I have given this blog a lot of thought lately. During stake conference a few weeks ago I felt a strong impression to create this blog to make a record of many of the ways the Lord has guided and blessed me throughout my life. I have only been a good journal writer during one period of my life. I wrote every single day while I was a full-time missionary. Other than that, every one of my journals has spurts of activity followed by months or even years before the next entry. I have a lot of catching up to do. As such, this blog will not necessarily be about current events, nor will it always be in chronological order, though I will try to keep things relatively in sequence.
I have recently given some additional thought to Nephi and his record. He states that he was born of goodly parents and taught. He mentions that he has passed through many afflictions, and then he says, "nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days;
yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of
God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days." (1 Ne. 1:1)
Now, don't get me wrong! I would never suggest that I am comparable in righteousness or in power and faith to Nephi. I may relate several experiences in my life to him and other prophets throughout the different posts to this blog. Please know that my intention is not to say that I am as great as any of them. This scripture resonates with me in a special way. I, too, was born of goodly parents who taught me the gospel. On a much smaller scale I have had a knowledge of the goodness and mysteries of God as He has blessed my life. It is because of this that I feel I must write these experiences down, and that is my primary purpose for this blog. Somehow if I think somebody else might read it I feel I am more likely to write things down.
"And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge." (1 Ne. 1:3) Again, on a much smaller scale than Nephi, I feel particularly blessed to have recognized something of the truth of the Lord's hand in my life. Although I have likely (definitely) failed to recognize many important blessings, the things which I post here will be true as far as the Lord's blessings go and as far as my memories are correct. Due to this knowledge, I have a secondary goal, and I hope it is not too lofty. I would hope that if anyone does decide to read this blog, that I might help them recognize even one small blessing that the Lord has given them in their life.
Another one of Nephi's verses has caused me to ponder and compare his life to mine recently. After two failed attempts at getting the brass plates, and after being beaten by his brothers and rescued by an angel, Nephi strikes out on his own to go get the plates. I've always loved the following scripture, but as I've looked back on my life recently I have gained a new insight into the verse. "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." (1 Ne. 4:6) Here's where the comparison pulls me closer to Nephi. Nephi didn't even make these plates and start writing his record until he reached the promised land some 12 years later (see 1 Ne. 19:1). I can't be sure of Nephi's experience of being led by the Spirit. Maybe he did have very strong impressions that guided him each step of the way to Laban and then on to the brass plates. We know that he certainly had clear revelation when he was commanded to kill Laban, so that is definitely possible. I tend to think, however, that maybe he heard a noise down one street and decided to avoid a confrontation. Maybe when his brothers beat him they caused him to limp, and so he was walking along a certain side of the street to lean against the buildings and turned into just the right alley. These are obviously made up examples, but that is the kind of guidance that I will be talking about in these posts. Very rarely have I been given powerfully clear revelatory experiences to get me where I am today. Rather, the Lord has shaped my decisions and circumstances to put me in the right place, and only now, some time later, as I look back I can see that "I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."
Those are the types of experiences that I will be sharing through this blog. I will pointedly avoid going into detail about any of those major revelatory experiences because I feel they are too sacred to just put out there on the internet for anyone to see. I may mention them as part of the overall picture of guidance that I am trying to convey, but the point of this blog is to show that the Lord is involved in the details of our lives, and if we keep our eyes open, we can be blessed to see that He has prepared the way for us.
