Follow Thou Me

Another beautiful daughter of our Heavenly Father made a great decision to follow her Savior, Jesus Christ and be baptized today. It has been a spiritually uplifting day for me and I am grateful I was part of her special day. She made that decision to "fulfill all righteousness," just like Jesus Christ did. A beautiful ordinance made to testify of the truthfulness of the priesthood that has been restored again here on earth.

She has made that great step in her life and will continue to fulfill those covenants that she has made with her Father in Heaven. I am proud of her and for her great example! What a great blessing to witness a great ceremony that has strengthened my testimony. God lives and He loves each and everyone of His children. I know He is overwhelmed with joy and says, "my beloved Daughter, I am well pleased."

I am grateful for the priesthood and for the many great blessings it brings. The priesthood has definitely blessed my life and has brought me where I am today. I know with all the assurity of my heart that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of Christ here on earth.

Come Unto Me...

I was reading this morning in Luke 13 and the last two verses really stood out to me. It says:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not.

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

The Lord has been trying to gather all of His children just like a hen would. He loves each and everyone of us so much and yearns for us to return to Him again. Through His gospel and Jesus Christ we can be with Him again. His love is infinite and only through Him we can find true joy and happiness. He says come unto me and "whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14)

Learn From Your Past--And Look to Your Future

Last Sunday at church we had our branch president speak to us. He delivered a very powerful message using a talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Remembr Lot's Wife." It was a great talk with such a profound message in it that I had to find it, print it out, and read it. And I am glad I did because I learned a lot from the talk that I would like to share. A short and simple verse in Luke 17:32 says, "Remember Lot's wife." We know of the account of Lot and his family that they were commanded by the Lord to leave the city of Sodom and Gomorrah because it was going to be destroyed. The Lord warned them to not look back, but sadly Lot's wife did and she turned into a pillar of salt. A great lesson was learned from this talk as it was delivered to the whole congregation by the branch president. Sometimes in our lives we look back with resentment longing for the things of our past, just like Lot's wife. And when we do that, "our attachment to the past outweighs our confidence in the future." Elder Holland continues to give us a great counsel, "I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone, nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead, we remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives. So a more theological way to talk about Lot’s wife is to say that she did not have faith. She doubted the Lord’s ability to give her something better than she already had. Apparently she thought—fatally, as it turned out—that nothing that lay ahead could possibly be as good as those moments she was leaving behind." As we look towards the future having faith and putting our trust in Christ "greater things awaits us."(D&C 45:62)

Life is not about dwelling on our past, but learning from it. We all make mistakes, we all sin, we all have regrets; but "such dwelling on past lives, including past mistakes, is just not right! It is not the gospel of Jesus Christ." Christ has fulfilled a great mission for each and everyone of us by sacrificing His life so we could all live a good happy life. In closing, Elder Holland shared an experience he had with his wife that helped them to continue with their faith on the future and putting their trust in the Lord. He says;

Sister Holland and I were married about the time both of us were reading poems like that in BYU classrooms. We were as starstruck—and as fearful—as most of you are at these ages and stages of life. We had absolutely no money. Zero. For a variety of reasons, neither of our families was able to help finance our education. We had a small apartment just south of campus—the smallest we could find: two rooms and a half bath. We were both working too many hours trying to stay afloat financially, but we had no other choice.
I remember one fall day—I think it was in the first semester after our marriage in 1963—we were walking together up the hill past the Maeser Building on the sidewalk that led between the President’s Home and the Brimhall Building. Somewhere on that path we stopped and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. Life that day seemed so overwhelming, and the undergraduate plus graduate years that we still anticipated before us seemed monumental, nearly insurmountable. Our love for each other and our commitment to the gospel were strong, but most of all the other temporal things around us seemed particularly ominous.
On a spot that I could probably still mark for you today, I turned to Pat and said something like this: “Honey, should we give up? I can get a good job and carve out a good living for us. I can do some things. I’ll be okay without a degree. Should we stop trying to tackle what right now seems so difficult to face?”
In my best reenactment of Lot’s wife, I said, in effect, “Let’s go back. Let’s go home. The future holds nothing for us.”
Then my beloved little bride did what she has done for 45 years since then. She grabbed me by the lapels and said, “We are not going back. We are not going home. The future holds everything for us.”
She stood there in the sunlight that day and gave me a real talk. I don’t recall that she quoted Paul, but there was certainly plenty in her voice that said she was committed to setting aside all that was past in order to “press toward the mark” and seize the prize of God that lay yet ahead. It was a living demonstration of faith. It was “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). So we laughed, kept walking, and finished up sharing a root beer—one glass, two straws—at the then newly constructed Wilkinson Center."

