1 Nephi 15:7-9,11

This year members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are reading the Book of Mormon together. As in, each week members are given the same set of chapters to read from the Book of Mormon, starting at the beginning and going through the end. If you'd like to follow along, you can look up today's date using this link and see what chapters we're reading during the week.  Typically, Scott and I like to read chapters together on Sunday, and then finish reading or discussing our thoughts during the rest of the week.

I didn't realized how passionate I was about this particular set of scriptures until I started sharing my thoughts about them to my family. In 1 Nephi 15:7-9, Nephi (the author of these chapters in the Book of Mormon) is speaking with his older brothers about a vision that their father Lehi had seen. Nephi's brothers were confused about the interpretation of the vision and mentioned their confusion to Nephi (who speaks in the first person in these verses).

7 And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive tree, and also concerning the Gentiles.

8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?

9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.

*Inserting my commentary again... Before I go deep on my soapbox, I'll just preface my longwinded-ness to say that your personal spirituality/ relationship with God/ testimony of truth takes work. There's no getting around the work part if you truly want your own spiritual life. If you're ambivalent about making an effort, then you may continue to be dependent on others' insights for spiritual progression. That's the summary... here comes the depth.

Recently I finished a book about goal setting called Atomic Habits by James Clear. I bring up this book so often now in conversations because the principles of habits are genius, and apparently the concepts even come to mind when I read the scriptures. In the beginning of this book about establishing habits, the author talks about how you need to see yourself already as being what you want to become. For example, if you want to quit smoking, you need to start referring to yourself as a non-smoker because that mentality will give you motivation to not smoke.

A brief explanation, but applying that concept here, if you want to be a more independent spiritual thinker, then you need to refer to yourself as a scriptorian or spiritual person and start acting like that persona and building habits like a spiritual person would build. In the above verses, Nephi's older brothers did not see themselves as people who receive personal revelation or spiritual confirmations, and already that mentality is going to make it harder for them to be open and prepared to receive the personal spiritual insights that Heavenly Father wants to give them.

Here's the thing, I believe that all people living on this Earth are spirit children of God, and thus have the right to hear from Him, to receive direction and answers. That message may not come in a vision or an audible voice. It usually doesn't. Most of the time, I feel a spiritual confirmation of a truth I hadn't previously understood, and that comes after I ponder, study, pray, and discuss.

Nephi outlines this process for his brothers in a subsequent verse:

11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.

This is a topic that I could discuss for awhile, but I won't write too much more here because that would be boring.

Last words on this topic for now: See yourself as a spiritual being who can receive personal direction from God! Set yourself up for success by creating habits that encourage revelation (study, ponder, ask, pray, listen).

If you already see yourself as a spiritual person, the best thing you can do for someone who is trying to be more spiritual is to ask him/her questions and encourage studying it out for themselves. From personal experience I can say, that telling someone the answer that you received will either provide no relief or only temporary strength. The Holy Spirit teaches us on an individual curriculum that makes sense for what we are experiencing in life, and that person you're "helping" can only sustain their spirituality through the work it takes to listen to their own curriculum.

*Soapbox exit... unless you get me started again, an opportunity which I would be happy to oblige in person.