Doctrine and Covenants 6: 18-21, 29-37

 

How are you able to consistently "look unto Christ in every thought"?

"18 Therefore be diligent; stand by my servant Joseph, faithfully, in whatsoever difficult circumstances he may be for the word’s sake.

19 Admonish him in his faults, and also receive admonition of him. Be patient; be sober; be temperate; have patience, faith, hope and charity.

20 Behold, thou art Oliver, and I have spoken unto thee because of thy desires; therefore treasure up these words in thy heart. Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love.

21 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the same that came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.

29 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if they reject my words, and this part of my gospel and ministry, blessed are ye, for they can do no more unto you than unto me.

30 And even if they do unto you even as they have done unto me, blessed are ye, for you shall dwell with me in glory.

31 But if they reject not my words, which shall be established by the testimony which shall be given, blessed are they, and then shall ye have joy in the fruit of your labors.

32 Verily, verily, I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples, where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them—even so am I in the midst of you.

33 Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.

34 Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

35 Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.

36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen." (Doctrine and Covenants 6: 18-21, 29-37)

And here's the commentary entitled: "Look unto Christ in every thought." : 

"The Lord knew Joseph Smith would experience “difficult circumstances” in coming years (Doctrine and Covenants 6:18). He knows what trials are in your future too. What do you find in His counsel to Joseph and Oliver in Doctrine and Covenants 6:18–21, 29–37 that helps you trust Him?

What do you feel it means to “look unto [Christ] in every thought”? (verse 36). How can you do this more consistently—during good times and “difficult circumstances”? Consider this counsel from President Russell M. Nelson: “It is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto Him in every thought. But when we do, our doubts and fears flee” (“Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 41).

6:39

Doubt Not, Fear Not

See also Neil L. Andersen, “My Mind Caught Hold upon This Thought of Jesus Christ,” Liahona, May 2023, 91–94.

Detail of Behold My Hand, by Jeffrey Ward"

"Look unto Christ in every thought" for me means having the consistent flow of thought of Jesus Christ as our default mode network so whenever our mind gets occupied with something else like a project we're working on, our mind easily returns to thinking of Jesus Christ. By choosing to be grateful for everything I've been able to do this more consistently. 

Mormon 8: 3, 5, 22, 16; 9: 36; 8: 35, 9: 30

What made it possible for you not to feel lonely? How have you found hope in Jesus Christ and how is your hope in Jesus Christ helping you to stay true to your mission even when you are alone?

"3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not.

5 Behold, my father hath made this record, and he hath written the intent thereof. And behold, I would write it also if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none, for I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not." (Mormon 8: 3, 5)

"22 For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled." (Mormon 8: 22)

"16 And blessed be he that shall bring this thing to light; for it shall be brought out of darkness unto light, according to the word of God; yea, it shall be brought out of the earth, and it shall shine forth out of darkness, and come unto the knowledge of the people; and it shall be done by the power of God." (Mormon 8: 16)

"36 And behold, these things which we have desired concerning our brethren, yea, even their restoration to the knowledge of Christ, are according to the prayers of all the saints who have dwelt in the land." (Mormon 9: 36)

 

"35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." (Mormon 8: 35)

"30 Behold, I speak unto you as though I spake from the dead; for I know that ye shall have my words." (Mormon 9: 30)

And here's the introductory commentary for this week's reading assignment entitled: "November 4–10: “I Speak unto You as If Ye Were Present” Mormon 7–9 : 

"Moroni knew what it felt like to be alone in a wicked world—especially after his father died in battle and the Nephites were destroyed. “I even remain alone,” he wrote. “I have not friends nor whither to go” (Mormon 8:3, 5). Things may have seemed hopeless, but Moroni found hope in Jesus Christ and his testimony that “the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on” (Mormon 8:22). And Moroni knew that a key part of those eternal purposes would be the Book of Mormon—the record he was now diligently completing, the record that would one day bring many people “to the knowledge of Christ” (Mormon 8:16; 9:36). Moroni’s faith in these promises made it possible for him to declare to the future readers of this book, “I speak unto you as if ye were present,” and “I know that ye shall have my words” (Mormon 8:35; 9:30). Now we do have his words, and the Lord’s work is rolling forth, in part because Mormon and Moroni stayed true to their mission, even when they were alone."

Indeed it's possible for us not to feel lonely even when we are alone because we choose what we feel. And when we look to God when we are alone, we definitely won't feel lonely. One way of looking to God is learning of Him as we His word. 

Just as Mormon and Moroni, we can find hope in Jesus Christ and stay true to our mission even when we are alone. "Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world, " the Lord said. The Lord indeed has overcome the world through His Atonement. So, whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, we know that there is always hope. We know that our effort in doing what we can to fulfill our life's mission will not be wasted. Even though we may not see the result within our entire lifetime, we know the result will come. 

Alma 29: 11-12

Have you ever felt that you were in bondage? Alma remembers how his fathers were in bondage, and they couldn't establish His church while in captivity and that the Lord deliver them just as He did deliver them "out of the hands of the Egyptians."

 "11 Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the ^aLord did deliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage.

12 Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God who ^adelivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did deliver them out of ^bbondage."

Just as Alma's fathers were delivered from bondage by the Lord, God is able to deliver us from our bondage of any kind--physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, financial, you name it.

