Lesson for April 19, 2015

Lesson for April 19, 2015 Our lesson today was given by Megan Miller on “The Power of the Word.” 1 Nephi 18:19-28 19 And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood. 20 And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world. 21 And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood. 22 And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree. 23 And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost. 24 And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree. 25 And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed. 26 And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth. 27 And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit. 28 And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost. 29 And now I, Nephi, do not speak all the words of my father. How does this vision apply to us? Madeline Campbell said that sometimes people mock us because we go to church or other things. Kristine Hansen said that there are many kinds of mists of darkness and sometimes we say we will let go of the rod of iron for a little time, but we become lost. She has a sister-in-law who used to be one who holds on the rod and is now in the great and spacious building. Sister Cook said she has a granddaughter who was one of the mockers, but she is now being rebaptized, because she found out that she was missing out. Megan said we all go through times when we are in one part of the vision or the other. What can we do to stay out of the group who partakes of the fruit and then falls away? Amy Young said none of us are immune. It depends on what we do on a daily basis, such as prayer and scripture study and a Christ-centered testimony.. Without them we are susceptible to falling away just like anyone else. Testimonies come to those who say their prayers and study their scriptures and bear their testimonies. The gospel is so simple and we don’t need to make it something complicated. Notice in the vision that those who heeded those who were making fun of them were the ones who fell away. If we don’t have that solid testimony, we may heed those who mock. Heidi said that there are things on the internet against the gospel, but if we have that sweet testimony we can set things aside and cling to what we know—the Savior, the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon—and know that when it is time, we can understand. If we know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ, any doubt or other information we can kneel down and ask Christ about our doubts and worries. We must also understand that we are not perfect and no one in the Church is perfect. Megan’s husband said I don’t know one way or the other about some things, but I have faith enough in the prophet that I will follow the prophet says and what revelation comes from God. The prophet and apostles themselves go to the Lord for guidance, since they don’t know everything. So we know that what comes is from the Lord. 1 Nephi 15:24 it says 24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction. Megan asked us what experiences have you had while reading the scriptures? Sister Cook said that when she first started investigating the church she had been a teacher and she knew that a teenage boy could not possibly know all this. She prayed about it and a quiet, but strong, feeling that has sustained her for 40 years. She knows that her experience in the Church is her responsibility. Sister Campbell said that she had a huge question and felt she should read her scriptures. The answer was not in the scriptures, but she got peace and felt closer to the Spirit and got her answer. Boyd K. Packer said that there is no question that we might have that we can’t answer through the scriptures. Megan said that all of our questions will be answered through our reading our scriptures. Amy Young said to make that goal to read your scriptures every day—at least a little bit.