This is one of the most touching and impressive things I have ever seen. This young man is amazing, but I must say, his Dad is a true hero, too!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Poorest Soil
This doesn't have to do with the Law of Attraction, but it does have to do with perspective. In the Book of Mormon, in Jacob 5, Jacob teaches us about the allegory of the Olive Tree. S. Michael Wilcox, from his book "When Your Prayers Seem Unanswered" helped me see the following analogy:
The Lord took some of the precious and good branches of the olive tree and planted them in various parts of His vineyard. Some were planted in good soil, and others in poor soil. But wherever He planted them, He nourished them and cared for them.
The branches, which grow into trees, could be likened to individual people and their progress. When the Servant of the Master of the vineyard asks, "Why did you plant this tree in such a poor spot?" the Master (the Lord) answers, "I know what I'm doing. I knew it was a poor spot (or I know the situation in your life isn't the best), but I have nourished it (you) this long time (I have not left you to fare as best you can in a difficult situation alone). I have nourished you. Then the Lord says, "Thou beholdest that it (you) hath brought forth much fruit." And what are these fruits? They are character, nobility, patience, compassion, empathy, and godliness....and more.
Then the Lord calls our attention to a tree in an even poorer spot of ground. He wants us to recognize there are people in worse situations than ourselves. The Lord nourishes them also.
Then the Lord points to a tree in a rich spot that has not done as well.
It's not the spot of ground we are planted in, but how we respond to the Lord's nourishment.
The poorest spots of ground can bring forth some of the sweetest fruits. God can turn everything in our life to good. We just have to trust Him and stay on the path. God will consecrate our afflictions for our gain. (2 Nephi 2:1-2)
"All these things shall give thee experience and shall be for thy good." (Doctrine & Covenants 122:7)
One day our trials will be finished. God shall wipe away our tears. (Revelations 21:4)
Christ is the beginning and the end. The end of sorrow, the end of death, the end of pain, the end of crying. He is the beginning of peace, the beginning of life and happiness and glory; the beginning of all joys.
He gives us warmth. He gives us light. He will cleanse and purge us as a refiner's fire til we are pure enough to endure His presence when He comes again.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Monday, January 18, 2010
The Holy Ghost
Lately, the
Lord is teaching me a lot about the Holy Ghost and just how crucial a
role He plays in our lives.
I often think about that dream Brigham Young had shortly after he became the second president and prophet of our church in this dispensation. It's the dream where Joseph Smith appeared to him. The one thing he told Brigham Young to tell the people, that he said was the most important thing, was to get and keep the Holy Ghost and that if we did that we would be led aright.
One of my favorite talks of all times has become "The Way" by Lawrence Corbridge. In that talk Elder Crobridge says, "Nothing in this life is of greater worth than the supernal gift of the Holy Ghost. It is the source of joy, peace, knowledge, strength, love, and every other good thing. [and I say what more could we want?!] With the Atonement, it is the power by which we may be changed and made strong where we are weak. With the priesthood, it is the power by which marriages and families are sealed together eternally. It is the power by which the Lord makes Himself manifest unto those who believe in Him. Every good thing depends on getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Everything depends on that."
I wondered what could be more supernal than the Savior's Atonement. I am coming to realize the Holy Ghost is our access to the Atonement. In the article I mentioned in my last post by Larry Barkdull he talks about how it is the work of the Holy Ghost and the Savior to refine us. The gift of the Holy Ghost is referred to also as the "baptism by fire." We must all go through the refiner's fire to be sanctified and purified in order to return to the presence of God.
Today I read, again, Elder David A. Bednar's talk from the November 2007 Ensign (conference talk) called "Clean Hands and a Pure Heart." Elder Bednar said it is possible to have clean hands but not a pure heart. I was concerned by this thought. But as I studied it today I saw a new analogy I had not seen before. Elder Bednar recounts the story of Christ visiting the people of the American Continent shortly after His resurrection. He teaches them the basics of repentance, and then coming unto Him through baptism and the Holy Ghost. Then he has them, one by one, come to Him and feel the prints in his hands and feet and thrust their hands into His sides. This is intimately coming to know the Savior and understanding just what it is that He did for us, with His Atonement, His death, and His resurrection.
