Real Life Answers

By Andrea B.

In our country where religiosity is on the decline (Huffington Post), many seem to celebrate ethereal spirituality but scoff at religious organizations, not recognizing that organized religions exist for the sole purpose of improving spirituality. Dismissing structured religion is like saying, “I like being healthy and though sometimes I get sick, hospitals are for other people, not me.” Others nominally belong to churches, but rarely attend. With mystic Eastern philosophies claiming the limelight in pop culture (e.g., the film Batman Begins) it feels socially outdated to claim membership to an organized church. And yet, my spirituality is best executed through my church; God as the perfect teacher has created out of a religious organization the perfect classroom. This is a classroom full of struggling, imperfect students, but each member comes to class seeking to be better. Through imperfect people we execute God’s perfect system of learning.

Howard Gardner—Professor of Education at Harvard—advocates that students have multiple intelligences such as kinesthetics, logic, interpersonal savvy, etc. As such, educational research recommends that teachers vary instruction techniques to fit the needs of all different intelligences. So too does our perfect Father seek to vary his instruction to meet the strengths and learning styles of his children. Nephi explains in the Book of Mormon that “the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3) or, according to their intelligence. He does this by instructing us in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to access truth through myriad ways: we are to teach one-on-one; to share and learn in small classes; to be instructed as a large congregation; and to receive counsel and revelation as a single body tuned in to a conference twice a year. In addition, God asks us to speak directly to him, and to have independent study every day to commune with him by reflecting on revelation he gave long ago. We have activities, baptisms, service experiences, institute, family home evening, and temple nights all in addition to our church meetings, because God wants us to learn. He wants ALL of his students, with all of our different ways of learning about the world, to come to a knowledge of the Savior as the Redeemer of the world. If I tried to gain spirituality in isolation, I would miss out on the many additional avenues to truth that only come when I participate in my organized religion.

God’s perfect classroom provides access to truth for all learners. But the organization of the church goes beyond a teacher-student knowledge transfer; it allows for participants to apply what we learn towards one another, to form what the apostle Paul calls the “Body of Christ”, or rather a group of people that provides complementary efforts to care for one another. This is not possible without a structure to guide this effort. Paul teaches that “there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit . . . But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit . . . For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:4, 11–12). God has given a variety of gifts and talents to all of us; it is only as we all both teach AND learn, both serve AND receive service, that our gifts—or our multiple intelligences—can create the body of Christ, and gain a level of spirituality unknown to those who seek it alone. I am grateful for a Father who knows the learning needs of his children. I am grateful for a congregation in which to learn and then apply the principles of the Atonement. I am grateful for the community of people who help me follow Christ. In short, I am grateful for my membership in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

By Guest Blogger Tiegan Hatch

A scripture I have always kept dear to my heart is 3 Nephi 22:10 which reads, “For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”

I grew up in Utah where the mountains are glorious.  Utah was my comfort zone, my home.  I didn’t know anything or anywhere else.  I decided to move to Boston to attend college which led me to feeling more lost than I have ever felt.  To be honest, I had a hatred towards Boston for the first two years I was there.  I didn’t feel like I belonged or that I was where I was supposed to be.  As I was adjusting to this new place and new life, I turned to the scriptures for help, hoping that I could find comfort and some answers.  Was I really in the right place?  That’s when I stumbled upon this scripture.  The mountains in the scripture automatically turned my mind to Utah.  I looked upon this as my answer.  I might be away from the comfortable Utah mountains and my home, but the Lord is always with me.  His kindness never left my side.  No matter where I am, the Lord is ALWAYS there.  And the peace I felt at the moment I read that scripture confirmed its meaning to me.

I know the Book of Mormon is for our day and that we can relate to any story within it.  This particular verse taught me that I didn’t need Utah, I needed to rely on the Lord.

Many scary decisions come upon us.  We might have to move and journey into the unknown.  But whatever ‘mountain’ or ‘hill’ is removed from us we can rely on one consistent fact.  The Lord’s kindness will come with us wherever we go.

Any place is what you make of it.  Just remember that we can find comfort in uncomfortable places.

I love to read, but I admit that I don’t typically get caught up in the scriptures like I do with a bestselling novel. While I believe God would like me to study the Bible and Book of Mormon with great intensity, I’ve often asked myself, “What’s the point of reading the scriptures?”

I recently found one pretty solid answer. In the book of 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Nephi is delivering a message to his people where he describes what he calls the “doctrine of Christ” – the basics of our religion. This doctrine comprises faith, repentance, baptism, the companionship of the Holy Spirit, and then virtuously enduring until the end of mortal life (after which there are great things to come upon being reunited with God in heaven).

Some of Nephi’s followers were curious what they should be doing after baptism – what could they do to stay on a path that would lead them to eternal life with God? Here is Nephi’s answer:

“Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:3).

So there you have it. The words of Christ will tell us all things we should do. And we can’t know the words of Christ unless we study them, and ponder them, and feast upon them. That’s where the scriptures come in.

We now know that feasting on the words of Christ (the scriptures) will tell us all things we should do, and we know it will help us gain eternal life, but those two things are a little hard to grasp on a day-to-day basis. I’ve turned to some thoughts from modern-day leaders of our church to help me get a closer look at why scripture study is beneficial to us.

One elder called the scriptures “a veritable banquet of insights and divine counsel.” He said, “let us feast at the table often.” So that’s an indication that to receive the benefits of feasting, we have to do it regularly. And then he gives the promise, or the “why”: He says that “if we do [this], the Holy Spirit will fill our lives, helping us to be ‘nourished by the good word of God.’”

So there is one practical reason to study the scriptures. If we do so, we’ll not only have the Holy Spirit with us, but it will fill our lives.

Another leader taught that we feast upon Christ’s words when we desire and obey them. So simply reading scriptures doesn’t count as feasting – we have to desire them, and then take action after we close the book by obeying the words. He says “to feast means more than to taste. To feast means to savor. We savor the scriptures by studying them in a spirit of delightful discovery and faithful obedience. When we feast upon the words of Christ . . . they become an integral part of our nature.”

Finally, feasting upon the words of Christ is one of the best ways for us to learn about Jesus Christ, to become more like Him, to draw near unto Him, and to properly make use of God’s greatest gift to us – the Atonement.

There is no better place than the scriptures to learn about Jesus Christ and the Atonement, for that is where it was all originally documented. We can read and study about the actual events themselves, as well as the accounts of all those who prophesied about Christ, those who lived and served with him, and those who continued to spread the gospel after his death.