New Lessons from the Old Testament: Chronicles 17

As many of you know, I am a big fan of the Old Testament.  It is actually my favorite standard work.  At BYU, you kind of got dirty looks if you ranked any of the standard works above The Book of Mormon, but it's true.  I still believe in The Book of Mormon, and love it dearly.  However, I identify with the people of the Old Testament more and it speaks to me.

I think part of why people don't like the Old Testament as much is that they don't think that it is as relevant to them.  I beg to differ.  You just have to know where to look in the Old Testament.

Today, I share an important lesson from the Old Testament.  It's a lesson that answers what I think is the most-commonly asked question in the LDS Church:  How do I know when the Holy Ghost is giving me inspiration, verses me just wanting it and imagining the inspiration?  It's a very valid question.  I know sometimes I have asked it.

However, the answer is given in Chronicles 17.  So, backstory:  David is the king of Israel at this point, and Nathan is the prophet.  Since we've gotten that out of the way, we shall continue.  David feels that he wants to build a temple for God.  He says that though he, David, lives in the finest of houses, the Ark of the Covenant still dwells in a tent (do you like my Book of Mormon language there?).  He asks Nathan to ask God if He'd like a house.

Nathan immediately tells David, "Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee."  Eventually, God says that David is not to build him a temple, because it's not the priority right now, and Solomon will take care of it.  However, Nathan's answer addresses our question. He doesn't have to seek out that revelation from God.  All he needs to know is if David has the spirit with him.

If we have the Holy Ghost as our companion, the goal is that, eventually, our wills and desires and thoughts will align with the desires of God.  So, how do you know if it's God or you?  Live righteously, and if you are, then you will know the difference between God's desires and yours:  There isn't one.  (I should give credit and say that the thought processes for this came from a talk by Elder Snow of the Seventy at my Stake Conference at BYU one year).

Comments

Amy R said…
Interesting insight. I liked it. Now I'll have to reread Elder Snow's talk.
October 23, 2013 at 3:05 AM
Amy R said…
Oh, I just noticed it was at your stake conference, not general conference. I guess I can't reread it.
October 23, 2013 at 3:06 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Over-analyzing Disney Movies: The Little Mermaid--Why Eric is White.

Image
I have recently noticed a trend of just purely over-analyzing Disney movies.  In this category, I also include the fascination with photoshopping Disney characters to swap genders, races, or eras, as well as making princesses have "realistic" body shapes (which is something I could write a whole other post about, and it wouldn't be pretty.  Spoiler alert:  I find it to be one of the most unempowering trends of recent years).  However, I sometimes wonder at how much people are reading into Disney movies.  Today, I'm going to over-analyze their over-analysis. I recently read that the fact that Eric is a white prince is a representation of how we white-wash racial expectations for our children.  I'm not even sure what that sentence means.  It seems to have a lot of buzz words.  But I'm going to show you today, using evidence from the film, why Prince Eric is, in fact, the correct color. (I will, however, say that Eric is the only Disney prince who legitimatel
Read more

Derevaun Seraun! Derevaun Seraun!

James Joyce is my kind of guy. He made puzzles that I like to think are just for me. He was a great lover of languages, and he is sometimes called the father of a literary technique called polyglotism. This is when you insert other languages in there. Just 'cuz. So, in James Joyce's wonderful story, "Eveline" there is a phrase that nobody knows what it is. Even to this day. "Derevaun Seraun! Derevaun Seraun!" Many people believe it to be corrupted Irish Gaelic. Needing a break from homework, I have approached this by taking the words and then transliterating them into Irish Gaelic, trying to create Irish Gaelic that would be spoken by someone of this status in this time in Ireland. Nationalist, but not educated enough to actually understand all the ins and outs of the language. I came up with two possible phrases that I find very probable. And I'm not pretending to solve the mystery. If Joyce experts over the years have not discovered the mean
Read more

What does it mean to be a Russell?

Image
As many know, most European families (not all, but most) have a coat of arms, a crest, a motto, all that good stuff. So, I decided to look a bit into what being a Russell means. And maybe I'll do the same for Hatches, because I am a Hatch too. The last name Russell is Scottish and means "Red-headed" and derives from the Norman name of Roussel. The Russells are a well-respected Highland Scot clan, complete with Scottish crest and tartan: The motto on the crest "virtus sine macula" means "Virtue without blemish." As Scotland incorporated more and more into England, the Russells became nobility in that world as well, and were thus presented with a coat of arms: And yes, the motto written on that one is "che sara sara." You've got to admit, that's pretty gosh-darn cool. It really does mean "Whatever will be, will be." And in honor of that:
Read more