~by Michelle

Exodus 14 is one of my favorite chapters in the Old Testament. Besides containing the amazing miracle of the parting of the Red Sea, I also appreciate the commentary on human nature contained in these verses. It’s easy to look at the children of Israel and roll our eyes, but to me, they represent the human nature in all of us that can tend toward complaint, fear, pain avoidance, and false narratives (which, ironically, cause us more pain). Life isn’t easy, and barriers come along the way that can leave us feeling a lot like they did.

There are also some amazing life mantras from Moses in this chapter, such as “fear ye not, stand still” and “hold your peace.”

But God had something to add to Moses’ words to the people. It was, “Go forward.”

I sometimes imagine the children of Israel looking at the sea of water in front of them and thinking, “Um, Moses, we are being chased and there’s this thing called the Red Sea in our way. We are trapped! We have plenty of things to be afraid of here! Could you get real and take us back to where things were predictable?” [Sometimes even misery can be preferred to the unknown, simply because it’s known.]

Moses knew that things would be okay. How? Because he was listening to the Lord, and he was ready to follow the instructions he had received.

What’s fascinating to me is that the instructions he received were relatively simple. He was told to speak and to hold up his staff.

In The Church of Jesus Christ, we have additional books of scripture that shed more light on the story of Moses and the children of Israel. One such scripture is found in Doctrine and Covenants 8:-2-3.

Here Jesus Christ (the same God — known as Jehovah in the Old Testament — who guided and helped Moses in the deliverance of the children of Israel) is talking through the prophet Joseph Smith to Oliver Cowdery. Oliver was helping as a scribe when Joseph was translating the plates on which the ancient scripture found in The Book of Mormon were written.

In this chapter, the Lord teaches about how divine guidance from Him works.

2 [B]ehold, I will ^atell you in your mind and in your ^bheart, by the ^cHoly Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

3 Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation…

These verses describe how any of us can receive answers and guidance from the Lord, through the Holy Ghost.

But the second part of verse 3 is stunning to me:

…behold, this is the spirit by which Moses ^abrought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground.

How did Moses part the Red Sea? He simply received and followed revelation. He acted in faith on the relatively simple instructions he received. He responded and trusted.

And then the Lord parted the sea.

And Moses stretched out his hand over the ^asea; and the Lord ^bcaused the ^csea to ^dgo back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea ^edry land, and the ^fwaters were ^gdivided. (Exodus 14:21)

Sometimes it can feel like we are facing an impossible Red Sea in our lives. The Lord’s teaching through Joseph Smith about the parting of the Red Sea gives me hope for such times. All we have to do is get guidance for our relatively simple part (our “next right thing(s)”) and then watch to see how the Lord will help clear the way forward.

Other miracles in the Bible share a similar message. Just go wash in the Jordan. Just make this cake first. Just look at the serpent on the pole (see how this and other stories abotu Moses and the children of Israel get some wonderful attention in the Book of Mormon). Just let those carrying the ark of the covenant put their toes into the water. Take a step into (or onto) the water. Just wash this spittle off your eyes. Just draw some water from that well.

Just “Follow me.”

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our prophet today points us to Jesus. He says, “Hear Him.” We can hear Him through a living prophet (like a Moses in our day) . And if we seek the Lord’s guidance in our lives, He’ll keep giving us personal guidance as well that can allow even more of His power and peace to flow.

What’s your next right step that the Lord is inviting you to do? Don’t focus on the sea in front of you, focus on Him, and let Him part the sea in His time and way.

Just Hear Him...”in your mind and in your heart…by the Holy Ghost…which…is the spirit of revelation.”

This post is edited from the original.

The post How did Moses part the Red Sea? appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

~by Stephen R. Thomas 

We are all preparing to listen to general conference [this weekend] to hear what our prophet and apostles and other leaders have to say to us.  While many of us will receive their messages with joy and enjoyment, others of us may find ourselves, consciously or unconsciously, inwardly resisting some aspects of what is said.  I have experienced hearing the words of our leaders in both states of mind, and I believe that the difference lies in…the degree of our understanding of the Savior’s atoning role in our salvation.

