Submitting to the will of the Lord

This is truely an amazing talk given by Elder David A. Bednar just this last sunday:

http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/watch/ces-devotionals/2013/01?lang=eng&vid=2201224691001

     At times when trial rises, we may question why. It may try our faith and just when we've been keeping the commandments and doing everything the Lord has asked of us, these trials can happen. It is easy to forget the will of our Father, to remember that He knows what's best for us. It can be hard to trust in Him and know that through our trials we become stronger, more capable people.
     In times of adversity we may shrink, we may question if we will ever feel happiness and peace again. I'm sure a lot of these questions ran through Joseph Smith's head as he was in Liberty Jail. The 122nd section of the Doctrine and Covenants tells of the full revelation given, but I want to focus on versus 7 and 9.

7. And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
9. .... fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.

I've learned through my own experiences that we can never learn enough patience. We all have our own different strengths and weaknesses, but none of us will be completely perfect until we first recognize those weaknesses, then do something about them. Ether speaks of this:

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them (Ether 12:27)."

We are not alone. We have friends and family, and above all we have the mercy of Jesus Christ, who "suffered these things for all, that [we] might not suffer (D&C 19:16)." For "surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows... he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities... and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-5)."

We might not always know the will of the Lord. We might not always know His plan for us, but it is my firm testimony that I know we are given trials that we might learn and grow and become more like Christ. When my oldest brother Ross died I often questioned why. For a long time it weighed heavily on my heart and I was upset and angry with God. It made sense why God did it, but it just didn't make sense why He did it the way He did. I prayed to my Father in Heaven fervently in prayer for many months and realize that it was a strength to our family as a whole. It's made me closer to my mom and dad, and most importantly my other brother. It's strenghtened my testimony of the Plan of Salvation and truely has made it come to life for me. I know I'll see Ross again. It's not a belief, it's not a hope or idea made up for comfort or restitution, but a complete and true knowledge that I will undoubtedly see him again. While I still miss him so very much, i've received so many blessings from this trial.

I know the atonement of Jesus Christ is real, that He felt every pain any one of us has or ever will feel, male or female, black or white. If we completely and truely put our trust in Him and fully submit to His will and have faith in Him, no matter what may come about, He will provide a way. He will be our Supporting guide and will make us stronger from the trials we face. I know these things to be true.

Also watch this video, it's very good and applies to this topic:
http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#the-will-of-god

The Will of God: HIS will

While on lds.org one day, i stumbled upon a truely inspiring video. I loved this talk from conference and I feel that the anaolgy is applicable throughout any trail we may face.

          The last few weeks have been particularly challenging, and it's tried my faith. With work and questions about my future I needed direction, and I feel like I was left in the dark as to what I should do or where I should go. I was being pulled in one direction one day, then the complete opposite the next. I was getting torn apart and I felt as though I would never come to a direction. I humbled myself to prayer and asked what it is I should do, how I should go about conducting myself and my activities this upcomming year. As I said my prayer a feeling of peace came over me, and I knew everything would be alright. These first few weeks of the new year have been difficult, and I still question sometimes what goals I should be aiming for. I am still lost in the dark but I am following the faint light over the horizon. I know that through my trust and faith of the savior that I can find direction, and this gives me hope. I trust in His plan for me and know that no matter how lost, how low and miserable I might feel at times, He knows how best to prune me, that I might grow into that which He knows I can become. I know that as we all remember Him and have faith on his name, that he will provide and guide us in the direction that we must go to achieve the highest blessings. As we seek him out and lose our lives to him, there our lives will be found.

