is perfect. He perfectly loves you, and He is perfectly capable of saving and supporting you. He wants to be around you. He wants to be reunited with you.

Is that what you see when you think of Him? Or do you see the imperfections of this world and project them on to Him? When you read The Book of Mormon (or any account of the Savior), are you interpreting His actions as they are? Or are you looking at Him through a distorted, damaged lens?

The best thing I ever did was try and embrace my Savior as He truly is, to embrace His love, to view His actions as extensions of that love. If you are one of those who find themselves with a truly broken blueprint (or even just someone with the normal errors), then my message is the same. The Savior is perfectly able to heal, uplift, and bless you, but you have to believe. You have to choose to see Him in the proper light. He can’t force you to believe that He is who He says He is. No matter how often He has professed His love or chosen His actions according to that love, it will not matter if you refuse to believe His intentions were love. It won’t matter if you stubbornly hold to the blueprint that was handed to you rather than allowing Him to heal you and change your life.

I testify that He is all who He says He is. I testify that everything we read about in The Book of Mormon this year teaches us about Him, but we have to interpret those words with the help of the Spirit. I testify that He can heal and change lives.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Christmas – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

This week, we are left with the final testimony given in The Book of Mormon. Moroni testifies of The Book of Mormon, spiritual gifts, and Christ’s ability to perfect us. Moroni also speaks about revelation. He talks about how to know whether The Book of Mormon is true (as well as the truth of all things), and he also speaks about the role of the Holy Ghost in this process.

Moroni 10:7 And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

The word “know” can be a heavy one in our religion. What does it mean to truly know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? What does it mean to truly know that He sacrificed Himself for us? What does it mean to truly know Him?

We often use this word, “know.” I don’t think there’s anything wrong with using it; I don’t think that needs to be changed. On the flip side, I’m also grateful for the conversations that have opened up about the importance of belief. Distinguishing between belief and true knowledge has been a nuance that has both comforted and enlightened me. It has comforted me in the sense that belief feels more sufficient than it previously did. It has enlightened me in the sense that I recognize the eventual goal of “true knowledge,” and the Lord has been able to teach me the process of attaining it by utilizing belief.

Today I want to talk a little bit about the importance of belief, and I want to talk about the process of true knowledge.

The place of belief

When we talk about true knowledge, I’m talking about the point where you don’t have belief any longer. It has completely given way to knowledge and you don’t have to believe in something you can’t see because you know. When we talk about knowledge in this manner, it can often feel like belief is “lesser.” Our goal is to reach the point where we don’t need faith any longer, almost like the stage of belief was always meant to be overcome.

The belief stage (in comparison to the knowledge stage) is not something to be overcome. Yes, we are working towards a true knowledge of Christ. However, the goal of the belief stage is not simply to overcome. There are lessons and strengthening exercises that can only be acquired when we are still in that belief stage.

There is a reason Heavenly Father sent us down to earth with a veil placed over our eyes. He was wise enough to know that there were characteristics we could only develop in this manner. If I truly saw the Lord, would I be following and trusting Him or would I be seeking out a selfish, personal reward? Would I be developing that relationship with Christ or would I just be doing the logical thing so that I wouldn’t be miserable for eternity? Requiring a belief stage enables us to dig deeper within ourselves and grow to be like Christ, rather than simply trying to gain a reward. It forces us to go through the process of experimenting, and as we experiment, we change and become like Him and develop the innate desire to actually be like Him.

Let me try explaining it in this manner.

Let’s pretend that Heavenly Father sent me to earth without the veil. I get here, I know what’s on the other side, so I do what I’m told because it would be ridiculous to do anything else. I’m just trying to make sure I’m not miserable for eternity. There isn’t anything really required of me. It doesn’t force me to actually go through the process of figuring things out. I can “succeed” by going through the motions.

But He did send me with a veil. And because He did, the process looks different. If I want to learn whether the truth is here and whether there is a Heavenly Father who loves me, I have to experiment. As I experiment, I still don’t fully know whether I’m on the right path. However, I do start to learn that I innately want to live my life in this manner. I learn that focusing on others frees me. I learn that being honest helps me avoid a lot of cringey feelings. I learn that relationships should be prioritized because they bring happiness. I change according to what I’m learning during my experiment.

Part of Heavenly Father’s character is knowledge of the reality of eternity. He follows these laws of His own accord, not because He wants to gain a reward, but because He knows that it’s the true path to eternal happiness. He asks us to follow Jesus Christ, not as the goal in and of itself. He asks us to follow Jesus Christ so that we can learn for ourselves. He wants us to innately know and feel the nature of good and evil. Experimenting allows us to focus on whether the path is truly making us happy beings. It allows us to learn for ourselves.

The belief stage is critical to exaltation.

We don’t need to be ashamed of being in the stage where we have faith, where we believe rather than know. It’s an important stage. Do not simply seek to get through this part to the knowledge part. Appreciate the belief stage because it is a necessary step in your progression.

