Week 10

Mormon 1:2 "And about the time that Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age, and I began to be learned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people) and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe." I find the description of Mormon quite interesting. Ammoron and Mormon both use sober child to describe Mormon. When I was about 14 my family went to Nauvoo to be in the pageant. Before we went, we were set apart as some type of missionary for the two weeks that we would be there. I remember in my blessing that I got from the bishop he counseled me to be sober. I had never really thought about what is means to be sober before so I was taken aback a little bit when it was said in my blessing. I still am not completely sure what it means to be a sober child but here are a few of my ideas. One thing I think it encompasses is to not be dramatic about things. Not be rash in decision making. Not to overreact to insignificant things. I think it has something to do with maintaining an eternal perspective. Having a firm anchor in the gospel will help us to be more stable in all aspects of our lives. Another lesson that could apply is to be wary of light mindedness and loud laughter. Being sober doesn't mean that we should not express emotions or never have any positive or negative reactions to things that happen in our lives, but it means that we should bridle our passions and not let our emotions control our decision making. Another characteristic that Ammoron says Mormon has is being quick to observe. I think that means that he was quick to observe the commandments of God. He was quick to listen to his leaders. He was quick to act on what needed to be done. He was a good decision maker. He could observe, analyze, make a decision and act on it. These two qualities are ones that I want to develop in my own life. I want to be grounded in the gospel and not let whims of doctrines, trends, or bad things that happen in my life shake my faith or cause me to dramatically change everything I do because of a bad day. I want to be quick to observe the counsel of my leaders and apply the things I know I should in my life immediately so I can continue to grow and change for the better. I know that if I strive to develop these two characteristics I will be happier in my life and increase my relationship with Heavenly Father.