1 Nephi 11:14-22
14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?
15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.
16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?
17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.
Remembering Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection is so important for me. As I ponder His existence I am able to feel God’s love more purely and more intensely; for Christ’s sacrifice, and the very fact that He was born to an Earthly mother and existed here, testifies more than anything else of God’s love for His children.
I love the way that Nephi writes his feelings. First and Second Nephi have always been two of my favorite books of scripture. His way of expressing his feelings openly and honestly touches my heart. I love in these verses how purely he expresses God’s love for us. Especially in verse 22 when he says that, “God’s love is the most desirable above all things.”
In today’s world of materialism, it’s easy to want so many physical things that we see others have. We are constantly bombarded with images of what others have obtained, where they have vacationed, or how nice their house is. It’s easy to lose track of what the most desirable thing truly is–to feel God’s love.
Sometimes life is confusing, there are so many things in this life that don’t make sense. Good people suffer, evil people prosper, innocent people are victimized, there is sickness and poverty, etc. That is why verse 17 is one of my absolute favorite verses of scripture:
17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
It’s ok if all we truly know, deep down in our heart, is that God loves us! We don’t have to have all the answers, we don’t have to know every detail of why certain things are or aren’t. We can simply take comfort in the fact that God knows everything and that He loves us.
My human brain sometimes gets stuck on the how of so many things. How did Mary conceive, how could the atonement possibly work for all of humankind, how can we be resurrected and live again? However, the how matters little compared to the WHY. All of these things are possible because God loves us! It is beautiful and miraculous and knowing and feeling God’s love in my life has brought so much peace to my soul.
It’s absolutely ok to seek for more knowledge, to ask questions and strive to receive answers through the Holy Ghost. Just know that it is not necessary to know EVERYTHING. We can press forward simply knowing that all things are done in the wisdom of He who loves us more than we can imagine. Seek after His love, and happiness will abound.
I am a wife to an amazing man and a mom to an 18 month old girl with another girl on the way! I am a certified footzone therapy practitioner, and I love holistic health remedies, essential oils, and living (er, trying to live) a healthy lifestyle. I dream of having a gaggle of kids and animals one day. Obsessed with Harry Potter, football, and elephants. In that order.
I love this. Recently, I’ve had trouble with these questions and trying to understand everything and the reasons why things were done in our church’s past, etc. But, what really matters is the core doctrine of the Atonement and Christ and God’s love for us.