I love Sister Patricia Holland, wife of Elder Jeffery R. Holland. I've never met her. But I have heard her speak at Women's Conference and read many of her talks and also the book, "On Earth as it is in Heaven" written by her and Elder Holland. She touches my heart deeply and I feel a kindred spirit towards her.
I've read the previously mentioned book several times. It's a treasure trove of spiritual treasures. Tonight I opened it to resume reading where I left off a few months ago, but somehow I opened to this part instead, and it was perfect for this blog and the Law of Attraction perspective. It's in Chapter 4 "The Fruits of Peace" where she is talking about learning to love and forgive others. One profound thought starts with a quote from President Spencer W. Kimball:
"As we try to overlook whatever others have done to us, we will begin to let go of all that has been hard to forgive in ourselves. We will feel peace and wholeness, and we will remember that the Lord suffered for our sins so we could experience at-one-ment with him, with our neighbors, and, very importantly, within ourselves." (Faith Precedes the Miracle pg. 190-96)
Patricia says that even though we may not always see it, God surrounds us with other people whose weaknesses are like our own. "A good relationship is not one in which perfection reigns; rather, it is one in which a healthy perspective simply overlooks the faults of others."
She recommends a practice. "For one day, make a note each time you critically evaluate someone. This doesn't have to be a spoken criticism....it is important to note each time you pass even unspoken judgment. ...then the next day, see if you can go the entire day without being critical or petty toward anyone."
Then this is the part that is most relevant to BIY and LOA: "Remember that whatever you toss out mentally or verbally comes back to you according to God's plan of compensation: 'For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.' (Matthew 7:2) A critical, petty, or vicious remark is simply an attack on our own self-worth. On the other hand, if our minds are constantly seeing good in others, that, too, will return, and we will truly feel good about ourselves."
Sending out love can be very hard at times. Especially to all people, as God has commanded us, to love everyone. But Patricia says, "I bear this witness: There is in this world much that can be accomplished only with the help of God. If He tells us to love, He will give us the power to do so."
And that love will come back to us enabling us to love ourselves and others even more.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Law is The Way
This whole blog started with the inspiration that culminated for me from my own studies of the gospel of Jesus Christ into this "Law of Attraction" from the book, "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne.
I love looking up the meaning of a word when I want to understand something. I thought it was important to focus on the word "law" as part of this series, because it is a very important word. Without laws our world would be chaos. I thought it was cool in the dictionary when it said, "any written or positive rule or collection of rules prescribed under the authority of the state or nation." Yes, we need positive rules to govern our lives. The Law of Attraction is definitely a set of positive rules!
The dictionary also said that a law is "the controlling influence of such rules"....with the law of attraction it is sending out positive thoughts and feelings in order to attract them back to you. (whereas the opposite also applies that we attract negative back to us if that is what we are sending out.)
It also said a law was "a rule or principle of proper conduct sanctioned by conscience," and "a principle based on the predictable consequences of an act, condition, etc." These principles have been instilled in each of us as the light of Christ. Everyone knows good from evil and the consequences that follow our choices.
And last but not least, "a commandment or revelation from God." It even put "the law" in bold print for one definition and refers you to the law of Moses.
But the point I wanted to make, the thing that matters the most to me in contemplating any definition of "law" is that Jesus Christ is "the law"...THE law. We need Him. We need His law. Without His law there is no way. And we need a way, THE way, back home. He is the way.
"He offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law...unto none else can the ends of the law be answered." 2 Nephi 2:7
For, "there is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated---And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21
All things center in Christ. That is why the law of attraction works so well. We who choose to live the gospel work our lives to gain Christlike virtues because we want to see His image reflected in our countenances. Is that not the law of attraction? As we live those virtues: faith, patience, hope, charity, meekness, humility, long-suffering, mercy, goodness, service and so on....are we not sending out the positive which will be reflected back to us? I see it. I feel it in my life when I live it.
The Atonement helps me to hold the ground I might otherwise have lost.
The book, The Secret, implies that these things, these laws and principles have been hidden for centuries, and that people did not want to unlock or share the power that was contained within them. But all these laws and principles come from God. God would never hide them from His children. The only way they would become "hidden" is through the disobedience to His laws. But no more. God has once again sent His light to the earth.
"The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." Deuteronomy 29:29 How sweet of a scripture and promise is that??!!
God will reveal all that we need to know. He does this in great wisdom and mercy. He gives to us as we are ready and able to live His laws. His laws are joyous unto us. And, He sent us His Son to convey and to fulfill His Law.
