Church is for Learning

so i went to church today. there was something there that bothered me...other than forgetting to brush my teeth...but that's another story...and i don't think it was intended as it sounded. plus, that's that the kind of thing you're supposed to take away from church anyway. so i'm not going to worry about it.

i wanted to just say what i liked about going to church today.

in sunday school today, the lesson was about Saul in the old testament. the part i remember was in 1Sam13. so you don't have to look it up, that's when Saul, who's the king, was to wait for Samuel to come back to make a burnt offering and peace offering before going into war. Samuel wasn't back by the appointed time, so Saul went ahead and made the offering himself. he didn't have the priesthood authority nor the calling to do that but that's not the point i learned. i learned this:


one of the HARDEST things to do in the gospel is to hold out to the end. to wait actively for the appointed timing of the Lord.

the ironic thing is that as soon as the offering was made, Samuel showed up. it seems to always happen like that. right when you do something that you shouldn't have is right when your personal Samuel shows up. think of how bad he must have felt for not waiting another 20 minutes! he must have felt like a faithless wimpy little man.

and then i was reminded of Nephi.no, not the one who was large in stature, but the one in 3Ne1. he was the one, so you also don't have to look this one up, who waited it out and stayed faithful. there were signs prophesied by Samuel the Lamanite (ha. another Samuel) that were said to show the Savior's birth in Jerusalem. the non- believers set a date that if the signs didn't come, they'd kill all the believers. there were people who gave up. they renounced their beliefs and their faith. not Nephi though. he waited. actively. through prayer, and teaching too i assume. it was the day before and he was still going to wait it out. and you know what? the sign did come. just like it was prophesied.

i'm sure the people who gave up that afternoon felt real stupid when the sun went down and it wasn't dark.

the point is, when God or one of his prophets says something, it's right. it's going to happen. you may not believe it or may not understand it, but it's real. it can be said on a smaller scale too. we may not be threatened to be killed or have the philistines gathering, but we might be threatened with the disapproval of some of our "friends." it might look like the odds are stacked against us if we don't give in. the truth is though, the odds of us getting where we want to be is not too good if we do give in.

stay strong my friends. wait it out. be like Nephi. it's the true way.