A Pearl...of Great Price

This week I had a difficult time preparing the Gospel Doctrine lesson (How Beautiful Upon the Mountain - Old Testament Lesson 39 -Isaiah) which focused on the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  And that is because the scope of the Atonement is so wide and so encompassing, and there were a lot of scripture references in the lesson manual, and it was overwhelming.  And I was physically tired from over 2 weeks of painting my kitchen, so my brain was exceptionally tired, too.

I had a huge rough draft with more than enough scripture references, and I was very late in the week even getting that much done.  I spent as much of Friday as I could working on it, but kept getting interruptions--then when Saturday came I just was not satisfied at all with what I had.  But the Spirit always kicks in and helps me go the right direction, even if it's the last minute, so I knew I needed help from General Conference talks and that is exactly where I went and was rescued by talks from Elder David A. Bednar and Elder Bruce C. Hafen that I was able to weave throughout all the beautiful scriptures of Isaiah to help bring the Atonement up more close and personal to each of us. 

In my struggles to prepare I really related to, and was empowered by, this thought by Elder Hafen: The people in 3 Nephi 17 had survived destruction, doubt, and darkness just to get to the temple with Jesus. After listening to Him for hours in wonder, they grew too weary to comprehend Him. As He prepared to leave, they tearfully looked at Him with such total desire that He stayed and blessed their afflicted ones and their children. They didn’t even understand Him, but they wanted to be with Him more than they wanted any other thing. So He stayed. 

My thoughts:
As we study His gospel, and especially aspects of His Atonement, we too may grow too weary to comprehend, but the desires of our hearts may be that we want to be with Him more than we want anything else, and I testify that He will stay to help us.  He knows and understands the righteous desires of our hearts. 

Elder Hafen said: 
We can have eternal life if we want it, but only if there is nothing else we want more.  So we must willingly give everything, because God Himself can’t make us grow against our will and without our full participation. 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.” 

My thoughts: 
And so it is through Him, and with His grace, which is an aspect of His Atonement, that we press forward and comprehend even the words of Isaiah, line upon line, and precept upon precept. And I want to be with Him more than I want anything else, even if I don't always fully understand everything about what He has done for us in the Plan of Heavenly Father. 

Elder David A. Bednar said: 
The unique burdens in each of our lives help us to rely upon the merits, mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah. I testify and promise the Savior will help us to bear up our burdens with ease. As we are yoked with Him through sacred covenants and receive the enabling power of His Atonement in our lives, we increasingly will seek to understand and live according to His will. We also will pray for the strength to learn from, change, or accept our circumstances rather than praying relentlessly for God to change our circumstances according to our will. 

 Elder Hafen: 
Grace is not cheap. It is very expensive, even very dear. How much does this grace cost? Is it enough simply to believe in Christ? The man who found the pearl of great price gave “all that he had” for it. If we desire “all that [the] Father hath,”  God asks all that we have. To qualify for such exquisite treasure, in whatever way is ours, we must give the way Christ gave—every drop He had: “How exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.”  Paul said, “If so be that we suffer with him,” we are “joint-heirs with Christ.”  All of His heart, all of our hearts.

Elder Hafen continues:

What possible pearl could be worth such a price—for Him and for us? 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.” 

"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. 

Mosiah 15:18

For O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people; 

 One reason his feet are beautiful is that they bear the prints of the nails, the tokens of his atoning love. 

"We testify that He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.

"We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. 

"God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son!"
(The Living Christ)

What Think Ye of Christ?

How do I answer the question,  
What think ye of Christ?
With my testimony.

He is Wonderful because of all the things He has done for me.  He is my Creator.  He provides me with Living Water that I shall never thirst and Bread that I will never hunger.  He is the Master Healer that can heal any ailment, the Carpenter that can fix any broken thing, the Comforter who can comfort me when nothing else can, the Shepherd who would leave the ninety and nine to find me when I am lost. 

He gives me Mercy when I need forgiveness, Hope when I feel hopelessness, and Peace to calm my troubled waters.

He is my Light to lead the way through darkness. 

He is Love beyond the power of any I can comprehend in this world. 
He is my Savior, and beside Him there is no other.  

This video, made by the Piano Guys, filmed in Brazil at one of the Seven Wonders of the World:

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro is a called “The Mission: How Great Thou Art”
The beauties of the world that Christ created with such inspiring music is a testimony to me that HE LIVES!

