Atonement

I am so grateful to learn about the atonement. It's a concept I can't fully grasp but I long to gain a testimony of it. I think it's so wonderful that we can live eternally and I thank our Heavenly Father for making that possible through the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ. It should inspire everyone who knows about it to want to live worthy of the atonement. It's a tremendous gift that cannot be taken for granted.

Agency

While studying 2 Nephi 1-8, I noticed a few times agency was mentioned.

2 Ne 2:16 "Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself."

2 Ne 2:26 "...they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not be acted upon..."

2 Ne 2:27 "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh...And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life...or to choose captivity and death..."

This is such a key principle to apply to all things in life. How often are we offended by someone in our daily lives? How is this related to agency?
David A. Bednar gave a great talk about this subject. I was deeply inspired by his message and enlightened. I pondered about this and I prayed that I may make better use of my moral agency in the future. I am responsible for how I react and act, and for how I choose to respond to an offensive situation. I'm looking forward to working on this important gospel principle over the next week. I am uplifted with optimism after learning about these principles in 2 Nephi 2.

Hold Fast Unto The Iron Rod

1 Nephi 15

23 “And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?”

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.”

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 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 16:29

"...by small means the Lord can bring about great things."

What a great message.

Reminds me of sayings like "you don't have to see the whole staircase to take the first step".

I am also reminded of some advice a friend/coworker gave me a few years ago about my slow progress toward a college degree. I felt like it was too big of a task to take on. 

He said simply, "chip away at it." 

That is so motivating! With the college degree, I just have to take a class at a time. 

With scripture study, I just need to do just what my instructor requires which is 30 minutes a day. Little small bits of scripture study that add up to a huge block of study time completed each week. Little acts of kindness, subtle changes we make in ourselves... 

They all add up to becoming more Christ-like.

1 Nephi 3:7

Nephi returned from speaking with the Lord to the tent where his father was. He told his father that he had to go and get the brass plates from the house of Laban, which his genealogy records were engraved upon. He said : I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded" and he knew that the Lord would not tell him to go do something he was not capable of doing.

I love this scripture. In life we all have things we are required to do, and often times we feel like we can't do them. It gives me confidence knowing that my Heavenly Father only asks me to do what I am able. I know that I can do anything He puts in front of me. The question then isn't "what can you do" it's what will you do?