Loyalty

Elder Holland said that "the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty" (The First and Greatest Commandment).

Alma the Elder (not yet titled as Elder) and his people demonstrated a loyal love for the Lord. Here, read it.

Mosiah 24:15-16

15 ...they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.

To me, these verses show the external appearance of their internal prayers, remembering that Amulon had forbidden praying with the penalty of death.

To me, their internal prayers sound as such:

"Heavenly Father, these burdens are heavy and sore, both upon our bodies and our souls. But we will accept anything you inflict upon us with cheerfulness. We desire to be freed, but are content with what we have. We want you to know our desires, but more than that, desire what you want more. We will do what we can for what's right, but the blessing is yours to give, or yours to make available for our efforts.

"We will serve you throughout it all. We will be loving, understanding, submissive and humble. But no matter what comes our way, be it trial, infliction, suffering, or even death, we will be loyal to Thee, we will serve Thee, and we will love Thee forever."

This is the type of prayer that has saved me so many times in life.

Nephi said, "for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning" (1 Nephi 19:23). So I shall relate it to us.

In the prayer I suggested, instead of desiring freedom, we may desire a job, a true friend, help, improvement, talents, etc. All good things. Working for them is a worthy pursuit (under the guidance of the Spirit and counsel of our priesthood leaders, the foremost being the worthy patriarch of your home), yet, they are God's gifts, and His timing and His ways must be submitted to. Cheerfully. Like a trusting child, with trusting eyes and a trusting heart, accepting and submitting to a father saying "no."

I spoke of Alma the Elder. Brace yourself for a long quotation of verses about his son, Alma the Younger:

Alma 29
1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.

5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience.

6 Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?

7 Why should I desire that I were an angel, that I could speak unto all the ends of the earth?

8 For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.

For the practical purposes of learning from the above quotation, and about loyalty, we can take the definition of sin to be anything that separates us from God.

Alma said that he sins in his wish: "for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me."

Alma had a desire, but knew that he should not place that desire – even though it was such a great, grand and giving-to-God desire – he should not place that desire above the desires of God. And if it was the desire of God also, then great!

Alma stayed loyal to his Heavenly Father.

New Discoveries

As we read and re-read The Book of Mormon over and over, we can keep discovering new things. One of my companions said that his grandfather (or great uncle or some relative) has read The Book of Mormon ninety something times, and said that he still learns new things.

That's awesome!

Well, I had one this morning:

Mosiah 24:6
But they taught them that they should keep their record, and that they might write one to another.

I have never noticed this before! Or I forgot that I noticed it, and didn't remember. Since when did the Lamanites keep a record?!

Well... I guess since at least 145BC.

Good on them.

Eternal Perspective

I don't have a perfect eternal perspective, but this much I do know: an eternal perspective includes believing that the blessings of the future are infinitely better than whatever we go through on the way there.

Fight Like Lions

My beloved fiancé explained to me the difference between rambling and ranting.

Ranting is continuous speaking on a topic with passion.

Rambling is continuous speaking just because you can.

And so, again, I post a ranting of mine – which is also a personal goal for improvement for both my current family and my future family.

“...But they fought for their lives, and for their wives, and for their children; therefore they exerted themselves and like dragons did they fight.”
- Mosiah 20:11

Think of your family. How much love exists therein? Does everyone feel the Spirit through you? Do you feel the Spirit through them?

The organization of The Church, “namely apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers,  evangelists and so forth” (AoF 1:6) will not be needed when we make it to the Celestial Kingdom.

We won't need prophets – we will live in God's presence.

We won't need apostles, for we ourselves will be witnesses of Christ.

We won't need bishops, or, judges in Israel, for the eternal judgment would have already been laid out upon all.

We won't have the church structure forever.

The family structure, however, will last forever. And our family units can last forever!

I've heard it said somewhere that families can be the source of the greatest happiness, but also the source of our greatest sorrows.

I would like to speak of the sorrows that we can avoid. Life has enough pressures and challenges that try to pull us down, closer and closer to misery.

Here I again quote the scripture above:

“...But they fought for their lives, and for their wives, and for their children; therefore they exerted themselves and like dragons did they fight.”
- Mosiah 20:11

“They fought for their lives...”