I'm so thankful that Jesus Christ is that law. I'm so thankful he is The Way.
No suffering lies beyond His power to redeem, no sorrow that cannot be turned into joy!
I love looking up the meaning of a word when I want to understand something. I thought it was important to focus on the word "law" as part of this series, because it is a very important word. Without laws our world would be chaos. I thought it was cool in the dictionary when it said, "any written or positive rule or collection of rules prescribed under the authority of the state or nation." Yes, we need positive rules to govern our lives. The Law of Attraction is definitely a set of positive rules!
The dictionary also said that a law is "the controlling influence of such rules"....with the law of attraction it is sending out positive thoughts and feelings in order to attract them back to you. (whereas the opposite also applies that we attract negative back to us if that is what we are sending out.)
It also said a law was "a rule or principle of proper conduct sanctioned by conscience," and "a principle based on the predictable consequences of an act, condition, etc." These principles have been instilled in each of us as the light of Christ. Everyone knows good from evil and the consequences that follow our choices.
And last but not least, "a commandment or revelation from God." It even put "the law" in bold print for one definition and refers you to the law of Moses.
But the point I wanted to make, the thing that matters the most to me in contemplating any definition of "law" is that Jesus Christ is "the law"...THE law. We need Him. We need His law. Without His law there is no way. And we need a way, THE way, back home. He is the way.
"He offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law...unto none else can the ends of the law be answered." 2 Nephi 2:7
For, "there is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated---And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21
All things center in Christ. That is why the law of attraction works so well. We who choose to live the gospel work our lives to gain Christlike virtues because we want to see His image reflected in our countenances. Is that not the law of attraction? As we live those virtues: faith, patience, hope, charity, meekness, humility, long-suffering, mercy, goodness, service and so on....are we not sending out the positive which will be reflected back to us? I see it. I feel it in my life when I live it.
The Atonement helps me to hold the ground I might otherwise have lost.
The book, The Secret, implies that these things, these laws and principles have been hidden for centuries, and that people did not want to unlock or share the power that was contained within them. But all these laws and principles come from God. God would never hide them from His children. The only way they would become "hidden" is through the disobedience to His laws. But no more. God has once again sent His light to the earth.
"The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." Deuteronomy 29:29 How sweet of a scripture and promise is that??!!
God will reveal all that we need to know. He does this in great wisdom and mercy. He gives to us as we are ready and able to live His laws. His laws are joyous unto us. And, He sent us His Son to convey and to fulfill His Law.
I'm so thankful that Jesus Christ is that law. I'm so thankful he is The Way.
No suffering lies beyond His power to redeem, no sorrow that cannot be turned into joy!
There's no place to go but up!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
This Man Truly Believed in Himself and Others
In memory of Randy Pausch. A man who believed in himself, loved life, and living. He passed away July 25, 2008. I'm sure he is doing great work on the other side.
His "last lecture" advise was to:
Have fun!
Never give up!
Look for the good in others!
Youtube link if you want to watch it on a larger screen.
He wrote a book called "The Last Lecture." You can find good used copies at various places online like Alibris Books
His "last lecture" advise was to:
Have fun!
Never give up!
Look for the good in others!
Youtube link if you want to watch it on a larger screen.
He wrote a book called "The Last Lecture." You can find good used copies at various places online like Alibris Books
Sunday, January 24, 2010
True Human Triumphant!
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!
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!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Joy in the Journey
I attended the 2008 BYU Womens Conference and heard President Thomas S. Monson give this talk, "Joy in the Journey." Last night I read it from the 2008 WC book I purchased in April while at the 2009 WC. I had forgotten how amazing his talk was, and I was doubly amazed at how much it pertained to all the things the Lord has taught me this year. It's not a long talk, well worth taking some time to read it. If you are feeling overwhelmed, you can get comfort and counsel from our loving prophet.
Here are some of the things that really stood out for me. First of all he praises us for all that we do. "You are sensitive and selfless. You are nurturers; you are compassionate. You genuinely care about others, and you form strong relationships. You love and forgive. With good hearts and willing hands,you make a real difference in the lives of others."
He said each of us is living a life filled with much to do. "I plead with you not to let the important things in life pass you by, planning instead for that illusive and non-existent future day when you'll have time to do all that you want to do. Instead find joy in the journey--now."