 I can think of a couple of times when I was in bondage. The first one was during those number of years that I was carrying my own burden of sin. I knew God has forgiven me and yet I wasn't able to forgive myself. And so I was feeling like I don't deserve certain blessings. And when I realized I was supposed to forgive myself, and I did, my burden of sin was lifted. And it opened the way for me to receive the blessings I've been longing for and I was able to finally receive such blessings. All along, the Lord already has forgiven me. I was the one keeping myself in bondage. 

The second time was when I was teaching a lot of classes at my school. For a number of year I was have 20-22 classes. And on one particular year, it was 23 total of classes. I was teaching each class of 5th and 6th graders once a week. And each class has 30-35 students. So, I got about a total of 700 students in one school year! Imagine when it's time to mark the test papers after each exam. I would have lots of sleepless nights marking all the students' test papers! And there were also individual workbooks and worksheets I would check. I was feeling like I was indeed in bondage at that time. And then one day, as I was reading the Book of Mormon, I came across the passage which is about that time when Alma the first and his people were put in bondage by Amulon, the Nephite leader of the Lamanites who was also one of the priests of King Noah just as Alma was. Alma the first couldn't establish the church among his people because they were prohibited to even say their prayers aloud. So, they poured out their hearts in prayer to God. And God did hear their cry. Their burdens were not lifted right away. The Lord did strengthen them that they were able to carry their burdens easily. And then they were eventually delivered from bondage. And the Lord did strengthen me as well...And so I was able to carry my own burden cheerfully. I was able to find joy teaching my 700 students and marking their work even when I was having very little sleep. And I decided to pray for my boss and so my attitude towards her suddenly changed. I was able to see how she's just doing the best she could in fulfilling her own duties and responsibilities as the head of our department. I stopped judging her in my thoughts. And suddenly her attitude towards me has changed as well. Before I thought she didn't like me and she wanted to fire me. And then suddenly I heard my Irish teaching partner telling me that my boss does like me. And yes, she paired me up with my Irish co-teacher to teach the same subject. I got moved to teach a different subject which is a lot easier to teach compared with my former subject. And my teaching loads was lessened. It went down to 16 classes! And over the years my number of classes went down even more until it's only 2 classes. And this since the past school year, my number of classes has been down to only one class. I'm just teaching them 5 subjects. 

I said I can think of two and yet here's the third one. Actually I'm at a point at this time when I'm transitioning to a new career where I could work from home full-time and I will have more freedom. I'm breaking free from the bondage of working for 8 hours with overtime work at home from time to time. The challenge I'm going through because of the pandemic has made me decide to leave my teaching job at school and pursue a new career working from home. And when I am able to work from home full-time, I will have more time to spend with my family, friends and I will have more time for ministering and doing temple work. And this has been my goal. So, the situation I'm going through is actually a blessing in disguise. The Lord wants me to reach my goal quicker so I could spend more of my time fulfilling the mission He has called me to do in this earthly life. 

What is your mission? How is the Lord directing your life so you could fulfill the mission He has called you to do?

Alma 29: 1-10

With what's going on right now in the world, I can totally relate to Ammon as he wishes that he was an angel. 

 "1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the ^atrump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and ^acome unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their ^adesire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their ^bwills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.

5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is ^ablameless; but he that ^bknoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of ^cconscience.

6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to ^aperform the work to which I have been called?

7 Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth?

8 For behold, the Lord doth ^agrant unto ^ball nations, of their own nation and ^ctongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he ^dseeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.

9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do ^anot ^bglory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember ^awhat the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me."

The Lord is in charge. And He cares for all His children in every nation of the earth. And he grants teachers for all nations. Every one of His children has the opportunity to hear His word and to make the choice to repent and change according to their own free will. God honors His children's free agency. He never forces you and me to obey His words. 

With the technology we have now, we can see everything that's going on around the world. And it's easy to become critical of those who are making wrong decisions for themselves and for others around them. Well, they don't know what they don't know. And if they are able to know of what they don't know that they don't know, they would probably do better. God is a merciful God and He is giving every one a second chance. He is the ultimate judge. It's His job to judge, not yours, not mine. Unless you're working in a court of justice where you are implementing the law of the land and in charge of judging those who are disrupting the peace and order of the community, it's not your job to judge any human being who is a child of God. God is implementing His laws and commandments. Every thought, word and action of each one of us, doesn't escape His glance. He is the most powerful being and He is all-knowing. He is just and true. He is perfect. He is a God of both justice and mercy. He judges us according to our actions and the desires of our hearts. If there are people who are able to get away with disobeying the law of the land, no one could get away with disobeying the law of God. So, when we see what's going on in this world and want to call out those who are making wrong choices and affecting many people, maybe they don't know what they don't know. And in God's perfect timetable, they will be given a chance to hear God's word and make their own decision to obey or reject it. And in the end, they, along with every human being who was born and lived on this earth, will be judged of their thoughts, words and actions. So, is there anything to worry about if a lot of people are disobeying God at this moment in time when we know that everyone is accountable in God's eyes? And God already carried the burden of punishment of everyone's sins through His Only Begotten Son. God has overcome the world already. We all have the privilege to repent and be forgiven of our sins. And we will all live again after we die. So, even though there are people whose sins cause death of other people, since God already overcame death and all of us will live again, then why do we need to worry about people who are making wrong choices? Other people's choices is not under our control. We were all given the freedom of choice. Just as God honors our free agency, we can also do the same.