My mother, who for me, is counted among these women, shared this beautiful pattern: “Every book of scripture opens with the portrait of noble and courageous women. In the Old Testament and Pearl of Great Price we are introduced to Eve. The life of Christ begins with Mary, and the Book of Mormon begins with Sariah. Likewise in the Doctrine and Covenants we see many noble women of the restoration; some of the noblest included Lucy Mack Smith, mother to the Prophet Joseph. And, Emma…Joseph’s beloved wife.” Each of these women experienced pivotal moments, like us, in their lives where fear of the unknown or unfamiliar could have taken over and paralyzed their faith. Instead, these noble and courageous women chose their faith and the love that they had in our Savior to conquer over all…and they did. Each of us, totally including myself, have fears. Fears of the unknown or the known. Fears of the past or what is to come in the future. Fear that we may not be good enough or worthy of forgiveness and perfect love. In my experience of fear, fear is heavy. It is dark. It spirals, and depletes confidence to move forward. Fear masks knowledge of the eternal perspective. It masks the faith and hope in our Savior kept deep in our hearts. One night after tossing back and forth in my mind of my own fears and praying fervently for peace, I came across an Instagram post from a dear friend whom I greatly admire. She had heeded the challenge given to us in our last General Conference to “ponderize” (to ponder and memorize scriptures). Or, what we like to call at our house…memoponder! (THATS another story for another time and its a funny one.) Her scripture that week was found in 2 Timothy: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but the power and of love and of a sound mind.” As I read this simple post of scripture over and over, I felt a tiny whisper invite me to study more. I found that this passage of scripture is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to his beloved and trusted assistant, Timothy, whom he loved as his own son. Paul went on to say: “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother...and thy mother...I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of hands.” This chapter of scripture left me with a resounding hope in victory over my fear. I realized that as I recognize from whom the spirit of fear comes from (the adversary), and look to the source (Jesus Christ) of power…love…and of a sound mind, the call to remembrance of my faith, which I did learn not only from my grandmothers and my mother, but also these women spoken of in the scriptures, I will remember my own “unfeigned faith.” “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord…but be thou partaker…of the gospel according to the power of God; who hath saved us...” Courage vs Fear…is their even a contest?
1 Comment
Melanie
11/3/2015 09:08:25 am
Needed this today. Thank you! Answer to prayer. :)
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