Post # 97– Feasting
Upon the Words of Christ
Dear Family
and Friends
Were you able
to watch or listen to any of the general conference? There sure were some good
talks. I felt uplifted and spiritually fed, for sure😊Did
you all manage the media fast for seven days? If so, what were you able to
learn as you did so? I know for me, I it was hard not to be able to continue to
share with you the lessons that have come during our New Testament study as
well as the personal finance for self-reliance as I have been doing😊
of course I don’t use a whole lot of social media –--- I don’t really have
time.
I do make time to share my thoughts with all
of you though😊 I have been trying hard to keep up my
blog as I am going through my lymphedema therapy three times a week. It had
been a bit of a struggle because my whole arm and hand is completely wrapped
and hard to use as the compression on it keeps it pretty useless for most
things. I bet I am quite a sight when I forget and grab some food with that
hand --- then can’t get it to my mouth because I can’t bend it so that I can
reach my mouth😊
Then of course
I must then take the food from that hand with the other hand in order to get
that bite of food into my mouth. Or when my glasses slip off my nose and my
good hand is full and I try to reach my glasses to push them up before they
fall down my face – yep, I bet I am quite a sight😊
I have been thinking a lot about “feasting” upon the words of Christ and today
I would like to share one of the talks from this general conference with you –
it is called Feasting upon the Words of Christ by Elder Takashi Wada of the Seventy.
Shall we get right to his talk? Are you still with me? Ok, here we go.
Feasting
upon the words of Christ can happen at any time and on any occasion if we
prepare our hearts.
Our Heavenly Father loves us. He has provided a perfect plan for
us to enjoy His blessings. In this life, we are all invited to come unto
Christ and receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ through baptism,
receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and faithfully living the gospel.
Nephi describes our commitment to be baptized as entering a “strait and
narrow path,” and he reminds us to continue to “press forward with a
steadfastness in Christ, … feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the
end,” in order to receive all the blessings Heavenly Father has in store for us
19 And now my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this
strait and narrow path. I would ask if all is well? Behold, I say unto you,
Nay: for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with
unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to
save.
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having
a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men,
Wherefore, if ye shall press
forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end,
behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
Elder Wada is correct – our Heavenly Father does love each one
of us so very much. And as I am sure I have mentioned before, our Heavenly
Father wants to bless each one of His children. He has invited each one of us
to come “unto Christ,” and as Nephi stated in these verses we must get on the
“strait and narrow path” and just how do we get on this path?
To get into this straight and narrow path we must repent of our
sins and transgressions and choose to be baptized by those who hold the
priesthood of God and have the proper authority from God. Once we have made the decision
to be baptized, we have received the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. After our
baptism we have the opportunity to receive the Holy Ghost. Then we begin
“faithfully living the gospel.”
Nephi further reminds us that if we will “feast upon the words
of Christ,” they “will tell [us] all things [we] should do” and that we
will be empowered to overcome the “fiery darts of the adversary”.
2 Nephi 32:3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore,
they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the
words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what
ye should do.
1 Nephi 15:24 And
I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the
word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish neither could
the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto
blindness, to lead them away to destruction.
There will
be no question about what we should do, if we are continually feasting upon the
words of Christ – or the scriptures – we will find our direction in life. And
by continually feasting upon the words of God we are promised that we will have
the power to overcome temptations and that the adversary will not have power
over us to lead us to our destruction. What a promise!! Right? I know, our next
question is going to be – What exactly is feasting upon the words of Christ? Am
I supposed to eat the scriptures? Well, Elder Wada goes on to explain:
What is Feasting?
When I was young, I thought that feasting was simply having a
big meal with rice, sushi, and soy sauce. I now know true feasting is more than
enjoying a delicious meal. It is an experience of joy, nourishment,
celebration, sharing, expressing love to families and loved ones, communicating
our thanksgiving to God, and building relationships while enjoying abundant,
incredibly delicious food. I believe when we feast upon the words of Christ,
we ought to be thinking of the same kind of experience. Feasting upon the
scriptures is not just reading them. It should bring us real joy and build our
relationship with the Savior.