Let me begin by describing a little of my own history with hearing our prophet and other leaders at conference.  As a child, I enjoyed conference quite a bit because it meant that we could go to church in the family room dressed in our pajamas while eating fresh-baked muffins.  Always the musician, I also thought I did a pretty good job of conducting the Tabernacle Choir from the sofa.  As I got older, though, and listened more carefully, I noticed that there were a lot of instructions in the talks, and I tried to understand what I was supposed to do to follow them.  Eventually, I started to feel like maybe there were a few too many good ideas to incorporate in my life all at once, but also felt like I needed to do it anyway.  I did my best, but eventually I started to feel discouraged by listening to conference.  By the time I was a teen, it seemed that I could never keep up with what I perceived was being asked, and it felt like one big guilt trip.  I still dutifully did what I could, but felt burdened until enough time had gone by that I more or less fell back into my usual routine and forgot about it until the next conference.

This pattern continued for a long time.  I still remember the shock I felt one day when, in anticipating the next conference, one of my friends said that for him conference was just like Christmas.  I stared at him in disbelief, and thought something must be wrong with me.  I had a testimony, but I felt completely unable to live up to what I thought the messages were telling me, and so I felt more dread than joyous anticipation of conference.

Later on, however, I realized that there was a very important ingredient missing in my gospel understanding.  I was always drawn to the Savior’s words in Matthew 11:28-30:  “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  I loved these words, and longed to feel what the Savior described, yet I felt far too often that doing everything right in the church was more of a burden than a blessing, and I felt in fact heavy laden by the things I perceived I was to do in order to “come unto Him.”  I asked myself:  If this is what it means to come to Him, how could his yoke be called “easy” or “light?” The lists of all I felt I had to do were endless, and that I could endlessly be doing them all better:  home teaching, service projects, callings, fulfilling my role as a husband, father and breadwinner, paying tithing and offerings, attending all kinds of church meetings, keeping all of the rules of thoughts and behavior that we as church members do as we strive to observe the 13^th article of faith and other commandments, staying fit and healthy, loving my enemies, being kind and patient, seeking that which is praiseworthy, and on and on.  It seemed that conference just added more things to the list or pointed out the ways in which my attempts to keep up with everything I was already trying to do were inadequate. 

So what did the Savior mean by “coming to Him” in order to find rest?  I thought, wow, I could use some rest!  And yet I couldn’t imagine that he meant “Come unto me and don’t bother with the commandments.  In fact, take a few days off from your duties.”  There had to be something more to what this scripture meant. 

Through much time spent in soul searching and prayer, I eventually understood what was missing:  even though I believed in the gospel and had a testimony, I really had not fully understood what was needed.  I had not experienced what the scriptures called conversion or being born again.  (Mosiah 27:25-26).  I was still laboring under the assumption that my spiritual success was all up to me and that I had to save myself primarily through my own efforts.  I saw Jesus Christ as a somewhat distant figure who we were supposed to imitate strictly on our own power.  I had not yet understood that the way to accomplish the way back home to our Father in Heaven was not through mere outward compliance, which would always be inadequate, but through a complete inner change of heart.   This is described in Mosiah 5:2 as those listening to King Benjamin exclaimed that they were converted “because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.”

I did not understand that it was hopeless to attempt to live the gospel without this change that could only be wrought through the Spirit and that neither I nor anyone could ever do enough or be enough on my own to succeed.  No wonder I felt burdened by the messages I perceived in conference!  I was trying to do what they asked without the complete transformation brought about by the Atonement and without the aid of grace, the very real and enabling power of Christ that comes to those who receive him.  What I learned was that the source of power to do his will was missing, because I was trying to create it on my own instead of turning fully to Him. 

To use an analogy, I realized that the way I had long managed my spiritual life was essentially the equivalent to pushing a car through the desert, hoping to make it to my destination through sheer determination and muscle.  This kind of work is slow and discouraging.  With this approach, you notice the heat, the thirst, the dust, the scorpions, and the pebbles in your shoes, as well as the long-term futility of your efforts.  You keep slogging along while thinking, “I’ll never get there!” 

On the other hand, receiving the Savior completely into our hearts and understanding through the Spirit his role in our salvation is like putting gas in the engine of our spiritual car…suddenly the car seems to go on its own, and our position changes from the one pushing to the one steering.  Our effort is transformed into making choices at the wheel to stay on the right road, which means listening to him and his servants.  But the car flies along compared to our first approach and we start suddenly to see that the scenery in our journey is beautiful and we feel closer and closer to our ultimate destination. 

