Awakening to a Serious Study of the Book of Mormon, Pt3

Slowing Down and Finding So Much to Ponder In Just One Verse 

So it is that, in all humility, I would like to share here, the richness and depth of five personal applications/insights that the Lord opened to me in just the very first verse of the Book of Mormon—1 Nephi 1:1 and convinced me of just how this book could get me closer to God than any other book I would ever read—if I would study it slowly, prayerfully.  I totally acknowledge that these are personal insights and I have no intention of interpreting or applying them to anyone else’s life.  Even so, I hope to testify of just how the Book of Mormon, has become my “Liahona,” helping me make sense of my own life story and teaching me how to express my prayerful thoughts to the Lord.

The First Person, Singular:  “I, Nephi . . .”

As I had been studying the Twelve Steps that guide a person to understand and practice recovery from addiction (both in their own lives and in the lives of their loved ones), I learned that the first requirement I had to embrace was virtually identical to the first two words of Nephi’s testimony: “I, Nephi, . . .”

I learned you must be willing to speak from your own heart, from what in English usage is called the “first person, singular” voice or perspective.   It is to be willing to think about and talk about your own experiences, your own life, your own sadness, pain, loss, fear, resentment, as well as your own hopes, dreams, desires, loves, enjoyments.  In recovery, you begin to come to yourself–like the lost son did in the parable of the prodigal (Luke 15: 17), you begin to realize that your story of where your were at different seasons of your life, what happened and what your journey has been like is important, even sacred and needs to be heard–especially by you.  Your recovery will never start with trying to sort out and fix other people’s thoughts and feelings.

Prayerful thought: Lord, help me to let go of obsessing about other people’s lives–what they’ve done, what they’re doing, or what they might do–and pay attention to the life Thou hast given me to live.