You may be familiar with the emergency instructions given when you board planes to fly. One of them, was interesting to me. In it I found a gospel parallel.

A website explains it better than I can.

“When you fly on an airplane, the flight attendant instructs you to put your oxygen mask on first, before helping others.  Why is this an important rule for ensuring survival?  Because if you run out of oxygen, you can’t help anyone else with their oxygen mask.

“This is an important metaphor for those of you who run around taking care of everything and everyone else except yourself.

“If you don’t take care of yourself, you can experience burnout, stress, fatigue, reduced mental effectiveness, health problems, anxiety, frustration, inability to sleep, (and even death).  Are you experiencing any of these symptoms?”

- http://www.donnaschilder.com/articles/life-coaching-articles/put-your-oxygen-mask-on-first/

Spiritually, this is also true. How can I comfort someone if I am not comforted? How can I help someone with a lack of knowledge if I myself lack knowledge? How can I help someone develop their faith if I don't have faith?

On the mission, the Lord ensures that His missionaries have morning scripture study and other pursuits that prepare them well for the rigors and adventures of the day.

Our Sabbath day observance acts like a spiritual petrol station for us, in providing a most important meeting with an ordinance to renew all covenants you've made with God.

“God... created all things... spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.”

My mission president, President Lon Henderson who I love and am grateful for in my life, taught us to do the same: each night, we would prepare for the next day spiritually – planning out our goals and plans, praying for divine guidance.

We would sleep on it through the night, allowing our thoughts (which doesn't stop while we sleep) to process our plans for the next day. (And believe me when I say, that most of the time, that's all I ever thought about at night.) It allows Heavenly Father to guide our thoughts as we slept. We would wake up in the morning with fresh ideas on occasion.

We learned to be spiritual planners and preparers, walking in the footsteps of our God.

Back to my main point after tangential ranting: if I am to protect my family, I must first protect myself. That is why the first line in the verse is “They fought for their lives...”

Next, “they fought... for their wives...”

Jeffrey R Holland said, “second only to your membership in the Church, your “membership in a marriage” is the most important association you will have in time and eternity...”

I may not be married. But I can fight for my [future] wife by being the worthy, righteous, godly man I can be. I fight evil away from my life. I prepare for my future family by learning how to bring the Spirit into the home of my current family.

Satan has many methods of attacking the family unit – they range from tempting us to doubt, to fear, to be unkind, to think that the other person meant evil of us (which, even if they did, you would not make the situation better by getting bitter about it).

He tempts us to place financial struggles before our relationship struggles. He tempts us to think that work, study, sport, or other pursuits are more important than the family.

Satan can also make great headway into our families by having us believe that the teachings at church, at mutual, at Institute, etc. are sufficient enough for the salvation of a child. No way Hosea.

We are already VERY aware of rape, murder, adultery, gender "equality" (when really, it takes the equality out of the genders), the belief that marriage is foolish, or that having children is foolish... they are all products of those being deceived and led by the adversary of men's souls.

Against all the above things listed, we must fight – it is not a physical fight. No, we aren't intending to start a war. We intend to bring peace to the souls of men. We mean to fight for what's right in appropriate ways. Elder Holland used the words “courage and courtesy” when once he was instructing us to defend our faith.

Keep the commandments, and assist others in doing the same.

I usually find that Satan attacks families from both the inside and the outside.

Regarding attacks from the inside, Elder Holland (yes, we can't get enough of him) said:

“Love is a fragile thing, and some elements in life can try to break it. Much damage can be done if we are not in tender hands, caring hands. To give ourselves totally to another person, as we do in marriage, is the most trusting step we take in any human relationship. It is a real act of faith—faith all of us must be willing to exercise. If we do it right, we end up sharing everything—all our hopes, all our fears, all our dreams, all our weaknesses, and all our joys—with another person.

