"O remember, remember"

In several passages in the Book of Mormon, prophets urge the people to remember. Consider this beautiful passage in Mosiah 2:41 from King Benjamin's address:

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

And this passage in Alma 37:13, which features Alma speaking to his son, Helaman:

O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how strict are the commandments of God. And he said: If ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land—but if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cut off from his presence.

In both passages, prophets urge people not only to remember the commandments of God, but also to remember the blessings that follow from living according to those commandments. Without a written record, remembering these things is surprisingly difficult. (Cf. Nephi and the plates of brass: "I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the law").

The foregoing thoughts come to me with a bit of irony because I was reminded of these ideas by watching a videotape of President Henry B. Eyring's talk on this subject from the October 2007 General Conference:



This is only a snippet from a powerful talk. You can read the whole thing here or watch it from this page.

On listening to President Eyring again, I focused on this paradoxical idea: "As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day." Obviously, President Eyring understood the paradox: "I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done."

This reminded me of that passage of scripture quoted in my welcome post: "And Zeezrom began to inquire of them diligently, that he might know more concerning the kingdom of God." If the goal of this blog is to pursue Zeezrom's inquiry, that is, to enhance my knowledge of the kingdom of God, it's hard to think of a better place to start than remembering.

On first hearing that talk over a year and half ago, I resolved to follow President Eyring's counsel to write in my journal daily. And I did. It was a wonderful, uplifting experience. Nevertheless, as time has passed, I have allowed various distractions to stand in the way of keeping a daily record. Seeing President Eyring's talk again has rekindled my resolve.