This week I have been pondering a lot about being led by the Spirit. I think this is the one thing I miss the most about the mission, because I felt like every day all day was led by the Spirit. Down to the smallest decision made by my companion to go and get White Castle at 8:30p.m. because we didn't have dinner that day and I was about to leave Indiana without experiencing White Castle. Then when we were there we were able to talk to two people about the Gospel who I believe strongly needed it that day! If the Spirit can lead us to White Castle for those people, the Spirit can do anything God needs Him to do! As a missionary, I was devoting all of my time to God, and constantly was asking and confirming with Him what He needed me to do, but since then I haven't felt the need to ask Him every day and every hour to lead me, hence the lack of feeling led by the Spirit.
In the Book of Mormon, Nephi is asked to go to Jerusalem to get the Brass Plates. He doesn't understand fully why he has been asked to do so, but he says, "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." (1 Nephi 4:6) And it hit me just the other day, that I do not need to be on a mission to be led by the Spirit all the time. I just need to ask the Spirit to lead me and He will.
Tuesday was a beautiful day outside. Nice and warm, a perfect day to lay by the pool after work and relax. I hadn't planned on doing anything after work, but during the middle of the work day I just had a thought to go to the temple. I decided to act on that thought, and a lot more thoughts kept coming. While I was in the temple I had a thought to do something in there that I don't normally do and have only done once in the last two years. Then when I was working in the temple, I had the thought to go to Desert Book after I was done. I bought the book "Women and the Priesthood" by Sheri Dew, because I had the thought that I need to get that and read it. At Desert Book I met a women who had come from the temple and was waiting until the temple was closed because she was going to go in and clean it. (Side note, what a wonderful way to serve, cleaning the temple is on my to-do list!) Her and I had a wonderful conversation, and I was just so thankful that I was led (by the Spirit) to be at that store at that moment to meet her. I was also thankful for the answers I received in the temple. And I am thankful I have this new Sheri Dew book to read! Tuesday did not turn out the way I planned it at all, but at the end of the day, I knew I was led by the Spirit! And that made it truly the Best Day Ever!
I have a strong testimony in the Holy Ghost. He is a member of the Godhead who takes on SO many different roles in our lives. I am thankful that I was given the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and that I have the privilege of having Him as my constant companion. And even though it may not be as noticeable as it was on the mission, I am thankful for the every day things that He leads me to do!
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Joy
Today was a wonderful Sunday. It was a great end to a GREAT weekend. I think I have had more fun this weekend than any other weekend in the last month and a half. I have just been able to do a lot of fun things with a lot of fun people. I have been honestly very happy lately. Which brings me to my doctrinal discussion for my Sunday post about Joy. My bishop talked about joy a little bit today. We know that one of our purposes on earth is to have joy. God wants us to progress towards becoming Godly, He wants us to work on being perfect. He wants us to serve, study, learn and grow. But just as any father wants for any of his children, He wants us to have joy! He wants His children to be happy. So the real question is... how can we be happy?
I have had the word 'joy' split down for me before in three words. Jesus, Others, Yourself. I honestly believe that when you make that your lifestyle, in that order, you will find joy. When the first thing you do in the morning is pray, and you put God and Christ above everything, and then you put others above yourself, you will be able to feel happy. I think maybe it has to do with the fact that you don't have a lot of time to dwell on the negatives about you. You spend your time thinking about other things that are more important. I think the saddest times in my life were when I was so upset about me not having good enough grades, or me thinking I wasn't the right weight, or me not thinking I could get a boy to like me... etc etc... You see the problem with all of those scenarios. They are all about me! Complaints about me! Once I started to realize that and think of others before me, I felt myself getting happier. Now lets be honest, I'm not perfect. I think about myself more than I should, and that is something that I am working on.
I want my life to be enjoyed... not just endured. At this point in my life I realized that I just need to be happy. There is no point in the waiting game anymore. I used to have a huge list of things to wait for in order for me to be happy. The next test I had to take, the end of the semester, when I got my mission call, when I left on my mission, when the next baptism was... etc. I was always looking ahead to be happy. But now I am just here. I work 8-5, Monday through Friday. I don't have any future plans that involve huge life changes. I don't have summer break to look forward to. I just have now. And I plan on being happy now!