Elder Bednar suggests that clean hands represents the repentance of sin and putting off the natural man through Christ's atonement. Having a pure heart is to accept the Savior's strengthening and sustaining powers to help us become even better than we could on our own. So no matter how many good works we do, they will not be enough to help us be sanctified enough to come unto Him without accepting His enabling powers...without actually obtaining a one on one relationship to Him, without personally feeling those prints in his hands and feet and side, symbolically, of course.
As Elder Corbridge put it, "No institution, plan, program, or system ever conceived by men has access to the redeeming and transforming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, while the Lord’s invitation to follow Him is the highest of all, it is also achievable by everyone, not because we are able, but because He is, and because He can make us able too."
When I understood it, I thought Hallelujah!! Who would NOT want Christ's enabling power?! Who would not be humble enough to accept that?! The only way we cannot, would be to not pursue it. To not see it. I guess it's like the parable of the Ten Virgins. They were all somewhat pure, right? They were Virgins after all. They were all waiting for the coming of the Bridegroom, but only half were fully prepared to meet Him. What did the others lack?
Elder Bednar suggests this:
"Some who hear or read this message may think the spiritual progress I am describing is not attainable in their lives. We may believe these truths apply to others but not to us.
We will not attain a state of perfection in this life, but we can and should press forward with faith in Christ along the strait and narrow path and make steady progress toward our eternal destiny. The Lord’s pattern for spiritual development is “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” (2 Nephi 28:30). Small, steady, incremental spiritual improvements are the steps the Lord would have us take. Preparing to walk guiltless before God is one of the primary purposes of mortality and the pursuit of a lifetime; it does not result from sporadic spurts of intense spiritual activity.
I witness that the Savior will strengthen and assist us to make sustained, paced progress."
So we can't just "ride along" as members. We have to work and pay the price for the highest level of discipleship, not just by good works alone, but drawing near to Christ. The only way I know to do this is through study and prayer, pondering, always remembering Him, striving hard to get and keep the Holy Ghost with us, which can be done as we worthily and with much thought, partake of the Sacrament each week, and any and all other thing that will help us be near Him and learn of Him, like attending the temple as well as our meetings at Church, keeping the Sabbath Day holy which keeps us unspotted from the world, accepting and magnifying our callings, and repenting, forgiving, serving others, and sharing our testimony of Him as often as we can. It sounds like a lot. It is. But to be pure in heart is to accept the Savior's enabling power so it is possible...like Elder Bednar said, "Small, steady, incremental spiritual improvements are the steps the Lord would have us take." This is putting oil in our lamps and preparing us for the Savior's return.
The Holy Ghost is our key and our guide to do it...to the enabling power of the Savior's Atonement.
The Holy Ghost filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence through prayer until the end shall come.
The Holy Ghost fills us with light and truth.
The Holy Ghost cleanses, heals and purifies the soul.
The Holy Ghost is the only source that enables us to have the charity that we must have, because without charity we are also nothing.
"With the Atonement it is the power by which we may be changed and made strong where we are weak....Every good thing depends on getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Everything depends on that." (repeated again from Elder Corbridge, which phrase I could never tire of hearing!)
The Holy Ghost is a true friend.
It is the plainest and simplest things that edify us the most if taught by the Spirit of God.
There are so many wonderful things said about the Holy Ghost. I wish I had them all in front of me so I could add them all in, but then this post would be way too long. So I'll only add from memory part of a quote from Parley P. Pratt where he said the Holy Ghost can even give you beauty in your physical appearance. I have seen this beauty in those who have His image in their countenance. Sheri Dew said, "No amount of time in front of the mirror will make you as attractive as having the Holy Ghost with you."
The Holy Ghost is truly a supernal gift of great worth!!