“No serious courtship or engagement or marriage is worth the name if we do not fully invest all that we have in it and in so doing trust ourselves totally to the one we love. You cannot succeed in love if you keep one foot out on the bank for safety’s sake. The very nature of the endeavor requires that you hold on to each other as tightly as you can and jump in the pool together. In that spirit, and in the spirit of Mormon’s plea for pure love, I want to impress upon you the vulnerability and delicacy of your partner’s future as it is placed in your hands for safekeeping—male and female, it works both ways.”

May we fight righteously, like spiritual lions to defend those things which can last for all eternity.

Laws

Man did not make it to the moon while saying "gravity does not apply to me!"

Man cannot make it to happiness while believing and saying "God's laws don't apply to me!"

Your Confirmation of Truth

When the prophets speak, when our parents speak, when our bishop, stake president, family, friends, anyone speaks, when I speak (and in our case, when I type and publish a spiritual thought), the moral obligation should not be towards me for typing, or to the prophet for preaching, or for the bishop for correcting. The moral obligation is towards God, to receive revelation that confirms truth – and everyone is entitled to confirmation of truth and the identification of falsehoods through revelation.

Brigham Young stated: “I do not wish any Latter Day Saint in this world, nor in heaven, to be satisfied with anything I do, unless the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ,—the spirit of revelation, makes them satisfied. I wish them to know for themselves and understand for themselves.”

(Brigham Young, “Sermon,” Deseret News, Oct. 31, 1855, 267)

So I hope, for every post I make, for every sermon in sacrament, for every lesson in the gospel and every talk in general conference, you are exercising your right, your opportunity and your responsibility to find truth's confirming witness for yourself.

How Do You Preach?

"...preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord, who had redeemed his people."
- Mosiah 18:20

The Guide to the Scriptures defines "Preach" as such:

"To give a message that provides a better understanding of a gospel principle or doctrine."

On my mission, there would be an emphasis on the presentation, the behaviour, the speech, and the countenance of the missionary. Such an emphasis was summed up with this coined saying: "the messenger is the message."

It is a spirit of, "how you speak, how you behave, and how you look, gives a message of who you are.

An extreme case can illustrate this principle.

How would we all feel if a prophet stood at the pulpit in General Conference, dressed in board shorts and a singlet, rapping and dancing to us?

As borderline inappropriate as a hypothetical consideration it may be, all people can vary in the integrity of appearance, conversation and behaviour towards their devotion to God.

Thus, in this scripture, I would like to focus on speech.

Now, the scripture says "preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord..."

Why only faith and repentance?

Well, consider disobeying this rule, and preaching otherwise.

What is otherwise?

If otherwise from faith and repentance, then it is not faith, or not repentance.

To preach things not of faithfulness, but to preach not faith, or against faith, is to preach against its definition.

Faith is a belief in the true things which are unseen and not witnessed. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for.

Thus, to preach against faith is to preach in not having assurances, in not believing, in not hoping, or having the false, worldly hope that leads to disappointment in the inability to choose how life will go.

Granted, we do have times of temptation to doubt, sometimes feeling heavier than we can bear. Like in all things, God is pleased with any progression, and is patient over the time we reach for perfection.

Even the world's sciences and psychology has enough evidence to accept that faith in general has a vital role in life's success. Similarly, a faith that brings about divine results must be a faith in God, who is the source of all things divine for us.

Repentance is "A change of mind and heart that brings a fresh attitude toward God, oneself, and life in general. Repentance implies that a person turns away from evil and turns his heart and will to God, submitting to God’s commandments and desires and forsaking sin" (Guide to the Scriptures).

To not preach repentance is to, in every word, have a heart turned to God. It is a positive and faithful outlook on life, understanding how the Atonement works in one's every moment of life.

Thus, faith in Christ feeds an attitude of repentance.

In our speech, we ought to communicate a message and emotion of our belief that Christ lives, that we love Him, and that we have a testimony of God.

The Currant Bush

One of my favourite stories of spiritual lessons is of the currant bush - because I have been in need of its lesson throughout my life.

You may be familiar with the Mormon Message on it - it is a shortened version, with graphics and audio that invite the Spirit very strongly.



I love reading the full story as related to us by Elder Hugh B Brown himself.

I have copied the story down - if I had remembered this talk, I would have shared it in my talk last Sunday.

Regardless, I pray I take from it, again at this period of time in my life, the lesson that is to be learned.