So this blog wasn't as filled with doctrine like my other Sunday Blogs have been. But I thought of this at church today and think its important. People need to know that happiness doesn't come in waiting for your golden ticket. It comes from deciding how to spend your time. And don't get me wrong, its okay to think about yourself sometimes. For example, yesterday I was driving and drove past Sonic and I thought about how happy I would be if I had an ocean water. So I pulled over and got myself one! That made me pretty happy! (Which brings up another point, we need to find happiness in the small and simple things!)
It is my hope that everyone can understand their purpose in life. The Bible Dictionary says that Joy is "A condition of great happiness coming from righteous living. The purpose of mortal life is for all people to have joy. A full joy will come only through Jesus Christ." I know that to be true, and I hope that everyone will look to Jesus Christ for their fullness of joy!
I have had the word 'joy' split down for me before in three words. Jesus, Others, Yourself. I honestly believe that when you make that your lifestyle, in that order, you will find joy. When the first thing you do in the morning is pray, and you put God and Christ above everything, and then you put others above yourself, you will be able to feel happy. I think maybe it has to do with the fact that you don't have a lot of time to dwell on the negatives about you. You spend your time thinking about other things that are more important. I think the saddest times in my life were when I was so upset about me not having good enough grades, or me thinking I wasn't the right weight, or me not thinking I could get a boy to like me... etc etc... You see the problem with all of those scenarios. They are all about me! Complaints about me! Once I started to realize that and think of others before me, I felt myself getting happier. Now lets be honest, I'm not perfect. I think about myself more than I should, and that is something that I am working on.
I want my life to be enjoyed... not just endured. At this point in my life I realized that I just need to be happy. There is no point in the waiting game anymore. I used to have a huge list of things to wait for in order for me to be happy. The next test I had to take, the end of the semester, when I got my mission call, when I left on my mission, when the next baptism was... etc. I was always looking ahead to be happy. But now I am just here. I work 8-5, Monday through Friday. I don't have any future plans that involve huge life changes. I don't have summer break to look forward to. I just have now. And I plan on being happy now!
So this blog wasn't as filled with doctrine like my other Sunday Blogs have been. But I thought of this at church today and think its important. People need to know that happiness doesn't come in waiting for your golden ticket. It comes from deciding how to spend your time. And don't get me wrong, its okay to think about yourself sometimes. For example, yesterday I was driving and drove past Sonic and I thought about how happy I would be if I had an ocean water. So I pulled over and got myself one! That made me pretty happy! (Which brings up another point, we need to find happiness in the small and simple things!)
It is my hope that everyone can understand their purpose in life. The Bible Dictionary says that Joy is "A condition of great happiness coming from righteous living. The purpose of mortal life is for all people to have joy. A full joy will come only through Jesus Christ." I know that to be true, and I hope that everyone will look to Jesus Christ for their fullness of joy!
Sunday, March 23, 2014
The "Why" Behind It
President Uchtdorf gave a talk that changed my life when I was in college. Its called "Forget Me Not." One of the things we are asked to not forget is the "Why"of the Gospel. I can say that on my mission I truly learned what the "Why" of the Gospel was.
Today I was asked to speak in church. I love being able to speak because I love the feeling of having the Spirit work through me to help someone else. I spoke today about Jesus Christ. Sometimes it is easy to get so caught up with everything else we have going on in our lives that we don't take the time to ponder what our Savior really means to us. I shared an experience I had where I got to help someone who didn't believe in Christ believe in Him. It wasn't me that made her believe, it was the Spirit. But we were able to invite her to feel Him, and as she did she explained it as a hug from an older brother. When she sincerely prayed and asked Heavenly Father to forgive her of her sins, she felt forgiven. And the reason she could feel forgiveness is because Jesus Christ has already gone through all the payment required for her to be forgiven. He has suffered and paid the price on her behalf, and Heavenly Father can now extend the mercy that she desires. That is what the Atonement is all about.
Jesus Christ can forgive us of our sins and we can be made clean by simply living the Gospel. To live the Gospel we must show by our actions the faith that we have in Christ, we must repent, we must be baptized and keep that covenant, we must receive the Holy Ghost and then continue to live worthy to have Him with us at all times, and we must endure to the end. As we do these things, Christ will be with us always, and we will always be cleansed from the sins that we unfortunately make on a daily basis.
That right there, is the Why of the Gospel. The reason we go to church is to partake of the Sacrament (see last weeks entry). We go to partake of the Atonement. That is they why. Jesus Christ has already helped us, so we now just live accordingly to accept His help.
