Nephi's Formula for Success

I have been reading various books on success lately. i have been a student of Stephen R. Covey for many years, but I have been led to authors who are more inclined to the internal attitudes that allow us to accept success an what God would think, support and encourage (or not) with respect to our achieving success, including great wealth. It has been an interesting introspective journey for me. i had thought that i had overcome my negative feelings about wealth and wealthy people, but I have much to get beyond.

With that on my mind and knowing that we are not on this earth just to get by or waste the great, godly potential with which we came to this planet, i read Nephi's prayer and lamentation with new eyes. I had been living in hotel rooms by myself for the entire week just prior to writing this in my study journal and upon reflection I discovered that in the past that would have been a giant waste of time at best. This time I spent almost no time watching TV, but instead read, and wrote goals and affirmations.

What I learned from Nephi are the following concepts:

1. We are to delight in the scriptures. His family was "goodly" so they had access to education and to the scriptures. Others regarded them lightly; he delighted in them. I don't remember when I started to do so; probably beginning with the New Testament while on my mission. I have been delighting in all the scriptures for many decades. It has been a source of joy in my life for which I am very grateful.

2. Ponder their messages in our hearts. The proud who are learned ponder in their heads; they know them well. The humble ponder in their hearts. They feel the joy that will come when they conform their lives to the teachings, even before they are in perfect compliance. They are deeply grateful and committed.

3. Write scripture. This was an entirely new concept for me. I believe what I am writing now is scripture. According to Nephi, we write scripture to achieve 1.) the learning of our children and 2.) for the profit of our children. Perhaps if our children read our study journals they will learn principles and gain insights they had not before known or appreciated. They may profit if they can stand on our shoulders and achieve greater heights than we. Perhaps that is one reason Preach My Gospel recommends keeping a study journal.

4. Recognize and repent from our iniquities. Each time we make that journey through these precious writings we gain new insights. Not that our former selves were evil, but that they were incomplete. The more we read the more we gain deeper appreciation of our areas of needed improvement and let God guide us to the wholeness he promises. Sister Camille Fronk in speaking about the Savior's injunction to be perfect used the analogy of the green tomato. It is not rotten and should not be tossed out, it is just not yet "complete" or "whole" which is another interpretation of the word "perfect" as it is translated from the Greek. I carry the analogy further. It will become its most complete if it sits in a sunny area and becomes fully ripe by the light of the sun. Likewise, we can only become whole or complete as we expose ourselves to the light of the SON.

5. Trust in God. Trust is the most basic element of faith. We act in faith not just hoping for the best, but trusting God and expecting the best. His promises will be fulfilled. Nephi then lists the blessings when we apply the lessons of the scriptures:

a. We will receive God's support. I noted in the talk I gave at Elsa's baptism that the atonement not only allowed for repentance from sins, but for all the negative results of the fall of Adam. It doesn't mean that our afflictions will go away if we are obedient (although in some cases, it will), but it does mean that God can take away any fear or sorrow related to those afflictions.

b. God will, as He did with Lehi, lead us through our wilderness and our great deep and in leading us, help us to bear the associated afflictions.

c. Probably the greatest blessing of all - we shall be filled with love. Love beyond anything a person or earthly relationship can provide or expect. A love that is so great it feels like it will consume the flesh. On at least two occasions I have experienced that love and have felt that I might be consumed by that euphoric feeling. One I wrote briefly about in my journal; I don't recall writing about the second, more recent incident. I should, I suppose, because I have difficulty remembering them and unlike recalling the actual feelings of a warm embrace or a welcome homecoming, I cannot recall the exceptional depth of feeling I experienced. On the other hand, such things are deeply sacred and personal and should only be shared rarely and only as prompted by the Holy Ghost.

