Sunday, October 30, 2011

Trust and Timing, or Something I Read in the Church Program Today


This is an excerpt from a talk given in 1994 by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, who is a living apostle of God (like Paul or Peter from New Testament times):

"When we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we must have trust in him. We must trust him enough that we are content to accept his will, knowing that he knows what is best for us...

"Here we see the Savior’s absolute faith and trust in the Father. “Nevertheless,” he said, “not my will, but thine be done.” The Father’s answer was to deny the plea of his Only Begotten Son. The Atonement had to be worked out by that lamb without blemish. But though the Son’s request was denied, his prayer was answered. The scripture records: “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him” (JST, Luke 22:43).

"Strengthened from heaven to do the will of the Father, the Savior fulfilled his mission. “And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly; and he sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (JST, Luke 22:44).

"When we try to develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ rather than merely cultivating faith as an abstract principle of power, we understand the meaning of the Savior’s words: “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me” (Moro. 7:33).

"Here the Savior reminds us that faith, no matter how strong it is, cannot produce a result contrary to the will of him whose power it is. The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. That is why we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. When we have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, we have true security in our lives. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Security is not born of inexhaustible wealth but of unquenchable faith” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982, pp. 72–73)."


To learn more about living apostles and why and how God has called prophets and apostles in modern times, go to http://mormon.org/restoration/

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Has God Forgotten Me?, or Have I Forgotten God?


"Memory is a net; one finds it full of fish when he takes it from the brook; but a dozen of miles of water have run through it without sticking."
-Olivier Wendell Holmes

When hard times come and seem to stay and stay, we sometimes ask where God is and why He hasn't kept His promises. As we look at our lives we may see unfairness or abandonment. We may feel picked on or ignored.

It is at these times that we must rely on our understanding of who God is and why we're on earth; we must rely on our faith. We build faith and we are just passing through times when it is meant to be used. These are times to not forget all that God has done and continues to do for us.  

"Memory is a net; one finds it full of fish when he takes it from the brook;
but a dozen of miles of water have run through it without sticking."

It is surprisingly easy to focus on our problems and overlook all the good that we have in our lives.  

We can be so focused on our life that seems to be "full of fish" that we ignore the "dozen[s] of miles of water that have run though" our lives without us recognizing them. We have food, water, a house or a place to live, senses, family, friends, we can communicate with God, we have chairs, plates, entertainment, commandments and guidance, health, the ability to feel emotions, an understanding of our reason of living, a hope for a joyful and perfect future, etc., etc.  

If all I had tomorrow is what I thanked God for today, what would I have tomorrow?

I know that God supports us during our trials. He does not abandon us. He supports us with "miles of water" all the while we are going through difficult things. As we choose to thank Him for everything He has given us, our faith in Him will grow and we will feel greater peace. We will see that God has not forgotten us; we have just forgotten Him.

"Memory is a net; one finds it full of fish when he takes it from the brook;
but a dozen of miles of water have run through it without sticking." 

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Weakness, or Feeling Bad About Oneself

This is an excerpt from an article written by Elder Glenn L. Pace.  


"Many Latter-day Saints know the Church is true but have unhealthy feelings about their own inadequacies, real or imagined. The scriptures inform us that we all have weaknesses and that there is a place for them in our spiritual progress: “If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27).
"Too often we wallow in our weaknesses so much that we do not allow “weak things” to “become strong.” Our condition is frequently misdiagnosed as humility, when in reality it is a lack of confidence.
"What is the difference between the two?
"To be humble is to recognize our utter dependence upon the Lord. We are conscious of our strengths, but we do not exalt ourselves and become prideful, for we know that all good things ultimately come from God. We are conscious of our weaknesses, but we know the Lord can use those very weaknesses to bless our lives and that through Him, as we learn from the book of Ether, our weaknesses can become strengths.
"To lack confidence is to have feelings of low self-worth. We are preoccupied with our weaknesses, and we lack faith in the Lord’s ability to use those weaknesses for our good. We do not understand our inestimable worth in the eyes of God, nor do we appreciate our divine potential. Ironically, both pride and a lack of self-confidence cause us to focus excessively on ourselves and to deny the power of God in our lives.
"Dr. Thomas Harris made the following wise observation on insecurity and confidence: “Most people never fulfill their human promise and potential because they remain perpetually helpless children overwhelmed by a sense of inferiority. The feeling of being okay does not imply that the person has risen above all his faults and emotional problems. It merely implies that he refuses to be paralyzed by them.” 1
"I am impressed by President Gordon B. Hinckley’s personal philosophy, which we all would do well to adopt: “I believe in myself. I do not mean to say this with egotism. But I believe in my capacity and in your capacity to do good, to make some contribution to the society of which we are a part, [and] to grow and develop. … I believe in the principle that I can make a difference in this world, be it ever so small.”

Monday, October 10, 2011

What is General Conference All About?, or What Is God Saying To The World Today?


