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This devotional address entitled,

My Soul Delighteth in the Things of the Lord,

was given on April 29th of 2004 by Stephen Jones,

then the Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communications.

My soul delighteth in the things of the Lord, wrote Nephi,

and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.

Yet in the verses that follow, he expressed sorrow and even grief because of his own weaknesses.

Sometimes known as Nephi's Psalm, 20 powerful verses in 2nd Nephi

chapter 4 give us unique insights to the process he went through to lift himself out of discouragement

and to renew his faith and determination in the Lord. I would like to spend the next few minutes examining these

verses, and my hope is that by carefully looking at Nephi's approach, we might find a pattern

that would assist us as we struggle through challenges in our own lives. As already noted,

Nephi expressed delight for the things of the Lord and his desire

to continually ponder the blessings and guidance he received. His words indicate he truly had learned

to serve the Lord with all his heart and mind. The constancy of his mind and heart reminds us of the psalmist who said,

I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Nevertheless,

despite his righteous desires and his attempt to continually feed his mind with the things of God,

there were challenges in his life.

In verses 17 through 19, Nephi described the affliction he felt

because of the weaknesses of his flesh and the sorrow and grief caused by his iniquity.

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