Here are his original words:


You sometimes wonder whether the Lord really knows what He ought to do with you. You sometimes wonder if you know better than He does about what you ought to do and ought to become. I am wondering if I may tell you a story. It has to do with an incident in my life when God showed me that He knew best.

I was living up in Canada. I had purchased a farm. It was run-down. I went out one morning and saw a currant bush. It had grown up over six feet high. It was going all to wood. There were no blossoms and no currants. I was raised on a fruit farm in Salt Lake before we went to Canada, and I knew what ought to happen to that currant bush. So I got some pruning shears and clipped it back until there was nothing left but stumps. It was just coming daylight, and I thought I saw on top of each of these little stumps what appeared to be a tear, and I thought the currant bush was crying. I was kind of simpleminded (and I haven’t entirely gotten over it), and I looked at it and smiled and said, “What are you crying about?” You know, I thought I heard that currant bush say this:

“How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. I was almost as big as the shade tree and the fruit tree that are inside the fence, and now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me because I didn’t make what I should have made. How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.”

That’s what I thought I heard the currant bush say, and I thought it so much that I answered. I said, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and someday, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down. Thank you, Mr. Gardener.’”

Years passed, and I found myself in England. I was in command of a cavalry unit in the Canadian Army. I held the rank of field officer in the British Canadian Army. I was proud of my position. And there was an opportunity for me to become a general. I had taken all the examinations. I had the seniority. The one man between me and the office of general in the British Army became a casualty, and I received a telegram from London. It said: “Be in my office tomorrow morning at 10:00,” signed by General Turner.

I went up to London. I walked smartly into the office of the general, and I saluted him smartly, and he gave me the same kind of a salute a senior officer usually gives—a sort of “Get out of the way, worm!” He said, “Sit down, Brown.” Then he said, “I’m sorry I cannot make the appointment. You are entitled to it. You have passed all the examinations. You have the seniority. You’ve been a good officer, but I can’t make the appointment. You are to return to Canada and become a training officer and a transport officer.” That for which I had been hoping and praying for 10 years suddenly slipped out of my fingers.

Then he went into the other room to answer the telephone, and on his desk, I saw my personal history sheet. Right across the bottom of it was written, “THIS MAN IS A MORMON.” We were not very well liked in those days. When I saw that, I knew why I had not been appointed. He came back and said, “That’s all, Brown.” I saluted him again, but not quite as smartly, and went out.

I got on the train and started back to my town, 120 miles away, with a broken heart, with bitterness in my soul. And every click of the wheels on the rails seemed to say, “You are a failure.” When I got to my tent, I was so bitter that I threw my cap on the cot. I clenched my fists, and I shook them at heaven. I said, “How could you do this to me, God? I have done everything I could do to measure up. There is nothing that I could have done—that I should have done—that I haven’t done. How could you do this to me?” I was as bitter as gall.

And then I heard a voice, and I recognized the tone of this voice. It was my own voice, and the voice said, “I am the gardener here. I know what I want you to do.” The bitterness went out of my soul, and I fell on my knees by the cot to ask forgiveness for my ungratefulness and my bitterness. While kneeling there I heard a song being sung in an adjoining tent. A number of Mormon boys met regularly every Tuesday night. I usually met with them. We would sit on the floor and have Mutual. As I was kneeling there, praying for forgiveness, I heard their singing:

“But if, by a still, small voice he calls
To paths that I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine:
I’ll go where you want me to go.”
(Hymns, no. 270)

I arose from my knees a humble man. And now, almost 50 years later, I look up to Him and say, “Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me.” I see now that it was wise that I should not become a general at that time, because if I had I would have been senior officer of all western Canada, with a lifelong, handsome salary, a place to live, and a pension, but I would have raised my six daughters and two sons in army barracks. They would no doubt have married out of the Church, and I think I would not have amounted to anything. I haven’t amounted to very much as it is, but I have done better than I would have done if the Lord had let me go the way I wanted to go.

