Bytheway - Five Scriptures That Will Help You Get Through Almost Anything

For Christmas, I get a subscription to Deseret Book Bookshelf Plus.  I have spent the past month listening to fireside talks.  I thought it would be great to take notes and share some of the things that I have learned through my blog.

Five Scriptures That Will Get You Through Almost Anything

Scripture #1

• 1 Nephi 11:16-17 - 16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? 17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

Brother Bytheway notes that we don't have all the answers to why things happen in life but we can have complete assurance that God loves us. We will all have trials during mortality and we all seem to learn more and more about ourselves during the tough times.  He uses examples of Abraham, Nephi, Abinidi, and others to show how these great men endured through their trials and kept their faith strong.  Our lives will endure many trials but we can have complete assurance that God loves us and that God is aware of the trials we are going through.  We should ask ourselves during our trials, what can we learn from these trials and how can I become a better person through these issues.

Scripture #2

• Moses 7: 26-33 - 26 And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced. 27 And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion. 28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains? 29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity? 30 And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever; 31 And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep? 32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency; 33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;

God allows evil to exist in the world.  These scriptures show us that God weeped when he looked at the world and saw that Satan had such a strong hold on the earth.  God weeped but allows the evil of the world to remain as part of the test of this life.  Although evil is premitted to exist, the goodness of God is stronger than the evil but we have to seek out the goodness.  God makes a way for us to overcome the evil that is all around us.

Scripture #3

• Alma 14: 9-13 - 9 And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of martyrdom, that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire. 10 And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames. 11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day. 12 Now Amulek said unto Alma: Behold, perhaps they will burn us also. 13 And Alma said: Be it according to the will of the Lord. But, behold, our work is not finished; therefore they burn us not.

Amulek is saddened by the destruction that he sees in the land of Ammonihah.  Amulek asks how they can witness the terrible death of the women and children.  Alma tells him that God receives these souls until Him in glory.  Amulek is concerned about being killed themselves and then Alma teaches Amulek that their work is not yet finished so God will not let their lives be taken.  We can be assured that we will be given time on earth to complete the work which God has for us to accomplish it.  We learn that there is no tragedy in death but only tragedy in sin.  Dying is part of God's plan.  We need to be repenting continually as no one knows when their time will be up.

Scripture #4

• Alma 7:11-12 - 11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

Brother Bytheway says that we should notice how many times the word "sin" appears in this passage of scripture.  It doesn't and we should learn from this that the atonement is so much more than just helping us with our sins.  It covers so many other things in our lives besides sin. 


Scripture #5

• D&C 101:32-36 - 32 Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things-- 33 Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof-- 34 Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven. 35 And all they who suffer persecution for my name, and endure in faith, though they are called to lay down their lives for my sake yet shall they partake of all this glory. 36 Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full.

In Christ, our joy is made full.  There will be a time when all the secrets and unknown things of the world will be made known unto us.  When these things will be made known, we will find true joy through the Savior. 

This talk was given shortly after the Columnbine shooting in Colorado and the events of Sept 11, 2001.  The thoughts of tragedy are strong throughout the talk.  Brother Bytheway teaches us that there is hope in tragedy and we can find peace in the midst of turmoil.  These scriptures will help us recognize that God loves us, that God will make a way for us to overcome evil, that we will not be taken from this earth until our mission is completed, that the atonement covers so much more than sin, and that our joy will one day be made full only through the Savior.  Brother Bytheway inspires youth as well as adults to live the gospel and focus on things that will allow the spirit to be part of our lives.

WHAT IS BOOKSHELF PLUS?
Bookshelf Plus is a new service offered by Deseret Book.  It allows you to have access to the entire audio library audio books and fireside talks and over 1,500 ebooks available in the Bookshelf app for a low monthly subscription.  Now you can have thousands of audio books in your phone to listen to at your convenience.  I have added audio from the app to my weekly study and will be sharing some things each Monday about what I have been listening to.  If you would like to sign-up for a free 30 day trial of Bookshelf Plus, click the banner ad on the sidebar or click here.  I encourage you to study along with me and listen to the entire talk by Brother John Bytheway.