I have heard the Holy Ghost likened to a radio station before....like a fine frequency that you have to really work at to get the frequency. And that sometimes you have to listen very carefully to hear it.
Since the Law of Attraction is to be the master of one's thoughts; since it is about creating one's life by virtue of the images in your mind; since it is the power to attract what you think about the most; since it is likened unto a magnetic power emitted by your thoughts and the attraction of your thoughts is to cause that which you are thinking of to come closer (whether good or bad); since they have likened it unto one infinite power...calling that the Universe...and although also saying it could be referred to as God, but they don't want to rule out those who don't believe in God and just want to believe in a higher power...which are the natural laws of the universe...
And, most importantly, the one that likens it to the Holy Ghost is likening it unto a frequency--"a thought is a frequency just like a radio frequency puts out a voice and a TV frequency puts out an image and a voice; we can measure those thoughts by thinking it over and over again...if you're imagining what it looks like, you're emitting that frequency on a consistent basis. You are a human transmission tower, more powerful than TV. Your transmission creates your life and your world through your thoughts."
As members of the church we are admonished to control our thoughts. Boyd K. Packer likened our thoughts unto a performance being acted out on a stage. Sometimes bad thoughts come onto our stage and it's our job to get them off by replacing them with good thoughts...a scripture we have memorized, singing a hymn in our mind, or whatever works for us.
As I've mentioned before, positive thoughts come of the spirit and of God. Negative thoughts come from Satan. It's hard to keep the Holy Ghost with us if we are on a negative frequency. Likewise, when we tune into the positive frequency Satan flees. He can't stand to be around any good or wholesome thing. (yeah for that!)
What I have learned is that keeping on the positive frequency keeps the Holy Ghost with me more frequently, and as I have the Holy Ghost with me more frequently I invite (or attract or magnetize) more positive thoughts and feelings and I find it easier to be grateful, easier to have charity, easier to endure any hard circumstances in my life, and so on. It is a much better frequency to be on, no doubt about it!
I absolutely LOVE this Mormon Messages video: "Voice of the Spirit" with James E. Faust.
I often think about that dream Brigham Young had shortly after he became the second president and prophet of our church in this dispensation. It's the dream where Joseph Smith appeared to him. The one thing he told Brigham Young to tell the people, that he said was the most important thing, was to get and keep the Holy Ghost and that if we did that we would be led aright.
One of my favorite talks of all times has become "The Way" by Lawrence Corbridge. In that talk Elder Crobridge says, "Nothing in this life is of greater worth than the supernal gift of the Holy Ghost. It is the source of joy, peace, knowledge, strength, love, and every other good thing. [and I say what more could we want?!] With the Atonement, it is the power by which we may be changed and made strong where we are weak. With the priesthood, it is the power by which marriages and families are sealed together eternally. It is the power by which the Lord makes Himself manifest unto those who believe in Him. Every good thing depends on getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Everything depends on that."
I wondered what could be more supernal than the Savior's Atonement. I am coming to realize the Holy Ghost is our access to the Atonement. In the article I mentioned in my last post by Larry Barkdull he talks about how it is the work of the Holy Ghost and the Savior to refine us. The gift of the Holy Ghost is referred to also as the "baptism by fire." We must all go through the refiner's fire to be sanctified and purified in order to return to the presence of God.
Today I read, again, Elder David A. Bednar's talk from the November 2007 Ensign (conference talk) called "Clean Hands and a Pure Heart." Elder Bednar said it is possible to have clean hands but not a pure heart. I was concerned by this thought. But as I studied it today I saw a new analogy I had not seen before. Elder Bednar recounts the story of Christ visiting the people of the American Continent shortly after His resurrection. He teaches them the basics of repentance, and then coming unto Him through baptism and the Holy Ghost. Then he has them, one by one, come to Him and feel the prints in his hands and feet and thrust their hands into His sides. This is intimately coming to know the Savior and understanding just what it is that He did for us, with His Atonement, His death, and His resurrection.
