Removing Negative Weeds & Cultivating Positive Flowers

Another tender mercy from the Lord...

It always amazes me how He helps us "find" when we are "seeking."  I've been really working so hard on the words I speak....wanting so bad to replace all negative comments (and thoughts) with positive ones.  Wanting so bad to learn not to fly off the handle when I get upset.  I'd listened to Elder Holland's talk, "The Tongue of Angels" on my MP3 player a couple of times recently, and so while I was in my study room I decided to flip through my conference editions of the Ensign so I could study that talk a little more.  Sure, I could have come to the computer and looked it up quickly, but for some reason, I felt impressed to flip through all my GC Ensigns.  While I was at it, I decided to highlight, in the table of contents, all the talks that I especially love, and then I got the idea to write them down in a notebook, so next time I want to find them quickly I could do that...well, in doing this, I had to look through the less recent magazines at each talk to remember which ones I especially liked...I have been making a note next to the title of each talk as to how it affected me.  There were two that I came across that I felt a strong impression to leave open and read later.  Today, the first thing I picked up was one of those articles---I was highly compelled to read it this morning.  I was totally amazed at how closely it fits with Brother Goddard's article I read yesterday, and how closely related some of it is to all this "negative/positive" stuff I have been learning.  God is the perfect tutor--that's all I know!

This article is in the May 2004 Ensign by Elder Bruce C. Hafen entitled, "The Atonement: All for All"
It had previous highlights, and I had rated the talk "wonderful!!" with hearts and squigglies.  The first highlighted quote I noticed that caused me to set it aside was this statement,

"We grow in two ways—removing negative weeds and cultivating positive flowers". 

Wow!  I thought.  God has been leading me to this all along.

Previous to this Elder Hafen said, "One early Australian convert said: “My past life [was] a wilderness of weeds, with hardly a flower strewed among them. [But] now the weeds have vanished, and flowers spring up in their place.”

I used a different color highlighter as I read this talk, and well, I ended up highlighting at least half of his talk, and it was already half highlighted...so what can I say?  Read the whole talk!!  But I'll just share a few of the most prominent things that fit in with what Brother Goddard said in his article, those things that gave me God's tender mercy in letting me understand that He accepts my willingness to put my weaknesses upon His alter and work to change them, which change I know only comes as He makes me able to change---and if He is willing to allow those changes in this lifetime.  Like Brother Goddard said, we may struggle with some weaknesses our whole life through just to "energize our humility."  

This comment by Elder Hafen was especially tender to me:
"Without tasting the bitter, we actually cannot understand the sweet. (D&C 29:39) We require mortality’s discipline and refinement as the “next step in [our] development” toward becoming like our Father.  But growth means growing pains. It also means learning from our mistakes in a continual process made possible by the Savior’s grace, which He extends both during and “after all we can do....because of the Atonement, they could learn from their experience without being condemned by it....So if you have problems in your life, don’t assume there is something wrong with you. Struggling with those problems is at the very core of life’s purpose. As we draw close to God, He will show us our weaknesses and through them make us wiser, stronger.  If you’re seeing more of your weaknesses, that just might mean you’re moving nearer to God, not farther away."

"So once we’ve cleared our heartland, we must continually plant, weed, and nourish the seeds of divine qualities. And then as our sweat and discipline stretch us to meet His gifts, “the flow’rs of grace appear,” like hope and meekness. Even a tree of life can take root in this heart-garden, bearing fruit so sweet that it lightens all our burdens “through the joy of his Son.” And when the flower of charity blooms here, we will love others with the power of Christ’s own love."

It brought to my realization (an "ahha!" moment, as Martha would say) that what appeared to be "cursings" given to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden were really great blessings.  That flowers and fruits would not appear spontaneously without effort, and that weeds would choke the earth, and that Eve would bear children in sorrow...all these things were given us so that we could "taste the bitter, in order to fully understand the sweet" and to truly understand what true joy is.  It was to help us acquire the "knowledge" that God has.  The knowledge that would make us a God like Him.  So, it's OK to have these struggles and trials and battle fields...even the same ole' same ole' battles!  It's part of the perfect plan.  We should have faith and trust in our own weaknesses!

