1 Nephi 14

So I'm feeling guilty for not posting in so long. I have read chapter 14 but that's it so I'll at least post what I have. Then I can have a guilt free conscience - on my birthday (you like that hint? ;)
I believe this chapter begins by talking about the Gentiles in a sense of non-believers in general. I meant to ask my other non-writing sister about it but forgot...o well.
The verse that stood out to me was verse 10.
"...Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth."
This verse is very bold and brutally, honestly, blunt. It is the truth for there is no gray. Only black and white, which means if it's not the Lord's church then it's not. Some other religions do have some truths, and the members aren't bad people; in fact I have many wonderful friends who aren't LDS; but think of it this way:
You are making cookies. You have most of the ingredients. In fact you have all of them except sugar. You can still make "cookies" but they will taste horrible. They aren't true cookies because they don't contain all of the ingredients (or truth).
I know, for sure, without a shadow of a doubt, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the one true church. The Holy Ghost has told me - and he cannot lie. My Savior gave me the greatest gift: the Atonement. I can be forgiven and have been forgiven many times for my shortcomings - because I am definitely NOT perfect. I know I lived in heaven before I came to earth and I know I can live in heaven again with my eternal family after I die. I love my Savior. I love His gospel. It brings me sanity, peace, and a sure foundation for strength in every aspect of my life.

1 Nephi 11-15

Sorry that it has been so long. With school starting back up again things have been a little more hectic. Nevertheless, I have still been able to read every now and then. These chapters consist of Lehi's vision of the tree of life, and Nephi's diligent desire to understand, and subsequent visions which he is also able to see. I love these stories, because they not only speak of the truthfulness and coming of the Bible, but of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and even the current Ensigns which we receive monthly. :) Nephi is blessed with the opportunity to see the coming of these books and it is a comfort to know that the Lord's plan is whole, and can lead us in these the later days.

Isn't it wonderful that He has a plan for us? That he knows what is to come, and is constantly preparing a way for His saints to get through the trials? I love that He cares enough for us that He is willing to help us along the way.

Oh, and guess what... I found my first ALWAYS!!!!!! YAY!!!! :D
It is found in 1 Nephi 15:25:
"Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments ALWAYS in all things."

1 Nephi 7-10

I loved reading about faith and thinking about the strength that can come when we apply this verb in out lives. For that is what faith is, not just a regular word, but an action word. It is something that we must apply and continually strive to achieve. This act of being faithful. However when I think about faith I also tend to think about trust. These two go hand in hand, for when we have faith in someone we are trusting them to follow through with their end of the deal. This is a personal struggle for me. I really struggle trusting other people to follow through with their side of things. I know that this is wrong, and it really is something that I am working on. The problem with this struggle is the fact that sometimes it is simply so much easier to try and come up with a solution yourself instead of relying on someone else to help you figure things out. Sometimes I think that this way of thinking could be a good thing, but in others it can be a bit of a fatal flaw. For instance (as a small example) when you are rock climbing you have to trust someone to belay for you. Personally I love going up, however, I really struggle trusting someone to help me get down, and half the time simply climb down the same way I climbed up. I need to learn to have more faith and trust in those that surround me.

Later on while reading 1 Nephi 7:17 Nephi prays to the Lord to give him the strength to break the bands with which his brothers have confined him. This reminded me that we are not meant to simply pray for things; not simple or vauge things but for specific desires and needs. For instance the desire to be freed from bounds, to be forgiven for a specific sin, even for something as simply as growing up to be 5 foot and 4 inches tall. Silly, but the Lord will grant even your silly requests in your prayers.

Reading chapter 8 I was curious as to the transition between the seeds which Lehi's family took with them, and then the sudden transition to that of the seed and generations of his family to come. I completely get the idea of talking about his vision of his family, but why mention the seeds in verse 1? Not quite sure about this yet.

Anyway, I don't really know how to tie all these thoughts and ideas together, but I figures I should still record these thoughts. So there you have it. Pam, if you can explain what that first verse was for, go ahead and try. I certainly don't quite understand it. So I may have to read it again. Night!