That is what I spoke on in church today because that is what I felt prompted to share. After church some girl that I don't know comes up to me to tell me that she loved my talk and that it was exactly what she needed to hear. I love teaching by the Spirit. There is no way I knew her needs, but the Spirit did, and He is the way I was able to speak today.
The Godhead is real. Heavenly Father is our Father. Jesus Christ is His son, and He has preformed the Atonement for us to return to be with our Father again. And the Holy Ghost is that very special personage who bears witness of the truth of everything to us. I am grateful for the Godhead and all They do for me!
Today I was asked to speak in church. I love being able to speak because I love the feeling of having the Spirit work through me to help someone else. I spoke today about Jesus Christ. Sometimes it is easy to get so caught up with everything else we have going on in our lives that we don't take the time to ponder what our Savior really means to us. I shared an experience I had where I got to help someone who didn't believe in Christ believe in Him. It wasn't me that made her believe, it was the Spirit. But we were able to invite her to feel Him, and as she did she explained it as a hug from an older brother. When she sincerely prayed and asked Heavenly Father to forgive her of her sins, she felt forgiven. And the reason she could feel forgiveness is because Jesus Christ has already gone through all the payment required for her to be forgiven. He has suffered and paid the price on her behalf, and Heavenly Father can now extend the mercy that she desires. That is what the Atonement is all about.
Jesus Christ can forgive us of our sins and we can be made clean by simply living the Gospel. To live the Gospel we must show by our actions the faith that we have in Christ, we must repent, we must be baptized and keep that covenant, we must receive the Holy Ghost and then continue to live worthy to have Him with us at all times, and we must endure to the end. As we do these things, Christ will be with us always, and we will always be cleansed from the sins that we unfortunately make on a daily basis.
That right there, is the Why of the Gospel. The reason we go to church is to partake of the Sacrament (see last weeks entry). We go to partake of the Atonement. That is they why. Jesus Christ has already helped us, so we now just live accordingly to accept His help.
That is what I spoke on in church today because that is what I felt prompted to share. After church some girl that I don't know comes up to me to tell me that she loved my talk and that it was exactly what she needed to hear. I love teaching by the Spirit. There is no way I knew her needs, but the Spirit did, and He is the way I was able to speak today.
The Godhead is real. Heavenly Father is our Father. Jesus Christ is His son, and He has preformed the Atonement for us to return to be with our Father again. And the Holy Ghost is that very special personage who bears witness of the truth of everything to us. I am grateful for the Godhead and all They do for me!
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Sacred Covenants
There was a theme today at church. The Sacrament talks and the Relief Society lesson were all about making and keeping covenants. Sister Reeves gave an amazing talk about renewing your covenants with the sacrament last conference. A thought that I had over and over again on my mission kept coming to my head today. Why do we partake of the Sacrament weekly? And my answer is simply, WHY NOT! Once we understand what the Sacrament can truly do for us, why would you not want that as part of your week! Sister Reeves asks, "Do we recognize the ability of the Savior to completely cleanse us every week as we worthily and thoughtfully partake of the sacrament?" I will be honest, for the longest time, I did not recognize that! But now that I do the sacrament has taken on a completely different feel. I no longer sit there and wait for Sunday School because "thats the fun class!" I love the sacrament, because it is the one time in the week where I feel closer to God than any other time. I tell Him what I haven't done the best at. I review my entire week with Him, and I plead for His help. As I partake of the emblems that represent my Saviors body and blood, I am re-cleansed by the Atonement of Christ, as if I had just been baptized all over again.
I had the coolest experience on my mission teaching a sister who hadn't been active in the church for over 10 years. She had done some things she wasn't proud of, and she longed to be closer to God. When the time had come for her to take the Sacrament again, she was more than overjoyed! I sat by her and watched as she felt the cleansing power of the Savior. I know that she felt clean again, and she has taken it every week since as she continues to renew her covenants.