Watch also: Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz41YxNiHEg

Article of Faith 11

     This past week I helped drive home a lady from work. When we pulled up to her apartment, she asked if I would like to come in. I said sure and we sat down and had a friendly conversation. She knows I'm Mormon, so she had asked me questions for a good couple minutes about some more specifics on what we believe. I was glad to answer her questions to the best of my ability. After a while of sitting there reflecting on what each of us had to say, she then mentioned how she likes it how I was so accepting of other faiths. When she had said this, I had immediately thought to the 11th Article of Faith, which states, "11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."
     As members I think we sometimes  get caught up in our own clicks and circles and such, and forget that the commandment is to live in the world but not of the world. One of the aspects of living in the world is that we socialize with people who may not follow this same principle, and the reason is because how else would we fellowship and help others learn of our faith?
     We're all in this together, yet we're all here for the same purpose, no matter what you believe, no matter what your faith. We're all trying to find our way and do what we feel is best, and we should always respect that. Another point is when the church was first starting out. Now, with this reference I don't mean to point any fingers or to offend anyone in any potential way, just wanting to be sure that's clear. When the church was first starting, our people were persecuted, killed even. Our religion was not accepted, and even today many disapprove of our beliefs.
     Our faith knows persecution. If we treat others the same way then what better are we then the people who drove us out and killed hundreds, even thousands of us?

     I love all of our brothers and sisters and wish for them to find the truthfulness of this Gospel, but everyone has their agency. All we can do a lot of times is just be an example. But let us not bring down others nor their beliefs, no matter how foreign they may seem. Everyone has the right to worship how they see fit. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Sacrifice

Today I taught Gospel Principles, and the lesson was on Sacrifice!

     Some key points I like from the lesson were that sacrifice is so necessary. As we sacrifice, our faith is tried, and thus our testimonies are strengthened. In the Bible, it tells of a rich young ruler who came up to Jesus, and asked him how he can be received into His kingdom. Christ laid out the 10 commandments to him first, to which the young man replied that he had kept these commandments ever since his youth. Jesus then said to give all he has to the poor, laying up treasures in Heaven and come follow me. The young man said he couldn't do this thing and he left.
     This young man was a good man; we see that from his obedience to the commandments. However, he was not yet willing to give all he had to the Lord. In today's world, we are not asked to give everything we have up to the Lord. We are, however asked to give of our time and talents, among other things when the time calls. Tithing is a big part of this, and yet, all He asks is ten percent. We must do as the disciples Peter and Andrew did when Jesus offered them the same thing as this young ruler. Once this request was made, they laid down there nets and followed Him.
     Are we comparable to Peter and Andrew? Are we willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary for the Lord. He does not ask for much as of right now, but what would you do if He were to ask of you to offer twenty or even thirty percent to tithing? Personally, that would challenge my faith, and for a while I would really struggle with that. However, if we remain faithful and trust that He will provide a way, there will be a way provided. Take Nephi as a star example. When asked to go back to retrieve the plates, he did not murmur nor ask how it would be possible, he simply said I will go and do this thing, for I know that the Lord provideth a way. He exercised that faith and he went and did as was commanded of him. After the trial of his faith, then did he receive a way to accomplish the thing that was asked of him.
     As we continue to sacrifice for the Lord I can promise you that blessings will be received. I have seen this work throughout my life in many ways. I have grown spiritually and I have been able to put more faith and trust in the Lord because I know He provides a way. If our intentions are good and if we show our willingness to serve and sacrifice the blessings will out weigh any difficulties or hardships that may occur. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

<<<click this>>>

Psych study on discrimination

This semester I've been taking a psychology class, and as of late it's gotten interesting and deep. It's amazing how much darkness is in the hearts of man and just how far we're willing to go in some circumstances. An interesting study was that of discrimination.

The following film was an extra credit opportunity and goes to show just how something as simple as eye color can effect behavior.

After watching this film it immediately reminded me of the short seminary film of how Mormon and Moroni look on to see their people destroyed.

Pride had a lot to do with this destruction and ultimate extinction of the people, but another big part of it was discrimination. As we go throughout our lives, let us remember that we are all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. We were all created in his image, and are all eligible to receive every blessing he has bestowed upon us, black or white, red or yellow.

Water with those scriptures

     Just a good median story, since I've been lacking on the posts for the past couple weeks...