Still, even once I understood what was missing, I found that I didn’t know how, in practical terms, to let the Savior into my heart and to access His grace.  I was so used to feeling responsible and burdened, I didn’t know how to let go and let Him change me.  I didn’t trust that if I stopped pushing, and got in the car, He could and would make it go.  While the process for me has been long and gradual and has taken a number of challenging turns, I realized that he meant what he said when he said in 3 Ne. 9:19-20:  “And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.  And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.  And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost…” 

My self-sustained efforts to comply outwardly (and at times with a doubtful heart) with what I imagined the church to require were like those burnt offerings.  They were unworthy of what the Lord has said he requires, which is the inward sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit.  Only when we give him that can he give us what we need to come to Him:  the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost which truly converts us.  To do this, I have found that sincere prayer and long, frequent contemplation of gospel principles as given in the scriptures helps me to develop a true, inward humility, and allows my heart to become broken and my spirit contrite.  As I have done so, I have felt the remarkable power of the Spirit burning within me, cleansing, and changing me and, most importantly, changing my desires, which in turn change my actions.  The Spirit helps me move forward toward the final step of completely turning my will over to Him and letting him direct all my actions. 

This transformation—which I would call true conversion—can happen to each of us as we seek to have the Spirit become fully present to guide and comfort us.  I believe that the remarkable, transforming presence of the Holy Ghost is one of the most powerful ways in which God shows us his love, as it is in fact His actual presence in our physical and spiritual being.  What better love can he show than by being with each of us at our very center?  Once we feel and understand what it is telling us, it becomes a homing device, directing us in the path that leads to him.  It is no accident that being fully present to one another is likewise how we best show love to our fellow beings.  Our Heavenly Father does the same for us through sending us the Holy Ghost so we know He is there.  And the Holy Ghost can only be with us as we let the Atonement clear the channels through which we feel it.  As we feel its presence more fully, our hearts change, which leads our desires and actions to change and our lives naturally come into alignment with our Father’s will.

When we are converted in this way, or are in the process of understanding what true conversion means, we are prepared to hear the messages of conference in the spirit with which they are intended:  We will understand the messages as evidence of our Father’s love for us as he desires above all for our success as the object of his work and glory in returning to Him.  We will receive the messages not as bricks of burden put in the payload of our out-of-gas spiritual vehicles, but as spiritual fuel to speed us in our journey safely and joyously home to Him.  

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(And if you are not Mormon and are curious about our faith, watching General Conference or some of the social media hashtags could give you some glimpses of our faith and beliefs. #ldsconf is the main hashtag most people use, and, as outlined below, some are also using #inspiredby to share what has resonated with them personally.)

“Let’s make sharing our faith online more a part of our everyday lives.” -Elder Andersen

What are some specific things you can do?

-Retweet messages on Twitter or share messages on Facebook that link to the live General Conference feed. (This can be done by sharing tweets from @ldschurch or going to the Share section of the current General Conference page. Here’s all of the official @ldschurch sharing that has been done so far with the April 2014 General Conference.)

– Share General Conference highlights videos from the LDS General Conference YouTube channel or from lds.org General Conference highlights pages (this one is on the LDS youth website).

– Use the hashtag #inspiredby to share specific feelings about a message shared in General Conference.

The post Sharing General Conference with others #ldsconf appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

General Conference is in a week, and the Church is inviting anyone who is participating in General Conference — no matter how you participate — to join in sharing videos about how you experience Conference.

Whether you gather with your family and watch conference in your local chapel, watch the broadcast online, or listen on your mobile device—or even read the messages in the Liahona magazine—people around the globe would like to see how you experience general conference.

Your clips should respond to one or more of the following questions:

How do you prepare for general conference?
Where do you gather to experience general conference?
How do you get there?
What about general conference inspired you?
How do you reflect on the words of the prophets and apostles?
After the conference, how do you apply the teachings?

Watch the video calling for videos (or see below).

For more detailed information about what to submit, how to submit, and how these videos will be used, read more about the call for General Conference videos.

The post Come Listen to a Prophet’s Voice — Call for Conference Videos appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.