Was there a time when you may have felt distant from God? How have you felt during those moments?
" 1 Now behold, it came to pass that I, Jacob, having ministered much unto my people in word, (and I cannot write but a alittle of my words, because of the bdifficulty of engraving our words upon plates) and we know that the things which we write upon plates must remain;
2 But whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon aplates must perish and vanish away; but we can write a few words upon plates, which will give our children, and also our beloved brethren, a small degree of knowledge concerning us, or concerning their fathers—
3 Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first aparents.
4 For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we aknew of Christ, and we had a hope of his bglory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy cprophets which were before us.
5 Behold, they believed in Christ and aworshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his bname. And for this intent we ckeep the dlaw of Moses, it epointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a fsimilitude of God and his gOnly Begotten Son.
6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of aprophecy; and having all these bwitnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can ccommand in the dname of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.
7 Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our aweakness that we may know that it is by his bgrace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.
8 Behold, great and marvelous are the aworks of the Lord. How bunsearchable are the depths of the cmysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man dknoweth of his eways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the frevelations of God.
9 For behold, by the power of his aword bman came upon the face of the earth, which earth was ccreated by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, O then, why not able to command the dearth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?
10 Wherefore, brethren, seek not to acounsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in bwisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.
11 Wherefore, beloved brethren, be areconciled unto him through the batonement of Christ, his cOnly Begotten Son, and ye may obtain a dresurrection, according to the epower of the resurrection which is in Christ, and be presented as the ffirst-fruits of Christ unto God, having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh.
12 And now, beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; for why not aspeak of the atonement of Christ, and attain to a perfect knowledge of him, as to attain to the knowledge of a resurrection and the world to come?
13 Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the understanding of men; for the aSpirit speaketh the btruth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really care, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us dplainly, for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also espake them unto prophets of old.
14 But behold, the Jews were a astiffnecked people; and they bdespised the words of cplainness, and dkilled the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their eblindness, which fblindness came by looking beyond the gmark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they hcannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may istumble.
15 And now I, Jacob, am led on by the Spirit unto prophesying; for I perceive by the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that by the astumbling of the bJews they will creject the dstone upon which they might build and have safe foundation.
16 But behold, according to the scriptures, this astone shall become the great, and the last, and the only sure bfoundation, upon which the Jews can build.
17 And now, my beloved, how is it possible that these, after having rejected the sure foundation, can aever build upon it, that it may become the head of their corner?
18 Behold, my beloved brethren, I will unfold this mystery unto you; if I do not, by any means, get shaken from my firmness in the Spirit, and stumble because of my over anxiety for you." (Jacob 4)
"23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." (Matthew 5: 23-24)
"24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved." (2 Nephi 10: 24)
And here's the commentary entitled: "I can be reconciled to God through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.":
"Jacob pleaded with his people to “be reconciled unto [God] through the atonement of Christ” (Jacob 4:11). One definition of reconcile is to restore to friendship or harmony. As you ponder your own life, think about a time when you may have felt distant from Heavenly Father. How does the Savior help you restore this relationship? What counsel can you find in this chapter that helps you reconcile with God? (see verses 4–11).
What additional insights do you gain from Matthew 5:23–24? How can the Savior help you reconcile with God—and others?
See also 2 Nephi 10:24."
There was a time in my life when I was not as obedient as I am now. I was giving it to temptations. Though I would repent, I was not fully repentant--would give in to temptations again and again. I was not taking full responsibility for my own decisions--my choice of thoughts, words, and actions. And I was feeling guilty. My life was somehow pleasing to God and yet, not totally. This went on for decades until I realized I could be forgiven of my own sins fully. God is always willing to forgive me. It's me who needed to forgive myself. I was carrying the burden of my own sins alone while my Savior Jesus Christ already carried it for me. When I finally did forgive myself, all that heavy burden I carried for many years was lifted. I felt so relieved and it became easier for me to forgive others as well. And I realized that my life has already been transforming from not-so-pleasing to my Heavenly Father to being more pleasing to Him. Because of the Atonement, I can be forgiven of my sins when I repent. Repentance is a process and part of it is forgiving myself. When I finally was able to do that my repentance became complete and I was able to feel that my life has been already more pleasing to my Heavenly Father and His Son, my elder brother, Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful to understand that I can share my load, my burden of sins with my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am not alone, I never was and I never will be. And I'm so grateful that I have learned to forgive myself and others because I realized that God already has forgiven me.
This quote came to mind as I'm writing my thoughts here:
"Jesus Christ is the “hope in thine end.” Nothing we have or have not done is beyond the reach of His infinite and eternal sacrifice. He is the reason why it is never the end of our story.26 Therefore we “must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if [we] shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: [We] shall have eternal life.”27
Eternal life is eternal joy. Joy in this life, right now—not despite the challenges of our day but because of the Lord’s help to learn from and ultimately overcome them—and immeasurable joy in the life to come. Tears will dry up, broken hearts will be mended, what is lost shall be found, concerns shall be resolved, families will be restored, and all that the Father hath will be ours.28" (Sister Amy A. Wright, Abide the Day in Christ, October 2023 General Conference)
I used to say, "Despite the challenges I went through, I'm able to remain faithful unto the Lord" What Sister Wright said in this quote made me realize, I can reframe this so it will have more impact. And now I say, "Because of the Lord's help, I'm able to rise above my challenges and remain faithful. I can do all things through Christ indeed. I can be reconciled to God through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and you can too.
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