Miracles and Tender Mercies, Always

I have had a lot of miracles in my life.  Maybe I am getting better at recognizing them, but it seems since I was called to be Gospel Doctrine teacher in September 2012, and did not want to relinquish my calling as a stake assistant indexing director, that so many more blessings and miracles have flowed into my life than I can ever remember.  I haven't been able to do much with the indexing calling except continue to index.  I spend an exceptional amount of time preparing lessons and making powerpoints to go with my lesson for those who can't hear or open scriptures well, and because it's the most excellence visual--and now with all the amazing technology, and the many wonderful videos that the church is making, there could not have been a better time for me to start using PP.  (which was in Feb 2013)

Here is one most recent profound miracle.  Our ISP has been experiencing issues for a long time, 2 years really.  (It's almost as though Satan and his host knew I would be teaching GD and using PP and wanted to put a stop to the work!)  At the beginning of the year we had the ISP come out and check for a better place to put the dish for a signal and the only place they found was out in the field.  Tom proceeded to dig a long trench and we spent $130 for wire and PVC pipe and got it hooked up.  It worked OK for a while but about 3 months ago the interferences were so bad it didn't work good at all....super slow and you'd get a time-out or disconnected before you could get there.  Anything with a super secure website was the worst.  My parents completely lost their connection.  However, every time I sat to work on my Gospel Doctrine lesson I had enough connection to get what I needed...sometimes slow, but almost always there when I needed it.  That was a tender mercy since time is so sparse and I use so much of my time preparing.  I have also been in the middle of 'painting my way' through my house, so time was even more sparse.

To add another miracle on top of that we had heard that another DSL company had finally reached CV.  It said online service was available to my address but every time I called they said no service anywhere in our area!  It took several weeks of patient persistence and pursuit to finally achieve the miracle of being hooked up to that service before it was in the system as available.  I know it was because of my calling, and the added prayers of my Angel Joyce.

I'm so thankful to finally index again after several months of not being able to because of internet.  I am also a witness of the miracles of the work of the Lord with the hastening of the work and the advancement of technology.  I'm so grateful to be a part of it.

Trust Him!

Believing in yourself is all about TRUSTING HIM.  I believe there would be simply nothing to believe in, without believing in HIM.  Without believing in His grace.  Without believing in His mercy.  Without believing in His power to save.  Without believing He is The Way.

I was reminded of that again this morning, while studying for my next lesson, I found this talk by Elder Jeffery R. Holland and wanted to remember this tender story--which I had heard before, but how easily we forget.  We need to be reminded every day of our dependance on Him.

Just like the lesson I taught yesterday, about how the Lord rained bread from heaven, which the children of Israel called Manna...and they had to work to gather it everyday, except the Sabbath, cause it wouldn't keep for longer than what they could eat at the moment.  We need the temporal sustenance of 'bread and water' each day in order to live, and we need the bread and water that the Savior represents to live eternally.  He is the only source of that which if we eat and drink--day by day--we will never hunger or thirst.

Elder Holland

My witness this morning is that he will deliver all the rest of us, too, that he will deliver the entire human family, if we will but “take care of sacred things,” if we will “look to God and live.”

The greatest affirmation of that promise ever given in this world was the gift of God’s perfect and precious Firstborn Son, a gift given not in condemnation of the world, but to soothe and save and make the world secure: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16; emphasis added).

Katie Lewis is my neighbor. Her father, Randy, is my bishop; her mother, Melanie, is a saint. And her older brother, Jimmie, is battling leukemia.

Sister Lewis recently recounted for me the unspeakable fear and grief that came to their family when Jimmie’s illness was diagnosed. She spoke of the tears and the waves of sorrow that any mother would experience with a prognosis as grim as Jimmie’s was. But like the faithful Latter-day Saints they are, the Lewises turned to God with urgency and with faith and with hope. They fasted and prayed, prayed and fasted. And they went again and again to the temple.

One day Sister Lewis came home from a temple session weary and worried, feeling the impact of so many days—and nights—of fear being held at bay only by monumental faith.

As she entered her home, four-year-old Katie ran up to her with love in her eyes and a crumpled sheaf of papers in her hand. Holding the papers out to her mother, she said enthusiastically, “Mommy, do you know what these are?”

Sister Lewis said frankly her first impulse was to deflect Katie’s zeal and say she didn’t feel like playing just then. But she thought of her children—all her children—and the possible regret of missed opportunities and little lives that pass too swiftly. So she smiled through her sorrow and said, “No, Katie. I don’t know what they are. Please tell me.”

“They are the scriptures,” Katie beamed back, “and do you know what they say?”

Sister Lewis stopped smiling, gazed deeply at this little child, knelt down to her level, and said, “Tell me, Katie. What do the scriptures say?”

“They say, ‘Trust Jesus.’” And then she was gone.

