Talk

(This is a talk I gave in church this summer.)

I want to talk about how the Book of Mormon has changed my life.

More specifically, how the Book of Mormon has changed my life in the last 3 months.

I first read the Book of Mormon as a 9th grader. It was the Book of Mormon year in seminary and I was very diligent with my scripture reading. When I finished, I prayed to know if it was true or not. And I got this feeling that said, “You know it’s true Mindy. Why do you even have to ask?” I knew it was true. I’m so glad I got that confirmation at such a young age. It has helped guide and influence my life. It’s changed my life.

I’ve read the Book of Mormon a few more times. A couple before my mission, and then quite a few times on my mission. It was so simple to study the scriptures as a missionary. It was easy to apply it to my life and to my investigators. I fell in love with the stories and made goals to keep reading and studying when I got home. I would NOT be one of those missionaries who got “too busy” to study.

But then I got too busy to study. School, work, dating, friends, sleep. It all got in the way. I tried off and on to study my scriptures and set a time to do so. But I couldn’t wake up early; I was already getting up so early for school and work! And I couldn’t do it at night because I was so exhausted. I even tried to do it during my lunch break for a while, until my co-workers were so fun to talk to. Excuses and justifications made it okay. My scripture reading was sporatic for days, weeks, months, and then years.

And that’s where I was at 3 months ago. I sat there listening to General Conference and felt guilty for not reading my scriptures or making a plan to change.

Then I saw something online outlining a Book of Mormon reading schedules that would start April 7th to June 30th. I said, “Why not?” and started reading that day.

I made a few goals to go along with this challenge. #1 would be that I would stay on schedule. I knew that I would miss a few days here and there because I knew myself. But I told myself I would catch up so that by the end of the week I would always be right on target. And my #2 goal was to apply the scriptures to my life.

Like I said, it was simple to apply them to my life while I was a missionary. So I wanted to really try to apply it to my life now, as a single, working adult with really lame problems. At least I think they’re lame. But luckily, God loves me and he really helps me.

With that, I want to share a few experiences and scriptures that have greatly helped me these last 3 months.

First relates to the temple.

Mosiah 2:6 And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple,that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them;

I love this visual. The symbolism is so vivid how these people pitched their tents with their doors towards the temple. A temple centered people.

Temple attendance was one of my new year’s goals that I made this year. I want to go at least once a month this year. Of course, three months ago, when I started this reading and read this chapter, my recommend has expired because I had become too busy to make the appointments to renew it.

I made an appointment with my bishop for the sunday after our stake conference meeting. I mention stake conference because my roommate was working and it would have been really tempting to not go that day. But I’m so glad that I did.

The talks at stake conference were about family history work and temple work. It wasn’t hard to see just what the Lord needed me to learn that week. What really hit me though, was when the temple president for the JRTemple got up to speak and told us to ask our bishops about becoming a temple worker if we could.

I had NO IDEA you could ASK to do that! Before I even knew it, I asked the bishop at my interview if that could be something I could do. We filled out the paper work, and a few weeks later I was called. I get to start as a temple worker at the SLC temple in August. I’m so grateful and SO excited for this new calling in my life.

The next experience I want to share is about temporal things.

I first want to share this scripture.

"Mormon 5: 23  Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll?"

It helps remind me that I am in the hands of god. I’ve always been so happy about that, because I feel like, if left on my own, I would make a lot of crazy choices and mistakes.

One more temporal thing I had on my mind was whether or not to move. It was one of the questions I had pondered about when listening to general conference. But I felt like I never got a really great answer. I continued to pray about it.

One day I talked about it with my roommate. Our contract would be up soon and I wanted to know what she thought. If we should extend the contract, try to find somewhere else to live, or become homeless. We talked it over and at the end of the conversation we had just deicded to stay put where we were. I felt okay about it.  

I thought of this scripture:

"Mosiah 2:41  And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it."

I knew that God always helps me know when I’ve made a wrong decision. And apparently I did make the wrong decision. Because that same night, not but 2 hours after our conversation, my friend Lynsie texted me and asked, “Are you by chance looking for a place to live?”

It was WAY too coincidental to ever think it was actually a coincidence. I know that God was answering my prayers. That week we talked about it, looked at the house, felt really good about it, and by friday were packing our house to move in just under 3 weeks. It all came together so fast. I’m so grateful the Lord blesses us. And I know he blessed us because I was reading my scriptures.

I think more than anything, reading my scriptures has helped me be more sensitive to the spirit.

3 Nephi 22:"13  And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children."

I find so much peace from the teachings of the Lord. The week I was reading in Nephi 9 about the plan of salvation was the week of Easter. And it really helped me have one of the best Easters of my life.

2Nephi 9:13- "O how great the plan of our God!"

This is what I wrote in my journal about Easter this year-

This last week, It was Easter. Each day this week in addition to reading the Book of Mormon, I tried to read a conference talk that would go along with each event in the Holy Week. Palm Sunday, the sacrament, the great atonement, the crucifixion, and resurrection.

Saturday night I was cancelled for work. It was an Easter Miracle. I was able to sleep that night and wake up at 7am and go on a walk. I listened to a talk by our Prophet, called "He is Risen." It was amazing. I sat and looked out over a park and just had this overwhelming feeling of love and peace and purpose. I am so grateful for the Atonement and for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered for my sins so that I can return to live with my Heavenly Father. He loves me. He loves the world. He gave his life for me. And he broke the bands of death that bound everyone, to make it possible for us to live again. It truly is a miracle and something so amazing. I can hardly put in to words how I feel.