Furthermore, Elder Hafen said,
"This earth is not our home. We are away at school, trying to master the lessons of “the great plan of happiness” so we can return home and know what it means to be there. Over and over the Lord tells us why the plan is worth our sacrifice—and His. Eve called it “the joy of our redemption.” Jacob called it “that happiness which is prepared for the saints.” Of necessity, the plan is full of thorns and tears—His and ours. But because He and we are so totally in this together, our being “at one” with Him in overcoming all opposition will itself bring us “incomprehensible joy.”
"Christ’s Atonement is at the very core of this plan. Without His dear, dear sacrifice, there would be no way home, no way to be together, no way to be like Him. He gave us all He had. Therefore, “how great is his joy,” when even one of us “gets it”—when we look up from the weed patch and turn our face to the Son."

"We can have eternal life if we want it, but only if there is nothing else we want more."

"Yet even when we utterly spend ourselves, we lack the power to create the perfection only God can complete. Our all by itself is still only almost enough—until it is finished by the all of Him who is the “finisher of our faith.” At that point, our imperfect but consecrated almost is enough....Almost is especially enough when our own sacrifices somehow echo the Savior’s sacrifice, however imperfect we are. We cannot really feel charity—Christ’s love for others—without at least tasting His suffering for others, because the love and the suffering are but two sides of a single reality. When we really are afflicted in the afflictions of other people, we may enter “the fellowship of his sufferings” enough to become joint-heirs with Him."

And now a confession.  I had between 8-10 of you on the email list to get notification of my postings for this blog.  One day, a week or so ago, I was on Good Reads and read a few of the comments made about Rhonda Byrne's book, "The Secret."  There were some pretty nasty remarks made.  One guys said he literally threw the book across the room at the absurdity of it.   I was taken aback.  I wondered for a while if I had been deceived by the books concepts.  After all, it's not church doctrine.  And maybe I was wrong for sharing my views about it online and with friends.  So, with the exception of 2 people, I took names off the mailing list.  I have pondered it for a time.  But I could not deny the unmistakable spirit I felt while reading the book.  By now I know the difference between having the spirit and not having the spirit...especially the spirit of truth.  While I still claim that some of the book does not align with my religious beliefs, and that being because the book does not have ALL the truth, as I do, as a Latter-day Saint with modern scripture and revelation, still, the book's truths ARE based on God's laws.  They are based on all that is good.  All that God would want for His children.  Truths, that if His children lived by, would bring more love, peace and joy to this world. 

Early this morning, I had a personal revelation on the subject as I was pondering it.  The truths in the book are based on simple facts.  Pray.  Ask for that which ye need.  Have faith you will receive it.  Love others.  Have gratitude.  Be giving.  Be kind.  Stay positive.  Avoid the negative.  It reminded me of the brass serpent that Moses was commanded to put on his staff.  He was told to tell the Israelites to look upon the serpent after being bit by the poisonous serpent, and that they would live.  Many would not, and died instead.  Why?  Because of the simpleness of the way.

Many today are deceived, as Satan is making good look evil, and evil look good.  I feel sorry for those people who could not see the truth in Rhonda's book.  Because I felt the book was placed in my hands to help me understand something that I so desperately needed, I was thankful to Rhonda for sharing what she discovered in that book--something that would HELP others.  I never once thought of it as a scam for her and others to make money.  I felt that they were sharing something that was precious to them, and that had helped them to live life more fully and more joyfully.  Surely that is something that we should share with the world.

Satan does not want me to share what I am learning with you.  It is time consuming to post, and yet I am so compelled to do it.  It is my testimony.  I want to help, lift and inspire others.  This is a way to reach out, as I cannot come in personal contact with you each day.  If something I say could help lift even one person at one moment, then it would be worth all the effort I am making to share it.  I feel it is a gift God has given me, to be able to have this spiritual understanding and to be able to write it out and share it with others.

So, Satan, get out of my way!  I am pulling out all the negative weeds if it takes me my whole life long, and I will just keep pulling, pulling, pulling.  And in it's place cultivating as many positive flowers as I can!