A Good Reminder

Last week I fell back into some old bad habits. I was set to go out of town for work from Saturday to Wednesday. I knew it would be difficult to stay on top of my assignments for the week, as Saturday and Wednesday are both big days for my homework. I thought I'd be able to manage it though. I was driving with my bosses, and they have wifi hotspots on both of their phones. I figured I'd be able to do homework during the four hour car ride. I forgot that I get carsick when I read for any extended amount of time. Sure enough after I'd been on my computer for less than half an hour I started to feel nauseous. Needless to say I didn't get any homework done on either of those car rides.

When we got to the hotel I immediately tried to sign into the room's internet, only to find out it was having some issues. I contacted the front desk and they sent someone out. He changed the modem and it seemed to be working fine. Unfortunately right after he finished I had to leave to meet my bosses for dinner. When I got back it was having the same problem. And here is where my old bad habits kicked in. Instead of immediately requesting a new room so that I'd be able to do my homework without issue, I kept that room for the duration of my stay. Why?

As I looked back over the week I realized that I had not been reading my scriptures and praying as I had been in the habit of since starting Pathway. And I knew right there, that's what it was. I've had lots of years to get comfortable with not really trying very hard. The Becoming Project, started last semester, and the Christlike Attributes project from this semester, have both been instrumental in so much of the growth I've experienced over the last few months. With these projects and class assignments has come the required studying and pondering of the words of prophets of God, and even from the Savior himself, Jesus Christ. In order to do well in my classes I've had to put aside what I want to do, what I want to say, and how I want to react, and instead "try a little harder to be a little better."

To bolster my efforts in these areas I've had the daily ingesting of words of peace and wisdom, encouragement to keep the commandments and be more like the Savior.  I've had daily interaction with the Spirit as I've read, listened, and pondered the words found in the scriptures. I've prayed for strength to be more humble and to have a desire to be better. But I relaxed and got careless. And it showed. So this week's blog post is not so much about what I learned from a topic, but what I learned from not following through on the commitments I've made to study and pray.

I learned that I am just a woman, who on her own doesn't do all that great. I learned that I am so much better when I have the daily influence of the Holy Ghost to guide my thoughts, words and actions. I learned that there is a definite purpose to the assignments we receive every week, and that it is for our own good we're asked to do them. I learned that I am much happier and have more peace when I am reading or hearing often the sacred words found in the scriptures. I learned that I definitely want to be the person I am capable of becoming if I stay close to the Spirit by searching those books and praying to receive revelation and improve my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

Charity, The Pure Love of Christ

The scriptures teach that charity is the pure love of Christ. But what does that mean? What does the pure love of Christ look like?

Mormon wrote, “Charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” (Moroni 7:45)

Charity is the attribute of Christ I have chosen to work on for the last couple of weeks. I've noticed an increase in patience, forgiveness, being able to put myself in other's positions, and my desire to be more like Christ, as I have tried to center my life around this attribute of his. I've not been perfect, by any means. But that's not the point, is it? Christ routinely showed charity towards others by healing them, offering them forgiveness, teaching them how they could have eternal life, and, ultimately, sacrificing his own life to perform the atonement. If we look at the kind of life he led we can imagine how we would be if we lived a life of perfect charity.

In the most recent session of conference, President Thomas S. Monson spoke about six attributes of Christ he felt were important for us to have in order for us to be an example of the Savior and a light in the world. He felt this topic was so important that he gave finished his talk, even though it was clear he was struggling to even stay standing. He said, "I am confident there are within our sphere of influence those who are lonely, those who are ill, and those who feel discouraged. Ours is the opportunity to help them and to lift their spirits. The Savior brought hope to the hopeless and strength to the weak." And in the October 2003 General Conference, then Relief Society President said concerning charity, "Charity is our love for the Lord, shown through our acts of service, patience, compassion, and understanding for one another."

