"With"
Today in my Book of Mormon class, we had a very special and sacred lesson that meant a lot to me. We talked about "the crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon. . . the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after His resurrection" (Introduction to the Book of Mormon). The Nephites were a group of people who lived in the ancient Americas. They fluctuated as to their righteousness and humility and their wickedness and pride. Sometime after Christ was crucified and rose from the dead, He appeared unto those among this group who were more righteous than those who had rejected God's prophets.
I truly believe that this is true--that Jesus Christ did come down to earth to teach His people in the Americas, to heal them, and to let them witness His presence and "see with their eyes and did feel with their hands" so that they could "know of a surety and. . .bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come" (3 Nephi 11:15).
It was Him. It was the One that they had heard about, and forgotten, and been reminded of for centuries. It was He who they had heard had been the source of many miracles and in whose name the prophets had declared repentance. It was He whose birth had been prophesied of by signs such as a star and many other miraculous occurrences in the heavens. For some of them, it was He whom they had only passively believed. For others, it was He whom they had looked to with hope all their lives.
It was He.
And here He was, doing just as He told His people He would do. He came. He fulfilled prophecies. He saved.
Sometime after the Savior's death and before He physically came down to visit the Nephites, the people heard a voice coming from heaven. It was His voice. Today as I read some of His words from this occurrence, I was touched by this verse.
"Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name" (3 Nephi 9:15).
What I especially loved from this was the phrase, "I was with the Father from the beginning."
Could anything be truer? Hasn't the Savior been with the Father since the beginning? Not physically, necessarily, but in will and desire? Have They not always been on the same page? Before we came to this earth, our Heavenly Father presented a plan for the happiness and progression of His children that involved coming to this earth to be tested and to learn to become more like Him. While Satan and some of God's children opposed the plan, Jesus Christ was on our Father's side. He not only supported the plan, but He was willing to do all that the Father would ask Him to do to carry out the plan. He was willing to fulfill all things--and even give His life to save all mankind.
Christ was with our Heavenly Father then.
Surely Christ was also with our Heavenly Father throughout His mortal life. On one occasion, Jesus said, "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me" (John 6:38). In everything that He did, the Savior demonstrated His wholehearted dedication to the Father's plan. He was on His side, and in purpose and will I believe that He was with the Father.
My prayer is that I, and all of us, can choose to be on the same side as our Heavenly Father today-- that through our daily efforts, through sacred covenants made through Priesthood power, and through communication with our Heavenly Father in prayer we can be with Him. Though we may not physically be with Him today, someday, we can be, if only we choose to align ourselves with His will and walk with Him throughout the gift of this beautiful earthly life.
God loves you. He will help you. I know that greater peace and happiness can come when we turn to Him, focus on Him, and try to align our will with His. We can feel closeness to Him. He hears and answers prayers. I also know that being with God is not always easy, but that as we make efforts to turn to Him little by little, it is absolutely possible.
Love you!
Abby
