The Things of My Soul
By Chuck Borelli
Photo by Chuck Borelli
Recently, Elder Ronald A. Rasband, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave a talk he entitled “The Things of My Soul.” When he began his talk, he said,
“My thoughts today are centered on the words of the prophet Nephi, who kept the record of his people following Father Lehi’s death. Nephi wrote, ‘And upon these I write the things of my soul’ [2 Nephi 4:15]. I used to pass over this verse, thinking the word things was not very elegant or spiritual, not grand enough to pair with ‘my soul.’ Yet I have learned that the word things is used in the scriptures 2,354 times. For example, in Moses: ‘I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things.’ And Nephi’s words: ‘Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.’
Nephi’s words raise the questions ‘What things do you ponder?’ ‘What things really matter to you?’ ‘What are the things of your soul?’ The things of our souls are often clarified and deepened by asking questions.”
Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has said,
“Take your questions to the Lord and to other faithful sources. Study with the desire to believe rather than with the hope that you can find a flaw in the fabric of a prophet’s life or a discrepancy in the scriptures. Stop increasing your doubts by rehearsing them with … doubters. Allow the Lord to lead you on your journey of spiritual discovery” (“Christ is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains”, 2021).
The First Seven ‘Things’ of Our Souls
Elder Rasband also said, “May I share with you some of the things of my soul? These things apply to all who seek to be true disciples of Jesus Christ. Ten would be a good, round number. Today I am giving you seven with the hope that you will complete eight, nine, and ten from your own experiences.”
He shared seven things he believes will help us become true followers of Jesus Christ:
1. Love God the Father and Jesus Christ, our Savior.
2. Love thy neighbor.
3. Love yourself.
4. Keep the commandments.
5. Always be worthy to attend the temple.
6. Be joyful and cheerful.
7. Follow God’s living prophet.
He then says everyone should identify things 8, 9, and 10 in the list that for them would help them be true disciples of Jesus Christ.
Here are the three things I added to the list.
8. Gifts from God
Heavenly Father has many gits for us, I recently read a book The Way of Aloha:Lanai that helped me better understand the nature of Gods gifts to us.
In this book, there is a man who had a dream. In that dream he went up to heaven and was met by someone who said, ‘come with me, you need to see this.’ It was a giant warehouse. The warehouse was full of gifts with his name on them. Gifts he had never received. Off to one side was a small room with empty shelves. He was told that empty shelves signified all the blessings and gifts God has already given you which require no effort or work on your part (the grace of God in action).
Some of the full shelves were all the gifts Heavenly Father wanted to give you, and all you had to do was pray and ask for them. You might ask, ‘but I didn’t know these gifts existed!’ You must pray and ask to know what gifts you need and should pray for. You can know what to pray for by the spirit. As the Apostle James taught: “ye have not, because ye ask not”
Some of the full shelves have gifts with tags that list prerequisites. For example, some blessings only come if you do something, such as care for the poor or visit shut ins.
In the dream, he is told, ‘prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the greatest of God’s gifts. Prayer is not to tell God which blessings and gifts He should give us, but to ask for gifts that God is already willing to give and is simply waiting for you to ask for.’
One of the most repeated phrases by the Savior is “Ask and ye shall receive.” This passage is repeated many times in the scriptures.
In a Christmas devotional on December 12, 2018, President Russell M. Nelson gave a talk entitled “Four Gifts That Jesus Christ Offers You.” He teaches that those four gifts are:
He gave you and me an unlimited capacity to love.
A second gift the Savior offers you is the ability to forgive.
A third gift from the Savior is that of repentance.
A fourth gift from our Savior is actually a promise—a promise of life everlasting.
9. Prayer
Photo by Chuck Borelli
I recently read Elder Lionel Kendrick’s 1997 address at Brigham Young University. Here are some thoughts I learned from that address:
To pray is to have a conversation with Deity. This sacred and supernal communication with Heavenly Father is a divine and delicate process. This crucial communication should be conducted with great care and in compliance with sacred counsel.
Pray often, ponder before you pray, and avoid vain repetitions. Ask in faith, humility, sincerity, and intensity then wait for answers. In a world of instant communication, we are prone to become impatient and want instant answers to our prayers. God always answers prayers; however, He does it in His own way and in His own time. Perhaps it is wise to remember this counsel: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
10. Help from God in the form of Personal Revelation
Receiving personal revelation (communication from God) is not a passive process. As we seek such revelations, we must prepare for these sacred experiences. President Spencer W. Kimball told us that “God reveals himself to [people] who are prepared for such manifestations” (as quoted by L. Lionel Kenrick in “Personal Revelation,” 1999).
The Savior spoke of this principle of preparing to receive personal revelation. He shed light on the things that we must do to properly prepare:
“It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins [repents] and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name [prays], and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments [obeys], shall see my face and know that I am” (Doctrine & Covenants 93:1).
To properly prepare to receive personal revelation, we must repent, ask through prayer, be obedient, search the scriptures, fast, think pure thoughts, and develop a spirit of reverence.
A Box of LEGOs
During one of what I like to call my 3:00 AM ponderings, a picture came to me—that when I came to earth I was handed a box of Legos. Unlike the Legos we are most familiar with, this box had no picture of what the completed construct would look like, and there were no directions in the box. Despite the lack of directions, I began building a life with these blocks. I understood the need to build a strong base or foundation of blocks; however, I didn’t realize that it was critical to build on a particular geological or spiritual stratum.
So, this has resulted in my having to completely tear down what I have built and start all over again, more than once. In reflecting on this, I realized I am on at least my third complete tear down/rebuild of my life.
The first build
Metaphorically speaking, it would seem I first built on shifting sands. We all know how unstable sand can be when the wind blows. I liken this to some of the life choices I made and the resulting consequences of my poor use of my agency.
The second build
Next, I built on an alluvial flood plain, which, while a beautiful location, can be particularly unstable when the ground begins to quake, or when we experience hard things, personal tragedy, and all the other trials of mortal existence, which led me to tear it down and start over again.
The third build
Photo by Chuck Borelli
I noticed something on this rebuild: I am using some very familiar foundational blocks, incorporating profoundly great experiences from my previous attempts, like the day my daughter was born and my life changed for the good in so many ways, in a fraction of a second as I held her in my arms, I went from being someone so out of touch with my feelings (I used to worry did I even have a heart) to realizing not only did I have a heart, she now owned a big part of it. This happened as I met each of my three sons. It seemed to grow to encompass that much more love. This rebuilding process went into overdrive when I met my wife and went from a very dark place to one filled with light as I was introduced to this restored church of Christ. I realize I am now building on solid bedrock.
As I keep reaching into the box for the blocks, I observe there is a small piece of paper in the bottom, under the blocks. It is the instructions! I wonder why didn’t see it before and immediately I know why: I was too stubborn, willful, and filled with the ideas of the natural man. I wanted to figure it out all by myself. I wanted to do it my way and I now realize I don’t have a way.
Christ has the way; He is the way.