In further review of love so powerful "unto the consuming of [our] flesh," it occurs that such love will result in consuming all our base, fleshly desires. The Satanic promises of fun and pleasure pale into utter meaninglessness in the light of such love. It is literally the pure love of Christ.

d.We are further blessed in that God will confound and even fight our enemies. I have found that those who profess to be our enemies often turn from that attitude with our loving demeanor. Those who do not turn from their hateful attitude become irrelevant.

e. Our daily prayers are heard. This was a lesson I learned for the first time while serving on my mission. I realized that I did not have sufficient faith (I thought I had none) and began to pray for faith daily, morning and night. One day I needed to act or speak in total reliance on the promises of the scriptures. It wasn't until after the incident that I realized it was an act of faith and that my prayers had been heard.

f. We will be given visions. Not vision, but visions. For me, such things have been rare. Usually (not that they are usual), when it happens it is a very brief glimpse. When It happens, it is clear what I should do. If I do not shut it out because of fear, it always leads to my becoming more than my pathetic mind can imagine or dream.

The results of all this? Nephi lists several:

1. He waxed bold in mighty prayer. His fears did not keep him from asking in faith and expecting miraculous things of God. God was willing to comply because He knew Nephi would never ask anything for vain purposes.

2. Angels came down to minister to his needs and to extend comfort.

3. He was physically carried to a high mountain to be instructed and was given such blessings that he could not write what he had seen in vision. Mountains in our day have been replaced by temples. We can be led by the Spirit if we will, to that sacred, holy place, but it is just a short ride in a car.

Now, the negative. Nephi did not allow himself to grovel in the fact that he was imperfect.

1. Do not all yourself to linger in the valley of sorrow. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in his talk on PRIDE (October 2010) stated that we are not humble when we think less of ourselves, we are humble with we think less about ourselves. It does little good to engage in thoughts about our pitiful situation, how limited we are, what our past foolishness has brought us, the atmosphere in which we were raised or any other valley of sorrow. Instead, he immediately goes from acknowledging his weaknesses and failures into gratitude - deep, heartfelt gratitude.

2. Related to the valley of sorrow is dwelling on our afflictions. Doing so causes our flesh to weaken and we waste away. We cower from fear that is more debilitating than our afflictions.

3. Do not yield to the temptations of the flesh. We must curb the appetites while enjoying all that he earth provides. Meaningful recreation is useful and appropriate, but we must avoid the vulgar, base and counterfeits that make poor substitutes for the joys of life.

When we dwell on the negative, as Nephi points out, we find that these are consequences that can deepen our rebellion creating a downward spiral until we hit bottom and admit that we are the cause of our own misery. Those results:

1. It destroys our peace. Even in the midst of affliction we can feel peace knowing we are on the path God would have us choose. Rebellion never brings peace, but always results in its loss.

2. It afflicts our soul. The true source of life is the soul. No matter what afflicts our body we can enjoy the fruits of the Spirit, the joy of the Gospel and the love that surpasses understanding. But when our soul is afflicted the Spirit of the Lord is grieved and our quest for joy is answered by a hollow existence, at best.

3. Anger with our enemy. A base emotion that can never result in anything uplifting, it is one of the fruits of fear. It is devoid of love.

4. Finally, it weakens us as our strength slackens. We lose contact with the only true source of strength.

Finally, Nephi's reaction to the defeat of his enemies and his receiving such great blessings:

1. Gratitude and rejoicing. "Rejoice my heart." "Cry unto the Lord." "Praise Him forever."

2. Increased faith. As he trust God, his faith is rewarded, resulting in increased confidence and even greater faith.

3. He is delivered from his enemies, including Satan. The gates of Hell are shut before him and Satan's power is greatly diminished.

4. His humility is increased. Notice that his humility increases with the increase of confidence because it is coupled with increased gratitude. He acknowledges a broken heart and a contrite spirit which is the ultimate in humility.

5. He now continues in mighty prayer. Not desperate prayer, not the rote or trite prayer we may have experienced, but prayer that leads to a full and miraculous life.

This is a road map to the greatest and in the end, the only true success in any aspect of life.