How we actually achieve knowledge

Now that was a bit of a tangent off of the verse that I wanted to talk about for today, but I felt it was an important tangent. Appreciating the belief stage sufficiently and understanding Heavenly Father’s tools accurately can help us on the path to knowledge. Let’s look at that verse from Moroni again.

“Ye may know that He is.” We can know. The veil doesn’t need to last our entire lives. And yes, I am talking about being redeemed from the fall and being brought back into His presence. It’s an exciting notion, and it’s a notion I’ve been fascinated with since before my mission. That being said, there are some powerful and humbling lessons that I’ve received on this journey of learning about the process of knowing.

The first lesson is found in the very next phrase in Moroni’s verse. “By the power of the Holy Ghost.” A true knowledge does not stem from seeing the Lord. Laman and Lemuel saw an angel, and it didn’t do anything for them! They were physically shaken by the Lord and the effects on their hearts were minimal. There were plenty of people who saw the Lord and still didn’t know.

True knowledge of the Savior can only be acquired through the Holy Ghost.

And this is precisely why it’s so important to appreciate the belief stage. A desire to overcome the belief stage is often a sign of misunderstandings about how true knowledge of the Savior is acquired.

Sometimes we think the process goes like this: I build up my faith sufficiently over time until I’m finally good enough that the Lord lets me see Him and then I know He is real. My belief stage is over and replaced with knowledge.

The process actually goes like this: We build up faith and utilize faith to grow sufficiently; we go through that process of learning about the nature of good and evil for ourselves. We appreciate faith, and it helps us appreciate the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the messenger by which we acquire true knowledge. Seeing the Savior is a beautiful experience (at least I assume it is), but it’s not necessarily part of the process of acquiring a true knowledge of Him.

You CAN know the Lord; you can also have an absolute knowledge of Him without seeing Him. True knowledge of the Savior comes from the Holy Ghost. Being brought back into His presence is a separate experience. I’m sure they can happen at the same time, but they are distinct experiences. Knowledge of spiritual things is transmitted through the Holy Ghost.

When I say that a desire to “overcome” the belief stage implies a misunderstanding of the process of acquiring true knowledge, it’s because a desire to overcome often disallows the process of embracing faith. Embracing faith is necessary to appreciating the Holy Ghost, and it is the Holy Ghost that helps us acquire knowledge.

Let me explain it concretely. If I’m trying to overcome the stage where my kids are little, I’m often focused on surviving and getting through it. Don’t get me wrong; sometimes surviving is necessary. What I’m trying to illustrate is the fact that if I’m surviving, I’m usually not embracing or appreciating.

If I’m thinking, “Man, I just want to know. I don’t want to have to wait and believe,” then I’m going to miss out on internalizing messages from the Holy Ghost that will actually bring the knowledge. If you’re constantly trying to have big, crazy experiences that you erroneously assume will give you knowledge, then you’re not actually going to be able to acquire that knowledge. It only comes through the Holy Ghost!

When you understand that true knowledge comes from the Holy Ghost, you cherish the small whisperings. You collect them. You embrace the strengthening exercises when you have to follow the Lord without knowing. You experiment and go through the process of learning the nature of good and evil for yourself.

And as you work through these strengthening exercises and as you innately understand the nature of good and evil, you finally become ready for true knowledge. You don’t need faith anymore because you have gleaned all that you can glean from faith.

In summary

Elder Hales taught, “Our faith prepares us to be in the presence of the Lord.” In summary faith enables us to be prepared because of two reasons.

1) It pushes us through the process of experimenting and innately learning the nature of good and evil, a characteristic that is necessary to develop if we want to be like Heavenly Father.

2) It pushes us to lay hold of our experiences with the Holy Ghost. Because the Holy Ghost is the true avenue of acquiring knowledge, we need to appreciate those small experiences and collect them.

Moroni talks about truth often throughout this chapter. He talks about how we can know the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon through the Holy Ghost, and he also teaches us that we can know the truth about all things by embracing the Holy Ghost.

I am grateful that Heavenly Father was wise enough to require a belief stage. I’m grateful that the experiences He pulls me through are so nuanced and perfect for me to learn from. I’m grateful that He knows how to bring about the immortality and eternal life of me, and I’m grateful He sent His Son to pay for my learning experience.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Moroni 10 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.)

Class Notes

Additional Reading

Mormon₂ wrote of “the light of Christ” (Moroni 7:15–19) and Joseph Smith revealed more about the light of Christ in D&C 88:5–13. C. Kent Dunford explains what we know about this power that emanates from God: “Light of Christ,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, 4 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 2:835. 

Moroni chapter 8 is Mormon₂’s epistle on the salvation of little children. For more on this doctrine, see Robert L. Millet, “Alive in Christ: the Salvation of Little Children,” in Fourth Nephi, From Zion to Destruction, eds. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University, 1995), 1–17.

Latter-day Saint scholar Royal Skousen believes, based on internal evidence, that the term “pleasing bar” in Moroni 10:34 and Jacob 6:13 should read “pleading bar,” a legal term referring to the bar in a court of law before which a defendant pleads his or her case. See Skousen, “The Pleading Bar of God,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 42 (2021): 21–36.

Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children.

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by Autumn Dickson

I had an experience right before I went on my mission. An article had come out about Texas making abortion more legal and accessible. I want to be very clear here in the beginning that this post is not about abortion itself. This is the story I’m choosing to tell in order to teach my principle, but the principle isn’t actually regarding abortion.

Anyway, the article that I read actually went into detail about abortion. It outlined different ways in which babies are aborted. In fact, it actually went into graphic detail about how some abortions are performed. There was one method in particular that was especially brutal, and it included pictures and diagrams.

There is a lot of scientific debate regarding when fetuses develop the ability to feel pain. Regardless, this article haunted me for quite some time. I couldn’t stop thinking about it whenever I had a moment to myself.

I remember seeing those pictures and diagrams every time I closed my eyes. I remember thinking about how confused and hurt these tiny babies must have felt when their warm little world was suddenly interrupted. I remember wondering if a spirit was already inhabiting the body and whether they went straight back to Heavenly Father, disappointed that their opportunity had been cut short.

I know abortion is a messy subject. I know that there are girls out there who had to make decisions alone, and those decisions were based on fear. I know that there is a lot of pain surrounding the topic, and I don’t want to further inflict pain.

But I share this experience because I feel like it highlights a true principle.

As this article stuck to me, I remember I couldn’t sleep very well. I just kept seeing all those babies. I remember I finally got out of bed and knelt down to pray about it. I hadn’t prayed about it before because I figured there wasn’t anything Heavenly Father could do. He had allowed for agency. Abortion was likely to stick around until Christ came again. I figured the only way I was going to find comfort again was when the issue finally stopped, and that wouldn’t be for some time.

But it got to the point where I wasn’t coping or sleeping so I prayed about it. It shocked me the comfort that was immediately granted to me. I had a picture of Christ welcoming those spirits back. Their pain was comparatively short lived, and Christ wouldn’t allow them to truly miss out on any opportunities. I remember them feeling comforted and being healed. This was probably one of my first experiences with Christ’s atonement where it was specifically utilized to make up for tragedy that couldn’t be explained on earth. I could feel that those spirits were okay.

As I’ve grown older, I’ve also come to appreciate His ability to heal the mothers. He can heal any pain that we have caused to others, and that can bring immense relief.

This is the experience that I thought of when I read Mormon’s words to his son.

Moroni 9:25 My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.

There is so much tragedy in the world. I am so grateful that I’ve had experiences with Christ’s atonement that have left me feeling hope. I am so grateful for the experiences I’ve had of Christ that taught me innocents are ultimately healed and blessed beyond measure.

For those we love

Christ’s atonement applies to the innocent, but it also applies to those we love.

I had a good friend whose father went off the deep end. After living a “normal” life, he quickly turned to vices that led to his death. He abandoned his family, got into drugs, racked up immense amounts of debt in the form of money and pain, and then he ended his own life.

My friend loved his father and was trying to serve a mission despite the fact that all of this had happened within the previous year. I applaud him for trying. I also applaud the fact that he had wise leaders who sent him home to heal from the overwhelming tragedy.

As he was attempting to serve, he started asking questions about where his father was. Despite the pain that had been caused by his father towards the end of his father’s life, my friend had mostly grown up with a stable home life. He loved his father. He had many good associations with his father. He didn’t want his father to suffer. He didn’t want to serve and testify of the eternal nature of families when he was so deeply hurting over the pain within his own family.

I don’t know where his father is. I can’t testify that the atonement has saved him because I don’t know if he accepted it. I have hope. Though I don’t condone or encourage suicide, suicide can be an indication of remorse which is a step towards the atonement. I hope that remorse stayed and propelled him in the right direction.

That likely would not have been comforting to my friend who just wanted to hear that his father was being taken care of.

Luckily, I can testify of this. Every choice the Lord is making in regards to my friend’s father is the wisest form of care. Sometimes we want to just take away all the pain and make it go away, but this is not always the best care we can provide. The Lord knows that, and He provides what is truly needed.

That’s the power of the atonement. Every single portion of it is merciful and just. The part where Christ withholds the power of His atonement from those who refuse to repent is easily seen as just, but it is also merciful. It is an attempt to bring that soul back because if that soul doesn’t repent, then they will continue harming others and themselves. The pain continues. There would be no reason to even apply Christ’s atonement because the harm would continue on without changing. Why even put on a bandaid if you’re just going to take a knife to it again anyway?

I often picture the experience in the spirit world being akin to the story from “A Christmas Carol.” The spirits who chose wrong on earth find themselves in a “prison” of sorts, but I don’t picture an actual, physical jail. I picture these spirits becoming vastly aware of their choices in their previous life. They can see us more than we can see them. They are forced to acknowledge the pain they caused without being able to fix it since they have already passed on. This definitely feels like a prison; it can feel so painful; it is a life without the atonement. But it can also provide the bridge towards true healing. Scrooge was offered an opportunity to go fix his life. The spirits who have moved on from this stage of existence can’t go back and fix things, but they can embrace Christ’s atonement, and it can free them in the same way. Which leads me to my last point.