Elder Bednar suggests that clean hands represents the repentance of sin and putting off the natural man through Christ's atonement. Having a pure heart is to accept the Savior's strengthening and sustaining powers to help us become even better than we could on our own. So no matter how many good works we do, they will not be enough to help us be sanctified enough to come unto Him without accepting His enabling powers...without actually obtaining a one on one relationship to Him, without personally feeling those prints in his hands and feet and side, symbolically, of course.
As Elder Corbridge put it, "No institution, plan, program, or system ever conceived by men has access to the redeeming and transforming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, while the Lord’s invitation to follow Him is the highest of all, it is also achievable by everyone, not because we are able, but because He is, and because He can make us able too."
When I understood it, I thought Hallelujah!! Who would NOT want Christ's enabling power?! Who would not be humble enough to accept that?! The only way we cannot, would be to not pursue it. To not see it. I guess it's like the parable of the Ten Virgins. They were all somewhat pure, right? They were Virgins after all. They were all waiting for the coming of the Bridegroom, but only half were fully prepared to meet Him. What did the others lack?
Elder Bednar suggests this:
"Some who hear or read this message may think the spiritual progress I am describing is not attainable in their lives. We may believe these truths apply to others but not to us.
We will not attain a state of perfection in this life, but we can and should press forward with faith in Christ along the strait and narrow path and make steady progress toward our eternal destiny. The Lord’s pattern for spiritual development is “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” (2 Nephi 28:30). Small, steady, incremental spiritual improvements are the steps the Lord would have us take. Preparing to walk guiltless before God is one of the primary purposes of mortality and the pursuit of a lifetime; it does not result from sporadic spurts of intense spiritual activity.
I witness that the Savior will strengthen and assist us to make sustained, paced progress."
So we can't just "ride along" as members. We have to work and pay the price for the highest level of discipleship, not just by good works alone, but drawing near to Christ. The only way I know to do this is through study and prayer, pondering, always remembering Him, striving hard to get and keep the Holy Ghost with us, which can be done as we worthily and with much thought, partake of the Sacrament each week, and any and all other thing that will help us be near Him and learn of Him, like attending the temple as well as our meetings at Church, keeping the Sabbath Day holy which keeps us unspotted from the world, accepting and magnifying our callings, and repenting, forgiving, serving others, and sharing our testimony of Him as often as we can. It sounds like a lot. It is. But to be pure in heart is to accept the Savior's enabling power so it is possible...like Elder Bednar said, "Small, steady, incremental spiritual improvements are the steps the Lord would have us take." This is putting oil in our lamps and preparing us for the Savior's return.
The Holy Ghost is our key and our guide to do it...to the enabling power of the Savior's Atonement.
The Holy Ghost filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence through prayer until the end shall come.
The Holy Ghost fills us with light and truth.
The Holy Ghost cleanses, heals and purifies the soul.
The Holy Ghost is the only source that enables us to have the charity that we must have, because without charity we are also nothing.
"With the Atonement it is the power by which we may be changed and made strong where we are weak....Every good thing depends on getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Everything depends on that." (repeated again from Elder Corbridge, which phrase I could never tire of hearing!)
The Holy Ghost is a true friend.
It is the plainest and simplest things that edify us the most if taught by the Spirit of God.
There are so many wonderful things said about the Holy Ghost. I wish I had them all in front of me so I could add them all in, but then this post would be way too long. So I'll only add from memory part of a quote from Parley P. Pratt where he said the Holy Ghost can even give you beauty in your physical appearance. I have seen this beauty in those who have His image in their countenance. Sheri Dew said, "No amount of time in front of the mirror will make you as attractive as having the Holy Ghost with you."
The Holy Ghost is truly a supernal gift of great worth!!
I have heard the Holy Ghost likened to a radio station before....like a fine frequency that you have to really work at to get the frequency. And that sometimes you have to listen very carefully to hear it.
