Who Will Go With Me?

        When I've read in 2 Nephi before I tended to simply read, at best. Deep study and analyzing was kind of overlooked. A lot of Isaiah scriptures are repeated which tends to be more complicated and time consuming. This time however, I promised myself to not let that be the case. I've found so many treasures, and felt my spirituality increase immensely. There is no  wasted effort in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

        The scripture I want to highlight this week is found in 2 Nephi 16:8-11. (Compare to Isaiah 6) "...I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: Here am I; send me." (I connected that with 1 Nephi 3:7) It continues, "And he said: Go and tell this people--Hear ye indeed...Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes--lest they see with their eyes. and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed." Beautiful call to be missionaries. To serve, to teach, to lead.
        "Then said I: Lord, how long? And he said: Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate.." Not a call for 2 years but for forever!

       How beautiful! I cannot read those scriptures without feeling a personal call to become a life long disciple of Jesus Christ. He's not just asking you to complete with a totem pole of callings until you reach salvation. Just because you have been a missionary, relief society president, or even stake president-- that does not mean you have qualified for the kingdom of God. It does not mean you have completed your tasks upon the earth. We are called to be His servants, His mouth piece, until there is no one left upon the earth, and the land is gone.
 
        I'm reminded of a commonly read and recited scripture in D&C 4. The entire chapter is so filling for our spirits, but I want to highlight verses two and three. "Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day. Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work.."

     A common phrase, serve God with your heart, your might, your mind, and strength. These are the description I found while studying and identifying the four individual different parts:
       
    "Heart. The term heart denotes one's character or disposition; it is the governing attitude and feeling of a person. This character or disposition is formed as the individual expresses life in the form of choices. Making choices, in the sense of making commitments, is a function of the heart. The heart constitutes the decision-making center." I add the sincere love for doing the Lords work. To be His disciple happily and gratefully.

    Next, "Mind. The mind is a system of attracting, organizing, and implementing knowledge or information for use by the heart. It is man's capacity to become aware of things as they are, as they have been or as they will be. The mind, as a capacity, is a tool subject to the management and leadership of the heart. Apparently, it is possible for an individual to choose to relinquish the management and leadership of their mind to another personality but it is not possible to transfer the responsibility for the consequences of that choice."

   The two that seemed to intertwined for me were might and strength. What is the difference? How can I make sure I am accomplishing both? Here are the definitions I have found to this point, "Might. Might refers to the resources--both temporal and spiritual, internal and external- -that are legitimately accessible to a person. Might describes all the resources that an individual commands or controls that are at his or her disposal. It includes the moral influences and other forces or materials that are under his or her dominion."   and then strength, "Strength. Strength refers to the physical properties associated with an individual's body that are sources of power. These include generative powers in the form of muscle, bone, and tissue; regenerative powers in the form of bodily systems such as the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, neural, and glandular; and procreative powers, i. e., sexual reproductive powers."
(Definitions found here:https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/DLLS/article/viewFile/31139/29598)

        It through better understanding what the Lord requires, and how to commit myself to Him that I am able to become what He requires of me. I WILL go where the Lord asks me to go. He has already asked us each "Who shall I send" you and I both responded "Here am I send me." Have we followed through with our creator?

       The way to God is clear, Endure to the end. As Moroni instructs, (Moroni 10:32) "Deny yourselves of all ungodliness" By giving Him our hearts, our might, our minds, and our strength, we will be able to become like Him. I love Him.

      The gospel is good, it is true, and it is salvation. It is also joy. Each time I have followed throught with my end of the deal my life becomes better than I could have ever imagined. I have the sense of being whole, happy, and at peace. I want to feel that way always! Now off to accomplish the seemingly impossible!!! (Philippians 4:13)

PS-I had finished Genesis today. It is SO GOOD!!! I encourage you to give it another read!