What's in the Book of Mormon? He Succors Us According to Our Infirmities - The Parable of the Parking Lot

I've come up with what I call the Parable of the Parking Lot - something I recently learned about my need for a Savior in my life.

In my travels as a piano tuner, I have a client - a seminary, or university of sorts - that I visit quite frequently. They have a beautiful old building with a very small parking lot behind it, where I leave my car while I work. I notice when I enter the parking lot that there's a one-way arrow indicating this is the direction to enter. Once inside the parking lot, there appears to be no exit. This being the case, and my need to exit being inevitable, I have for months used the entrance illegally to exit the parking lot.

One day some weeks ago, parking was in unusually short supply, and I had to drive around a bit to find a place to put the car. As luck would have it, the only place I could find was on the other side of this building near what appeared to be a one-way exit of a parking lot. I got the car turned around, then parallel parked. I got out of the car and walked up the way to see where this exit came from, and sure enough it led to the same parking lot. From my vantage point in the car, my view of the exit had been obstructed by a blind corner covered with thick bushes.

I realized that using this exit was not only the legal way to exit the parking lot, but it actually put me half a block closer to my destination. This was going to be so much easier from now on!

Yesterday when I visited the place again, I realized that this scenario was a corollary for most - if not all - the mistakes I make in trying to live the gospel. While none may care that I went out through the entrance for months on end, in the context of this parable, it becomes significant that I did not place enough importance on finding the right way out.


There's Always A Right Way Out

So often I find myself in the midst of temptation, feeling like my only way out is to resort to sin. More often than not, the temptation arises out of a legitimate need - a part of my human nature that needs inevitable addressing, like my need to exit the parking lot. Temptations that are not based on needs are usually based in perfectly innocent desires - things that shouldn't necessarily be repressed or be considered cause for embarrassment or shame. Not knowing or having a way out my predicament, the pressure builds until sin becomes the result.

Sitting there in that parking lot, it occurred to me that my life would be so much better if I could always believe that there is a legitimate, right way to handle the need or desire - a legitimate, right way out of my figurative parking lot!

The apostle Paul taught:

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Alma the Younger taught the people of Ammonihah:

"...humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit..." (Alma 13:28)

In my own experience, I find that if I don't identify a legitimate need knocking at my door and get the Lord's help in meeting it before I go crazy, the temptation continues to escalate until I can no longer bear it. It seems to me that the first step to applying faith in Christ in a meaningful, real-world application is to believe that there is always a right way to handle everything. The only problem with this is that life is so complex; how are we to know what that right way is, in the very moment of our pressing need, blind corners and thick bushes notwithstanding? Life so often seems like a ten-story parking lot laid out like a corn maze. How am I to find my way through before I go star-craving mad?


Counsel With the Lord in All Thy Doings

It occurs to me that there is Someone who can - and should - be my Guide.

Isaiah spoke of Someone whose capacity for strength and wisdom far exceeds the pitiful limitations of mortality:

"Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.  Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?  Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?  With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?" (Isaiah 40:10-14)

King Solomon taught:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 Alma the Younger taught his son Helaman:

"O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God. Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.  Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good..." (Alma 37:35-37)

The only way we'll ever be able to navigate the complexities of life without resorting to sin is, we have to learn to counsel with the Lord in all things! That's step two of applying real-world faith.

This, of course, requires that we learn to trust the Lord. Does He indeed have my best interests at heart? I believe the reason why Lehi, Nephi, and Mormon taught us to partake of the fruit of the tree of life - the love of God - was so that we would have in our minds and hearts an unforgettable, experiential answer to this question. Knowing and feeling the infinite love of God has a way of bringing the best out in us and causing us to relax, to relinquish control of our fate into His ever-capable hands. (see 1 Nephi 8:10-12, 1 Nephi 11:20-23, Moroni 7:46-48) 


He Succors Us According to Our Infirmities

It is not usually enough to have a knowledge of the right thing to do. We also need power. We need help that can only come from the Savior. For those who "thirst after righteousness" and are in need of a spiritual Big Gulp, Alma the Younger gave us what I like to call "spiritual Seven Eleven":

"And [Christ] shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." (Alma 7:11-12, see also Matthew 5:6, 3 Nephi 12:6)