Many of you are going to have very difficult experiences: disappointment, heartbreak, bereavement, defeat. You are going to be tested and tried. I just want you to know that if you don’t get what you think you ought to get, remember, God is the gardener here. He knows what He wants you to be. Submit yourselves to His will. Be worthy of His blessings, and you will get His blessings. 

https://www.lds.org/new-era/2001/04/the-currant-bush?lang=eng

Be Thou Humble

I gave a talk today!
It was great. I feel I could've invested deeper thought into it, mostly because I kept changing the topic of my talk, as the bishopric had given me freedom to choose one, based on a general conference talk. All in all, the things I shared are a part of my soul.

I'm copying and pasting here the notes I brought into that talk.

Here are the notes:

I am at Mount Druitt Station. It is after 9pm, and I am searching for something to do while waiting for a train to take me home.

I decide to reply to the messages on my phone.

Google Maps had indicated to me that my train was on Platform 1. There I waited.

I remember – or think I remember – a train stopping on the platform behind me. And quite possibly a train stopped right in front of me. But I was too absorbed in what I was doing on my phone that I didn’t notice.

After a short time, I realized that my train should have arrived by now. I checked the time, and my heart dropped as I saw that the next train home would arrive in 28 minutes. I did indeed miss my train.

I was furious, and had no one to blame. Was it right to blame myself? I was mad.

I sat down and reflected on how ridiculous I was in not noticing the train’s arrival.

I wanted to tell someone what had happened, but I felt that I would be a burden to anyone I told.

I clenched my fists and closed my eyes with a hurt heart, upset at myself. “Why would this happen?!” I said to myself.

I decided to pray.

I sat down, and said "Heavenly Father, I'm angry."

As I told Him how I was feeling, I felt His voice in me. As this voice spoke, I felt my heart being pacified, and my angry feelings being lifted from me. I felt the anger go away, and there was peace.

Then I said in my prayer, "but, why?! Why did You let this happen? Why am I so silly?"

As I ceased talking with God, the anger returned and I was in turmoil again.

I prayed again, telling Him my feelings. Again, gradually but oh so noticeably, I felt my anger lifted, and my burden lightened such that it were on its way out.

"I just want to know why." I prayed. The progressing alleviation of anger paused at a small degree, and I noticed that as long as I held on to my "why?" question, the anger would not completely go away.

I thought about the role of faith in God for our mortal probation, and how this life is a test for whether we would stay true to what we do know of God, and of righteousness, and of truth and kindness. I needed to accept that God would not give me the reasons for this petty concern of mine. I call it petty, yet I had let it tear at my heart.

For a time, I held on to the pride wherein I wanted to know why, and that I wanted to catch that train home.

For now, I could only suspect that Heavenly Father was protecting me from a possible danger of returning home on that train, or that He wanted me to experience my weakness in this safe, controlled environment in order to learn about myself, or some other reason I could think of that didn't explain the big picture.

Yet, the big picture that I can accept is that God was testing my faith. Would I choose to accept that God knows what's best for me, that He desires to teach me?

I chose to accept what had happened. I repented of choosing, or at least hesitating to let go, of anger. I chose not to question the Lord, but put my faith in Him. I chose to be humble and happy. In that moment, I felt peaceful. I even smiled. I not only had the voice inside of me stop speaking because I had healed, but I felt the Spirit's presence inside of me instead. While I was angry, I felt the Spirit beside me, and beside my heart, unable to enter because I had chosen to remain angry and prideful. The Spirit had gradually healed me so that He could enter, and I had to pray and let Him heal me.

I had to be humble.

_________

End of journal entry.

How noticeable the Spirit’s work was.

He could only work on healing me as I humbled myself.

PMG: “Humility is willingness to submit to the will of the Lord...”

General Conference Talk: "Be Thou Humble"
Brother Steven E Snow.

Brother Snow’s mother: “Son, a little bit of humility right now would go a long way.”

My mother does likewise.

“...pride can dissolve family relationships, break up marriages, and destroy families. It is especially important to remember humility when you feel contention rising in your home. Think of all the heartache you can avoid by humbling yourself to say, “I’m sorry”; “ that was inconsiderate of me”; What would you like to do?”; “I just wasn’t thinking”; or “ I’m very proud of you.” If these phrases were humbly used, there would be less contention and more peace in our homes.”

