I picked up a CD by John Bytheway titled "7 Scriptures That Will Rock Your World" and listened to it on my way up to Calgary this morning. It was very good and got me thinking about a few things. While I recommend the talk to anyone, I don't want to give a feeble summary here. Let's face it, I'm no John Bytheway. Instead, I thought I'd talk about a few scriptures which have really impacted me in my life. I know from experience when people talk about their favorite scriptures, it doesn't always hit the listener the same way it does to the person sharing. That's fine, often the same verse(s) of scripture will often have a different impact on us at different times in our lives depending on our current circumstances and that is part of the beauty of the scriptures; they reach us when we need it most. Kind of like "spiritual Motrin"... The scriptures target your needs the same way geeks target a Star Trek convention.
I'm not going to rank these to say one is more a favorite than the others or had more an impact, and there's a good chance I will have to stretch this out over several posts to get them in. Here goes...
The first one is in 1 Nephi 21:14-16 (also in Isaiah 49).
I had missed this one for quite a while because it was tucked away in the "Isaiah chapters" of 1 and 2 Nephi. I don't recall exactly what was happening when this scripture "rocked my world", but I was in high school and was feeling down about something. Everything in high school seems to get blown out of proportion and feels like the end of the world. I remember reading this (must've been senior year because that's the year we were covering the Book of Mormon in seminary) and it made me slow down to think.
Back before the days of the Palm Pilot or smartphones, when I needed to remember something I usually wrote a note on my hand; school assignments, girls' phone numbers (well, that's where I would've written them if I ever got any), scheduling items, etc. That's when the light went on for me. This is what Christ was saying here, "I'm never going to forget you because you've been 'graven ... upon the palms of my hands', I always have a reminder of you." He didn't use a pen, but instead the nails which pierced his hands, wrists, and feet. The marks in his hands which he invites all to come and feel for themselves (3 Nephi 11:14-15) as a witness of his divinity serve as a reminder of us.
It came as a comfort, as well as a gentle "suck it up" moment, to realize that no matter how bad things were (or how bad I thought they were), I was not alone and the Lord was very much aware of me. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught, "Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion, Christ is not going to turn his back on us now" ("Come Unto Me", BYU Devotional, 2 March 1997).
I'm not going to rank these to say one is more a favorite than the others or had more an impact, and there's a good chance I will have to stretch this out over several posts to get them in. Here goes...
The first one is in 1 Nephi 21:14-16 (also in Isaiah 49).
"But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.
"For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.
"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."
I had missed this one for quite a while because it was tucked away in the "Isaiah chapters" of 1 and 2 Nephi. I don't recall exactly what was happening when this scripture "rocked my world", but I was in high school and was feeling down about something. Everything in high school seems to get blown out of proportion and feels like the end of the world. I remember reading this (must've been senior year because that's the year we were covering the Book of Mormon in seminary) and it made me slow down to think.
Back before the days of the Palm Pilot or smartphones, when I needed to remember something I usually wrote a note on my hand; school assignments, girls' phone numbers (well, that's where I would've written them if I ever got any), scheduling items, etc. That's when the light went on for me. This is what Christ was saying here, "I'm never going to forget you because you've been 'graven ... upon the palms of my hands', I always have a reminder of you." He didn't use a pen, but instead the nails which pierced his hands, wrists, and feet. The marks in his hands which he invites all to come and feel for themselves (3 Nephi 11:14-15) as a witness of his divinity serve as a reminder of us.
It came as a comfort, as well as a gentle "suck it up" moment, to realize that no matter how bad things were (or how bad I thought they were), I was not alone and the Lord was very much aware of me. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught, "Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion, Christ is not going to turn his back on us now" ("Come Unto Me", BYU Devotional, 2 March 1997).
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