Since the Law of Attraction is to be the master of one's thoughts; since it is about creating one's life by virtue of the images in your mind; since it is the power to attract what you think about the most; since it is likened unto a magnetic power emitted by your thoughts and the attraction of your thoughts is to cause that which you are thinking of to come closer (whether good or bad); since they have likened it unto one infinite power...calling that the Universe...and although also saying it could be referred to as God, but they don't want to rule out those who don't believe in God and just want to believe in a higher power...which are the natural laws of the universe...
And, most importantly, the one that likens it to the Holy Ghost is likening it unto a frequency--"a thought is a frequency just like a radio frequency puts out a voice and a TV frequency puts out an image and a voice; we can measure those thoughts by thinking it over and over again...if you're imagining what it looks like, you're emitting that frequency on a consistent basis. You are a human transmission tower, more powerful than TV. Your transmission creates your life and your world through your thoughts."
As members of the church we are admonished to control our thoughts. Boyd K. Packer likened our thoughts unto a performance being acted out on a stage. Sometimes bad thoughts come onto our stage and it's our job to get them off by replacing them with good thoughts...a scripture we have memorized, singing a hymn in our mind, or whatever works for us.
As I've mentioned before, positive thoughts come of the spirit and of God. Negative thoughts come from Satan. It's hard to keep the Holy Ghost with us if we are on a negative frequency. Likewise, when we tune into the positive frequency Satan flees. He can't stand to be around any good or wholesome thing. (yeah for that!)
What I have learned is that keeping on the positive frequency keeps the Holy Ghost with me more frequently, and as I have the Holy Ghost with me more frequently I invite (or attract or magnetize) more positive thoughts and feelings and I find it easier to be grateful, easier to have charity, easier to endure any hard circumstances in my life, and so on. It is a much better frequency to be on, no doubt about it!
I absolutely LOVE this Mormon Messages video: "Voice of the Spirit" with James E. Faust.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Power to Choose * Power to Change
A war in heaven was fought, and souls were lost, that we might gain the precious gift of free agency. The power to choose and act for ourselves.
As a teen-ager in the 70's there was a popular saying that I always remembered that said, "If you love something set it free. If it loves you, it will come back to you."
That's how God feels about us. He loved us so much He set us free with a power to choose, with a chance that we might not come back.
God gave us a mind to discern. We can use the power He gave us to choose our thoughts. As the Law of Attraction states, we have the power to intentionally think and create our entire life.
In 2 Nephi 2:27-29 it says, "...they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not be acted upon...to choose liberty and eternal life (through the Savior) or captivity and death (through Satan).
I'd like to think there are very few spirits that would knowingly choose evil. I'd rather think they were pulled into evil through ignorance and through Satan's cunning deception. It takes a lot more effort on our part to choose good and remain firm in righteousness, because Satan is going to be working harder on those that are on that path. If we choose to do nothing at all, we fall over to Satan's side of the line. Like Elder Jeffery R. Holland said, "there is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan."
Doctrine & Covenants 58:27-29 says, "Men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; for the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves..."
President Henry B. Eyring said, "Choose by what you put in your mind to be an example of hope to those around you."
Elder David A. Bednar said, "As agents, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond [in any situation]. (Ensign 11/06 And Nothing Shall Offend Them)
Do we ever use others as an excuse for our own bad behavior? True growth comes when we are ready to recognize and acknowledge our own faults and weaknesses, when we put our selves and our agency on God's altar, ready to accept His will, ready to see what changes He would have us to see.
I read a really good article, in fact, I studied it the last couple of days by Larry Barkdull (published on Meridian Magazine) called "How the Sacrament Empowers Us to Rescue Wayward Children." He said, in this article, "Our ability to rescue and redeem a wayward soul is directly linked to our level of sanctification. Therefore, we are told that before we attempt to pluck out the mote in another's eye we must first excise the beam from our own. (Matt 7:3-4) That process requires the Holy Ghost. As we pray for the Lord's help to rescue our children, we might be surprised that He focuses His attention on us first. The Lord might use the child's situation to sanctify us. If we will submit to the refiner's fire, once we emerge from it, we will be in a much better position to help our children when they experience it."
