Joshua 4:21 -- On Memory

"And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever."
Joshua 4:21


So much of the gospel seems to rely on memory. These verses remind me of Moroni asking us to remember the mercy of God to his children in Moroni 10:3. The scriptures are themselves a memory aid, trying to "enlarge the memory" of the people (Alma 37:8) and help us to turn to God. The same goes on a smaller scale in our own lives. We have spiritual experiences in our lives, but if we don't remember them, then they don't do us much good. A lot of what God, through the Holy Ghost, does in our lives is jog our memories... helping us to remember, as the prodigal son did, how much better life was in our Father's house than when we left him and things started to fall apart. New experiences with God help as well, of course. Prayer, going to church, having gospel conversations with others... all of these things help us learn of God and hold on to the spirit. Another thing that aids in spiritual memory is writing. Journals, used wisely, can enlarge our memories in a good way and help us remember things that God has taught us. Rewatching Conference talks, listening to hymns, having pictures of the temple in our homes... all of these things are for the same reason--to help us remember God all the time. Today, let's work on our own memory aids. We might not be able to look at the stones that Joshua commanded to be brought out of Jordan, but we do have other things that help us remember the goodness and the amazing, awesome power of God that we can trust in to help us through life. Let's write them down, or post them on our wall, or whatever it takes to keep the Lord more fully in our minds and our hearts. :)