Be Still, My Soul

Be still my soul, sung by David Archuleta https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xHdlLIMEk All this week I've been studying Doctrine & Covenants ch. 6-9. The first thing I noticed was how, over and over, it says, "Ask and ye shall receive" (See D&C 6:5, 8, 22-23; 7:1; 8:1-2, 9,10). Jesus Christ spoke those words to Joseph Smith many times: "Ask, and ye shall receive; Seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you." To help us better understand how to really receive from Christ, we can look at how Jesus corrected Oliver Cowdry by saying he'd done no more than to ask. Jesus said, "study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right, you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong..." (D&C 9:8-9). We can apply this to our own lives with any question we have or any truth we're seeking to find. Just the other night, I had a deep question about repentance and forgiveness; I really needed to know for myself, basically, how many times I could be forgiven for my repeated mistakes that I continually kept repeating over and over; even though I'd repented before and promised I'd do better. I prayed, I asked with all my heart, I opened my Book of Mormon which then was marked at Alma 42. This is where Alma teaches his son about repentance, and God's justice, and His mercy through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I found peace and the answers I needed. Another message I see repeated is to keep the commandments of God and seek for wisdom (See D&C 6:6, 9,20; 8:5; 13). God has promised great blessings when we keep the commandments.He says we "shall be blessed"; "encircled..in the arms of [His] love", and even "saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation". God loves us individually. He knows us by name (see D&C 6:20). His council to Oliver Cowdry can be to each of us. When we are having challenges seeing His hand or maintaining our faith in Him, we can take the Lord's council to remember the experiences we've had and not doubt what the Spirit has already revealed to us (See D&C 6:20-24). In conclusion, we can take Christ's council from D&C 6:36-37: "Fear not...Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen." With Love, Jillene Smith