The Downfall of Men (and Women)

In my Book of Mormon class this week we are studying warnings. The warnings are pretty similar and follow similar patterns throughout both the Book of Mormon and the Bible, however because this is a Book of Mormon class we do not focus on the teachings in the Bible, however use them as references for questions we have on the subject.

President Ezra Taft Benson summed up the major warning in the Book of Mormon basically as "Beware of Pride!"

Recognizing my own pride is not one of my strong suits, nor is it most people's either. This year I read a book called "Captain of Her heart" by Anita Stansfield in which I realized this as one of my largest shortcomings. In this book, the two main characters largest downfall is due to pride. Pride is what stands between them in their relationship only it is not as easy to get rid of as it is to possess it. Many of the mistakes that the couple made I could see myself making and I realized just how awful pride really is. Pride can strain relationships. It makes someone resist help they desperately need. It destroys the relationship between God and man.

The Book of Mormon was given to us to warn us of pride and to help us be aware of the signs of pride. By being wary of what pride can cause and the signs of pride, we can prepare ourselves avoid pride where we can and become more christlike.

Tender Mercies

            In Sunday School, my teacher has impressed upon my class the importance of tender merices. She even gave a journal to write down tender mercies that we recognize, but I haven't been good at writing them down or really recognizing them. In my young women's group, we are participating in a summer Book of Mormon reading challenge.
           As we have begun reading,I found a verse in the first chapter of 1st Nephi that stuck out to because it mentions tender mercies. In 1st Nephi 1:20 it states, "the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."
            Reading this helped me realize that something I had experienced recently was a tender mercy. Though my mom had prayed for safety on the roads for our family and our cars, I didn't know that at the time. I was backing out of my parking space at Walmart slowly because a ginormous truck was obstructing my view when all of a sudden there was another gigantic truck zipping down the lane I was in. That truck should have hit my tiny car. There wasn't room for the truck to swerve because it should have hit the other cars, but somehow the truck managed to swerve without hitting anything. I should have been in an accident, but I wasn't. I wasn't harmed whatsoever. Both my car and the truck left without touching each other. Miracles happen everyday. This one for me was huge and a tender mercy because I have not been driving for very long and I am terrified that I'll get in an accident.

            Just another thought, tender mercies are not just from the individual to learn from. By sharing them with others and writing them down for future generations, others can see the good in a situation and learn to recognize the Lord's hand in their own personal lives.