Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten.

Moses 1:16 

As we close the semester, I have been pondering my identity. I have been thinking about who I truly am. Cameron tells me all the time that I am too hard on myself, but I haven't quite believed him until this week.

I was reading in Moses when I came across the scripture listed above. Satan is trying so hard to convince Moses that he is not a Son of God. Satan wants Moses to believe the lies about himself, not the truth. But I love Moses' example here. When he finally comes to a knowledge of the truth, despite what Satan is trying to tell him, he boldly demands that Satan leave. And not only that, but he also says "Deceive me not". It was this phrase that stood out the most to me.

The principle I learned was that Satan will try to convince us of lies about ourselves. He will try to tell us that we are not loved by God, that we can't withstand temptation, that we aren't made in the image of our God, and that we aren't good enough.

I know that I am loved by God. I can withstand temptation. I am made in the image of my Heavenly Mother and Father. I am good enough. And so are you. God loves you, and He is patient with your mistakes and sins. That's the very reason why he provided a Savior.

We have to be strong and remember these truths. We also need to have the courage to say, "Get thee hence, Satan." We need to rely on the infinite atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, so that we can be strong enough to fight this dishonesty in our lives.

I love you all. God loves you too. Be strong and remember that He is on your side.

This week I was blessed to be able to read the most amazing chapters of the Book of Mormon -- when Jesus comes to his people in the Americas. As I read this quote from 3 Nephi, of Jesus declaring to the people who He is, I felt the Spirit strongly fill my heart with peace. I knew from the overwhelming feeling in my body that Jesus is my Savior and that He died for me. He died for my sins, my sorrow, my pain, my heartache, and my doubt.

He knows what all of those feelings are, and He understands them perfectly. I needed this reassurance this week. I have been feeling really happy, but it has taken a lot of effort. I needed to know that Christ understood what I was going through.

One principle that I love from these scriptures is that Christ, and Christlike people, reach out to others. Jesus "stretched forth his hand" and he spoke to the people. Jesus knew that by reaching out to these people He was giving them the opportunity for peace. We cannot offer what Christ can, but when we reach out to others, we are offering them friendship, love, and an opportunity to come to their Savior. I know that as we reach out, we are practicing a Christlike attribute. If you will reach out to those around you, you will be blessed.

References:

This week I have studied the word calm in the Topical Guide because my life has been anything but calm and I needed some insight, direction, and comfort about how to regain that quality in my life. 

The word 'calm' has many interesting roots in different languages. In French it comes from a word meaning tranquil and quiet. In Italian it relates to the "heat of the mid-day sun", which is a "time when everything rests and is still" (etymonline.com). I thought that was really interesting because noon is not the most comfortable time of the day. It is hot, sticky, and makes you feel a little gross to be honest. But they are right, it can be the most peaceful and quiet moment of our day.

I related this to the gospel in that we can be calm even when the noon-day sun is beating down on us. We can have the Savior's peace even when things are rough. In fact, we may have the potential to feel His peace more during those "hot" times, if you will.

In my study, I came across the scripture 1 Nephi 18:21. This is immediately following Nephi's release aboard the ship. His brothers had finally come to realize that without releasing Nephi, they were most likely doomed to more calamity and hardship. The verse says,

"And it came to pass after they had loosed me, 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."

This week I needed some direction. I needed to know what to do differently in my life to help me and my loved ones feel better and be closer to the spirit. I mean, I've been reading the scriptures and going to church, but I still felt like my heart was kind of hard and I wanted it to be softer.

I was reading in Alma 31:5, which says:

"And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just–yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God."

To me, this scripture is trying to teach the principle of growth and change. Alma believed that the word of God had a more powerful influence on people than just about anything else.

President Packer echoed this doctrine when he said:

“The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. ...That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel” (“Little Children,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 17).

I realized that I needed to be searching for God's word and his voice. I have been reading my scriptures, but I need to seek God's voice in them. I need to try and hear his voice while I'm praying. I need to try to hear his voice when I'm making decisions.

For me, this week, I needed to learn how to listen better to my Heavenly Father, because his word and doctrine will be able to change my behavior and my heart faster than anything else.

Listening to Him can help you too. Just try it :) I promise it will work.

"And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage. And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions."

Mosiah 24: 13-14

This week I have been thinking a lot about what happens when people stop believing that God will comfort them--when people stop believing that God inspires people and helps them along in their life. There is a couple from my home state that was just excommunicated from the church. Many on social media are claiming that it is because this couple "expressed doubts", but it's amazing that as soon as you talk to them, they will tell you that they don't believe the church is true anymore. They weren't excommunicated for expressing doubts, they were excommunicated because they don't believe that this is Christ's church.

The thing is, I can relate a lot to some of the things that they said. They said that one of the reasons why they knew the church wasn't true because Bishops aren't inspired. I don't believe that, but I do know that Bishops aren't perfect. I do know that Bishops make mistakes--and that sometimes those mistakes can cause real harm. But I still believe they are inspired and this is why.

To me, it all comes down to burdens. Whether they are burdens of doubt, of harm, of bondage, of sickness, or of sin--burdens make it hard for us to live life.

Let me tell you a story. There was a time that I had to go speak with a Bishop about some problems that I had been having in my life. It was one of the hardest experiences I had ever come across in my life. Two things occurred in the following weeks that have stuck with me for a long time.

The first thing was that my loving Bishop never told me that he felt that I had been forgiven--at least to my memory. That just wasn't something that he said to me. And honestly, not hearing those words was really hard for me for years. But it taught me how to rely on God speaking to me instead of my Bishop, and I am so SO grateful for that.

The second thing was that my loving Bishop told me that if his newborn baby girl could grow up to be like me, he would be so happy. That one phrase brightened my life. That this man--who knew a lot about my past sins and troubles--could say that and mean it amazed me.

I know my thoughts are a bit scattered today, but here is the principle that I feel that I gain from this scripture. The voice of the Lord comes to us in our afflictions, but if you notice--that scripture also mentions covenants with Him. I cannot expect to have His voice in my life or his Hands lifting the burdens from my back if I am not willing to keep my covenants with Him.

But if I do seek Him in prayer and through scriptures study. If I do serve others as I have covenanted. If I do listen to my priesthood leaders and seek personal revelation about what they say--if I do all of those things, then I will be able to stand as a witness for him hereafter. I will be able to know of a surety that the Lord God visits His people in their afflictions. I will know that.

And the thing is, you can know that too.

This week, the scriptures provided me mostly with comfort and reassurance. Being engaged is harder than I ever would have thought, and I don't always feel as if I live up to what Heavenly Father expects of me. Sometimes I make choices because I am tired or emotional that I normally would not make. Then, I end up feeling guilty and really want to be better.

I am so grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ, which allows me to be better. Satan tries so hard to convince me in these moments that the bad choices are who I am. But it's not true. Losing my temper or acting in a way contrary to my divine nature does not mean that I am that person. So, Satan is wrong.

This week, Mosiah 14:3-5 really helped me reflect on the atonement. It is the passage from Isaiah.

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

For me, these scriptures teach principles of love. Christ loved us enough to suffer an indescribable amount of emotional, physical, and spiritual pain so that we could be "healed" as Isaiah says. I want to remember that this gift I have been given is amazing and can truly heal me and make me into a stronger, better daughter of God.

It can make you a better Child of God too. Knowing what Christ did for you changes everything in your life by making you aware of the immense amount of love that He has for you. I hope that knowing that helps you through your week. Remember that you were loved enough that the Savior gave his life for you. Always remember that.