There's a lot of talk today about laws that need to be enacted. Gun laws, immigration laws to try and prevent terrorism, etc. One thing you'll never hear politicians say is that if we just showed the pure love of Christ towards each other, these laws wouldn't be necessary. Knowing Christ's desire for us to show charity to one another, I have a responsibility to exhibit it to everyone I meet, no matter how difficult the circumstances. The world can be changed just one small act at a time. As the saying goes, out of small things shall great things come to pass. Hearts can be healed, wounds bound up, whole lives set on a different course. It's something worth striving for.

Behold, Thou Art Nephi, and I Am God.

I had a rough week. I didn't get much sleep, I worked every day, and I had a lot of homework. I also had to make a pretty big decision about my house and where I thought I'd be in the next little while. I felt anxious, and uncertain that I could even make the right decision. My friend had told me to pray for a miracle, but what miracle was I supposed to pray for? I didn't know.

As I was driving to work Friday morning I felt pretty despondent.  I had been assigned to write a letter over the weekend and hadn't done it right. I had gone to bed only about four hours before, staying up till the week small hours of the morning rewriting it.  As I drove I began to feel overwhelmed with fear that I still hadn't done it right, that the person who had asked for it would be disappointed, that I'd have to rewrite it yet again, and that it wouldn't even make a difference anyway.

As I started to give into those feelings I felt that I should listen to my scriptures on my phone. I plugged in the auxiliary cord and pressed play. It had left off on Helaman, chapter 10. Then the narrator got to verse 6, and I started to cry.

"Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God."

Right then, I knew I, too, was known. God knows each of us intimately. He is aware of our struggles, and waits to support us in them. I'm really grateful for a loving Father who allows us to go through situations that, although painful, will help us to grow and become the people who can live with Him eternally. And I'm especially grateful that through those situations, if we will remember that He is aware, he will give us the strength to get through them.

Look to the Light

I love when Christ is compared to a light. Light is life. So is Christ. Light can drive out the darkness surrounding it, no matter how small it is. So can Christ. As this Christmas season is upon us I have been thinking of course about the Savior. He chose to come to earth humbly, "as a little child." His birth was announced by the appearance of a brilliant new star. Light.

When they were lost, early travelers would look to the North Star to guide them in the direction they wanted to go. We have a North Star as well. Life is full of dark spots in our life. Some are brought on by ourselves, some are brought on by others. But the Savior's love is always there waiting for us, like a light switch waiting to be turned on. He will never force us to turn on the light. 

Over two thousand years ago, that light came to earth in the form of a baby boy, born to a virgin mother. "How silently, how silently," the world slumbered on. How could they have known that this humble event heralded the greatest gift ever given to mankind? If I had been alive then would I have believed the simple testimony given by the shepherds after they had seen Him? Would I have gone to Him seeking a miracle, or would I have called out like the Jews of that day, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"

While I can't answer that question definitively, I can choose to allow His light into my life today. I can choose to follow His light when it gets dark around me. His is a light that never dims, never goes out. It will never lead me astray, away from my desire for peace and joy. His light does not move the mountains and valleys on the path before me, but it does allow me to see my way around the pits that would bring me to my knees. 

I am so grateful for the safety which lies in the circle of that light. Grateful that my Savior chooses to let it shine so that we can make it back home to Him and our Father. 

King Benjamin

I've always thought of King Benjamin's address to his people as the first general conference. I know that's not really true, because previous to this in the Book of Mormon there are instances of the prophets speaking to their people. But the sheer number of people that came reminds me of modern day conferences. King Benjamin must have been a beloved king. And when you hear him recount how he has labored beside his people thought his days, you can get a glimpse into why that must have been.

I love King Benjamin's admonitions to his people in Mosiah 2-

 19 And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to ^athank your heavenly ^bKing!

 20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the ^athanks and ^bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and ^cpreserved you, and has caused that ye should ^drejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

 21 I say unto you that if ye should ^aserve him who has created you from the beginning, and is ^bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you ^cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own ^dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your ^ewhole souls yet ye would be ^funprofitable servants.