The Lord didn't just come to command, then save us from our failures. He came to enable success! Quite often our limited spiritual and emotional reserves are pitted against what the Lord has commanded us. This puts pressure on us that is incident to our fallen condition as mortal beings. The scriptures are clear: the burdens which the gospel places are all covered by the Atonement, by His redemption of us from the Fall! Isn't that what a Redeemer is? The Lord came to redeem us from the Fall. That doesn't just mean resurrect us after we die; it means help us bear the burdens of mortality in the meantime - to succor us in the flesh, according to our infirmities!  The Lord came not just to save us from sin after the fact, but to help meet the need His command creates, and even to relieve the pressure it puts us under, to save us from sinning in the first place, if we will trust Him and ask for His help! That's what "succor" means.

 The application of "succor" is a time-sensitive thing. So often in life, the things we want have to wait for "the Lord's timetable". But in those moments of urgent need, time and time again, I have found that the Lord's timetable fits the urgency of the need. When the need is immediate, the Lord's timetable is now. The word "succor" means "to run or rush to the aid of". This isn't an occasional relaxed mosey over to the neighbor's house to help with weeding. This is high-tailing it over there to reach up a hand to stop him before he finishes falling off his ladder!

When temptation strikes, we need to counsel with the Lord - to find the exit. Then we need to have him "succor" us - we need to use that exit. This all happens in rapid succession; it has to happen before temptation overwhelms us. It has to happen in the very moment of our pressing need. It's one thing to pray at ten o'clock at night for help with a frustrating four-year-old. It's another thing to pray at nine-oh-seven the next morning when you round a corner only to find that she has spilled half a jug of punch all over the kitchen table and down onto the floor.

 In that moment, we have an urgent need to know what the right way is to respond to the situation, and we may feel a great deal of pressure that usually results in expression of frustration or anger. We can learn to have the Spirit guide us to lovingly pick her up, find some paper towels, and clean up the mess without saying a word. In other words, we can learn to fight our tiny, daily battles in the Lord. But do we think to mentally connect and ask the Lord to be the pressure valve for our frustration? Or do we resort to yelling or foul language? Do we lean on the arm of flesh or on the arm of the Lord?

It was in the middle of feeling a need brought on by the burdens of missionary work that Alma prayed, "O Lord, wilt thou give me strength, that I may bear with mine infirmities..." (Alma 31:30)

Nephi says:

"O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm. Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness." (2 Nephi 4:34-35)

I've come to define the word "god" as something to which we turn in time of need. What are we turning to under pressure - grace or habit, prayer or profanity?

The Lord told the Israelites:

"I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God... shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:2-3,5,6)

When we depend upon God for the wisdom and the power to do what is right, we make Him our God and the rock of our righteousness! Step three in applying real-world faith in our Redeemer is learning to apply the Lord's real-world succor in a timely and meaningful way.


The Gospel Do's and Don'ts - Stumbling Block or Stepping Stone?

We tend to think of the gospel as being full of limitations. When those limitations interfere with wants and needs, we, by transition, think of the gospel as interfering with wants and needs. We tend to think of the gospel as a burden. But to view the Lord's commandments in this way is to take Christ out of His own gospel. All too often, both we and the world think of the gospel as asking us to do without. But this is not the case. Rather, the Lord, by His gospel, is asking us to have the things we want and need through Him. The trick is learning how to have Him do that - a thing we have to prayerfully explore with Him. The Savior - our Good Shepherd - said:

"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." (John 10:9-11, emphasis added)

The Lord does not want us beating ourselves up for trying to meet legitimate needs - not even if we're used to meeting them in a sinful way. Neither does He want us meeting that need in a way that costs us ready access to the means He has provided. He wants us to bridle our passions, not kill them. He wants us to learn to meet our needs His way, through Him! He wants us to let Him help, and He wants to meet our needs personally - more abundantly than sin can or ever will do! That's why we call Him the Good Sheperd!

Isaiah testified of the Lord's great desire to feed us abundantly, and to do it for free:

"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." (Isaiah 55:1-2, emphasis added)

The Lord doesn't want to just give us enough to "get by" emotionally. He wants us to let our souls delight in fatness! He wants to feed the multitude, and then have us pick up twelve baskets of leftovers! (Mark 6:38-44)

Do we trust that this is the case? We need to!