For the guilty

The atonement of Jesus Christ is surely good news to the innocent. It is good news to those who have loved ones who have chosen wrong. Eternal life will be made truly available to all, including those who were born into circumstances where they never even really had a chance to rise above. It is available to those who wouldn’t even know how to accept it in this life. This is all extremely comforting.

The atonement can also bring a lot of peace to the guilty, and I’m not just talking about the fact that you had your sins paid for. I’m talking about the aspect that Christ heals others from the pains you brought.

The repentance process can be uncomfortable for many reasons. One of the reasons is that you recognize the harm you caused others. In many cases, it may feel better to continue on in your path rather than turn around and acknowledge that you may have caused irreparable pain. However, if we can accept Christ’s atonement and if we allow that painful recognition to change our future choices, we find freedom from the knowledge that we hurt others.

And this is the true difference between those who inhabit spirit paradise or prison.

Everyone who comes to earth hurts others. We have all caused pain. I was literally thinking about some of my worst moments last night when I was trying to go to bed. We all wince when we remember times that we really hurt someone.

The difference between those who find paradise and those who find prison (in this life or the next life) is a knowledge of the atonement of Jesus Christ. I have often found myself cringing when I think of how I’ve hurt others throughout my life. The only thing that has ever brought me relief (i.e. paradise) is my trust that the atonement can heal those I’ve hurt. Because I’ve felt Him heal me, I know He can heal others. It doesn’t have to kill me forever. He can fix the mistakes I made and bring relief and happiness to everyone. We can all be okay again.

I’m grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ. In so many ways, I know that I’m oblivious to the true depths of the atonement because I know that I have not suffered as some have suffered. But I have had experiences with His atonement, and I do know that it’s real. Those experiences are real enough that I have cause to believe that they extend even deeper and further than I understand. Christ heals. He heals the innocent. He heals those we love. He heals the guilty. The hope of His glory and eternal life can rest in our minds and free us from spiritual prisons.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

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by Autumn Dickson

Moroni understood the concept of loneliness. Even before all of his people were wiped out, Moroni practiced his beliefs on his own except for his father. He likely found himself surrounded by his peers, unable to connect with them because of gaping differences in beliefs, desires, and values. People probably didn’t understand him, and though he loved his people, he probably still felt awfully alone.

And then came the genocide.

Moroni was the last Nephite prophet to live upon the land. He had the authority to lead the church on the earth, and yet, he was the last one in the church to lead. According to the institute manual, Moroni lived for 36 years after that last battle between the Nephites and Lamanites in which all of his loved ones were destroyed. He lived alone in the land except for the Lamanites who were trying to kill him because he wouldn’t deny the Christ.

Like I said before, Moroni knew the concept of loneliness. Let’s talk about a couple of things that might have been adjacent to this loneliness.

He thought he was done with the work

Moroni wrote a couple of things in his father’s book after his father died. He then abridged a record of the Jaredites. After completing this specific work, he thought he was done.

Moroni 1:4 Wherefore, I write a few more things, contrary to that which I had supposed; for I had supposed not to have written any more; but I write a few more things, that perhaps they may be of worth unto my brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day, according to the will of the Lord.

From previous writings, we know that Moroni didn’t feel like a very strong writer. It wasn’t his forte. Perhaps he was a great soldier, considering the fact that he outlived everyone else who was destroyed. He was a survivalist as he spent decades alone. Honestly, I’m the exact opposite. I can write, but I’m pretty sure I would have died within the first couple of weeks of being on my own trying to avoid getting killed. Moroni had his talents, and perhaps writing really wasn’t one of them.

It didn’t matter though. He was the last Nephite prophet, and because of that, the Lord had some work for him to do.

I wonder if Moroni wished he didn’t have to do it. I wonder if he looked at the records and knew that there was plenty of doctrine. Moroni saw our day, and he likely saw the restoration of the gospel. He chose to include some of the ordinance wording and instructions despite the fact that he knew these things could easily be restored through Joseph Smith. There were a great many ways that the teachings of Moroni could have reached us without him having to deal with it on top of everything else he was dealing with.

It wasn’t like he could just hide the plates in a compartment in his car and run off with them at the first sign of trouble. Moroni had to protect the plates, find time to “write” in them, and he did all of this on top of his grief. He fulfilled his prophetic role while simultaneously doing everything that was needed to simply survive.

The Lord doesn’t choose to give work according to what’s convenient. It’s simple enough for him to enable us throughout our circumstances. Rather, He gives us work that we need.

Though Moroni did not feel like a strong writer, and though he had plenty of other things weighing on his mind, I can only imagine how these extra responsibilities turned into a blessing rather than a hindrance. It might not have felt that way at first, but I imagine that this process made his 36 lonely years bearable.

