go and do, hopefully in a new light

I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the The Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. 

1 Nephi 3:7

This scripture is quoted a lot, and I think what happens, (at least for me) when scriptures are repeated over and over, is that we forget how awesome they actually are because they become part of the "norm". But today as we were talking about this scripture in institute, we were asked the question "When have you been less than going and doing?" In other words, how often do we say "oh yeah I go and do whatever the Lord commands" but then we don't pay attention in church, or we dress immodestly, or we cheat on a test, yell at our parents, or skip reading our scriptures and praying a few times. We get in this habit of just plowing through things instead of actually stopping to listen to the still small voice and those precious promptings, and wow am I guilty of that! I like being independent.. doing things on my own. But then after failed attempts on my own I'm reminded that not everything is all on my shoulders, Christ helps to take the load. I just have to change my attitude and say "I will go and do!" Taking a step in the dark can be so hard, but we are promised that the path will be lit for us. Nephi says:

"I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.
Nevertheless I went forth.."
1 Nephi 4:6-7

Nephi is such a good example to us! He had no idea what was coming, he has no idea that Laban is about to be delivered into his hands, and he has no idea that he is about to be commanded to do something that he never imagined he'd have to do, but nevertheless he went forth, he went and did. The spirit led him, and he had faith. Faith instead of fear. And I hope that I can do the same.

The hymn Tender Mercies of the Lord also brought some new light to my day:

Sometimes when I'm feeling scared, 

I kneel down and say a prayer

and ask Him to help me through the day

Sometimes when I'm feeling sad

for hard times that I have had, 

I ask Him to help me find my way.

Then a message will come from my Father up above 

in a song or in a dream

or the beauty that surrounds me.

If I try to obey and remember to pray

I'll see the tender mercies of the Lord. 

If you want to hear the song click here and scroll down to the song titled "Tender Mercies of the Lord". It's in ABC order so it shouldn't be that hard to find :)