Jarom 1:4

"And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked.  And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith."
Jarom 1:4


I went to the zoo recently and I was watching the giraffe.  You'd think with such a long neck, she would be able to take a drink without any gymnastics... but unfortunately that isn't the case.  she had to practically do the splits to be able to get her head low enough to drink.  giraffes are kind of stiffnecked. :)  though I am sure they are fine in a spiritual sense, this scripture reminded me of that this morning... and I wonder, because we aren't too physically stiffnecked, why are we that way spiritually sometimes?  I think for me, that it is pretty hard to be humble enough to listen to God and accept what he tells me.  I usually figure that I can decide for myself which commandments to work on this week, and when I find out that God had a harder lesson in store, sometimes I don't want to do it.  it is hard to admit that God knows best sometimes, and that even though it requires more effort, there is a lesson to be learned in doing what he asks.  I think it is especially hard for me when he asks me to actually listen to "authority" or "my elders" ... sometimes I have a problem with that. :)  But, God is cool... and he knows what he is doing.  If I can actually relax and do what he says instead of having an attitude of rebellion the whole time, then sometimes I actually learn something.  and when I can combine that with faith... then we get into the promise of this whole scripture... listening to God and submitting to his will... and having faith in the outcome... means that you get to hang out with the Holy Spirit, who is the one that fills us up... with knowledge and love, and happiness. :)