I ran across an interesting verse as Nephi prophesies of the Jews and their spiritual progress.  There was something a little funny about it.  See if you can pick it out.

And after they [the Jews] have been scattered, and the Lord God hath scourged them by other nations for the space of many generations, yea, even down from generation to generation until they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankind—and when that day shall come that they shall believe in Christ, and worship the Father in his name, with pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more for another Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs be expedient that they should believe these things. (2 Nephi 25:16)

I found it rather funny that Nephi essentially says, “When the Jews believe in Christ…[insert list of things they’ll do manifesting their conversion]… then they shall believe.”

When they believe, then they’ll believe.

Now, why would he say something odd like that?

I get the sense that he had to think about whether more would happen once the Jews believed in Christ, but eventually he realized that all the stuff the Lord brought upon the Jews was meant to persuade them to believe in Christ.  Once that is accomplished, YAAAAAYYY!  The celebration and the real progress can begin.

Now, while I’m not aware of Jews in my family tree at this second, I can still apply this to myself.  This underlines for me how important it is to Jesus Christ that I believe in Him.  My belief in Christ gives me access to the cleansing and enabling power of the Atonement.  It’s when the rubber can really hit the road.    

So am I going to be quick or slow to believe in Christ?  Can I make my belief more than an intellectual assent and incorporate it into how I deal with the more granular concerns of life?   And will I be willing to trust Him in every new challenge that comes?  These are questions we must answer with our choices every day of our lives.

Today let’s try to look at our challenges as opportunities to choose to believe in Christ.  Because I have a lot to write today, I choose to believe that Christ can help me stay focused and give me good things to say when I exhaust my own ideas.  I choose to believe that Christ can help me not be overcome with feelings of overwhelm and perfectionism.

How will you choose to show your belief in Christ today?