So why make covenants? This is probably the aspect of the Gospel that I love most of all. In the Doctrine and Covenants section 88 verse 10 the Lord says, "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." Also in the same set of scripture, section 130 verse 21 it says, "And when we obtain ANY blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." I do not believe in dumb luck. I believe that our Father in Heaven is always watching us and cares about us dearly. He WANTS to give us all the blessings that He can. But He is a just and fair God, so the way He has set up this life is by laws. He asks us to do things, and when we do them, He blesses us. That applies to anyone! But going back to the first scripture I said, He is BOUND when we do what He asks us to. The concept of being bound is why I love covenants. A covenant is a promise that you make with God. We would tell people on the mission that our purpose was to help them come closer to their Father in Heaven. Well how much closer to Him could you be than in a binding covenant with Him! When we make covenants, we are binding ourself to our Father, and He will keep all His sides of the promises because that is who He is! He is perfect! So it is up to us to keep up our end of the deal, and thats the trickiest part of life! But thankfully, if we do make a mistake, we can go through the repentance process (like my friend I talked about) and we can partake of the sacrament to renew or remake those covenants.
I am grateful for the covenants I have made with my Father, starting with the baptismal covenants I made when I was 8 to the covenants I made a couple years ago in the temple! I love being bound to my God, and I love the knowledge that He will continue to help and bless me as I strive daily to keep my covenants!
I had the coolest experience on my mission teaching a sister who hadn't been active in the church for over 10 years. She had done some things she wasn't proud of, and she longed to be closer to God. When the time had come for her to take the Sacrament again, she was more than overjoyed! I sat by her and watched as she felt the cleansing power of the Savior. I know that she felt clean again, and she has taken it every week since as she continues to renew her covenants.
So why make covenants? This is probably the aspect of the Gospel that I love most of all. In the Doctrine and Covenants section 88 verse 10 the Lord says, "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." Also in the same set of scripture, section 130 verse 21 it says, "And when we obtain ANY blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." I do not believe in dumb luck. I believe that our Father in Heaven is always watching us and cares about us dearly. He WANTS to give us all the blessings that He can. But He is a just and fair God, so the way He has set up this life is by laws. He asks us to do things, and when we do them, He blesses us. That applies to anyone! But going back to the first scripture I said, He is BOUND when we do what He asks us to. The concept of being bound is why I love covenants. A covenant is a promise that you make with God. We would tell people on the mission that our purpose was to help them come closer to their Father in Heaven. Well how much closer to Him could you be than in a binding covenant with Him! When we make covenants, we are binding ourself to our Father, and He will keep all His sides of the promises because that is who He is! He is perfect! So it is up to us to keep up our end of the deal, and thats the trickiest part of life! But thankfully, if we do make a mistake, we can go through the repentance process (like my friend I talked about) and we can partake of the sacrament to renew or remake those covenants.
I am grateful for the covenants I have made with my Father, starting with the baptismal covenants I made when I was 8 to the covenants I made a couple years ago in the temple! I love being bound to my God, and I love the knowledge that He will continue to help and bless me as I strive daily to keep my covenants!
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
Happy Sabbath Everyone!
I had an amazing day as I rested from my labors and spent the day focusing on my Savior. To keep the Sabbath Day holy, I like to do things that are different from the rest of the week. For example, I usually listen to music that has a good beat and something I can sing to. On Sundays however, I make sure that the music I listen to can easily invite the Spirit and will keep my thoughts on Christ. Just a simple change in Pandora stations in the morning when I get ready already starts the day off differently.
One of the biggest ways Sunday is different than Monday-Saturday is the fact that I get to go to church to worship! Today we had fast and testimony meeting. So not only did I go to church, but I went fasting. Sometimes that is harder, but for me today, I felt like it invited the Spirit into my heart a little more. I sat in Sacrament meeting after just having taken the Sacrament and I felt clean. This feeling is hard to describe if you have not felt it yourself. I felt like I was forgiven for all my many faults throughout the week. I felt like Heavenly Father trusted me to take on the world. I felt light and able to conquer the crazy week I have ahead of me. I felt wonderful. Then I was able to listen to the testimonies of others. There are so many members who have such strong testimonies of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Listening to their experiences and testimonies just increased my own personal knowledge of the truthfulness of the church!