My heart was so full that Easter Sunday. I went to church and sang in the choir, songs of Christ and grattiude and praise. It was lovely to sing my testimony. I always love to. But it was extra special that day. I listened to the great words and pondered the love Christ has for everyone. I teared up in church. Doesn't happen often, but I did.

My heart was truly full. And I know it's because I have been reading my scriptures regularly. I know it.

It's such a blessing to have better understanding of the gospel.

I love this feeling. And I can't wait until I have read for 3 and 4 and 5 weeks and 6 months and a year and my life. That's what I want.

Because I became more sensitive to the spirit, I had a few experiences where I got to be a tool in God’s hand to help his children. I was in the right places at the right times.

"Mosiah 5:13  For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?"

Ether 4:11 But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.

1 Nephi 4:6- I was led by the spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.

This first experience is a little strange. But the more I’ve pondered it, the more I just KNOW that it was God’s will.

It’s a strange experience because it started out with me just being bored and home alone one Wednesday afternoon. I didn’t know what to do with myself because all my roomies were gone. I thought about my options and decided to go to seven peaks. That, in itself, is not strange. I love swimming and love water parks, mostly because I was a lifeguard all through high school and college and I like to be a creeper and watch the lifeguards and critique them. The weird thing was going by myself. It’s super weird to go to a water park by yourself. But I packed up, drove over, and before I knew it I was walking around all alone, just soaking in the sun.

I swam in a few of the pools and decided just to walk around a bit and scope out the kiddie areas so I knew where to bring my nephews when they came with me. I decided to take my awkwardness to a new level and actually get into the kiddie pool and just sit for a while. I felt weird. But it was fun. As I was exiting the pool, for some strange reason I really can’t explain, I turned to look back at one particular area of the swimming pool and there, with her eyes wide and head under water, was a little girl, clearly drowning.

Before I even knew it, I jumped over a wall, swam to her, and scooped her up in my arms. She coughed and cried and I found her dad, handed her over, and then walked out of the pool.

It was just too coincidental. I thought about that experience over and over again the next few days and it’s become a very special thing to me. I couldn’t stop thinking About how I was the one person that was at the right place at the right time with the right knowledge to save her. I don't know what would have happened had I not been there. I honestly don't know if another adult would have walked by. I don't know if the lifeguard would have seen her soon enough because she was at the other end of the pool in the water. But something told me to look back and I saw her.

From my journal:

I feel like I was an instrument in God's hands that day. From deciding to randomly go to a water park by myself for just an hour or two. From deciding to be weird and walk through the kiddie area by myself. To me looking back at the pool for some reason. It's all just so coincidental. I know and feel that it's not a coincidence.

I am so happy with my life lately. I feel closer to the spirit than I have been in a long time. I'm praying, I'm going to church, I'm going to the temple, I'm reading and loving reading my scriptures. I'm finding personal insights. If all this means that God knew that he could use me to save a life of one of his daughters, then I am honored. I'm so grateful that he trusted me enough to give me such an important task that day. Because the more I ponder on this experience, the more I realize that it couldn't be just a chance happening. It was meant to be.

Another experience of being at the right place at the right time happened just this week.

I thought a lot about our lesson we had in relief society about family history work that we had last sunday and decided on Tuesday morning to go to the temple. I planned to do initiatories. I took out my family names and tried to pick out which ones to do.

I’m not sure if any of you feel this immense pressure when picking which names to do when you go through the temple, but I always do. It’s like I’m picking and choosing who to save that day. Always makes me stressed out. So I decided to pick a few names that were sisters. I found a group of 4 sisters to do and got excited, but realized that all but one had been baptised. One sister was not yet a member! So I let that stress help me decide to do baptisms, confirmations, AND inititories that day.

I’m so glad I did. The spirit I felt was overwhelming. But while I was sitting at the font, ready to be baptized, the sister in front of me had a few names she was doing for someone in her ward, and they were in a weird symbolly language. I got really nosey and stood up to look at the cards, and sure enough, they were in Korean. And I speak Korean! So I helped them pronounce the names as they were doing the work for them. I felt like God was making sure that those Korean sisters were thought of and important. It was truly special.

Guys, the Book of Mormon changed my life these last 3 months. I was able to finish it this morning and just say a prayer of gratitude for just how applicable the teachings have been to my life now.

I truly know what Pres Hinkley said is true.

President Hinkley in 2005,

Without reservation I promise you that if each of you will [read the Book of Mormon], regardless of how many times you previously may have read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.

I know that the Book of Mormon is truly for our day.

President Ezra Taft Benson declared in a general conference, “The Book of Mormon … was written for our day. The Nephites never had the book; neither did the Lamanites of ancient times. It was meant for us.”

President Hinckley said- “In its descriptions of the problems of today’s society, [the Book of Mormon] is as current as the morning newspaper, and much more definitive,”

Mormon 8:35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.

I don’t claim to be “cured” of all of my excuses to not read the scriptures. I am not perfect

at applying the lessons. But I’ve tried and I’ve seen amazing things.

It is my hope that we will all read the scriptures and try to find ways they can apply to our  lives today. Whether that life be in school, work, unemployment, sadness, happiness, singleness, darkness, or bright light. The Book of Mormon is for us.