Consider what Moroni had to abridge within the record of the Jaredites. The people completely destroy each other at the end, but there is one prophet left: Ether. Ether was left behind by the rest of the people so that he could witness what had happened and record it. Moroni recorded the last words of Ether:

Ether 15:34 Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God. Amen.

Ether may not have been standing directly in front of him, but here was a deep connection between the two men. Both men knew what it was to watch their people destroy each other unnecessarily. They had watched their people drown in violence rather than heed simple warnings. They had both been left to observe it and record it for future generations.

Obviously, I’m pulling in details that may or may not have happened, but imagine Moroni for a moment. Imagine him trying to be strong, even as he is alone and drowning in grief. I imagine him asking the Lord, “So how do I die then? How long do I remain here and then what is the end? Why am I still here?” And then imagine him finding those last words in the records. “It mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved.”

Moroni knew what it meant to be saved. He knew the Savior. He was a strong and good man. But most of us know what it means to be saved. Most of us know the Savior and are strong and good people. However, how many times have we still needed those reminders in the midst of grief? How many times have we needed those tender mercies regardless of the knowledge that the Lord had already given?

Moroni didn’t want to write. He didn’t think it would necessarily help anyone because he didn’t believe he was a good writer anyway. He had other things on his mind, and yet, I can’t help but wonder if the writing saved him time and again as he was given opportunities to reflect on the Lord. I wonder if the responsibility to write and abridge records is what gave him the strength he needed to finish his work on the earth.

The sacrament

As I mentioned already, Moroni was a prophet to himself. He didn’t have a church to lead, but he still had the authority to perform ordinances even if they were just for himself. If he followed the pattern of weekly sacrament meetings, then Moroni took the sacrament alone approximately 1,872 times. Perhaps it wasn’t weekly, but we know that the church was the same in ancient times as it is now. Moroni took the sacrament often enough to renew his covenants.

The responsibility to write and abridge blessed him, but I also wonder if these regular ordinances strengthened him.

Every week, he was reminded of the Lord’s atonement. The Lord’s atonement is so broad and infinite, and yet, it was also individual and specific. The Lord knew Moroni’s loneliness. He knew Moroni’s fear. He knew what it was to lose a father, to lose your entire people to violence. Each week, or at least regularly, Moroni was given an opportunity to remember that he wasn’t truly alone. Regularly, Moroni was given an opportunity to remember that the deepest tragedies can be healed by the Savior. He was given opportunities to remember that he would be reunited with his father as well as other believing Saints. He would be given an opportunity to connect with Ether the prophet who so poignantly understood his pain.

The same goes for us.

Oftentimes, I believe that Satan likes to compound our mortal miseries with making the church feel like a burden. He likes to whisper in our ears that we’re too depressed, weary, lonely, and anxious to go and partake in regular worshiping activities. I know he’s whispered those things in my ear. Satan has most definitely tricked me into believing that life was too heavy, and he has definitely whispered that I didn’t need to participate every single time.

And to an extent, he’s right. He does love to give partial truths. Missing the sacrament one week doesn’t have to knock your entire eternal life off balance.

However, the real problem with his whisperings is the idea that these worship activities are burdens. The times in my life where worshiping has felt like a burden almost always point back to the fact that I’m “worshiping” wrong. I’m going through the motions. I’m fulfilling church duties. I’m doing it because I’m supposed to.

In other words, I’m not even truly worshiping; I didn’t make it about the Savior at all! The times that I have felt like “worshiping” is a burden are the times that I have taken the Savior out of the entire equation. When I actually keep the Savior in the ordinance or worship activity, they are always a blessing. When I actually remember Him, I remember all He has given and all He continues to give. I remember what He sacrificed and felt on my behalf. I remember the opportunities He has provided me with to become like Him. I remember that I’m not alone in my grief, and I remember that He has the capacity to provide happy endings.

So go to church. Take the sacrament. Go to the temple. Wear your garments. Read your scriptures. Speak to Him and listen for Him. And more importantly than anything else, include Him. If you truly include Him in those activities, you will find the same blessings Moroni felt in the midst of his grief, uncertainty, and loneliness.

I know these things to be true.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

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by Autumn Dickson

For the chapters this week, we go back and forth a bit between Moroni speaking directly and his abridgment of the Jaredite record. Whenever Moroni is directly speaking (and this is true of the chapters that we read in Mormon as well), we find that Moroni is really concerned about his weakness in writing. He talks about it plenty in Mormon, and he brings it up again during these chapters in Ether. He did not believe himself to be a strong writer, and this was probably exacerbated by the fact that he was simultaneously dealing with a myriad of personal problems.

But it’s beautiful that Moroni was meek and open about his weakness. Because he chose to be vulnerable and talk to the Lord about it, the Lord was able to teach all of us specific principles about weaknesses and their place in the Plan of Salvation.

Ether 12:27 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.

The Lord taught us that He gave weakness to us, and then the Lord taught us that He can make weak things strong.