We can all relate to Elder Holland's talk about Lot's wife. A great analogy was given right after the branch president's talk. The stake president talked about the windshield and the rear view mirror and how we can relate it to our lives. As we are driving, we look through our windshield but never spend more than a second looking at our rear view or side mirrors. If we were to our chances of arriving at our destination would be greatly decreased if not entirely eliminated. The same thing applies to our spiritual journey to return to our Heavenly Father.

Helping Others

A few days ago I was reading from the Book of Mormon and read a scripture in the Book of Moroni, it says: "And now my beloved son, not withstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God." (Moroni 9:6) Mormon wrote this last epistle to his son Moroni, to never cease from spreading the word of God to help his brethren come unto Christ. We can relate this to ourselves as we are here in this life. Our purpose is to love one another,“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matthew 22:36–39) Just like the epistle written to Moroni, if we labor diligently by dedicating our time, heart, mind, might, and strength to serve the ones around us we can be filled with that pure love of Christ-charity. And if we stop we will not have an opportunity to feel of this great blessing that Heavenly Father yearns for each and everyone of us to have. We all have work to do at this time: either helping a less active to come to church, sharing the gospel with others, inviting friends to church, praying for a friend, sitting by someone at church, and many other ways to spiritually help one another. We have this great opportunity to bring others to come unto the rest of God in His kingdom where we can find true happiness for eternity.

I know as we reach out to the ones around us and help them with whatever they need to feel of God's love we too can find true happiness and joy. President Monson said, "Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save." (How Firm A Foundation, Souls to Save) There are always friends, families, co-workers, neighbors, and many other people out there that are in this journey to find true happiness. As we love them as our brothers and sisters and reach out to help them, Heavenly Father will pour out His spirit upon us. We will know exactly what to do and say to help them at that very moment we are with them. I know this to be true! I have seen it, experienced it, and applied this simple principle of serving, loving, and helping others with all my might, mind, heart, and strength. And as I have done this simple commandment, I have received the many blessings that God has for me. This reminds me of a hymn, "Have I Done Any Good?", I think this is a great question to ask ourselves as we go through our days.

~What have you done today to help serve the Lord?~

Let Go and Let GOD

This morning during personal study I felt like Heavenly Father was talking to me personally. It has been a crazy and hectic week for me; but on the other hand, it has been so much fun. The week started out with an all mission conference with one of the elders quorum of the seventy, Elder Patrick Kearon, who came and spoke to us. The meeting was very powerful and the messages delivered from the leaders brought me so much peace and comfort. They talked a lot about the many miracles that we receive, love, and being of good cheer. After the meeting I left spiritually drained and excited for the new changes that were made because of transfers. I have a new companion, training, and I am driving. I don't know how that happened, but I know that this is what the Lord wants me to do. To be honest, I have been a little nervous, worried, and have been praying a lot to Heavenly Father just to help me to know what I can do to better serve and train my companion. I am definitely learning a lot from her, and I hope she is learning a lot from me as well. Because I feel inadequate at times and that I am not doing a good job.
But this morning as I was reading the Ensign for personal study, Heavenly Father spoke to me multiple times in the different articles that I read. Here are a couple of things I learned this morning that I want to share because I know it can relate to everyone.
I first read an article about a young lady that was just confused if she was doing the right thing in marrying her fiance. She felt at one point that she was hopeless and wasn't suited for marriage. She says: "The world teaches us to think we are unattractive, unacceptable, and unworthy of love if we don’t meet the arbitrary standards it sets for us. Sometimes it’s hard to turn away from such loud and convincing lies, but our Father in Heaven will always be there to remind us of our worth and of the value He sees in us. His standard, not the world’s, is the true measure of our worth. The more we believe and accept the Lord’s love, the more we will love Him and trust in Him." I know as we put our trust in the Lord, "the God of hope [will] fill you with joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope."(Roman 15:13) The Lord is the one who can help you through all things, and as we trust Him, He reminds us that we have everything to hope for.

