Miracles

While reading 3 Nephi in the part where Christ visits the people in the Americas and spends some time teaching them, I gained some new insights. On the first day when He was about to leave the people to ponder the things He had said until he returned the next day, "he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them." (3 Ne. 17:5). Jesus invited the people to bring forward those who were sick and afflicted so that He could heal them, because "I perceive that ye desire that I should show unto you what I have done unto your brethren at Jerusalem, for I see that your faith is sufficient that I should heal you." (verse 8) I thought it was interesting that the people wanted to see the miracles that Christ had done in Jerusalem--it was not because they didn't believe He had done them, but because they had been taught from the scriptures that He would do this, believed that He could and would, and wanted to experience this incredible miracle themselves. Christ knew that they had faith in His power to heal, and so He healed their sick.

Unlike many of the people of Jerusalem who didn't believe Jesus was the Christ even though they saw Him perform miracles, the people of the Americas did believe He was the Christ (these people were the ones who were preserved from the disasters because they were more faithful). They didn't need to see Him heal the sick to believe. This is how Christ describes their faith: "So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so great miracles, because of their unbelief. Verily I say unto you, there are none of them that have seen so great things as ye have seen; neither have they heard so great things as ye have heard." (3 Ne. 19:35-36) This makes me think about something that Christ said to the people in Jerusalem. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have it in similar ways, but I will quote it from Mark: "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath." (Mark 4:25) This is how it is changed with the Joseph Smith Translation: "For he that receiveth, to him shall be given; but he that continueth not to receive, from him shall be taken even that which he hath." Because they were willing to receive knowledge, they were given more, whereas those in Jerusalem who would not receive further light and truth lost what they had. The people in the Americas received a testimony that Christ could heal them, and not only were they shown this miraculous power, but they were also shown many more incredible miracles.

Let's look at some of the miracles they had the opportunity to witness:

1. He healed all those who were sick (3 Ne. 17:7-10)
2. He prayed to the Father in an incredible manner: "The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father; and no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father. And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome." (3Ne. 17: 16-18) Not only was it an impressive prayer, but the people also felt inconceivable joy when they heard it, so great that they were overcome. He offers another prayer that was so incredible it could not be written in 3 Ne. 19:32-34.
   
3. He blessed their children, and then the people saw this amazing scene: "And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them." (3 Ne. 17:24) That must have been a very special experience, to see their children in the midst of angels who were ministering to them. I think I would feel a great deal of joy and wonder to see angels ministering to my son.
4. On the second day, before Christ returned, the twelve whom Christ had chosen were baptized and prayed for the Holy Ghost. "And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire. And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did bear record; and angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them." (3 Ne. 19:13-14)
5. While the multitude was praying, Christ prayed three times, returning between the prayers to his disciples. When he came to his disciples, the account says that his countenance shone on them and they were whiter than anything that can be seen on earth. In His second prayer, Christ thanks the Father for purifying them, which suggests that they were not only white physically, but also spiritually--completely clean. (3 Ne. 19:25,28)
6. He produced enough bread and wine that everyone in the multitude could partake of the Sacrament--nobody had brought bread or wine. (3 Ne. 20:6-7)
   

Remember that these people had the privilege to see these miracles because they had such great faith. What strikes me is that these events, which are undeniably miraculous, are for the most part spiritual, not temporal. I think spiritual miracles are the most miraculous of all:

1. It is a miracle that we have the gift of the Holy Ghost. Through the Holy Ghost, we can be comforted, taught, purified, and guided. It is through the Holy Ghost that we gain testimonies of the gospel, become cleansed from our sins, and are led to serve and teach other people. It is a miracle that God still reveals information to us, whether through prophets or personal revelation.
   
2. It is a miracle that we can pray to our Heavenly Father. He hears every word, plus the things we don't/can't put into words. He understands and cares about the desires of our hearts. He knows how to answer our prayers in the way that will be best for us. It is a miracle that we can pray for a witness that something is true or for some guidance in a decision and then be taught the answer that we seek.
3. This earth is a miracle. It's a miracle that it was created in such a way that we could eat, breathe, and do all the things that are necessary to survive. It is a miracle that we have the opportunity to be here, that we have bodies and experiences that will teach us and prepare us for the time when we will again meet God.
   
4. The priesthood is a miracle. Because of the priesthood, we can be healed from both physical and spiritual infirmities. Because of the priesthood we can be baptized, partake of the sacrament, and receive the Holy Ghost and the endowment. Because of the priesthood we can be with our families forever and inherit eternal lives and God's kingdom.
   
5. It is a miracle that because of Jesus Christ, we can be purified even though we have sinned. Because of Him, we can still return to our Father in Heaven and receive exaltation if we will repent and come unto Him. It is a miracle that Christ loved us so much that he would suffer the pains of all men so that we would not have to suffer if we would repent.

I am grateful for the miracles God has blessed us with. I know that these miracles really do happen, and that they are the result of our Father's role in the events of this earth. He is not simply an omniscient, stern, uninvolved God--He is directly involved in all that happens on this earth. He will not stop us from choosing for ourselves, but He does bless us when we are obedient to the laws of the gospel, and if we want to do what is right, He will give us the experiences and information that we need in order to accomplish great things. Miracles will never cease.

And Today We Have Proof!

To prove that K's gymnastic feats were not just a single incident today we present proof!

little victories

Today after I finished my breakfast I decided to put K on his tummy while I read my scriptures beside him. Immediately after I set him down, he lifted his head up really high, turned sideways, and then rested his head on his arm. He then started wiggling his legs and body a little bit, as if he wanted to roll the rest of the way. I thought, "Wow, he's so close! I wonder how much longer it will be before he can roll over." He rested for a little while on his arm, and then he rolled the rest of the way as if it was no big deal. It took me a second to realize he had just rolled over because he did it so easily. Then I got really excited. I wonder if he'll keep doing it.