He gave us weakness

There is a phrase in verse 27 that’s super important. The Lord proclaims that He gave weakness to us. It’s important to understand that weakness can stem from a lot of places. For example, when we fall into temptation and sin, we carve out a weakness that can last for a long time afterwards. Not all weakness is given directly by the Lord, but He does clearly teach us that giving weakness is something He does.

This is significant. Not only does the Lord allow for weakness and take care of weakness through His atoning sacrifice, but He also gave weakness. We often look down on weakness, especially in ourselves. We resent our own weaknesses for inhibiting us from truly being able to serve the Lord.

But here this verse is teaching us that the Lord gave it to us. Like a gift. How does this change how you view your weakness?

This didn’t necessarily make sense to me as a teenager. If the Lord is trying to make us like Him, wouldn’t He give us strengths when we ask for them? I feel like I’m still trying to fully wrap my head around the concept, but I believe that the only way for us to truly develop specific Christlike characteristics is to have to earn them the hard way. Let me give an example.

If I were looking to develop more compassion, I could pray for it. It would be easy for the Lord to just “give” me extra compassion, and I believe that sometimes He does that. Perhaps I need compassion for someone in my ward that I don’t get along with. Let’s say the Lord chooses to bless me with that temporary compassion, my eyes are opened to the reality of this ward member, and I’m changed because of the experience and feel a desire to show more compassion in the future. Sometimes, the Lord gives us strengths.

But sometimes, when we pray for something like compassion, He answers us by giving weaknesses. The Lord loves to support us and teach us and give us what we need to develop into a Being like Him. Part of developing into what He is will require us gaining the experiences we need to be compassionate without His constant, direct interference. To stick with our same example, He wants us to learn to be innately compassionate and not just lean on His compassion. When the Lord opens our eyes and gives us some of His compassion, it can be very powerful. It can be just as powerful when He answers that plea with weakness.

Sometimes I get depressed, and there have definitely been a million times in my life when I’ve resented it for being a stumbling block when I’ve been trying to do what the Lord wants. It makes it harder to feel connected to my husband, and I get testy with him. It makes it harder for me to engage with my kids when I want to hide in a closet. It makes it harder to find messages in the scriptures and teach because my own mind is my stumbling block.

I can’t say for sure whether this is one of those weaknesses that Heavenly Father gave me, but whether or not He directly gave it to me, He definitely allowed for it.

It is very easy to see how it’s a weakness. I can name a million times that it interfered with who I wanted to be. On the flip side, it’s taught me things that I couldn’t have learned in any other way. It’s given me opportunities to develop characteristics that will serve me well as I engage in the same work that He is engaged in.

I have had moments where He has given me something beyond myself, and it has blessed and taught me something. I’ve also had plenty of significant moments where He answered my pleas with weaknesses that pushed me to develop in ways I could not have developed in any other way. Because of those weaknesses, I have benefited in ways I couldn’t have benefited otherwise.

Weak things strong

The Lord gave us weakness, but He also promised to make weak things become strong unto us. I think there are a million different ways He can answer this promise. Let’s talk about three specific ones.

I used to believe it only meant that He would give me strength beyond my own to overcome the obstacle. To put it in more concrete terms, I believed that it meant He would take the difficulty out of it. I would be given a moment of time in which I operated off His goodness, rather than my own. As we’ve discussed previously, He does this sometimes depending on what we need.

I was depressed last year as I headed off to FSY to teach. I remember sitting in some of the meetings and wondering how on earth I was going to get through it all because I felt so numb. How was I supposed to bring the Spirit when I couldn’t feel it? How was I supposed to help these kids feel valued when I was so dissociated that nothing felt valuable to me? However, with each class I taught, I watched as He lifted me out of those numb feelings, helped me engage while I needed to, and then removed that extra support as my classes would end. Sometimes, the Lord fulfills our promise to strengthen our weaknesses in the most obvious way.

But other times, He makes our weaknesses strong in more subtle ways. We can turn to Moroni to find a solid example of another way that the Lord fulfills His promise to make weak things strong. Moroni is praying to the Lord about his weakness in writing.

Ether 12:25-26

25 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.

26 And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;

Moroni was worried that us Gentiles would mock and twist his words. This obviously happens plenty in our day. We see it all the time. People love taking phrases or verses out of The Book of Mormon and twisting those words into something they’re not.

I don’t write canonized scripture, but I do write messages about Jesus Christ. I write messages, and I put them on the internet where they are permanently available. I’ve looked over past messages I’ve written, and I’ve realized that there was so much that I didn’t understand yet. I’ve looked over past messages and found everything from silly errors about timelines to messages that could be interpreted too far in one direction and be considered completely false doctrine.

I have been weak. I am weak, and I will continue to be weak.

And while that weakness is embarrassing and painful sometimes, I have also been strengthened by it. Having my personal messages out there permanently in the ether have made me overwhelmingly aware of those weaknesses, but they have also made me far more meek than I used to be. These specific weaknesses have helped me understand and love the prophets. It has helped me understand that their words hold truth but can also be widely applied depending on circumstances. It has helped me understand that they’re trying to reach many different kinds of audiences with different needs. It has helped me understand that making an error doesn’t mean they don’t know Christ. And because I am more meek than I used to be, I gain so much more from their words.

