Applying the Book of Mormon to my life!

A week ago I had the opportunity to read and ponder the scriptures in a nice quiet location. These locations have been hard to come by recently, so it was nice and relaxing therefore creating the opportunity to enjoy the scriptures and find small connections to my life. I will share some with you:

In 1 Nephi 16:34 Ishmael died. I wouldn't have questioned or thought about this much because of the countless wars and lives we hear about within the Book of Mormon, nevertheless I was thinking about my youngest brother Eric who passed away this past March. I've always imagined or hoped to compare myself to Nephi in the Book of Mormon, but in this case I discovered I'm like the daughters of Ishmael. For I imagined myself in their situation: wandering in the wilderness, starving, and loosing a loved one I would complain too. Within 1 Nephi 16:35 the daughters are said to have mourned exceedingly and murmured. I would add a few more emotions and words to describe this experience, such as anger, sadness, hurt, discouragement, confusion, struggle, and crying. In verse 36 the daughters wanted to return to Jerusalem, and this correlates with my feeling in March. After spending some time away for a school activity I felt the feelings of longing to be in that familiar place of home. Although their father wouldn't be there I believe they wished to keep the security of what they know and are familiar with. I wished to keep what I knew and surrounded myself with the normal things that created the surroundings of my life, (family, close friends, games, choir, etc). It's nice to keep what you love and your normal routine even amidst adversity and challenges.

I continued to find a few more connections that brought me to ponder on my experiences and choices I've made. I love the thought that it says in 16:38 "angels have ministered unto them" for I know this could be taken in many ways, but I love this idea


I'm very grateful for the connections I've found with the Book of Mormon and I hope you enjoyed reading my insights from the week.

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Melissa