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Bethany Tolley (i.e. The Doctrine Lady) is a blogger, writer, speaker, presenter, teacher, songwriter, and artist. She has a multitude of experiences and credentials. But, what she values most is the opportunity to share her testimony of truth through the talents and gifts God has blessed her with. To read more click here.
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Faith is the hardest thing in the world. It requires us to trust in, follow, work hard to do, and believe in things that have promises we can't see right in front of our eyes at every moment. But, true faith is not blind. It is a leap taken because of a certainty, an assurance, that God is with us and will bless us, even if we know not how...or when.
Faith is NOT giving credence to success and blessings to symbolic objects. Objects are never powerful in and of themselves. They are given power by what they symbolize and the actions we take because of the meaning in that symbolism. In this case, the ark of the covenant was a symbol of "the covenant." So named then, the ark--of--the--covenant.
The ark's presence had brought about so many miracles on Israel's behalf (when they were striving to keep the covenant). But, in 1 Samuel 4, their state of apostasy shows how little they currently understand about God and His covenants, and that the power is not in the object of the ark, but in the covenant which it represents. Because they had all but abandoned God's covenants, the ark no longer had any power to save them. No covenant, no power.
We have similar objects in the church. We have the Sacrament. We have ordinances like baptism and temple ordinances. We have service (like ministering) and other outward acts that show faith and are the motions of righteousness. But, even as we do these things, partake of these ordinances and symbolic sacraments, the power is not in the actions or in the bread or water. It is in the covenants that these things represent and mark in our daily lives. Drinking the water and eating the bread are not effective, cannot win battles for us, or help us overcome sin, if we do not understand nor strive to keep the covenants that they are attached to. You can't have power without covenants with God. All the power is in the covenants.
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I have such mixed feelings about Eli. I suspect he was in many ways a great man. He had to have been to have such condemnation come upon him for not restraining his sons. "Unto whom much is given, much is required, and he who sins against the greater light receives the greater condemnation" (D&C 82:3). I like Eli and also pity him. Yet, he is proof that God can, and does, work with imperfect leadership. But, most importantly in this chapter, Eli had the experience and understanding to help Samuel recognize the Lord's voice. He also didn't hold a grudge against Samuel for ratifying the prophecy against his own life and sons. He accepted the Lord's will.
No matter who Eli was, his example teaches us much about God's ability to use us as imperfect people to do His great work. And, it also teaches us that God can, and will, help us to learn to recognize His voice from the testimony and experience of others. How important it is, then, for us to seek the testimony and experience of those we know love the Lord and us when we have questions, concerns, or are uncertain if God is talking to us and if He is, how we are to respond to His call.
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It's hard for people today to believe in a living prophet. Most think such things are done away (2 Nephi 28:5+). But, 1 Samuel 3:1 shows that there have been many varying degrees of apostasy throughout history. And, after a time God always returns to His original offer, "Allow me to you lead you through a living prophet." He calls prophets through visions and dreams, re-dispenses His gospel and covenants, and re-issues His commandments.
Samuel is not a major dispensation/restoration leader like Adam, Enoch, Abraham, or Moses. But, he is a prophet called after Israel has fallen into a shallow apostasy. At this time they have had only judges for a long while. No central king, and no prophet. We see evidence of this apostasy in the behavior of Eli's sons, and even Eli. God is going to give Israel another chance and calls Samuel to be His prophet.
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This scripture block was far to large to detail out. Suffice it to say that Eli does chide his sons for being "sons of Belial." BUT, he doesn't remove them from their priesthood responsibilities, thus perpetuating the sins and making people abhor offering sacrifice (or going to church, or taking the sacrament, etc.). We don't get all the details, but Eli's "man of God" visitor makes it clear that in general Eli honors his sons feelings and reputation above God's. Though he was an instrument in blessing Hannah (despite his wickedness in this one area), this chapter is about the consequences of his weakness for his sons. He loses them, his own life, and "his house" doesn't get to continue in the service of God.
God's plan of salvation is all about family. But, we don't get family by putting them before God. We get family by putting God first... Hannah is Eli's opposite in this. She shows us what sacrifice (of even family) gives us. In her case, she loans her son to the Lord. She does get to see Samuel. But, she puts her covenant with God first. Eli does not do this, and therefore suffers the consequences.
We often forget that eternal family is a trait of godhood. It isn't something to be taken for granted. And, if we desire "eternal family," like God, then we must put God first and honor Him that He may honor, protect, and bless our family in return.
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God asks a lot of us. He asks us to do things we don't want to do. He asks us to give up things, to sacrifice things that we love. And yet...for those who do so, their reward is far greater than anything they gave up or sacrificed.
If we cling to the little we have, that's all we get. If we are willing to sacrifice, obey, and do the hard things God asks, He will give us far more than we ever hoped. Hannah is an example of that.
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It's not a secret. "Imperfect people are all God has to work with..." (Jeffrey R. Holland). No matter their graces, every person called to serve the Lord has human frailties and issues. Eli exhibits such throughout the book of 1 Samuel...and we will yet see his fall. And yet, despite that, God works through Eli to bless Hannah and to train up a future prophet, Samuel.
God can use any of us, no matter our imperfections and weaknesses, to bring about His great and eternal purposes.
As well, Hannah could have easily taken offense and never returned to the Tabernacle again. But instead, she focused on the blessing she sought. Because of her charity toward Eli, she hung around long enough to have God's representative grant her petition.
We could all learn a great deal from Hannah about focusing on God and not on the imperfections of others, especially those called by God to lead and guide us.
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How I have missed my daily doctrines! Glad to be back today. We are in 1 Samuel 1. I love the story of Hannah. She is a woman I can relate to on so many levels.
Often, when we seek a blessing from the Lord, it's for something we want and we want it for specific reasons. Hannah teaches us a higher law for seeking blessings. Yes, she wanted to be a biological mother. But, for the blessing of having a child, she offered that blessing right back to God for His will, His purposes.
Do we do that with the blessings we seek? Do we say, "Help me get this job so that I can give more of my time and money back to Thee?" Do we ask, "Help me get X so I can bring others unto Thee?" Do we plan to give all that we ask for back to God for His purposes?
Definitely food for thought.
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1st day back from my 10-day social media fast. If you haven't done your fast yet, I challenge you to take it on. With the promises the prophet, Russell M. Nelson, issued, no loss of SM influence can compare to the loss of the blessings he promised for heeding God's counsel.
The prophet also challenged the women of the world to read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year, and to study (not just read) the Relief Society declaration and purpose statements (find them at lds.org). My mind was clearer than ever during my social media fast. I saw more clearly. I had more time for my family. And, it helped me to re-evaluate how to continue sharing my testimony in ways that will allow me to better maintain that clarity. I felt the impressions of the Holy Spirit more powerfully, and gained confidence in knowing I was doing God's will. These are invaluable blessings that can't be achieved in other ways. Do the fast! Read the Book of Mormon! Study those RS items!
They seem like simple things. How could they bring about such power in our lives? So also Naaman said when asked to wash in the Jordan River 7 times to be healed of leprosy. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass (Alma 37:7). #socialmediafast #thedoctrinelady #wethanktheeohgodforaprophet #dailydoctrines #thechurchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints #faith #livingprophet #prophet #jesuschrist #reliefsociety #bookofmormon #socialmedia #fasting
