3.17.15

Alma 37: 36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

First, we are to cry unto Him for ALL of our support. There aren't any exclusions. Nothing is too trivial for Him to address.
Second, we're told to govern our thought and actions accord ing to what Christ would have us do or think.
Finally, we're counseled to focus the affections of our hearts -our devotion and love- on the Lord. I trul y believe that when we love the Lord and pour out our hearts in gratitude to Him, it makes our other relationships better.
Pray to Him always, think of Him always, and praise Him and love Him always.

3.16.15

D&C 88: 63 Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be op ened unto you.

I love this scripture and in my studying and reading some new ideas have some to light.

During His life, the Savior gathered and visite d with friends and enjoyed spending time and teaching them. He also extended this familiar gathering to us on a spiritual level. We're welcome to visit H im at any time, to draw near to Him and be fed and filled spiritually. Whenever and wherever we seek the pleasure of His company, He promises to meet us more than halfway with outstretched arms, reaching our reaching.

But, just as when we visit friends, we need to make sure we're clean. Spiritual prepar ations must be taken, as we seek Him diligently with clean hands and a pure heart, He is only a sincere prayer away.

We knock softly, ask quietly, appr oach reverently, because wherever we choose to draw near to Him will be holy ground. (Wow!)

3.15.15

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect

What immediately precedes perfection? What preparatory virtues p oint us toward perfection and this full majesty of God? Look to the verses immediately before this one...
Matt 5:43 ...Thou shalt love thy neighbour...
M att 5:44 ...Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

To make headway in a world of woe, we need to broaden our circle of love and lengthen the table of contents in our prayers.
Pray for hearts to be sof tened, pray for understand on both sides, pray to not be in conflict with His eternal purposes, and to enlighten the minds to know and do His will.

Pray for willingness to give God our hearts, our tongues, our hands, our prayers, and our whole souls, and for greater understanding, deeper respect, and mu ch more love. This includes loving yourself!

3.13.15

We must never allow fear and the father of fear divert us from our faith and faithful living. God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to FACE the future (that sounds pretty grim); He expe cts you to embrace and SHAPE the future - to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities.
John 16: 33 These things I have spoken unto yo u, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Yes, these are the last days. But we are The Latter-Day Saints. Let's not forget that we are His Saints. We have been hand picked, saved for this time. Let us consider responsibility we have to live worthily in our moment of time.
We must live as true followers of Christ. God is watching over His world, His church, His leaders, and He is watching over you. I take comfort when reading the BOM, the prophets saw our day, and they were strengthened. They know we succeed!

3.12.15

It is often said "Every member a missionary" but that seems a very daunting task to most. I know it's very overwhelming to me. But I read tonight a new p hrase "Every member a member" - to live our lives in such a way that our neighbors and nonmember friends want to know Christ because they know us, that i s what I personally strive for. I'm a bit bashful when it comes to sharing my testimony and also when it comes to standing up for it when others are arou
nd. I'm not proud of the fact that I don't often stand straight and true, but it's something I'm working on. I know I need to be the same person I am eve ry where I go, every day of the week, with every one I'm with. Slowly I'm getting better at it. And I've learned, it starts at home, and it starts with r eading my scriptures and praying daily.

3.11.15

Jeffrey R. Holland : The Tongues Of Angels, General Conference, April 2007

I'm reading his book, Broken Things to Mend (which is absolutely amazing!) An d this conference talk is in it, and I had to share it. In a day, where words are more typed and written than spoken, and emotions and meaning isn't easi ly conveyed, it seems easier to offend and be sharp with other people, intentionally or not. Arguments and debates are started and hurtful words are toss ed around. We need to keep ourselves in check, while dealing with strangers and especially when dealing with ourselves and our families.

"The voice tha t bears profound testimony, utters fervent prayer, and sings the hymns of Zion can be the same voice that berates and criticizes, embarrasses and demeans , inflicts pain and destroys the spirit of oneself and of others in the process."

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/the-tongue-of-angels?la ng=eng

3.10.15

I went to lunch with a friend who is a member of a different religion. She said a quick prayer over her food with her son : "Please Lord, bless this food , this Chick-fil-a, because it's delicious and we love it." It was a simple and amazing prayer and it has been in my thoughts all day. After mulling it o ver and pondering on what was so amazing about this prayer, I came up with :
It's simple. And how often do we sit and think about the things God has crea ted for us to enjoy or because we love it? I know He probably doesn't create things just for our entertainment or enjoyment, but I do know He has created so much for us because He loves us. Korbin believes candy is here to make us happy. And if I'm ever visibly sad, he'll hand me a candy and say, "Candy i s here to make it all better"

Men are that they might have JOY! God created a BEAUTIFUL world for us to enjoy.