In this way, the Lord didn’t directly strengthen my weakness in writing. He utilized my weakness to develop my meekness. He gave me weakness, I became more meek, and this is a strength.

Yet another way He turns our weaknesses into strengths is also more subtle. My husband, Conner, has a unique and strong personality. He’s gifted, like incredibly gifted. He’s the most brilliant man I know; we’re talking autism-genius scale. It’s a good thing he doesn’t listen to these, or he would kill me for saying so.

Anyway, I have watched people look at Conner and misunderstand him. They have wondered why he won’t just let go of things or why he can’t let things lie or why he can’t be silent about things that bother him. They see him grip tightly to things that complicate his life, and they think he’s crazy for it. Because I have a front row seat, I see it a little differently.

Some of his stronger characteristics have definitely caused him problems in his life. They have made certain aspects of his life more difficult than they needed to be. But in the same breath, I have seen those same strong characteristics be the making of him. I have seen very specific examples where his strong characteristics have enabled him to complete the unique work that he was given to do while he’s here on earth. He would not have been able to fulfill his promises otherwise.

The Lord knew that some of these characteristics would bring weakness into his life, but the Lord was also wise enough to know that these characteristics were necessary to make him strong enough to fulfill his mission. That doesn’t mean we can’t work on the weaknesses portion of our characteristics, but sometimes it helps to recognize that some of our supposed weaknesses are also the very strengths we desperately need.

In a simpler example, I once had a friend who complained about how she hated being so sensitive. Being sensitive had definitely caused her problems in her interactions with others; it caused her plenty of heartache that she might not have otherwise experienced. However, she was also one of my most trusted friends during a time of dark confusion. She was able to be that trusted friend because she was sensitive enough to recognize the situation more clearly, and she was delicate enough in how she approached me about it.

Weakness can be painful, but it can also be ironically powerful. The Lord is wise enough and loving enough to give it to us. He is also powerful enough and loving enough to not allow any weakness permanently interfere with our ability to become like Him in time. Rather, He is powerful enough and loving enough to utilize those very weaknesses to exponentially increase our progress towards becoming like Him.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ether 12–15 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Autumn Dickson

In the chapters of Ether this week, we watch kingdoms rise and fall with few details. There were plenty of general patterns of righteousness and wickedness, and we likely missed a great many details in the abridged version. On the flip side, there were certain stories that Moroni chose to include. Recognizing which stories and details he prioritized can help us understand the gravity of certain principles.

In one of the stories that included more of the detail, we read about a girl who wanted her father to be happy again. Of all the stories that Moroni likely could have chosen from, he wanted our day to read about a critical juncture in the history of the Jaredites where secret combinations were reintroduced among the people. Considering the ability of these secret combinations to destroy entire nations, it’s no wonder that Moroni would want to include this story.

When we zoom out from some of the included details, we can find parallels in our day of which we can choose to be wary and cautious.

Details surrounding the daughter of Jared

Let’s cover the story of the daughter of Jared (not to be confused with the brother of Jared we covered in the last video) in a manner that can allow us to draw out these parallels. It all begins with the daughter noticing the unhappiness of her father.

Ether 8:7-8

7 And now Jared became exceedingly sorrowful because of the loss of the kingdom, for he had set his heart upon the kingdom and upon the glory of the world.

8 Now the daughter of Jared being exceedingly expert, and seeing the sorrows of her father, thought to devise a plan whereby she could redeem the kingdom unto her father.

Her plan included reintroducing secret combinations through a man named Akish. She would marry him in exchange for Akish killing her grandfather, Omer, and putting Jared back on the throne.

For all the tragedy that occurs in this specific story as well as its repercussions, it seems like a small enough beginning. We don’t know everything about this daughter. We don’t know how much she was motivated because she wanted to be the daughter of a king again. We don’t know the exact manner in which she was raised. Was she truly just trying to make her father happy or did she value the same things he did because that was the environment she had been given? Did she understand the consequences of what she was bringing into the world she lived in? Maybe she didn’t care about certain consequences, but if she had been allowed to observe that last battle of her people, would she have reconsidered putting it into the heart of her father?

It starts in the heart

Great wickedness doesn’t start out as great wickedness. It starts out as problems in the heart. These grow and develop. They can lead to actions that can tip the scales of tragedy in an entire nation or even just in our own lives.

I believe in the power of righteous disciples of Christ, but I also recognize the fact that our individual decisions to reject the idea of secret combinations (or any other tempting crossroads) may or may not have an effect on whether they take hold in the countries where we live. So let’s take a second and simply look at the daughter of Jared and what these secret combinations brought about in her own life.