Another talk that I read was by Joseph Fielding McConkie, Finding Answers. A section in the article that talks about a young man that had some difficulty so he went to his bishop for a counsel. As he explained his issue to the bishop, the bishop listened carefully and asked some questions. The bishop confessed that he didn't know what to counsel him, but he is visiting with the stake president that night so he will ask him. On that night, the bishop brought the matter up to the stake president. Again, as the stake president was listening carefully and thoughtfully, asked some questions. But he too confessed that he didn't know what to say to him, but he was meeting with a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostle so he will ask him. The next day when the stake president met with the Apostle, he brought up the matter to him. He explained it carefully and the apostle asked a few questions. For the third time, the apostle told him that he will be meeting with President David O. McKay so he will bring this matter up to him. "That afternoon he met with President David O. McKay (1873–1970) and carefully explained the problem. President McKay listened attentively and asked a few questions to ensure that he understood all that was involved. He said, “Well, that’s his problem, isn’t it?” Sometimes our problems are ours to solve. Heavenly Father gave us the agency, or the freedom to choose so we can use it. Just like the account of the brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon. The brother of Jared brought his questions to the Lord, the Lord helped him out. But when he came back to inquire of the Lord asking, "O Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is no light int hem. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?" And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?" (Ether 2:22-23) The brother of Jared went up to the mountain and with his own abilities and talents molten rocks. He then counseled with Heavenly Father again to help give light to the molten rocks that he has made. Heavenly Father wants us to use our agency, abilities, and talents and sometimes we often forget about that. There's a phrase that I often try to remind myself of, "Rely on the Lord at all times." That is true, but sometimes we just need to use our talents, but still counsel with the Lord for help. "In Doctrine and Covenants 9:8 we find the process of revelation: “But behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.” This process is designed to balance our experience and agency with the wisdom of heaven."

In finding answers to our concerns, questions, or challenges we are going through we must seek to balance agency and inspiration. President Brigham Young explained this doctrine: “If I do not know the will of my Father, and what he requires of me in a certain transaction, if I ask him to give me wisdom concerning any requirement in life or in regard to my own course, or that of my friends, my family, my children, or those that I preside over, and get no answer from him, and then do the very best that my judgment will teach me, he is bound to own and honor that transaction, and he will do so to all intents and purposes.”

I know that Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of us and will help us in any way He can. By putting our trust in Him, to love Him, and have faith that only through Him everything is possible. As we come closer to our Father in heaven, we will feel more of His love and influence in our life. We will know of our divine potential as His sons and daughters and we can find peace, comfort, and true happiness. The Lord trusts us to give us callings, assignments, trials, challenges, and all things so we can experience in order for us to grow and learn. He wants us to use our own talents and abilities, but we can bring the matter up to Him if we need help. He will always be there to lead and guide us in every way. But sometimes we just have to solve our problems with Him on our side. I am grateful for the many gifts and talents Heavenly Father has blessed me with, especially with the gift of agency. I know that as I try my best and strive to fulfill the things that I am commissioned to do, Heavenly Father will help me succeed. He will never judge me, but will always meet me half way to lift me up and strengthen me.