He also said, "It is a well-known fact that the sacrament serves to align our lives with Jesus Christ like a compass aligns us to true north."
We can be the masters of our mental compass as well.
In the book "The Secret" Michael Bernard Beckwith said, "Whatever thought has done in your life, it can be undone through a shift in your awareness."
That is the power of repentance. That is the power God has given us to change our course direction towards true north.
I also read in the book TS that "you have the power to change anything because you are the one who feels your feelings. Feeling good and attracting good feelings are able to bring you higher and higher.
Remember who is the author of negativity--Satan. And the author of positivity--God.
You can completely change every circumstance and event in your entire life, by changing the way you think.
TS says "your life is in your hands." While this is partly true because of our power to act and choose, I also believe our life is in God's hands if we let it be. Things we cannot master power over on our own, the weaknesses God gave us, are to give us some dependence upon Him. Jesus Christ is THE one who can make us able--able to do whatever God asks us to do that is good and right. Able even to change a lifetime of incorrect and negative thinking patterns over into positive ones.
However, I do agree with D&C 59:29 where we are agents unto ourselves and the power is in us to do many good things of our own free will and choosing, as they put it in the book TS, "No matter where you are now, no matter what has happened in your life, you can begin to consciously choose your thoughts and you can change your life. There is no such thing as a hopeless situation. Every single circumstance of your life can change." Is this not a God-inspired statement! If everyone on earth lived by that, how our world would change for good!
President James E. Faust said, "The power to change is very real, and it's a great spiritual gift." (Ensign 11/07 The Power to Change, written just months before he passed away.)
My favorite, Elder John H. Groberg said, "Sometimes when things aren't going right, we think we need to get away from a place or a person. Sometimes that helps, but most of the time what we need is to get away from our old self and our selfish feelings. We can leave a place behind, or we can stay in that place and leave our selfishness [or feeling sorry for ourselves I would add] behind. If we leave a place and take our selfishness with us, the cycle of problems starts all over again no matter where we go. But if we leave our selfishness behind, no matter where we are, things start to improve." (In the Eye of the Storm pg. 39)
TS, pg 121 says, "Even if you're having a really hard time in a relationship--things aren't working, you're not getting along, someone's in your face--you can still turn that relationship around." [Now that's power!!]
What I have learned this past year is that repentance & forgiveness unlock the power to change. I had an issue where I finally realized that I needed to repent in order to more fully forgive. Repentance was just a matter of correcting my course, which turned out to be the way that I was thinking, both about myself and the person I had the issue with. I am still in awe of how affective this has been, and continues to be. Not that anything else changed, except just the manner in which I now direct my thoughts.
All negative patterns are learned behaviors and can be unlearned.
Power to change comes from a perspective of things (as in the fall, mortality, opposition) grace, (we can't make it alone--the atonement is in place) and strength (to change, not eliminate our circumstances.)
Only He, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Savior, gives us power to live, to progress, to heal. Draw upon the power of His Atonement, where there is infinite power!
As a teen-ager in the 70's there was a popular saying that I always remembered that said, "If you love something set it free. If it loves you, it will come back to you."
That's how God feels about us. He loved us so much He set us free with a power to choose, with a chance that we might not come back.
God gave us a mind to discern. We can use the power He gave us to choose our thoughts. As the Law of Attraction states, we have the power to intentionally think and create our entire life.
In 2 Nephi 2:27-29 it says, "...they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not be acted upon...to choose liberty and eternal life (through the Savior) or captivity and death (through Satan).
I'd like to think there are very few spirits that would knowingly choose evil. I'd rather think they were pulled into evil through ignorance and through Satan's cunning deception. It takes a lot more effort on our part to choose good and remain firm in righteousness, because Satan is going to be working harder on those that are on that path. If we choose to do nothing at all, we fall over to Satan's side of the line. Like Elder Jeffery R. Holland said, "there is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan."