Her father desired power, and she wanted to give that to him. She danced before Akish and achieved her wishes. Akish brought about secret combinations and delivered the kingdom to her father. Akish then swiftly turned on his father-in-law by the same means he had utilized to uphold his father-in-law. It’s ironic, but this daughter lost her father because of what she brought into his life to make him happy.

And the story doesn’t get better from there. Her father was killed by the husband she had sought out to kill her grandfather. Then her husband starved her son to death, before the rest of her sons went to war against their father. This war killed everyone except 30 souls who fled to Omer. Omer was once again placed on the throne. More patterns of wickedness and secret combinations follow after this specific timeline, but even when we isolate this specific story, we find the patterns of eternity.

The daughter of Jared swung the door of destruction on a very tiny hinge. It wreaked havoc in her own life, among her people, and for generations afterwards.

A crossroads

Recently I came to a bit of a crossroads myself. I made some mistakes this past week that I won’t go into detail about. I’ll simply teach what I learned from the experience.

After these mistakes, I recognized that I wasn’t really experiencing consequences. It wasn’t hurting my life. It wasn’t hurting anyone around me. I knew what I had done was wrong, and yet, it’s difficult to flip around and do what’s right when the negative consequences haven’t sunk in. Luckily, I’m old enough now to recognize the tiny hinge. I was at a crossroads. I was not hurting myself yet, at least not to any truly visible degree. But I also fully recognized that continuing on could lead to long-lasting problems that would dramatically affect me and my family.

I knew that I never wanted to get to the point where I was experiencing those consequences. I didn’t want to have to live the rest of my life with consequences. I wanted to make the right choice now before any real harm was done.

So I prayed for help. I prayed for help recognizing what my life could turn into if I gave in and continued down this path because I figured it would motivate me to get it together. I also just prayed for help in general in moving forward. I ended up having one of the most spiritual Sundays I’ve had in a very long time, and I believe it came as a result of how hard I was trying to repent proactively. There were frequent moments throughout the day that I would be surprised by the forcefulness of how strongly I was feeling His love for me.

Great wickedness doesn’t start out as great wickedness. It starts out very small in the heart. In the case of the Jaredite secret combinations, it started out as a man who couldn’t appreciate the fact that he had been given so much after causing so many problems within his own family; I mean consider his context. Jared had put his father into captivity so he could rule. His brothers got mad at him, beat his armies back, spared his life, and even allowed him to get his own house. It also started in the heart of a daughter who wanted to help her father gain his power back rather than recognizing what that road held in store for her.

Recognizing the hinge

I have observed that the hinges we usually start out with happen in relation to the words of the prophets.

Oftentimes, we sacrifice obedience to the words of the prophets because we do what we want and find that we aren’t experiencing any consequences. It’s natural for humans to act and observe what the actions bring them before adjusting their next actions accordingly. We do this as children, and oftentimes, we do it as adults. We think, “Hey I did this even though the prophet said not to, and I still feel really good. I still feel close to God, and I still feel my testimony. I still believe in the church so Heavenly Father must be fine with me doing this. I can handle it.”

In some cases, this may be true. The nature of prophetic warnings is to provide a fence between you and a cliff. Climbing over the fence and taking a couple steps towards a cliff doesn’t mean you’re going to immediately free fall over the side. You may climb that fence and still feel your testimony. You may live your whole life playing on the land between the fence and the cliff and never fall off. You may entertain your pride, just as the daughter of Jared did with her father, and you may never bring about the destruction of a nation or the destruction of your family.

But one of the things I have learned from delving deeply into Come Follow Me each week is that you are missing out when you ignore the words of the prophets, no matter how small or silly or unnecessary or outdated you may believe they are. You are missing out on privileges that were meant to be your’s.

Life is not just about avoiding hell; it’s about experiencing heaven.

There are aspects of heaven that you miss out on when you ignore the prophets. These small hinges may not bring about devastating destruction, but they can still close doors to blessings that you didn’t even know were available to you.

I testify that these small hinges wield great power. Not only do they protect you from the possibility of specific tragedies you would not otherwise have to experience, but they catapult you further towards privileges. You have a Lord who is willing to reveal all things to you, just as He has to His prophets. He is simply waiting for you to be ready, and whether we like it or not, a huge portion of that readiness is developed by being mature enough to recognize the hinges and act before experiencing consequences. A huge portion of that readiness to receive is developed when you have the faith to utilize those hinges instead of doing what you want with them because they are not destroying your life as they did with the daughter of Jared.

I testify of a Heavenly Father who has far more to offer than the cliff, or even just that little spot of land where you can look at the cliff. I testify of a Heavenly Father who works through His prophets, who promised us to work through prophets. I testify of a Heavenly Father who rewards faith in the smallest principles by bringing huge miracles. He wants us to trust Him in everything, and He offers so much in return.

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ether 6–11 – Autumn Dickson appeared first on FAIR.

by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.)

Class Notes

[The below is additional content not included in Mike Parker’s original lesson]

Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children.

The post Come, Follow Me with FAIR – Ether 1–3, 6–11, 13–15 – Mike Parker appeared first on FAIR.