Sunday School was my favorite part of church today. We were studying Genesis chapter 22. Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac, which didn't make much sense to him at all. He knew that he had been promised a seed that would fill the earth through Isaac, so why was he asked to sacrifice him? We spent most of the lesson talking about the Cultural Celebration for the Gilbert Temple that happened last week. Arizona does NOT get the rain it needs, but last week when the Prophet was in town to watch the celebration, it just poured and poured and poured. Some of the youth look at that as kinda a let down. Here they have practiced for months and months just to have rain pour the whole performance. In my mind I connected Abraham 22 with this experience. The youth in Gilbert were asked to sacrifice a lot. A lot of time, and an evening being in the rain doing dances and singing when they could be inside not doing those things! But as we learn the doctrine of sacrifice, we understand that sometimes we are to do things that don't make a lot of sense. Rain the day of the celebration, some may say that doesn't make sense. Why couldn't God control the elements and wait for after the celebration for it to rain. Why did He let it pour then?
I know that we are asked to do things that sometimes we don't want to do. As a missionary I invited many people to do things or give up things that they didn't want to. But I have seen in myself and have seen in countless others that when you do something to follow God, He will have your back!
This evening I ended my Sabbath Day by watching the movie The Work and the Glory. It is a historical-fiction story about a family who lived the same time Joseph Smith did. In this movie you see that Joseph Smith was asked to go through a lot that he or his family did not want. He was persecuted and people were horrible to him. But he knew that he had a work to do, and most importantly he knew that the work was from God.
Let us all find what God wants us to be doing and DO IT! If all of God's commandments seem daunting for you to keep all at once, may I suggest starting with an easy one. Keep the Sabbath Day Holy. I have felt so great all day by simply remembering the importance of today! I invite everyone to find ways to set this day apart and remember to follow God as closely as they can!
I had an amazing day as I rested from my labors and spent the day focusing on my Savior. To keep the Sabbath Day holy, I like to do things that are different from the rest of the week. For example, I usually listen to music that has a good beat and something I can sing to. On Sundays however, I make sure that the music I listen to can easily invite the Spirit and will keep my thoughts on Christ. Just a simple change in Pandora stations in the morning when I get ready already starts the day off differently.
One of the biggest ways Sunday is different than Monday-Saturday is the fact that I get to go to church to worship! Today we had fast and testimony meeting. So not only did I go to church, but I went fasting. Sometimes that is harder, but for me today, I felt like it invited the Spirit into my heart a little more. I sat in Sacrament meeting after just having taken the Sacrament and I felt clean. This feeling is hard to describe if you have not felt it yourself. I felt like I was forgiven for all my many faults throughout the week. I felt like Heavenly Father trusted me to take on the world. I felt light and able to conquer the crazy week I have ahead of me. I felt wonderful. Then I was able to listen to the testimonies of others. There are so many members who have such strong testimonies of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Listening to their experiences and testimonies just increased my own personal knowledge of the truthfulness of the church!
Sunday School was my favorite part of church today. We were studying Genesis chapter 22. Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac, which didn't make much sense to him at all. He knew that he had been promised a seed that would fill the earth through Isaac, so why was he asked to sacrifice him? We spent most of the lesson talking about the Cultural Celebration for the Gilbert Temple that happened last week. Arizona does NOT get the rain it needs, but last week when the Prophet was in town to watch the celebration, it just poured and poured and poured. Some of the youth look at that as kinda a let down. Here they have practiced for months and months just to have rain pour the whole performance. In my mind I connected Abraham 22 with this experience. The youth in Gilbert were asked to sacrifice a lot. A lot of time, and an evening being in the rain doing dances and singing when they could be inside not doing those things! But as we learn the doctrine of sacrifice, we understand that sometimes we are to do things that don't make a lot of sense. Rain the day of the celebration, some may say that doesn't make sense. Why couldn't God control the elements and wait for after the celebration for it to rain. Why did He let it pour then?
I know that we are asked to do things that sometimes we don't want to do. As a missionary I invited many people to do things or give up things that they didn't want to. But I have seen in myself and have seen in countless others that when you do something to follow God, He will have your back!
This evening I ended my Sabbath Day by watching the movie The Work and the Glory. It is a historical-fiction story about a family who lived the same time Joseph Smith did. In this movie you see that Joseph Smith was asked to go through a lot that he or his family did not want. He was persecuted and people were horrible to him. But he knew that he had a work to do, and most importantly he knew that the work was from God.
Let us all find what God wants us to be doing and DO IT! If all of God's commandments seem daunting for you to keep all at once, may I suggest starting with an easy one. Keep the Sabbath Day Holy. I have felt so great all day by simply remembering the importance of today! I invite everyone to find ways to set this day apart and remember to follow God as closely as they can!
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