"O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever."
Jacob 3:2
This idea of firmness of mind is what struck me today. Another place it is found in the scriptures is referring to the stripling warriors in Alma 57:27: "their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually."
I imagine that this mental firmness is probably the opposite of what it talks about in James 1:6: "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."
I think we waver a lot. We get a message from God and the first thing that we do is doubt it, wanting more and more signs that God is really there. Or we start out doing what God asks in confidence and then when it doesn't seem to work out, we start wondering if we should follow God at all. We're very fickle that way, which is probably why the very first commandment is about sticking with God, not haring off after whatever else we imagine will serve us better at the time.
One thing that I know that helps mental firmness is practice. It is that determination to just keep doing what we need to do, no matter what. For instance, praying every day. Reading our scriptures every day. Going to church every week. Taking the time to communicate with and follow God consistently. Those things teach us what God is, what he is like, how he talks to us. That helps us recognize his voice and his spirit when he communicates with us... and it can help quell our doubts and shore up our confidence.
Today, let's work on firmness of mind. Let's stop flapping in the wind and stick with God. As we do, we'll be able to lay hold on this promise and lift up our heads, unashamed of following God and being good people. I love the phrase "feast upon his love" because we try to fill so many holes in our lives with other things, and it never works. God is what will fill us. Let's stop trying other things that just make everything worse and stay with God, who makes everything better.
Jacob 3:2
This idea of firmness of mind is what struck me today. Another place it is found in the scriptures is referring to the stripling warriors in Alma 57:27: "their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually."
I imagine that this mental firmness is probably the opposite of what it talks about in James 1:6: "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."
I think we waver a lot. We get a message from God and the first thing that we do is doubt it, wanting more and more signs that God is really there. Or we start out doing what God asks in confidence and then when it doesn't seem to work out, we start wondering if we should follow God at all. We're very fickle that way, which is probably why the very first commandment is about sticking with God, not haring off after whatever else we imagine will serve us better at the time.
One thing that I know that helps mental firmness is practice. It is that determination to just keep doing what we need to do, no matter what. For instance, praying every day. Reading our scriptures every day. Going to church every week. Taking the time to communicate with and follow God consistently. Those things teach us what God is, what he is like, how he talks to us. That helps us recognize his voice and his spirit when he communicates with us... and it can help quell our doubts and shore up our confidence.
Today, let's work on firmness of mind. Let's stop flapping in the wind and stick with God. As we do, we'll be able to lay hold on this promise and lift up our heads, unashamed of following God and being good people. I love the phrase "feast upon his love" because we try to fill so many holes in our lives with other things, and it never works. God is what will fill us. Let's stop trying other things that just make everything worse and stay with God, who makes everything better.
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