He talked about a man who's wife had just passed away who was talking to a friend and said he had found an article of clothing she'd purchased on a trip that sat in her drawer for nine years waiting for that special occasion to wear it. Now that occasion would never come. The friend said that had a huge impact on her life. She started using crystal glasses every day and wore new clothes to the supermarket if she wanted to, she spent more time with family and friends. She said she would wake up every day and say "this could be a special day. Each day, each hour, each minute, is special."
President Monson says, "If you do something that turns out not quite as you had planned, you can almost always put it right, get over it, learn from it. But once you've missed out on something, it's gone."
"...the class you never took, the relative with whom you never became close, the friend you didn't call, the thanks you didn't express, the dress you didn't buy, the soccer game you missed." He said, "Try and keep the list as short as possible."
"Send that note...give your child a compliment and a hug; say, 'I love you' more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved...it's so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they're gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of 'what if' and 'if only.'"
He tells some good stories in this talk, and he does not leave out the fact that, "our mortal life...was never meant to be easy or consistently pleasant. Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become refined through hard challenges, heartbreaking sorrows, and difficult choices....no matter how carefully we plan our lives, we cannot avoid all the storms that come our way...Only the Master knows the depth of our trials, our pain and our suffering. He alone offers us eternal peace in times of adversity..."
He said we sisters often feel inadequate and ineffective because we can't do all that we feel we should. "Rather than continually dwelling on what still needs to be done, pause occasionally and reflect on all that you do and have done. It is most significant. The good you have done, the kind words you have spoken, the love you have shown to others, can never be fully measured."
One of my dear friends gave me a mug last year for Christmas. I got it out Saturday to drink some herbal tea for a sore throat. It's a clear mug on which she painted little flowers and a saying that says,
"Life isn't just about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself!"
Even in spite of challenges, trials, heartaches, sorrows and suffering...we can create a joyful life for our self and others in the small moments, creating special occasions everyday in every way that we can. We just need to slow down a bit, so we can actually see the scenery as it goes by!
And remember to actually do it.
Here are some of the things that really stood out for me. First of all he praises us for all that we do. "You are sensitive and selfless. You are nurturers; you are compassionate. You genuinely care about others, and you form strong relationships. You love and forgive. With good hearts and willing hands,you make a real difference in the lives of others."
He said each of us is living a life filled with much to do. "I plead with you not to let the important things in life pass you by, planning instead for that illusive and non-existent future day when you'll have time to do all that you want to do. Instead find joy in the journey--now."
He talked about a man who's wife had just passed away who was talking to a friend and said he had found an article of clothing she'd purchased on a trip that sat in her drawer for nine years waiting for that special occasion to wear it. Now that occasion would never come. The friend said that had a huge impact on her life. She started using crystal glasses every day and wore new clothes to the supermarket if she wanted to, she spent more time with family and friends. She said she would wake up every day and say "this could be a special day. Each day, each hour, each minute, is special."
President Monson says, "If you do something that turns out not quite as you had planned, you can almost always put it right, get over it, learn from it. But once you've missed out on something, it's gone."
"...the class you never took, the relative with whom you never became close, the friend you didn't call, the thanks you didn't express, the dress you didn't buy, the soccer game you missed." He said, "Try and keep the list as short as possible."
"Send that note...give your child a compliment and a hug; say, 'I love you' more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved...it's so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they're gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of 'what if' and 'if only.'"
He tells some good stories in this talk, and he does not leave out the fact that, "our mortal life...was never meant to be easy or consistently pleasant. Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become refined through hard challenges, heartbreaking sorrows, and difficult choices....no matter how carefully we plan our lives, we cannot avoid all the storms that come our way...Only the Master knows the depth of our trials, our pain and our suffering. He alone offers us eternal peace in times of adversity..."
He said we sisters often feel inadequate and ineffective because we can't do all that we feel we should. "Rather than continually dwelling on what still needs to be done, pause occasionally and reflect on all that you do and have done. It is most significant. The good you have done, the kind words you have spoken, the love you have shown to others, can never be fully measured."
One of my dear friends gave me a mug last year for Christmas. I got it out Saturday to drink some herbal tea for a sore throat. It's a clear mug on which she painted little flowers and a saying that says,
"Life isn't just about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself!"
Even in spite of challenges, trials, heartaches, sorrows and suffering...we can create a joyful life for our self and others in the small moments, creating special occasions everyday in every way that we can. We just need to slow down a bit, so we can actually see the scenery as it goes by!
And remember to actually do it.
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