Leave Brother Snow to teach better than I.

Hymn #130 Be Thou Humble.

Four areas where we can apply humility:
Weaknesses.
Pleadings.
Callings.
Longings.

1. Be thou humble in thy weakness, and the Lord thy God shall lead thee, shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers.

Ether 12:27 “And 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.”

My experience at the train station.

Repentance feels so good!

2. Be thou humble in thy pleading, and the Lord thy God shall bless thee, shall bless thee with a sweet and calm assurance that he cares.

A. Studying and searching for answers.
B. Praying and pleading with all my heart for answers.

I have always found answers.

3. Be thou humble in thy calling, and the Lord thy God shall teach thee to serve his children gladly with a pure and gentle love.

I think of my mission.
To love and serve people - humble.
Wasn’t on my mission to change people - prideful.

When humble:
People I meet!
People who have cried.
Saved from suicidal thoughts.
Seeing the change of countenance in people.

4. Be thou humble in thy longing, and the Lord thy God shall take thee, shall take thee home at last to ever dwell with him above.

My mother’s favourite hymn is “O My Father.”
Longing to return to Heaven.

Humility: accepting God’s timing, and ravishing in the opportunities on earth.

Not meant to remove our feelings of longing - they pull us to Heaven.
Not meant to let it drive us to impatience either.

“Come Ye Children of the Lord”
O how joyful it will be when our Saviour we shall see.

Testimony.

The Importance of Receiving a Personal Testimony

"...it is important for each of us to have a personal testimony that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, who leads his Church today through the prophet he has chosen.

"Our testimony comes by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. The testimony received and carried within us enables us to hold a steady course in times of prosperity and to overcome doubt and fear in times of adversity. Each of us needs to know what a testimony is, how we can get it, and what our responsibilities are once we have received a testimony.

"A testimony is the spirit of prophecy (see Rev. 19:10). It is a personal revelation from God, revealing the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A testimony comes through the Holy Ghost; it makes a deep and lasting impression on the soul.

"Individual testimonies are the foundation and strength of the Church. Our testimony provides a guiding light that leads to a commitment which directs our conduct and our way of life. Our testimony is true north on a spiritual compass. It is a moving force that cannot be seen but can truly be felt. It is a burning within that tells us what is right. It is when “your heart tells you things your mind doesn’t know” (Harold B. Lee, “Be Loyal to the Royal within You,” in Speeches of the Year: BYU Devotional and Ten-Stake Fireside Addresses 1973, Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1973, p. 101).

"Our testimony is the fruit of obedience in the form of peace, joy, and understanding in our hearts of gospel principles. A testimony is a shield of faith “wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (D&C 27:17).

"Our testimony is a measurement of our faith. Faith is testimony; testimony is faith. Having a strong testimony allows us to help others in their search for truth. Our testimony is a gift from God. It should be shared, but we do not have the authority to bestow a testimony upon someone else, because a personal testimony is granted by the Holy Ghost. It can aid others in gaining knowledge for themselves—a knowledge abiding in the heart that leaves no room for doubt.

"Our testimony is a knowledge of who we are—a child of God, where we came from—the presence of our Heavenly Father, and where we are going eternally if we are faithful—back into the presence of our Heavenly Father. We must each gain such a testimony if we are to withstand the trials and adversities of mortality and go on to the glorious eternal future we all desire.

"Today we rejoice in sustaining a new President of the Church. President Hunter declared:

“My greatest strength through these past hours and recent days has been my abiding testimony that this is the work of God and not men, that Jesus Christ is the authorized and living head of this church and He leads it in word and deed” (Ensign, July 1994, p. 4)."

Robert D Hales, "The Importance of Receiving a Personal Testimony," October 1994 General Conference.

A Formula for Staying Active in the Church

"Always be active in the Church. I will give you a formula which will guarantee to a large extent your success in fulfilling that commitment. It is simple. It consists of just three words: Pay your tithing. Every bishop could tell you from his personal experience that when the members of the Church pay tithing, honestly, faithfully, they have little difficulty keeping the other commandments of God. I call it a benchmark commandment."

