Praise the Lord

I remember once in college when I was going to a difficult test and felt very overwhelmed. Before I left my kitchen, I decided to open my scriptures and read whatever came up. I opened to 2 Nephi 22. It is a very short chapter, but still one of my favorites. It says,

And in that day thou shalt say: O Lord, I will praise thee; though thou wast angry with me thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedest me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation. Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say: Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unot the Lord; for he hath done excellent things; this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

I sat in the chair, feeling peace wash over me as if I had been drawing water out of the well of salvation- literally. Yet, rather than being the cry for help I thought I needed, I found I was led to praise the Lord instead. The ensuing peace was a result of God's mercy.

Nephi reminded me of this power and has led me on a search to understand what it means to praise the Lord. When Nephi and his family enter the boat bound for the promised land, his brothers begin to be very rude. Then, they tie him up, and no amount of coaxing will get them to let him go. Their parents are about to die, their baby brothers cry, Nephi's wife and children plead. Nephi's arms and ankles swell and are very sore. The waves toss the boat around and almost swallow it up before Laman and Lemuel decide to set Nephi free- to save their own lives. I'm sure it was dramatic. All I need is crying kids around me to make me lose my cool. But not Nephi, of course. In 1 Nephi 19: 16, he says,

Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmer against the Lord because of mine afflictions.

It seems almost as if Nephi has learned a great game to deal with the heaps of trials he confronts. It's like Pollyanna and her great game of finding the good in situations, but infinitely more powerful. Nephi's game finds its strength in looking to God and praising him no matter what comes. Not just looking for the good, but recognizing the unchangeable nature of that being who created us. Knowing Him well enough to have a deep and abiding reverence for his actions and purposes. Feeling awe at his greatness and glory and gratitude at being a part of his plan regardless of our current circumstances. Praising the Lord even when the actions of others bring us pain and sorrow and injure those we love.

How simple it is to praise the Lord while sitting in a pew at church, far away from daily cares. But how often do I strive to praise the Lord throughout a regular day? Nephi continues to give us very good reason to do so. After he is released in verse 21, he says,

Behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm. And it came to pass that I Nephi, did guide the ship, that we sailed again towards the promised land.

If we cease to praise the Lord in the midst of our trials, we will not be worthy to wield the Liahona. We will receive no revelation, regardless of whose fault it is that we encounter difficulty.

The day I read that passage, I told myself I would try to praise the Lord all day. As I grumbled through my different tasks, I realized that I had no idea of how to praise the Lord: the practical side of the issue was lost on me. So, the next day, I studied what it meant to praise the Lord, and I came up with a short list of things I can do when I feel like grumbling. Instant praising.

1. Sing hymns that speak of the greatness of God and praise him
2. Count your blessings
3. Think of scripture stories or stories in our history where the Lord has delivered his people
4. Remember times in your life when the Lord has been there for you
5. Search for the hand of God in your life that day or the day before
6. Go to a place where you can be alone and pray
7. Listen for the birds; look at the clouds or the mountains and the trees. Sometimes it helps to just step outside. Get out of your current situation if you feel like grumbling and look for God in a new place.
8. Recognize how much you need him and depend on him
9. Think of the temple and how you have felt there. Take yourself through one of the ordinances in your mind. Remember especially the promises

I'll be working on this for a long time to come. It is not something to do once, or just on Sundays. It is a habit that will allow me to avoid many of the difficulties of this life and keep a positive outlook regardless of what happens around me. I think it will have to start as a game before it becomes my automatic reaction to any difficulty I encounter. If Nephi can do it while tied up on a tossing ship, I can do it in front of my kitchen sink, right?

Creating tools to solve our problems

We were having a hard time, recently, getting our kids to clean their rooms and do their homework without complaining for hours and hours, so we began to search for something to help us. We've had a chart and a home store and all sorts of exciting little bobbles to motivate and enlighten them. No go. I don't even remember how it happened, though I'm sure it was some sort of revelation, but we came across the newest and greatest tool: the power of perception. We changed their bedtime to 7:30 instead of 8:00, and we told them that if they got everything done before Daddy came home, they could "stay up late." Then, when we stay up late, we do something really fun like play games together or watch part of a show. The key is getting the "offenders" to bed early, which they really need anyway, and being involved in play for 30 minutes. And it is magic.

Reading 1 Nephi 16 and 17, I was struck by Nephi's resourcefulness while the rest of his family murmers. When Nephi's bow breaks, they all complain and sit down to die. Are they so hungry that they can't get up and figure something out? Are they sick or simply tired of it all? Why don't they:
1. Pick up the Liahona and ask the Lord what they should do or
2. Figure out some other tool to kill animals

They had just come back from a long journey, and the rest of the family had waited to them to come back with food. I can't even imagine how hungry they must have been. Exhausted and tired. But since Nephi broke his bow, they had a scapegoat, someone to blame for their troubles. Then, they seem to be blinded to their options by their anger and having someone to blame. Isn't it interesting that having someone to blame seems like a solution sometimes?
My husband and I could have said this:
"Our kids are just tired after school and we probably shouldn't expect them to get their rooms clean. We give up."
Believe me, in other areas, blaming and excuses do count as a solution of sorts.
But, going back to Nephi, when you're starving to death, you can't just ignore your problem.
Maybe the group did think to turn to the Liahona, and since they were not humble, but complaining instead, it gave them no answers.
But once Nephi was led to create a tool, and humbly ask his penitent father to turn to the Liahona, it showed them the answer. Nephi is my hero. He doesn't give up or get bitter that everyone is blaming him. Instead, he finds a tool and he takes it to the Lord. That is a powerful cure for murmuring.

The next chapter teaches us almost the same thing! When the Lord asks Nephi to build a ship, his first response is, "Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?" (1 Nephi 17:9).

The first thing he asks is not, "Where do I get the wood? How do I draw the plans? " Instead, it is, "How do I make the tools?"

When we have problems, it is easy to respond as the rest of Nephi's family by asking, "Who is to blame for this? Who's going to solve it for me?" or even, "How am I supposed to get through this trial?" Sometimes, that leads us to tools. But maybe we'd get there in a more straight-forward way if we would assume we can make a difference, turn to face the trial, and find a tool. Remembering always that we must take that tool to the Lord and ask him how to use it. Because He is the master Craftsman. But remember that Nephi didn't just get to make tools. He first had to learn to build a bellows. Then, he had to find the right rock with ore in it. Then, he had to extract the ore from the rock, and FINALLY make the tools. Then, he could ask where to find the wood. Sometimes, it takes multiple tools and a long, long time to solve a problem. And some problems remain a life-long "thorn in the flesh."

That reminds me of something I learned from General Conference. In Elder Christofferson's talk, he made the point that if we are choosing as our template a perfect being, as is Christ, we should expect correction at every point of the journey. How can you aspire to build a perfect ship when you have never built ships, made tools, or even sailed before? You apprentice yourself to a great ship builder and then you expect correction and even chastisement. The word chastise sounds harsher than correct, but are the meanings very different? We should be watching for chastisement from our master shipbuilder. What else should we expect when aspiring to perfection? How often do I pray for him to correct me rather than help me? I always want him to bless me with this or that. But he can only help me as he corrects who I am and leads me to a more perfect way.