We learn from his explanation here, that feasting upon the words
of Christ – or studying the scriptures, is not just reading them. He says that
our feasting upon the words of Christ should ‘bring us real joy and build our
relationship with the Savior.’ I wonder of that is what I am accomplishing – I
know that is what I am trying to do as I study the scriptures. How about each
of you? Is this what you are working towards as your goal as well?
I
find that when I am studying my scriptures, I lose all track of time because I
am enjoying what I am reading and studying. I guess you could compare it with
reading a good book – you just don’t want to put it down – that is the way I
feel when I am truly feasting on the scriptures or the words of Christ😊
I always tell myself
I want to read for a certain amount of minutes. Most of the time I go over my
set time and don’t even realize that I have done so until something reminds me
that it is getting late and I have therapy early in the morning😊
This is clearly taught in the Book of Mormon. Recall Lehi’s
dream where he saw a tree “whose fruit [is] desirable to make one happy.” This
fruit represents the love of God, and as Lehi tastes the fruit, “it was …
sweet, above all that [he] ever before tasted.” It “filled [his] soul with
exceedingly great joy” and is something he wants to share with his family.
10 And
it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one
happy.
11 And
it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof, and I
beheld that it was most sweet above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I
beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had
ever seen.
12 And
as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy;
wherefore, I began to ne desirous that my family should partake of it also; for
I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.
When we feast, we will also likely find that the amount or kind
of food we have may not matter if our hearts are filled with gratitude. Lehi’s
family lived on raw meat in the wilderness, but Nephi described this difficult
trial, saying, “So great were the blessings of the Lord” that “our women … were
strong” and were able “to bear their journeyings without murmurings”
1 And
it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness, and we
did travel nearly eastward from that time forth. And we did travel and wade
through much affliction in the wilderness and our women did bear children in
the wilderness.
2 And
so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon
raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their
children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear
their journeyings without murmurings.
Feasting sometimes involves experimenting and tasting. Alma
talks about a good seed being planted in our hearts. As we experiment on it, we
will realize the seed begins “to be delicious”
28 Now
we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye will give place, that a seed
may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if
ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the
Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel
these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves – it must needs be
that this is a food seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge
my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to
be delicious to me.
29 Now
behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless
it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.
30 But
behold, as the seed swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you
must needs say that the seed is good, for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth,
and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith?
Yea, it will strengthen your faith for ye will say I know that this is a good
seed, for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.
31 And now, behold are ye sure that this is a
good seed? I say unto you, Yea, for every seed bringeth forth unto its own
likeness.
32
Therefore, if a seed growth it is good, but if it growth not, behold it is not
good, therefore it is cast away.
33 And
now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it
swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed
is good.
If your family has ever had a potluck dinner, where everyone
brings their favorite food for everyone to share and enjoy. Most often we will
take at least a bite or two of each food to taste it – and so as not to have
any hurt feelings, with this tasting – experimenting – we might find something
that tastes really good – so we want more, right? Well, I believe that studying the scriptures
can be like that as well.
You
must remember though, that it is the Holy Ghost that makes the difference, so
you must invite the Holy Ghost into your study. I challenge each one of you to
give this experiment a try. Find out if you have found a good seed in the words
of Christ😊 You won’t be sorry
that you did! You will find so much ‘food for thought’ and find many nuggets to
be mined as you study.
Feasting Upon the Word of Christ
The blessings of feasting upon the words of Christ are powerful
and life changing. There are three in particular I would like to invite you to
apply in your life.
First, the words
of Christ can help us “increase [our] spiritual capacity to receive revelation”
(Russell M. Nelson, “Revelation for
the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2018, 96) and
safely guide us through our life. Mormon teaches that the words of Christ
have “a great tendency to lead the people to do that which [is] just”
and that they are more powerful than anything “the sword” can accomplish
.
Alma
31:5 And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the
people to do that which was just – yea, it had had more powerful effect upon
the minds of the people than the sword or anything else, which had happened
unto them – therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the
virtue of the word of God.
