It's True!

The Bible is the word of God. I believe and know that that is true. I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) and therefore also have read the Book of Mormon - which talks about those who followed Christ's teachings in the Americas, the Pearl of Great Price - which gives Joseph Smith's account of when he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and also goes over the ancient books of Moses and Abraham, the Doctrine and Covenants- which elaborates on doctrine in the Church and of the covenants or promises God is willing to make with us or has made with us, and I also believe in modern revelation through those who are currently living and who have been called by God to receive that revelation for us which can also be called scripture (Doctrine and Covenants 68:4).

Now that I have that established I can honestly say that in the past it was hard for me to believe that all of the Bible was the word of God, the New Testament is great, if we didn't have it we wouldn't know of Christ's ministry, but I struggled with the Old Testament, especially. When I was young it was confusing to read, and now that I am old it still is and some of it just is just a bit TMI (especially when it talks about the kings and how many concubines/wives they had and what they did...anyways). Right now I am taking a class on the 2nd half of the Old Testament class through BYU-Idaho online and I am beginning to see what the Lord wants me to know through reading the Old Testament and what lessons He wants me to learn.

I will share a couple things I have learned

Nehemiah and Esther teach us that we should be in the right place at the right time and Job teaches us to be patient.

I had heard of Nehemiah, but mostly just because it is a book in the Old Testament, and anyone who has gone to any Church that covers the bible knows about Esther and Job.

The way Nehemiah teaches us to be in the right place at the right time is very similiar to that of Esther's experience.

The scriptures say:

    And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.

Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,
And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.
And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.” (Nehemiah 2:1-6)
Nehemiah was just in the right place at the right time doing the right things and because of that he was blessed. Here it says that he was praying and he was sad because of the state Judah was in. It was because of the preparation Nehemiah made beforehand that got King Artaxerxes to ask him what was wrong that eventually led to the king, a great Persian king, making it Nehemiah’s charge to rebuild the walls and sepulchers of Judah.

I think this can apply to us quite a bit because there are many times where we need to be prepared in order to be instruments in our Heavenly Father’s hands to do His will.

Esther's situation was a little more dire. The Persian King Xerxes was fed up with his wife and so he looked around his empire and found Esther and because she was so beautiful he married her. After some time of her being Queen the king sent out a decree that all Jews should be killed. Esther was a Jew, her uncle whom she grew up with told her about the decree and so she along with all Jews fasted for 3 days because she was going to ask the king to take back the decree because she was a Jew. It was basically against the law to go to the king unless he had called you. After the 3 day fast she went to the king's throne and she asked him and because of her position and because of the Lord's help the king took back his word.

Job on the other had has taught me patience. He was given trials that made his life unbearable, but even then he had patience with the Lord and knew that if he held true to Him he would be blessed. So that's what he did, even though he lost his family, house, and even had a disease he pulled through and because of that he was blessed so much that he got double of what he had before.

Anyways there is a lot that I still have to learn, but I am glad for the scriptures and the guidance they can give to us if we look for ways to understand them and really apply them to our lives.

Preston