3.9.15

Nephi tells us that "angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost" and that after we receive the Holy Ghost it is our privilege to speak with the tongue o f angels and declare the words of Christ (see 2 Nephi 32:2-3). As the Book of Mormon continues to flood the earth, Alma's powerful words, a " trump of Go d," have echoed down thru the ages, reaching out to countless sincere and receptive hearts, and they will continue to do so. Like Nephi, he talks of Chri st, rejoices in Christ, preaches of Christ, and prophesies of Christ (see 2 Nephi 25:26). We too can speak with the tongues of angels as we lift our voic es, freely and frankly sharing the glad tidings of the gospel with our families, friends and acquaintances.

3.7.15

Luke 18: 42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

We know that faith precedes the miracle. And true discipleship followed this miracle.

4 significant events occurred : the blind man received his sight, he immediately followed Jesus, he immediately glorified God, and those who witnessed the miracle also praised God.

But the restoration of physical sight was eclipsed by an even greater miracle of healing, which the Savior desires to bes tow on all true disciples (recognizing the Spirit as the source of light in their lives).

Matt. 13: 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

It's the miracle of the eyes that see what's worth seeing, ears that hear what's worth hearing, and hearts that understand His wor ds and are converted. I'm just thinking of today's relief society lesson, about how we need to be steadfast in our testimony of Christ. To not do good things for others to see , but do good things because it is what Christ would do. To be an example to others simply by the choices we make.

I've heard a quote, "Live your life in such a way that those who know you would want to know, and feel like they know Christ." or something like that. It's not always by what we say but als o what we do, that we tell others of our testimony. Another thing we talked about is being happy. God created us TO BE HAPPY. And being happy does not mean no trails. Being happy means seeing the positive and looking forward to the blessings to come, even if it means looking forward to our end reward of being the Christ again. We have to look to the positi ve and looking for ways and reasons to be happy each and every day. When we count our blessings and remain positive, Satan loses. He hates losing, which means he will try us harder, but we must remain valiant and strong. Men are that they might have JOY. Choose to be happy and you will be. Count your many blessings and take joy in the multitude!

3.6.15

We must stand in Holy Places. The Scriptures specify what those holy places are: our homes, our stakes and wards, and our temples. Our homes and families must be places of spiritual training and safety for our children: "And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lo rd" (D&C 68:28). He also expects us to strengthen and serve one another in the church. "Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you" (D&C 88:78). I n addition, He counsels us to be among the many who go up to the house of the Lord where we learn of His ways and are taught to walk the safe and holy pa th leading to salvation. King Benjamin taught his people to assemble themselves in families with the doors of their tents facing toward the temple from w....

3.5.15

Children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.
29 And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Chr ist, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and streng th, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.

We know what we need to do to be with Him again. I'm starting to understand a nd see my role as a mother and wife isn't so much about all the errands I need to run and things I need to do. It's about strengthening my home and my fa mily. And doing that STARTS WITH ME. It always starts with us. We cannot help others until we seek help first. I cannot show my children the way, or help my family continue on the path if I'm not on the path as well. :)

3.4.15

3 Nephi 17: 11 And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought.

14 And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel.

- if Christ "g roaned within Himself" at the wickedness of the world, and blessed the children way back then, shouldn't we be doing ALL we can right this minute to stre ngthen and blessed our children? I think of this all the time, and try not to be flooded with thoughts of inadequacy. There is so much MORE I could be do ing, should be doing when it comes to teaching my boys. Slowly, I'm getting better, slowly, I'm teaching them more. One day at a time. But I know, I need to share my testimony, my scriptures, my prayers. I need to show them, they need to know of my faith, to never question it. I can do that, every day.

3.3.15

Alma 32: 27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if y e can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

I f ye can no more than desire to believe, exercising just a particle of faith, giving even a small place for the promises of God to find a home- that is e nough to begins. Just believing, just having a molecule of faith- simply hoping for things which are not yet seen in our lives but which are nevertheless truly there to be bestowed- that simple step when focused on Christ, has ever been and always will be the first principle of His eternal gospel, the fir st step out of despair.

3.2.15

1 Sam 16:7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

The Lord doesn't see what clothes you wear, doesn't see your haircut, doesn't see the sand in your child's hair, doesn't see the state of your living room, in the dishes sink, the laundry piling up, or the crayo ns between the seats in your car. He sees YOU, He sees your heart, your intent and your desires. He knows you and loves you.

One thought that keeps me motivated : The boys (and the Lord) are watching you... Be who you want them to see.

3.1.15

D&C 112:13 And after their temptations, and much tribulation, behold, I, the Lord, will feel after them, and if they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and I will heal them. After much trial and tribulation comes much blessing and joy. Don’t give up. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come. Jeffrey R. Holland, An High Priest of Good Things to Come, Oct. 1999