Sister Lewis said that as she stood back up, holding a fistful of her four-year-old’s scribbling, she felt near-tangible arms of peace encircle her weary soul and a divine stillness calm her troubled heart.

Katie Lewis, “angel and minister of grace,” I’m with you. In a world of some discouragement, sorrow, and overmuch sin, in times when fear and despair seem to prevail, when humanity is feverish with no worldly physicians in sight, I too say, “Trust Jesus.” Let him still the tempest and ride upon the storm. Believe that he can lift mankind from its bed of affliction, in time and in eternity.

Oh, dearly, dearly has he loved!

And we must love him too,

And trust in his redeeming blood,

And try his works to do.

Believing

I still struggle to believe in myself.  I believe that is a challenge the Lord gave me to keep me humble, to build my character, to stretch my spiritual growth, and most of all to believe in Him.  To believe that His Son, Jesus Christ, has the power to reach me where I am, and to enable me with His Grace to do whatever He requires of me.  I believe in Him.  And that belief enables me to accept who I am with my weaknesses and limitations, and move forward, even if it is only 'pressing' forward (2 Nephi 31:20), to the mark of the high calling that is in Jesus Christ.  (Phillipians 3:14)

I am currently serving in my most challenging calling I've ever had:  Gospel Doctrine teacher for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in my home ward.  I know the Lord gave me this calling to build my confidence and my belief in myself, and being in my 18th month of teaching I am beginning to feel that confidence build.  It also continues to teach me humility, which is absolutely necessary.  You cannot be an effective teacher without humility, because without humility you do not have the Holy Ghost and without the Holy Ghost you cannot teach.  (D&C 42:14)

I spend above average time reading and preparing for my lessons and gathering in supplemental material as the inspiration comes...plus, on top of that I prepare a PowerPoint to aid in the lesson, which has been a blessing to those in our ward who cannot hear, or who have physical disabilities not allowing them to use scriptures, and also how much more effective the lessons are with lots of pictures and videos from lds.org and other visual aids.  This sacrifice of time is the challenge I face because many other things have gone to the wayside like my blogs.  I have been having little promptings here and there to begin my blogs again, but recently the promptings have been overwhelming.  Today I was in the middle of working on my lesson and a lot of inspiration was flowing into my mind and next thing I knew I was sitting here making a blog post.

I read while I ride the exercise bike.  I have been reading a Time Out For Women Classics (Vol 2) and finished Hilary Week's section of the book which inspired me in every chapter, and some chapters made me weep because I felt the love of my Heavenly Father.  In one chapter she talked about the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 by Jesus when he lived on the earth and was teaching a multitude.  He fed them with only 2 loafs of bread and 5 fishes.  He first gave thanks for what He had, and then blessed it, and everyone was filled, and then the left-overs filled baskets.  I knew where Hilary was going with this thought even before I read what she wrote, and I knew the Lord was trying to tell me the same thing.  That He can do the same with us, even if we only have 2 small loaves and 5 small fishes...He can multiple them...He can multiply us, He can multiply the gifts and talents He has given us...to be able to fulfill the works He has given us, to feed His children.  My lessons from the Old Testament this year have been on the importance of the work of the ministry & salvation and how we are all needed to do this work to help bring salvation to as many of God's children as will.  Meaning it's their choice, if they choose it.  I have felt the Lord multiply my meager offering, which was to be willing to accept the call--scared to death as I was to teach the gospel to a room full of adults---but I accepted it and somehow managed to stand up there that first Sunday that I taught without fainting--my spirit inside leaped for joy afterwards, knowing what a great gift and blessing this calling was from my Heavenly Father. 

And while there is always adversity to anything good we do, and I have had adversity in this calling (thankfully and mercifully in small part), I have had in large part the support and love of Angels in my ward who are constantly encouraging me, hugging me, thanking me, telling me they love me, and who I know without doubt appreciate the efforts I make to be there and teach them.  And this is what the Gospel is all about.  This is what the work of salvation is all about.  I am so thankful to be a part of this work, in whatever way the Lord would use me.  I truly love the scriptures and the words of our living prophet and apostles and all who love the gospel and are as deeply rooted in their faith and testimony as I am.  I often read things and wish I could hug the person who wrote it and thank them...I am so thankful for hearts in this world with which I can connect, even if I may not know them in person.  Their belief strengthens my belief, and slowly by slowly I am beginning to believe more in myself.

PS Hilary's book is entitled "Believe in What You Are Doing, Believe in Who You Are"...which is also words of a song she wrote.  I did not connect her title to my blog til after I wrote the post.  Sweet!