I don't think there's a one of us that hasn't had a circumstance where things got hard enough that we jettisoned our principles temporarily because our familiar old ways seemed easier in the moment. Inevitably, this choice costs us joy and power that can help us more than it burdens us in those moments of need. Because of the loss of that joy and power, the choice to revert becomes a choice we keep on making. The loss of that grace blinds us to the reality of what is happening, and we fall off the rock, back into spiritual never-land. That which we thought was only a temporary deviation quickly becomes permanent!

LDS Lower Light: What's in The Book of Mormon? The Secret to Building Upon the Rock of the Redeemer

It was for this reason king Benjamin warned us: "But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith... ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not." (Mosiah 4:30)

Haven't all of us at one time or another felt our burdens were too great, that the Lord was asking too much of us, that we couldn't do it all any more, that something had to give? In every temptation we've ever given into, in some form or other, has not this been our justification?

But, not ironically, isn't this the very moment when, with straining spiritual ears, we need to listen and hear the still, small voice say, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest?" Did not the Lord promise to make our burden his, to join us in the yoke and pull by our side? Did not he say, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light?" (Matthew 11:28-30)

Isn't this the very moment when we most need to turn to the Lord, rather than away? Is this not the moment when we need to humble ourselves and plead with the Lord to "make weak things become strong unto us?" (Ether 12:27-28)

LDS Lower Light: What's in the Book of Mormon? Faith, Hope, Charity, and The Fountain of All Righteousness

Do we believe the Lord's promises to do this for us? Do we take Him up on it as often as the need arises? Do we plead with Him to forgive our stumbling and begin once again to succor us?

The Lord taught the apostle Paul that He defines His strength and perfection in terms of its usefulness to us:

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

God does not have weakness, so this has to be our weakness he's talking about! God has more strength and grace and perfection than He can use, which is why He keeps trying to get us to use it! He feels it will go to waste if we don't. Paul's response to this was great confidence that, with the Lord helping, he could handle anything mortality could throw at him:

"Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Ammon, the missionary who had used the power of God for herding sheep (see Alma 17:27-39) and for converting seven cities of the Lamanites unto the Lord (see Alma 23:6-13), expressed to us both his sense of his own weakness and the source of his strength:

"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things" (Alma 26:12)

As already quoted above, Alma the Younger counseled Helaman, "withersoever thou goest, let it be in the Lord". Repeatedly, the Book of Mormon teaches us the importance of fighting our battles in the strength of the Lord! Here are just a few of the thirty examples I found:

• Zeniff and his people defend themselves - Mosiah 9:17-18
• Zeniff and his people defend themselves - Mosiah 10:10
• the people of king Benjamin fight to establish peace - Words of Mormon 1:14
• Captain Moroni encourages the people to take back their country - Alma 46:19-20
• Captain Moroni and his forces go up to retake Zarahemla - Alma 61:18 

He Shall Prepare a Way

Nephi gave us the most oft-quoted example of the Lord's succor in the Book of Mormon:

"I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7)


If Thou Knewest the Gift of God

To a woman at a well in Samaria, the Savior expressed His great willingness to help us:

"If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water... whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:10-14)

Do we know the gift of God? Do we ask for living water in those moments when we most need it?

LDS Lower Light: The Pride of the World vs. Living Water


Go Boldly to the Throne of Grace

The apostle Paul reminded us that we have a high priest - a Savior - who loves us and who knows what we've been through and who wants more than anything to help us:

"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15-16)

To me, this invitation to come boldly to the throne of grace means that, if I have a weakness I need to overcome, and the Lord shows me the legitimate need behind it - a need that I've been meeting in a sinful way, I can go to His throne knowing that His grass is greener, trusting that He has a better solution, firmly believing that if I never cease to importune, He will eventually provide!