 22 And behold, all that he ^arequires of you is to ^bkeep his commandments; and he has ^cpromised you that if ye would keep his would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth ^dvary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do ^ekeep his ^fcommandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

 23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

 24 And secondly, he doth ^arequire that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately ^bbless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

Truly does he testify of our indebtedness to our Heavenly Father. It reminds me of the quote by President Uctdorf from his October 2011 General Conference talk, "You Matter to Him"- 

"This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God."

The Last Days

This week's reading was in 2 Nephi. It finished off the book with the last several chapters. It was a bit of a relief to get out of Isaiah and back to Nephi's teachings. These chapters deal with the last days (our days) and what will happen, the way people will live, the lies Satan will spread, and the fate of the church and faithful saints.

I was disturbed while preparing a lesson for Relief Society last week to read a post someone had made on their website concerning revelation. This man argues that Joseph Smith could not have been visited by God the Eternal Father and His son Jesus Christ because the Bible specifically teaches that we do not receive personal revelation. It made me so sad to think of this man teaching and believing that God no longer speaks to us, and therefore missing out, and perhaps causing others to miss out as well, on personal revelation from a loving Heavenly Father.

I have been through some very difficult times these last few months. I KNOW that we can receive personal revelation from our Heavenly Father because I HAVE received it. Nephi states in 2 Nephi 28:29, "Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we ^aneed ^bno more of the word of God, for we have enough!" God doesn't love us any less than he loved the people who lived in the days of the Bible. There isn't any reason why he would withhold personal revelation from us today. 

In chapter 32 verses 8 and 9 he says,  8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the ^aSpirit which teacheth a man to ^bpray, ye would know that ye must ^cpray; for the ^devil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.

 9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must ^apray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall ^bpray unto the Father in the ^cname of Christ, that he will ^dconsecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the ^ewelfare of thy soul.

I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the correct principles which it teaches. I am grateful that I know I can be heard by my Father, and that He will answer my righteous prayers. 

My Savior, Jesus Christ

    Welcome to my new blog. Instead of writing pretend talks and keeping them to myself I thought I'd throw my thoughts out into the blogosphere. These posts will also give me credit for a religion course I'm taking online. (Hence the pretend talks.) So it's a win-win. Depending on if you like my writing I guess. 

   This week on Digging Deeper, a collection of short clips gathered together, there were three that stuck out to me in particular. 

   The first was a scripture from Isaiah and Micah that President Hinckley spoke in reference to the temple. "Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord." "Mountain" is the word that caught my attention. I've heard that scripture before and yet this time it meant something different. A mountain is a place where one goes to take refuge. To seek the higher ground. The temple is the same way. It is a place of safety, refuge, security. Why? Because that is where we learn more about the plan of salvation. 

    The second was President Packer's message "Do Not Fear." He assures us that some trials in our lives may be bitter and hard to bear. But then he reassures us, "It must needs be that there is opposition in all things. This testing is the source of our strength." 

   

The third was the Mormon Message taken from the words of President Monson. It seems as though death has been touched on a lot lately in different conference talks. General conference had several speakers who had been touched personally by a family member's death, and tonight in our adult session of stake conference the visiting general authority told us he has a daughter who passed away. As President Monson said, "Among all the facts of mortality, none is so certain as it's end. Death comes to all." 

    I have three children. They are so dear to me. I can't imagine not having them here on earth with me. However I know that if something were to happen to any of them that I would see them again. This is the refuge I seek when I go to the temple- to know that my Savior died and then lived again so that we could as well. When people say that Mormons don't believe in Jesus Christ it hurts because I would be so lost without him. What hope would we have without the knowledge of that atonement that makes all right in the world again? I am so grateful to him for taking upon himself willingly the suffering of all humanity. Because of him all wrongs can be made right again, including that which takes those we love from us for a time.