One of the 7

You know, sometimes people just don't take a hint.  They do the same thing over and over again and never learn.  Albert Einstein defines stupidity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  (A little forewarning, the next statement I am about to make may sound a bit strange and insane coming from a missionary, but it will make sense by the end.)  As I have been reading the Book of Mormon again, it has been made blatantly clear that the Nephites just didn't get it.

The Nephites fall into the same cycle over and over again.  Pride.

"1Behold, the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction..."  By the end of the Book of Mormon, we see the complete destruction of the Nephite people, save it be the lone Prophet Moroni.  Their destruction was because of their pride.  All through the Bible and the Book of Mormon we can see a standard cycle: the people are obedient to the Lord; the Lord blesses them; the people begin to be prideful; they start to forget the Lord; wickedness sinks into their hearts; and then, it's time for a little humbling.

"2And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

We all need a little humbling from time to time.  Humility is a Christlike attribute.  Something each of us need to strive to attain.  Sadly the Nephites, and each of us, kinda forgot this.  We do this little dance/circle over and over and over again.  Obedience, blessings, pride, smack-down time by the Lord.  Ideally, all of us would just be humble all the time.  But, none of us are perfect (yet). 

Recently, I too was like the Nephites.  I needed some humbling.  As you may have noticed, my blog seems somewhat bare and picture free.  Well, in an effort to be more obedient to the Lord and all His commandments, I have gone through and deleted any and all pictures that were not taken by myself or someone I have permission to have them from.  At first, I was heartbroken that I had to get rid of all these pictures.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how prideful I was being.  So what if my blog would look a little plainer.  It's not the pictures that make or break the message I am here to deliver.  I was called to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  That is my purpose.  It's not to have the "prettiest" blog.

So here I stand (or sit I suppose), having been sufficiently humbled by the Lord.  Will it stop here?  Goodness no!  But I look forward to the humbling and the chance to draw ever nearer to my Savior and our loving Father in Heaven.