This is one of the things I am really enjoying about motherhood. I get to see all these small yet significant victories that K makes and enjoy them with him. I love to see the determined look he gets on his face when he's going to try to do something, and then the smiles and excitement he has when he does it. I know that he must have been looking forward to the chance to have a body for a long time before he was born, and it's fun to see him trying to figure out how this whole using-a-body thing works. I am amazed at the developments he has made and the way he has figured out how to do certain things on purpose.

One thing I have noticed about him is that when he decides to do something, he will do it--if he doesn't want to, he won't. If the pacifier isn't what he wants, there's no way we can get him to take it--but if he wants it, he will take it for a long time without any coaxing. For the first month of his life, he refused to sleep on his back in the bassinet at night, no matter what we tried. Then one night I put him in there, and he wasn't even close to being asleep, and he slept--and I've never had a problem since (at night). One day he decided he was going to sleep through the night, and he has done it almost every night since then (thank you, thank you, thank you, K!). And the same thing happened today--I think he thought, "I'm going to roll over," and then he just did it. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone besides me--it's kind of hard to explain what I mean in writing, especially since other people don't know him as well as I do.

Two minutes after K's superhuman performance, he was exhausted and quickly fell asleep. He looked so sweet that I just had to get a picture.

Wow! It's been 2 months!

Yesterday K was two months old. He had his two month checkup yesterday: He is 24 inches long and weighs 13 lb. 2.5 oz (my guess was 13 lbs.--pretty good, huh?). No way would he fit inside me now. The nurses and the doctor all said he is so cute and admired his eyes. I am fascinated with his eyes--every day they look a little different, and they are so beautiful and striking. He also had his first shots today and handled them pretty well. I didn't really like to see him cry when they did it, but he calmed down after not too long--and I'm ready with the baby Tylenol in case he is in any more pain. It's worth a couple of stings if it keeps him from getting really sick. I'm grateful that he is healthy and hasn't had to be poked and prodded much since he was born. K smiles and kicks a lot and reaches for my face and his makeshift mobile (depicted below). He is constantly making facial expressions that remind me of my little sisters and brother.


In this picture I think he kind of looks like Harold, from Harold and the Purple Crayon. There are a lot of books about Harold that are really cute--he is a little boy who has lots of adventures by drawing scenes and objects with his little purple crayon (always wearing his blue footed pajamas). K looks so thoughtful and imaginative, as if he's just had an interesting thought.

Some exciting events

K is sleeping much better at night. In the past week and a half, I think there have only been two nights when he didn't sleep for six to seven hours in a row, and on those nights I only had to get up to take care of him once. I didn't even have to rock him to sleep and carefully put him in the bassinet--I just wrapped him in a blanket and put him in while he was awake. I've really appreciated the uninterrupted sleep. It seems like he's starting to realize that when it's dark, it's time to sleep. I don't know if this will last, but I figure I will enjoy it while it does. I think overall he is feeling better because he's getting that quality sleep.

We taped some toys to a plastic hanger and hung them on the shade of the bassinet so that he would have something to look at. One of the toys had three keys on it, and we taped it so that one key was taped to the hanger and the other two hung down. This morning he was lying in the bassinet and reached up and tapped the keys--and then he tried a couple more times and managed to do it again and again. We were very excited, and I think he was too. It's so interesting to watch him moving his hands and figuring out how to get them to do what he wants. Sometimes he concentrates very hard on it and gets a very cute, determined look on his face.

The other event is that I received the decision about my residency--NCSU has given me in-state tuition status. I'm so glad because out-of-state tuition is incredibly expensive, which is why I only took eleven credits last year. Now that I can pay in-state tuition we will actually be able to afford my education. This is a really nice blessing. I was really upset last year that I wasn't going to be able to go to school full-time because I really wanted to get a lot of school out of the way, but I have a feeling that this past year has been a different kind of school for me and that I was supposed to learn other things that just can't be taught in a classroom. So even though I still have a ton of school left, I can look back on this year and feel that it wasn't wasted. I need to add how much I appreciate RT being supportive and comforting when I was so discouraged about it--he really helped me to see things with the proper perspective.

K is bored

K is getting wiggly and starting to look around at things. We have a couple of toys that I like to hold up above him for him to watch, and the swing has some little animals that hang over his head and can go in a circle, and he seems to like that. I'm thinking of getting or making something that I can put above him while he's lying on the floor or in his crib so that he can look at it (and maybe also kick or reach for it), because sometimes he just seems bored. I have a few ideas, but I thought I'd ask: What have you used and liked?

This is what I do all day.

I watch K being cute. Like in this video: Please ignore my voice--I hate how I sound in recordings (although I guess so does everyone else).

If you read my blog via email, click here to watch it, because I don't think you can see it in the email.

The past week or so has been fun because K is starting to smile and make cute noises. He has also become much more wiggly and interactive. We can tell that he is starting to recognize our faces.

I also watch RT being cute:


He spends a lot of time holding him like that--I really appreciate it. I love them both so much.

On Sunday we fed the missionaries waffles and peaches on our new (for us) table that has six matching chairs (the food was on plates, not the table). The missionaries were very nice, and they were our first dinner guests. K slept until it was time for them to share their nice message about prayer, at which point he cried or sucked on my finger. Now that we have a nice table I guess I need to start inviting people over for dessert. Shyness is now my only excuse (and even though I think it's a good excuse, it actually isn't).