As I have searched for God’s wisdom in dealing with my own
challenges, always as I have tried the “virtue of the word of God” (Alma 31:5), I have felt inspired
and enabled to make wise decisions, overcome temptations, and bless my life
with increased faith in Christ and love for those around me.
Our prophet, Russell M. Nelson, has taught us that “in
coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the
guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost”
(“Revelation for
the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” 96). Needed revelation will come as
we try the “virtue of the word,” and that word will be more powerful than
anything else we could try or imagine.
Did you catch out Prophet’s counsel there? “in the coming days,
it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing,
comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
And what did Elder Wada say would happen as a result off feasting upon the words of Christ? “that needed revelation will come as we try the “virtue of the word,” and that the word will be more powerful than anything else we could try or imagine.” Wow!! If this doesn’t encourage us to feast upon the words of Christ, I am not sure just what might.
And what did Elder Wada say would happen as a result off feasting upon the words of Christ? “that needed revelation will come as we try the “virtue of the word,” and that the word will be more powerful than anything else we could try or imagine.” Wow!! If this doesn’t encourage us to feast upon the words of Christ, I am not sure just what might.
You can read President Nelson’s talk here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/04/revelation-for-the-church-revelation-for-our-lives?lang=eng
Second, when we
struggle with our own identity and lack of self-esteem, the “pleasing word of
God” in the scriptures will help us know
who we really are and give us strength beyond our own. Jacob 2:8 And it supposeth me that
they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which
health the wounded soul.
Recognizing my identity as God’s child was one of the sweetest
moments I have ever experienced. In my early teenage years, I did not know
anything about the teachings of the Savior. When I first read the New
Testament, the words of Christ truly healed my wounded soul. I realized I was
not alone and that I am a child of God. As I recognized my true identity before
God, I realized my infinite potential through Christ’s Atonement.
I was in
my thirties when I made the decision to be baptized into the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints and I began my journey on the straight and narrow
path. I have never looked back – only moved forward in faith. I understand what
Elder Wada said about learning his true identity – it has helped me in so many
ways – to know that I am a child of God, that I have a Father in heaven who
knows me, and He loves me, that even when no one else can see any worth or potential
in me – He can. When no one else thinks that I am worth loving or having around
– He does. When I am only thought of as a nobody or someone who is not good
enough – ---
My
Heavenly Father has made it very clear in the scriptures that I am of great
worth – I am somebody, I am good enough, in His eyes. And really His eyes are
the only ones that matter😊 right? I hope that you have not ever
felt this way, but if you have – remember this – you too, are a child of God.
You have a Heavenly Father who loves you more than you know. He has so many
blessings in store for you. He has invited you and I to come unto Christ
through baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then to be
faithfully living the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Enos likewise shared his personal experience of the
enlightenment that comes from contemplating the words of Christ. As Enos
let the words that his father taught him regarding “eternal life, and the joy
of the saints, [sink] deep into [his] heart,” his soul “hungered; and [he]
kneeled down before [his] Maker … in mighty prayer”
Enos 1:3–4 3 Behold, I want to hunt beasts in
the forest; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning
eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sink deep into my heart.
4 And
my soul hungered, and I keeled down before y Maker, and I cried unto him in
mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long I did
cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that
it reached the heavens.
In that prayer he came to know the Savior and learned that we
have great worth, are loved and can be forgiven of our mistakes, and are truly
children of God.
Third, we can lift
the lives of others through the words of Christ. Just as Enos had his own
time and place where the words of Christ touched his heart, the Lord will do
His part to touch the hearts of those with whom we wish to share the gospel.
Many of us may have felt discouraged when we tried to invite someone to hear
the gospel because our desired result did not follow. Regardless of the
outcome, the Lord invites us to open our mouth and share the gospel message
with others.
As I am sharing the events in my life and how I am managing to
cope with all of you I am also sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, because
without His help and His strength I would not be able to get through each day.
I think I would be far to exhausted to continue working and teaching
preschoolers – which is something that I love to do, so I am ever grateful for
His strength; for His love; and for all of His many blessings!