They Will Not Understand Thy Mercies

One little-known prophet expressed frustration with a people who would not understand the Lord's mercies. I fear you and I have the same problem. We don't realize the extent to which the Lord can heal and succor us:

"Now behold, my brethren, I would ask if ye have read the scriptures? If ye have, how can ye disbelieve on the Son of God? Zenock also spake of these things— For behold, he said: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son. And now, my brethren, ye see that a second prophet of old has testified of the Son of God, and because the people would not understand his words they stoned him to death.  But behold, this is not all; these are not the only ones who have spoken concerning the Son of God. Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live. But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them." (Alma 33:14-20, emphasis added, see also Helaman 8:13-15, Numbers 21:7-9, John 3:14-15)

 Having said all of this, Alma and Amulek extended to the Zoramites the following invitation which applies to us today:

"O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?  If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people..." (Alma 33:21-22, emphasis added)

Do we believe the Lord will heal us in our moments of need, if only we'll cast our eyes steadfastly in His direction?


The Easiness of The Way

Alma warned his sons not to get spiritually lazy:

"O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever." (Alma 37:46)

He was using the Liahona as a symbol of the Lord's willingness to guide us and keep us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness, but this verse works in conjunction with Moses' brazen serpent - the Savior - too. If we will look, we may live forever!

How can Alma speak of a gospel that is so hard to live as being "easy?" I believe he understood the Lord's succor - His tender mercies - much better than we do. He understood that the Lord really will bear much of the weight of our mortality, if we are worthy.


An Hard Saying: Vengeance Is Mine

Very possibly the greatest, most poignant example of the Lord succoring His people is the one that happened in a dying Nephite nation. The Nephite people were angry because of what the Lamanites had done to their loved ones. The Lamanites had committed such heinous atrocities of torture, rape, murder, and the like, that Mormon loathed to describe them. (see Mormon 4, 9) Granted, the Nephites had done likewise, but that's a story for another day. Can you imagine what it would feel like to be one of them in this situation? And yet, the Lord commanded them saying:

"...man shall not smite, neither shall he judge; for judgment is mine, saith the Lord, and vengeance is mine also, and I will repay." (Mormon 8:20)

At first glance, this seems like a very unjust thing the Lord has asked of them - not only that they bear the injustice, but that they let it go un-avenged. But if we understand the role He was asking them to let Him play in it, this is in fact a promise of great mercy! Usually when we read this verse, we think of vengeance deferred until the last day. We think of our favorite enemy and say to him in our minds, "Yeah, buddy, come judgement day the Lord is gonna sock it to you, and I'm gonna be there to watch every minute of it!" But I cannot bring myself to believe that, in saying this, the Lord was teaching abstention from vengeance while exemplifying it in the same breath. His promise to "repay" has nothing to do with vengeance!

So what did the Lord mean by this?

To me, the answer becomes clear when we realize just who it is the Lord intends to repay. Think of the last time you were hurt by the acts or words of another. Did not the offender get what he wanted out of the deal? He's off singing like a lark in the meadow, leaving you with the burden of the injustice. As if to add insult to injury, the Lord burdens us further in asking us to forgive the injustice. Who stands most in need of being repaid - the offender, or... you?  You see, the Lord, in giving the Nephites this commandment, was offering to settle the vengeance account, not by way of justice deferred until the last day, but here and now, by way of blood that was spilled at Golgotha! He was offering to take responsibility for their pain, to step into the shoes of the offender and suffer for these grieving Nephites what they needed someone to suffer in order to feel repaid!

Did not Isaiah say, "...the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed?" (Isaiah 53:5)


If I Wash Thee Not

The Nephites ultimately could neither understand nor believe the Lord's offer, and so they rejected it. But the lesson stands, as also the resources set forth and made available to us in the Atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Think of it: if the Lord loves the Nephites so much and is willing to go to such lengths to enable them to forgive and to be no longer harrowed up by such gross offenses, will He not also go to great lengths to lift our burdens and enable our obedience - maybe even far greater lengths than we've ever conceived? I testify that he will, and he does! The more we believe He can do for us, the more he can do for us. (see Ether 3:2-4 and 1 Nephi 7:12, 2 Nephi 27:23, Moroni 10:7-8)

Yes, He gave them commandments - "hard sayings", as he does with us. But He also loved them - and us - enough to sacrifice greatly in order to provide us the means to keep them. Surely the Lord has said, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love... " (John 15:10) It is out of the sheer, undeniable, unsearchable riches of His unfathomable love for us - and because we have no other choice - the Lord offers to do so much for us. Why does He do it? He wants us to experience the indescribably joy of succeeding at keeping His commandments - with His help!



