Thursday, February 18, 2010

Here I Raise My Ebenezer

I was listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's version of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" when I realized that I had no idea what "here I raise my Ebenezer" meant. A quick search on lds.org took me to 1 Samuel 7:12 which says, "Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." Ebenezer, being translated from Hebrew, means "stone of help." This commemoration was placed to remind the Israelites of their victory over the Philistines at Mizpeh and the help they received from the Lord.
Perhaps we should raise our own Ebenezer -- something that reminds us of the blessings and help the Lord has given us. It's not enough to just petition God for help in our prayers. We should be mindful of how those prayers are answered and give thanks. President Eyring taught us to "remember". By taking notice of our blessings and the miracles in our life, and recording those blessing and miracles, we remember for ourselves and our posterity and raise an Ebenezer.
Just a lesson learned I thought I would share.