- President Thomas S Monson, "Life's Greatest Decisions," BYU Speech 2003

Decisions

"There are all sorts of people who are willing to alibi or to make excuse for a failure. During World War II, a vital decision was made by one of the great leaders of the Allied military, Viscount Slim from Great Britain. He made this statement after a defeat occurred in a battle for Khartoum in 1940 against the Italians: “I could find plenty of excuses for failure, but only one reason—myself. When two courses of action were open to me I had not chosen, as a good commander should, the bolder. I had taken counsel of my fears” (William Slim, Unofficial History (1959), 148)."

- President Thomas S Monson, "Life's Greatest Decisions," BYU Speech, 2003.

Puzzles

I completed a puzzle set with my family not long ago.

On the box is a picture of the complete image we were to aim for.

Inside are the many pieces we want to join together to produce the image on the box.

Learning the gospel at church, in scripture reading, in general conference, etc. is like analysing and observing the picture on the lid of a puzzle box.

Living the gospel, exercising faith, repenting, making, keeping and renewing sacred covenants, enjoying the companionship of and following the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end is the piecing together the puzzle pieces of Christ into our souls.

The big picture on the box is the Plan of Salvation. It is the character of Christ. It is the eternal family. It is exaltation.

The process of piecing the puzzle pieces together in our souls will take longer than the duration of this mortal life. It is the puzzle we are working on, and we can assist others in piecing it together also.

All this being said, Heavenly Father is happy with our work on progressing, rather than our immediate perfection. He is happy seeing us working on the puzzle rather than ignoring it.

Christ is with us working on the puzzle as we work on it. As we are ignoring or away from the puzzle, He follows us, watchful, inviting, waiting. He provided the puzzle pieces through the Atonement. The Father painted the picture. While we are away, He places a few pieces together that teach us the consequences of not turning to Him. We learn lessons the hard way.

Even if, for such a long time, we just cannot seem to be matching any pieces together, it is okay. In that time period, we are learning what doesn't fit, we are learning patience, and we are still learning what puzzle pieces exist. One day, like a lightbulb moment, we will realize, "Hey! These pieces actually fit together!"

What a great moment it is, when the final puzzle piece is put in place. It will be marvelous, mostly because of the sweat, the tears, the struggles, the joys, the lessons, the relationships, the fun we experience along the way. And we find that God was with us, helping us finish the puzzle piece all along.

Teaching and Learning

“Brigham Young’s instruction to the BYU faculty was that they “ought not to teach even the alphabet or the multiplication tables without the Spirit of God” (in Reinhard Maeser, Karl G. Maeser: A Biography [Provo: Brigham Young University, 1928], 79). I would state a corollary to that: As students, you should not learn even the multiplication tables without the Holy Ghost. It does little good for someone to teach with the Holy Ghost if you aren’t ready to receive with the Holy Ghost.”

John W Welch, "And with All Thy Mind," BYU Speech.

Turn to the Lord

Mosiah 7:33
“But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.”

It is this scripture, in its teachings, that has given me comfort quite a few times in life.

It is this scripture, applied in my life, that has contributed to, and initiated saving me.

To “turn to the Lord” – am I currently turning away from Him?

Sometimes I've had to distinguish between two different orientations of my soul:

• Times when I am really trying to please Him, but I don't feel like I'm where He wants me to be.

• Times when I have forgotten Him. I have forgotten to pray in and through all things. I have forgotten to “always remember Him” (D&C 20:77,79).

The first one is one He is happy with. We may be likened unto a ship that is trying to turn in the right direction. It takes a ship more than a few seconds to get in the right direction. However, the ship can make an effort to "turn" in the right direction. This is why the scripture above says "turn." He understands that there are times when we are turning back to Him.

Notice that the blessings start coming as we are turning.

“...full purpose of heart...”

Will I have my heart given to God?

I have learned that unworthiness is not a reason to run away from God out of shame or thinking He doesn't want to hear from us.

He wants our hearts in whatever state He is in.

Psalms 51:10 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God...” if we think we have to be clean and perfect in heart before turning to God, how can we fulfill this scripture?

We turn to Him SO THAT we can be cleaned by Him. We can hardly clean ourselves of our sins and their eternal consequences.

