"And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him.
Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.
And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him."
Helaman 12:1-3
This is somewhat disheartening, but seems very accurate on a societal level. This is often how we behave... forgetting God exactly when he is blessing us the most, and turning to him only when we feel lost and are desperate. Does it have to be that way though? Absolutely not. Even if the majority of people are behaving that way, it doesn't mean that we have to let that cycle happen in our lives. We can work to remember God more in our lives right now, and the longer we can keep reminding ourselves and turning to God, the more we can break the cycle.
There are a lot of things in our lives that can remind us of God. Prayers are a really good way. Having a prayer in our heart always is ideal of course, but good reminders are praying in the morning when we get up, at night when we go to bed, and at mealtimes. That kind of schedule isn't because God only wants to hear from us at those certain times, or even that we're in trouble if we forget those times in our lives, but because of what these verses are all about--helping us remember, and not falter in our dedication to God right when he is helping us the most.
Other things we can do are putting up pictures or scriptures on the wall to remind us of God and the lessons that have been important to us. One of my favorites is Psalms 94:17: "Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence." Of course, there are many, many others just as good, and even better if they are of significance to you personally. So many things in the gospel are designed to remind us of God and of Christ's sacrifice for us. This last year has sometimes made it harder to participate regularly in all of those reminders... so all the more important to include those reminders in our lives every day, helping us to "feel so now" (Alma 5:26), and to "retain in remembrance" the greatness of God (Mosiah 4:11) and how much we need him in our lives.
Today, let's take some time to set up some additional reminders in our lives, and continue to work on the ones that are already there, so that we can always remember our Savior and our redeemer, and look to him in every thought (D&C 6:36).
Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.
And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him."
Helaman 12:1-3
This is somewhat disheartening, but seems very accurate on a societal level. This is often how we behave... forgetting God exactly when he is blessing us the most, and turning to him only when we feel lost and are desperate. Does it have to be that way though? Absolutely not. Even if the majority of people are behaving that way, it doesn't mean that we have to let that cycle happen in our lives. We can work to remember God more in our lives right now, and the longer we can keep reminding ourselves and turning to God, the more we can break the cycle.
There are a lot of things in our lives that can remind us of God. Prayers are a really good way. Having a prayer in our heart always is ideal of course, but good reminders are praying in the morning when we get up, at night when we go to bed, and at mealtimes. That kind of schedule isn't because God only wants to hear from us at those certain times, or even that we're in trouble if we forget those times in our lives, but because of what these verses are all about--helping us remember, and not falter in our dedication to God right when he is helping us the most.
Other things we can do are putting up pictures or scriptures on the wall to remind us of God and the lessons that have been important to us. One of my favorites is Psalms 94:17: "Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence." Of course, there are many, many others just as good, and even better if they are of significance to you personally. So many things in the gospel are designed to remind us of God and of Christ's sacrifice for us. This last year has sometimes made it harder to participate regularly in all of those reminders... so all the more important to include those reminders in our lives every day, helping us to "feel so now" (Alma 5:26), and to "retain in remembrance" the greatness of God (Mosiah 4:11) and how much we need him in our lives.
Today, let's take some time to set up some additional reminders in our lives, and continue to work on the ones that are already there, so that we can always remember our Savior and our redeemer, and look to him in every thought (D&C 6:36).
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