Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls (Alma 37:6-7).
and
For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have (2 Nephi 28:30).
In the Old Testament there is a story of a captain named Naaman. He has leprosy, a contagious disease where the skin falls off, and wants to be healed, so it is arranged for the prophet, Elisha, to heal him. When Naaman went to the house of Elisha to be healed, a messenger of Elisha came and told Namaan "Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean (2 Kings 5:10). When Naaman received this instruction he was first insulted since the prophet wouldn't come talk to him directly, and secondly because of the simplicity of the task. But the his servants said unto him:
...My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean (2 Kings 5:13)?
Once he humbled himself and followed the directions of Elisha, he was healed.
In another Old Testament story, the house of Israel is in the wilderness, led by Moses, and the people are complaining that Moses took them from Egypt because they now had no bread, nor water, and they were sick of the manna that fell from heaven to feed them every day. Because of their complaints, the Lord sent fiery (or poisonous) serpents to bite them. The cure to being bitten was to look at a brass serpent that Moses had put on a pole. One simply had to look to be saved. But many wouldn't:
And [the Lord] did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished (1 Nephi 17:41).
This is a type, or a simile to the Savior. The simpleness to the cure of sin is to look to the Savior and be healed.
In the Old Testament there is a story of a captain named Naaman. He has leprosy, a contagious disease where the skin falls off, and wants to be healed, so it is arranged for the prophet, Elisha, to heal him. When Naaman went to the house of Elisha to be healed, a messenger of Elisha came and told Namaan "Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean (2 Kings 5:10). When Naaman received this instruction he was first insulted since the prophet wouldn't come talk to him directly, and secondly because of the simplicity of the task. But the his servants said unto him:
...My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean (2 Kings 5:13)?
Once he humbled himself and followed the directions of Elisha, he was healed.
In another Old Testament story, the house of Israel is in the wilderness, led by Moses, and the people are complaining that Moses took them from Egypt because they now had no bread, nor water, and they were sick of the manna that fell from heaven to feed them every day. Because of their complaints, the Lord sent fiery (or poisonous) serpents to bite them. The cure to being bitten was to look at a brass serpent that Moses had put on a pole. One simply had to look to be saved. But many wouldn't:
And [the Lord] did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished (1 Nephi 17:41).
This is a type, or a simile to the Savior. The simpleness to the cure of sin is to look to the Savior and be healed.
It is truly by the simple things in life that we keep ourselves on the right path for salvation. The three simplest things that we need to do with a sincere heart are: 1 Pray morning and night; 2 Study the Scriptures; 3 Attend church meetings and participate. As we do these three things, we are placing the Armor of God upon ourselves:
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17).
I have noticed a very strong correlation in the last few months. Every time my life seems to get hard, and I start to get down, it is when my prayers have become insincere, my scripture study has decreased to a few verses, if anything, and my church attendance has turned into a time to criticize others in their weaknesses rather than listen to the teachings of the Spirit. But as I commit myself to really study to learn, to pray for others, and to actively participate in church meetings, my life seems to run much more smoothly.
As we study in the church, we can't expect to learn everything all at once, or even gain a testimony of key doctrines from one day to the next. But we can expect to learn here a little, and there a little. There are little lessons to be learned in every day of life. A lot of these lessons come through "tender mercies."
But behold, I Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance (1 Nephi 1:20).
If we keep the commandments, we shall have eternal life. It's that simple. But what makes it easy is when we daily put on the Armor of God by praying and studying the scriptures. Being obedient, firm, steadfast, and immovable keeps us in the fight for our eternal happiness. I know that as we do this, we will have the Sword of the Spirit to attack the temptations that are constantly invading our personal lives, trying to tear us apart. If we have the Spirit and heed its counsel, we will be able to withstand the battles that we face in our lives.
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