The Atonement is not just for sinners. It is for those who are still improving. The ultimate goal is to become like Heavenly Father, so even after receiving a forgiveness of sins, we have a lot of work to do. He has a lot of work to do in and with us. He loves us. His Atonement turns us from “bad to good to better” (Elder Bednar).

So, give all of my heart. Not part of it. No matter where I am in life. Give it to God, first through prayer, then through goal setting and planning, then through acting on those plans, and no matter whether the goals are achieved – they are good goals, and we grow through them. Give my heart to God by not giving up.

If I don't feel like keeping a commandment, or if I don't want to keep a commandment, start wanting to keep a commandment. If I can't do that, then start wanting to want to keep a commandment. If that's hard, then take it to the next level, and want to want to want to keep a commandment.

Joking aside, think about that level of want you have, every day. Let it consume your thoughts. It will grow as you feed it attention. Then you feed it some emotion. Then you feed it some attempts to try to keep the commandment. Then you start receiving blessings for receiving it, and that REALLY feeds your desire for obedience. Before you know it, you'll have learned to keep that commandment.

“Put your trust in Him”

How much do you really believe that God is all powerful? He is so unfathomably smart. But just as He knows so much, and is able to do so much, it is all bridled by His love for us. How much do you really believe He loves you, and wants and knows what's best for you?

He sacrificed His Only Begotten Son, who had spiritually bent over backwards and more only so that He could fulfil the Father's Plan, that we might have eternal life, families and happiness as a choice.

I could go on and on about this scripture, like many other scriptures. I will stop myself by jumping to the promise:

“...if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage.”

Such As is Common to Man

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
- 1st Corinthians 10:13

Most definitely I am not the first one to go through my struggles.

I would also not be the last.

Here I share some answers to questions of my soul that have helped me.

Don't consider them as complete doctrine. They are mostly based on my experiences, and in my learning of true doctrine.

• "I'm feeling negative. What should I do?"

Firstly, identify why. A great help in identification is getting on my knees in prayer, and reading the scriptures.

Secondly, categorize it. Is it because of a weakness or a transgression? Sometimes it is a mixture of both. Either one requires faith in God's plan, and a commitment to push forward.

That commitment, I have experienced, is what heals, a lot of the time. From the moment of commitment to the completion of the personal-agency goal.

Be sorrowful for sin, be patient in understanding that God gives us weaknesses, and move forward in life. Regardless of my current struggles, God is there for me, and has a bright and glorious future in store!

• “Why do I keep on doubting?”

I attribute this to lacking an eternal perspective, due to lacking the Holy Ghost's companionship.

What have you done, Aaron, that needs repenting? What did you do to drive away the Spirit? How will you restitute? How will you avoid the same mistakes? Get to work on it NOW.

• Why don't I have the reassuring Spirit I can feel always?

Aaron, would it be a test if you always knew, with a surety above that of the highest star?

The test is, how will you react and act in times, periods and temptations of uncertainty, doubt, struggle, fatigue, loneliness, oppression, confusion? It will be the mark of who you will be. You change it by holding on to who you want to be, and who God wants you to be.

That's not to say the Spirit won't reassure you. Ask for His assurance. It will come when it is right to come.

• "How should I deal with a lack of knowledge of how to handle my future or situation?"

These moments are wonderful! They are opportunities to grow my relationship with the Lord.

I deal with them by choosing to do all I can and should do, all the while praying for the Lord's will. He will show me that He is in control.

A Broken Heart and Contrite Spirit

Michelle Guerra shared:

Our teacher drew a line on the chalkboard, labeling one end, “Being too hard on ourselves” and the other end, “Eat, drink, and be merry.” We talked about avoiding either extreme. I wondered what words would be in the center of the line, and the Spirit guided my thoughts to the phrase “a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” It seemed to me that the solution to a tendency to be too hard on oneself might be described as a contrite spirit—one that is repentant, accepting of the Lord’s help, and grateful for His mercy. The remedy for being at ease in Zion might be called a broken heart—one that is justly motivated to change and to heal.

(March 2012, Moving On and Moving Forward)