   It's been raining cats and dogs and little people here in Florida for the past couple weeks, and I don't watch the weather so I don't keep up with it. Well, one day, I had thought the storms were [finally] over, that and I probably just didn't think about it, but I left my windows cracked like I sometimes do so that my car can air out a bit. As you might've guessed, it rained. Hard.
   Normally when it rains as hard as it did, my car (especially my seats) is soaked. However, the strangest and coolest thing happened that day. When I went out to my car, my driver's seat was soaked, but my passenger's seat (which had my scriptures sitting right there) wasn't. Now I don't mean to be sacrilegious or apostate or anything that breaks the first commandment or anything, but my scriptures were protected. They were not a drop wet (my door was though haha).
   It may not seem big, but this really meant a lot to me. I love the scriptures, and I really do know they are the word of God. As we read them we can draw closer unto Him. I think Heavenly Father knew that and especially the fact that these are the special scriptures my folks gave to me when I was baptized. That really meant a lot and strengthened my testimony that He really does care for me and looks out for me, even just small stuff. It has also taught me that I should take better care of my scriptures and roll up my windows more often! ;-)

Do any of you have any cool stories like this? If so, feel free to share in the comment box!!!

Clinging to the word

     One day, I was going to one of my school's campus' to pick up an old pottery project I had left to be fired in the kiln. When I was walking across the scorching parking lot, I had noticed this really awesome looking tree frog. It was still in tact (in other words it wasn't flat as a pancake from being ran over by a car or anything), but it looked as if it had gotten lost in the parking lot. Seeing as how frogs absorb water through their skin (thank you Zoology), and the temperature that it was that day, the poor little guy (or gal) was probably baked by the non-forgiving sun.

     So where are we in the big parking lot of life? Are we lost and confused, being constantly hit by the sun, baking alive? Or do we have a guide that will help us through the unforgiving heat?
   In 1 Nephi Chapter 8, Lehi sees a vision of the tree of life. He is shrouded in a mist of darkness and can't see anything but the tree of life and a field that it's in. He is guided to the tree. He partakes of the fruit, and he describes it in verse 12, "And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy... for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit." He then goes on to mention how this fruit was so great that he wanted to share it with his family.
     He then casts his eyes round about until he sees his family, and once he does, he beckons them to come and partake of the fruit. They (with the exception of Laman and Lemuel) find him and partake of the fruit. He then continues to look around, to beckon others to partake of the fruit. He sees tons of folk, lost in the darkness; some just standing there, lost and confused, others wandering off into the darkness, but also some clinging to a rod of iron, pressing forward down a straight and narrow path to the tree. On the other side of the path is a dirty, harsh river, and on top of that, a whole entire building full of people laughing and pointing at those who were trying to make their way to the tree. But there were many who held onto the iron rod and made their way to that sweet fruit; the gospel.
     So what is meant by the rod of iron? How is it that we get to that delectable fruit? Has anyone started singing the primary song yet? The iron rod is the word of God! 'twill safely guide us through. So are we clinging to that iron rod? Are we clinging to the word of God? As we read our scriptures and draw in as much light as possible, that path isn't so narrow now is it? For "surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows (Mosiah 14:4)." He knows what we're going through because he himself has suffered those same sins and trials so that we might be saved at the last day. And as we keep his commandments and do what we're supposed to, He is "..bound when [we] do what [He] say[s]." But now there's a flip side: "..but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise (D&C 82:10)."
     I promise each and every one of you reading, that these blessings are available to you. As we cling to the iron rod and listen and obey, he will be our guiding light. As we struggle in our own parking lot of life, with challenges too many to number, we will not be confused. Rather than just standing in the mist of darkness or wandering off in the wrong direction, we will have a way to Him. As we go about our lives may we always look to Him for direction and help. May he be our guiding light, our way out of the darkness, the oasis in the desert. Listen to the spirit and let him guide you. I ask and pray for these things for all of us, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.