When I realized the extent to which the Lord is willing to do the dirty work my sins have been doing, in order to take their place in my life, I was horrified! How can I let such a Holy Being do such a dirty job for me? How can I let Him take on the emotional and spiritual burdens of the challenges that are mine in mortality? Is that fair? No!

In that moment, I felt the Lord speak deeply into my soul the same stern yet gentle, unimaginably generous reminder He had given Peter: "...if I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." (John 13:8)

The Lord lovingly insists that we impose upon Him in this terrible way! We have no legitimate alternative!


We Have to Have And Use the Lord's Exit!

Near the end of His life, the Savior explicitly taught about the means which He had provided, of our need to use it, of what happens if we don't:

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." (John 15:4-6)

No matter what figurative parking lot we find ourselves stuck in, the Lord is the vine, the exit, the source of the power we need to succeed! Without Him, we have no choice but to continue to resort to our old sins! As of the Fall of mankind, human nature demands it - hence our need for redemption! (see Mosiah 3:19, Mosiah 16:1-9, Alma 42:10-11)

Nephi said:

"[the Lord] inviteth [us] all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him..." (2 nephi 26:33)

In this most recent general conference, Elder Oaks spoke of being strengthened by the Atonement. His words are to me a game changer. I'll spend the rest of my life trying to learn to be more diligent in using the Atonement in the way he described.

He taught, in essence, that the Savior, by way of commandment, gave us two choices: come unto me, or be led into temptation:

"...ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see... and whosoever breaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation." (3 Nephi 18:25)

This, to me, is the Lord's commandment that we feel out our options with Him, that we learn how it is that He can meet the needs for which we have heretofore resorted to sin. This is an invitation to come unto Him and see what He can do for us instead, to feel Him at work in our everyday lives!

Elder Oaks also quoted out of Psalms:

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all." (Psalms 34:19)
 

Read or watch Elder Oaks' talk:

LDS General Conference, October 2015, Elder Oaks, Apostle - Strengthened By the Atonement of Jesus Christ

The Lord may or may not change the fact that we face affliction and temptation. But he can and will take upon himself the emotional and spiritual burdens those afflictions and temptations place upon us. He has promised us this - albeit on condition of exclusivity.

For what I mean by "exclusivity", see my upcoming article: 

What's in the Doctrine & Covenants? When Ye Do What I Say I Am Bound

 
Some Concluding Thoughts

Studying this and trying to put it to work in my life has caused me to redefine some gospel words. Whereas faith used to be the belief that God was there, now it represents to me a growing familiarity with His infinite goodness which He has shown me. Whereas humility used to be my acknowledgement of the importance of keeping His commandments, and of my limitations in doing so, now it represents to me the life-changing realization of just how much asking the Lord for help I'll have to do if I'm ever going to succeed!

Prophetic testimony concerning the Lord's willingness to succor us and our great need to have Him do so is all over the scriptures!

In the Old Testament, we find this from Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness..." (Isaiah 61:1-3)

The New Testament tells us that, during His mortal ministry, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) Similarly, following His resurrection, and as a preface to His ministry among the Nephites, the Lord said, "I am the light and the life of the world.." (3 Nephi 11:11)

In the Book of Mormon, king Benjamin taught his people, "...there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent... men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord..." (Mosiah 3:17-19)

If we are ever going to find the right exit, if we are ever going to succeed at doing all the Lord has required of us, we are going to have to find Him, for He and He alone is the Way, the Truth, the Light and the Life of the world. He and his saving grace, His wisdom and light are the exit!


Also of Interest

LDS Lower Light: Jesus of Nazareth - Our Savior and Friend!
LDS Lower Light: What's in the Book of Mormon? Salvation From Sin, Not In Sin

How might this knowledge of the Lord's succor be put to work in teaching our children? When we see bad behavior, how can we intervene and help them find the Exit, the Right Way?  

LDS Hymns #301 - I Am a Child of God