General Conference is a series of meetings held each April and October. God's living prophets and apostles teach us what God wants us to know and how we can live to find peace and satisfaction (just like Isaiah, Moses, Paul did - they were chosen by God to teach the world about Him, and so they did). God didn't just speak during Bible times. He speaks now! As you apply what the prophets teach, your relationship with God will improve. You will see your life begin to fill with even more happiness than you currently have. You will find direction in a world that is losing its moral footings. You will know what God is saying right now about our world, culture, and our situations, etc. You will feel the Holy Ghost as you listen to the words of these apostles, for I know that they are actual prophets of God.

To learn more about modern prophets and apostles, go to http://mormon.org/restoration/

or to learn more about the specific apostles in this video, go to http://lds.org/church/leader/thomas-s-monson?lang=eng

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Do I Love Behavior?, or Do I Love People?

First off, Heavenly Father is not concerned with us "paying Him back." In the Book of Mormon, a prophet named Benjamin taught his people, "...if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole souls has power to possess, to that God who has created you...[and] if ye should serve Him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants" (Mosiah 2:20-21). The expectation to "pay back" what God has done for us is not part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even if I served every minute of every day as perfectly faithfully as possible, I could/would never repay Him, and He's not expecting me to "repay" Him. 

Yet, we are "[His] work and [His] glory" (Moses 1:39). Our worth is in who we are, not in what we do. We are children of God. He is not just focused on our behavior; He is focused on us. Us, actual members of His family. Knowing this truth frees us from focusing solely on behavioral things and allows us to focus on our actual relationship with Him. And as we come closer to Him, we will want to do all He asks. Certainly, because He wants us to be happy, He has given us special blessings called commandments. These provide knowledge about truths that if followed result in certain opportunities and benefits. God knows that if we ground our behavior in these truths we will be happy. But His perfect love for us is unaffected by our choices to fully accept His help or not. 

Interestingly, our love for Him deepens when we focus on Him and not on His behavior. Is our love for God conditional and based upon what we assume He is doing? Do we turn from Him when He does things differently than we would like? If so, it is so important to remember that, unlike us, His actions are always for our good. So, we can remember that He is always ultimately focused on our eternal happiness and joy. He wants us to become, which requires us to learn, which requires that we pass through hard times.

I don't think it can be stressed enough that in order to have true faith in God, one must come to know Him and of His perfect and constant attributes. Knowing that God is working for "the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39), or for our long term happiness, is crucial knowledge during times of confusion, frustration, or depression. He never, ever, ever, ever forgets us; we're the only ones who do any of the forgetting.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Giving Up What I "Want", or What I Learned During A Work Meeting Today

Following Christ is being willing to give up what we currently may want to do, say, think, believe, or be for what He has taught us. This is often very hard. However, we do not need to be discouraged that this giving up of our wills does not happen all at once. It is a process to learn that what we really want is to give all of ourselves to God. It is one reason we came to earth. Instead of feeling overwhelmed with how far we need to go or feeling doubtful that we can ever really have a true change of heart, we can feel peace in knowing that 1) He will help us change day by day as we listen to the Holy Spirit, and 2) what He is offering us is more rich and satisfying than anything we could come up with on our own. He is offering us truth and real joy and relationships. He is offering us everything He has.

Monday, October 3, 2011

A Letter From Mark, or A Missionary's Thoughts


This is a section of a letter Mark wrote to us. He is currently serving a mission in France, in a city close to the German border. 

"It was after this rendezvous while walking to the church that I had a large realization. I had already written my President's email describing what had happened with Françoise and was thinking about why missions are so hard. (There was a bus greve last Monday so we had lots of walking to do between Brigitte's and the church). Why? Why do we have to go through all these literal heartbreaks? We open ourselves up to these people and present our heart to them, as it were, and love them so much, and then these things happen that mess us up. Elder Coburn had mentioned a bit of what he had put in his email to his family about this and it concerned the Savior. 

"So I started thinking about the Savior and His mission the earth. I started thinking of him as a man, divine though He was, a man in the sense that he has emotions and feelings that we all have. I thought about that and the reasons why I'm here on a mission. I have always thought that I knew exactly why I was here, to spread the Gospel, share what I have. But as I was thinking about Jesus Christ in this way, I realized that He was giving literally His whole life to the people He lived among. He gave them his whole heart. During His time on earth, He experienced the exact same things we do, or rather, we experience, as missionaries, the same things He did. We have investigators who don't understand our message (the woman at the well) we have investigators who have so much potential, but they don't go all the way (the rich young man), we have flatout rejection. I'm sure Jesus was hoping for these people with more hope than I could ever muster. He knew them better than I ever could know somebody. He understood their value perfectly, and yet they rejected Him too. They had the Son of God with them, and in the end, many many rejected him completely. 

"So, here is what I came up with after thinking of all this. As a representative of Jesus Christ here in Nancy, doing (or trying, anyway) to do the same things Jesus Christ would do if He were here in Nancy, should I not expect some rejection, some heartbreak, some disappointment? In being His representative, in wearing His name everywhere I go for people to  see, should I not expect to go through a small, tiny fraction of what He experienced and felt? And in living these hard things, do I not understand Christ a little bit better? I feel as if the gap between myself and Christ has gotten smaller this week. That is not to say that I understand in any way what Christ lived, but I understand just that little bit more."