Hey! This is the first time I've written on this blog in a long, long time! I decided that it's time for me to finally finish this thing I've been writing. I would like to compile it into some kind of book thingy eventually. It's been at least 6 months, but perhaps longer, since I've written. A lot has happened.
For a long time I had the wrong reference written here. It used to point to Alma 37:11, and that made no sense. It wasn't until I reread the chapter that I saw the verse I actually meant to point at.
This is what the verse says (paraphrased):
Remember, my child, to learn wisdom when you are young. Learn when you are young to keep the commandments of God.
Not only learn to keep the commandments, but learn how to pray. In fact, cry your heart and soul to God, turn to him for all your needs and wants. Wherever you go, make sure you go there for God. And not only that - but also let all of your thoughts be directed to God. And even beyond that, let the affections of your heart be given to God always.
Counsel with the Lord in everything you do, and he will direct you in the best path that you should go. Not only that, but also when you lie down at night, make sure you lie down to God, that he can watch over you in your sleep. When you rise up in the morning let your heart be full of thanks to God. If you do these things, you will be lifted up in the end.
I'm playing this medieval RPG game these days. Everybody all the time says things like, "Praise be to Jesus Christ," and, "God be with you." You know, casual greetings. They took this kind of counsel quite literally in the 1400's.
Needless to say, today... not so much.
I've read the Book of Mormon several times.
Tangent:
Here's my scripture read-through count:
Old Testament (in total): 1x
New Testament: 2x
D&C and Pearl of Great Price: 1x
Book of Mormon: 7x
(once as a 14 year old, that time when I finished it on the beach, once in seminary, once with Danny, once when the prophet asked us to read it, once in Czech, and now)
/tangent
I guess on the last read through I misread this verse. I thought it was talking about afflictions, but really it was talking about affections.
But you know what - affect, like affection, is also all about feeling. Afflictions tend to involve strong emotions going in the opposite direction. I know that I originally misread this, but the truth is that in order to actually be afflicted by something, the first step is, well, caring about it. Hard to torment and torture the apathetic.
I guess it's hard for me to relate to apathy in general. It's quite a foreign sentiment to me.
The exact words of the verse are, "let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever." To me this sounds as though the Lord were some kind of altar. You can approach him with your feelings and metaphorically "place" them on him. When nobody else knows (or cares) about what you've been through, the Lord - meaning, Jesus Christ - does. He must, because he took upon himself both the sins and the pains of all humanity everywhere. He's the reason that it is possible to have hope.
This verse points towards sincere, honest, true, diligent trust in God involves both believing that he is who he is supposed to be, and that the inner effort to turn to him matters enough for the effort to be worth the investment.
I believe these things with all my heart. I'm not always the best at laying my feelings on an invisible inner altar, but I consistently try to do so, and I think the intention of our heart is what's at stake anyway.
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