Two years ago, the Lord touched my dear mother’s heart, which
helped her decide to receive the ordinance of baptism. I had waited for that
day to take place for almost 35 years. In order for her to make that decision,
many members of the Church truly ministered to her as Christ would. One Sunday,
she felt she should go to church. She followed the prompting. While she sat on
the front row and waited for the sacrament service to begin, a four-year-old
boy stood in front of her and looked at her. She greeted him with a smile. The
little boy left her presence abruptly and walked back to his own seat, which
was on the other side of the row where my mother was seated.
This little boy
picked up something from his seat and came back and handed my mother a hymnbook
and walked back to his seat. My mother noticed a hymnbook was placed on every
other chair in the chapel. She could have easily picked one up from the chair
next to her. However, she was very impressed with the boy’s innocent act of
kindness, which he had learned in his home and at church. It was a tender
moment for her. She had a strong impression that God was inviting her to come
and follow the Savior. She felt she should be baptized. This little boy did not
seek recognition for what he did, but he simply did his best to live the word
of God and to love his neighbor. His kindness created an important change of
heart in my mother.
The words of Christ will profoundly touch hearts and open the
eyes of those who do not yet see Him. On the road to Emmaus, two disciples
walked with Jesus. They were sad and did not comprehend that the Savior had
triumphed over death. In their grief, they did not recognize that the living
Christ was walking with them. Though Jesus “expounded unto them in all the
scriptures the things concerning himself,” they still did not recognize Him as
the resurrected Savior until they sat and broke bread with Him. Then did their
“eyes” open. As we—or our friends, associates, and neighbors—feast and break
bread with Him, our eyes of understanding will open. When the disciples at
Emmaus reflected on their time with the resurrected Savior, they said that
their hearts burned within them while He opened the scriptures to them. This
will be true for all of us.
27 And
beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the
scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 And
they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he
would have gone further.
29 But
they constructed him, saying: Abide with us for it is toward evening, and the day
is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30 And
it came to pass, as he sat at meal with them, he took bread, and blessed it,
and brake, and gave to them
31 And
their eyes were opened, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their
sight.
32 And
they said one to another: Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked
with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Conclusion
In conclusion, I bear testimony that feasting upon the words
of Christ can happen at any time and on any occasion if we prepare our hearts
to receive them. Feasting upon the words of Christ will bring
life-sustaining revelation, reaffirm our true identity and worth before God as
His child, and lead our friends unto Christ and everlasting life. Let me
end by echoing the invitation of Nephi when he said: “Ye must press forward
with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love
of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the
word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have
eternal life”. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
2 Nephi
31:20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ having a
perfect brightness of hope. and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye
shall press forward feasting upon the words of Christ, and endure to the end,
behold, thus saith the Father. Ye shall have eternal life.
Well
my dear Family and Friends, here we are at the end of this talk. I hope you
have gained as much from it as I have. I am going to challenge myself to really
‘feast’ on the words of the scriptures as I continue to study the New Testament
with each of you and I am going to issue to you the same challenge – to ‘press
forward with a steadfastness in Christ,’’ feasting upon the words of Christ,’
as you continue your study with me through the New Testament😊
I just realized the other day that it has been a year since I
began my blog😊 I have
enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you. I have also enjoyed sharing the gospel of
Jesus Christ with all of you. I hope that I have shared good and helpful
information with all of you throughout this past year and I also hope that some
of you have made the decision to check out the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. If you have not had the chance to do so and would like to,
you can go here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/04/revelation-for-the-church-revelation-for-our-lives?lang=eng
My dear
Family and Friends until my next post, be diligent in your study of the
scriptures every day. Don’t forget to pray before, during and after your
scripture study. Invite the Holy Ghost into your study as He is the real
teacher. Prepare your minds before you begin your study. Study for a certain
amount of time as opposed to a certain amount of verses or chapters. As always,
remember who you are, remember that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we
can all repent and be forgiven. You have never gone too far that He can not
reach you. Hold onto hope in Christ😊and make it a grand week!
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