Praying All the Day Long: A Fourth Watch God

I have been spending a ton of time thinking about why sometimes the Lord allows us to go for so long with no clear answer or direction. Well, I was able to receive enlightenment to that question in a couple different ways. First, a friend of mine offered me a talk about how the Lord is a fourth watch God. He does not come to offer peace and freedom from struggle during the first watch, or the second, or the third. Not until the fourth and final watch does the Lord come. If the Lord has not yet offered you the peace and relief you need, it just means that it is not yet the fourth watch. Then, in our Book of Mormon lecture, we learned of those believers of Christ who were appointed to be put to death if the sign of Christ's birth was not given. As Nephi, the prophet of that time, observed the wickedness and hatred of that generation, he was weighed down with great sorrow. In 3 Nephi 1, it describes the following:

10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.

11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.

12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:

13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.

What stands out as we learn of Nephi's search for peace is the experience he has in the actual action of prayer. Nephi prayed all that day. He didn't just pray for a few minutes and then go forward hoping that that would be enough. No, he spent all day praying. Why didn't the Lord answer his prayer at the beginning of the day? The Lord already knew the answer he would give, so it would not have been any more difficult for him to answer immediately. No, the Lord had a plan much bigger than just making things convenient for Nephi. Our professor made an insightful statement in class on this point: "God loves you far more than he loves your sense of peace and contentment and well being. He’s willing to let you get reeeaaallly uncomfortable because he’s getting you to stretch to become something that you are not." 

I am quick to wonder if, when the Lord isn't answering, it means he isn't listening. But that isn't the case. God listens to our prayers, and he loves us very dearly. It's because of that love that he waits. God is a fourth watch God. He is an End-of-the-Day God. He is shaping us, not just gratifying our need for immediate results. God has a much bigger plan for you than your current question or your current trial. Hold on, keep praying, keep asking, keep trusting. He knows what he wants to make of you. Let him shape you into the masterpiece you are designed to be.

The War Chapters: God Prepares HIs People

This week in our Book of Mormon lecture, we were able to discuss the war chapters! Apart from being some of the most interesting plot lines of the Book of Mormon, the war chapters have incredible symbolism and value for our lives. I want to specify one meaning that I find significant in the story of Zerahemnah and Captain Moroni. The story begins in Alma 43, and we see both men prepare their armies for battle with various tools. In verses 18 through 20, it describes each man's respective preparations:

 18 And it came to pass that [Captain Moroni] met the Lamanites in the borders of Jershon, and his people were armed with swords, and with cimeters, and all manner of weapons of war.

 19 And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of Nephi, or that Moroni, had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing—

 20 Now the army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing; they had only their swords and their cimeters, their bows and their arrows, their stones and their slings; and they were naked, save it were a skin which was girded about their loins; yea, all were naked, save it were the Zoramites and the Amalekites.

Moroni's men were prepared both with weapons of offense as well as with extensive protective gear. He wanted them to be prepared to fight and gain a victory, but he wanted to lose as few lives as possible because he loved his brethren. These were not faceless soldiers being sent to die. These were his friends and his family. On the other hand, Zerahemnah sent his men in with only weapons of offense but no protection. He wanted them to fight and to kill, but he had no concern for their lost lives. Likewise, God is seeking to prepare and protect his disciples. We are not faceless followers to him. He knows us all by name, and he thinks of only our safety and our happiness. Satan, on the other hand, sends his followers out to attack and to destroy. However, any lives lost in the process are meaningless collateral damage to him. He loves no one. He protects no one. In fact, he knows exactly what will happen to all of his followers. And that's exactly what he intends. He intends for our destruction. When we are faced with that truth, why do we struggle to decide who we will follow? The choice may seem hard in a moment, but if we take the moment to look into the future and see what Satan intends with us, we would never choose his path. On the other hand, if we look forward into the future when we are deciding whether or not to follow God, we will always see that he wants our happiness more than anything. For me, that means choosing to follow Him even when it's a hard decision. Because it will always be an easy decision if I take 30 seconds to look eternally rather than temporally.

God loves us all. He knows each of us and wants to protect all of us more than anything and give us happiness. Trust him! Love him! Follow him! Believe that he knows, because he does.

The Lonely End to Korihor: Who's on the Lord Side?

This week was focused on one of the most interesting lessons in the Book of Mormon to me. There are other parts in the Book of Mormon that are more spiritually uplifting and enlightening, but this particular lesson is also very enlightening. It's just through a different method of learning. Rather than studying a hero of the Book of Mormon to learn about goodness, the story of Korihor allows us to study the opposite to learn what is not good. In this way, we are able to more fully appreciate the goodness that is demonstrated.

Specifically, in class we chose to go through and compare the "doctrine" of Korihor to those of Sherem and Nehor. We discussed how Sherem and Korihor both teach that there is no Christ, while Nehor implies in his teaching that the coming of a Christ is still imminent. However, Sherem teaches that there is still a need for the Law of Moses regardless, and Nehor teaches that there is no law and that Christ will save us in our sins. One thing that struck me as we studied the different versions of antichrist "doctrine" presented was that Satan does not care about truth. He isn't trying to present one solid, consistent plan to teach his followers. Really, he does not care at all what happens to his followers. He is purely seeking to make the rest of us miserable by pulling us away from the one source of true doctrine: Jesus Christ. He wants us to turn from him and lose any faith or hope in his Atonement. In the end, Satan must know that his teachings will always fall apart from a lack of foundation. But, if he can pull any souls down with him, he will keep a facade of truth up for as long as possible.

Specifically, we are able to see what happens to those who follow Satan in Alma 30:60 following the miserable death of Korihor:

And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell.


We need to always have our guard up when we are tempted to listen to the rationalizations and justifications of the devil. He is never, ever looking for our greatest happiness. In the end, his only goal is to see us broken and left alone. He will not stand with us. How often do we listen to Satan's whispers because it's easy or pleasing to the natural man, the way Korihor did? We need to recognize that there will only be one ending to that story. On the other hand, if you choose to listen to Jesus Christ and the promptings of his Spirit, there is joy promised to you. The decision to do so will not always be easy, but there is a promise that we will get down the road and some day look back and see that we made the right choice. In the meantime, we will always find support in Christ. He will strengthen us and always be there to carry us when we are weak. As long as we give ourselves to him in whatever way we can, he will be there with us.

I know as I read this, I feel a greater motivation to discern between what is the Spirit and what is not and make an even greater effort to follow inspiration given by the Lord. I don't want to leave my future in the hands of the being who wants only misery for me. I want to stand with Christ. One comment that my professor made this week about repentance and forgiving ourselves was "When Satan reminds you of your past, you remind him of his future." Eternal happiness is not in the cards for Satan, but it is for me and for you if we follow Christ. Forgiveness and freedom from sin can be ours. He loves us, and there is no greater power than that promise.