Doctrine & Covenants 58:27-29 says, "Men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; for the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves..."
President Henry B. Eyring said, "Choose by what you put in your mind to be an example of hope to those around you."
Elder David A. Bednar said, "As agents, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond [in any situation]. (Ensign 11/06 And Nothing Shall Offend Them)
Do we ever use others as an excuse for our own bad behavior? True growth comes when we are ready to recognize and acknowledge our own faults and weaknesses, when we put our selves and our agency on God's altar, ready to accept His will, ready to see what changes He would have us to see.
I read a really good article, in fact, I studied it the last couple of days by Larry Barkdull (published on Meridian Magazine) called "How the Sacrament Empowers Us to Rescue Wayward Children." He said, in this article, "Our ability to rescue and redeem a wayward soul is directly linked to our level of sanctification. Therefore, we are told that before we attempt to pluck out the mote in another's eye we must first excise the beam from our own. (Matt 7:3-4) That process requires the Holy Ghost. As we pray for the Lord's help to rescue our children, we might be surprised that He focuses His attention on us first. The Lord might use the child's situation to sanctify us. If we will submit to the refiner's fire, once we emerge from it, we will be in a much better position to help our children when they experience it."
He also said, "It is a well-known fact that the sacrament serves to align our lives with Jesus Christ like a compass aligns us to true north."
We can be the masters of our mental compass as well.
In the book "The Secret" Michael Bernard Beckwith said, "Whatever thought has done in your life, it can be undone through a shift in your awareness."
That is the power of repentance. That is the power God has given us to change our course direction towards true north.
I also read in the book TS that "you have the power to change anything because you are the one who feels your feelings. Feeling good and attracting good feelings are able to bring you higher and higher.
Remember who is the author of negativity--Satan. And the author of positivity--God.
You can completely change every circumstance and event in your entire life, by changing the way you think.
TS says "your life is in your hands." While this is partly true because of our power to act and choose, I also believe our life is in God's hands if we let it be. Things we cannot master power over on our own, the weaknesses God gave us, are to give us some dependence upon Him. Jesus Christ is THE one who can make us able--able to do whatever God asks us to do that is good and right. Able even to change a lifetime of incorrect and negative thinking patterns over into positive ones.
However, I do agree with D&C 59:29 where we are agents unto ourselves and the power is in us to do many good things of our own free will and choosing, as they put it in the book TS, "No matter where you are now, no matter what has happened in your life, you can begin to consciously choose your thoughts and you can change your life. There is no such thing as a hopeless situation. Every single circumstance of your life can change." Is this not a God-inspired statement! If everyone on earth lived by that, how our world would change for good!
President James E. Faust said, "The power to change is very real, and it's a great spiritual gift." (Ensign 11/07 The Power to Change, written just months before he passed away.)
My favorite, Elder John H. Groberg said, "Sometimes when things aren't going right, we think we need to get away from a place or a person. Sometimes that helps, but most of the time what we need is to get away from our old self and our selfish feelings. We can leave a place behind, or we can stay in that place and leave our selfishness [or feeling sorry for ourselves I would add] behind. If we leave a place and take our selfishness with us, the cycle of problems starts all over again no matter where we go. But if we leave our selfishness behind, no matter where we are, things start to improve." (In the Eye of the Storm pg. 39)
TS, pg 121 says, "Even if you're having a really hard time in a relationship--things aren't working, you're not getting along, someone's in your face--you can still turn that relationship around." [Now that's power!!]
What I have learned this past year is that repentance & forgiveness unlock the power to change. I had an issue where I finally realized that I needed to repent in order to more fully forgive. Repentance was just a matter of correcting my course, which turned out to be the way that I was thinking, both about myself and the person I had the issue with. I am still in awe of how affective this has been, and continues to be. Not that anything else changed, except just the manner in which I now direct my thoughts.
All negative patterns are learned behaviors and can be unlearned.
Power to change comes from a perspective of things (as in the fall, mortality, opposition) grace, (we can't make it alone--the atonement is in place) and strength (to change, not eliminate our circumstances.)
Only He, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Savior, gives us power to live, to progress, to heal. Draw upon the power of His Atonement, where there is infinite power!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Storms
I am really fascinated with storms. Only in pictures though. Not real life...especially storms that come in the way of life's trials. I have been drawn over the years to spiritual storm analogies. I guess the Lord knew I was going to need them. One of my favorite quotes is by Elder John H. Groberg:
"Life is like the ocean…sometimes we get caught in squalls and storms and things don’t go the way we think they should…even when we think we have done right…sometimes the Lord calms the storm, and sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child…God can find us in the eye of a storm and give us courage to swim in rough water. We learn lessons from storms that we cannot learn from calm seas."
I have that quote in the back of my scriptures with a picture of a big ocean wave. And the words to the song, "Master the Tempest is Raging" and this quote by Elder Jeffery R. Holland:
"It is not without recognition of life's tempests, but fully and directly because of them, that I testify of God's love and the Savior's power to calm the storm. Always remember in that biblical story that He was out there on the water also, that He faced the worst of it right along with the newest and youngest and most fearful. Only one who has fought against those ominous waves is justified in telling us---as well as the sea---to 'be still.' Only one who has taken the full brunt of such adversity could ever be justified in telling us in such times to 'be of good cheer.' The one who calmed the storm can quiet our soul-squalls." (Ensign 11/99 pg 36)
Brigham Young said, "God is at the helm. This is the mighty ship Zion and you need not worry about anything else...He guides the ship, and will bring us safely into port. All we have to care about is to take care of ourselves and see that we do right. Let us man the ship manfully, everyone standing faithfully and firmly to his post, and she will out-ride every storm and safely bear us to the harbor of Celestial bliss."
"...remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." -Helaman 5:12
I am so thankful today for the rock I have to stand on, my Redeemer and yours, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Taking the Measure of Our Progress
Today I read this article by Wallace Goddard (Dr. Wally) on his website called "A Few Ways to Assess Our Spiritual Progress."
It really moved me. Some of the things that touched me were these comments:
The closer we get to God, the more we focus on His glory rather than our own progress. Any radiance from us is truly reflected light.
The more we experience God, the more we know that He consecrates even our afflictions for our gain. We are less afraid of trials and more grateful for blessings. We know that our lives are presided over by a perfectly loving and perfectly wise Father. While seeing His goodness in everything may be more difficult for those of us who think we should exercise significant control in our lives, or have trouble trusting, even we can learn to relax in His gracious arms.
As I think about our halting progress, I think of our dear little grandson Will. When he took his first faltering steps, we whooped and hollered. We acted as if all creation should celebrate!
Thanks Dr. Wally!
It really moved me. Some of the things that touched me were these comments:
The closer we get to God, the more we focus on His glory rather than our own progress. Any radiance from us is truly reflected light.
The more we experience God, the more we know that He consecrates even our afflictions for our gain. We are less afraid of trials and more grateful for blessings. We know that our lives are presided over by a perfectly loving and perfectly wise Father. While seeing His goodness in everything may be more difficult for those of us who think we should exercise significant control in our lives, or have trouble trusting, even we can learn to relax in His gracious arms.
It is always cause for celebration when we discover that God is patiently teaching and guiding us.
7. We rejoice. Several times every week, God traverses eternity to put His strong arms around me and lift me off the ground. I am dumbfounded when He does it. I join Ammon in words of wonder: “Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and polluted state?” (Alma 26:17). Sometimes it is the words of a hymn that jar me with joy. Sometimes it is a harmonious truth that leaps out of scripture. Sometimes it is quite inexplicable; God just gives a random hug. Oh! How grateful I am!
It is the flourishes of the Spirit that testify that we are on the path toward God.
As I think about our halting progress, I think of our dear little grandson Will. When he took his first faltering steps, we whooped and hollered. We acted as if all creation should celebrate!
Thanks Dr. Wally!
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