He WILL strengthen you!

It seems like February has been a really hard month, not just for me, but for most of the people around me. I have known a few people that have passed away in the last week, but I have also had some very hard struggles. Maybe we all have the winter time blues and the weather is getting to us. Spring is just around the corner and that got me thinking about renewal, hope, and the Atonement.

I just watched a very touching video that can sum up all unhappiness or trials that we go through.
To expand on the scripture that was shared at the end of the video..."He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death." -Mosiah 16:9

It gives me such hope to know that we can always turn to Him in our times of need. I remember sitting in a fast and testimony meeting years ago and the guy said, "There is one prayer that is always answered...the prayer to be strengthened." At first I didn't know if I believed that, but it has stuck with me and I have studied up on that statement over the years and can testify to you it is true. The Lord may not take away the hard things in our life, but He will always strengthen us if we ask.

Good and Evil

A few months ago a friend of mine posted something on her blog that really got me thinking. It talked about how people were generally good and not bad. She had quite the conversation with one of her friends about this and I have been thinking about this ever since.

Today I read a chapter in the book, "Teach Ye Diligently" and my thoughts were once again turned to good & evil plus trusting others. The chapter was titled "We are children of God." It covered points I have been thinking about for years!

He talked about the belief that other churches "aver that man is, by his very nature, inclined to be bad." I do not believe this and in fact Elder Packer said it was "false doctrine." He also said "If we are of His family, we have inherited the tendency to be good, not evil...The word God with one letter added, can be changed very quickly to good. The word devil, with one letter deleted, becomes evil."

Later in the chapter he also says, "If someone is not worthy of trust, it is his responsibility to show it-not mine to find out."

I cannot tell you how true these statements ring to me. I think people are good and don't have predispositions to be bad or evil even if they have sinned in the past. Trust is such and important characteristic in people and I believe that everyone should be trusted regardless. When someone tells you that you cannot do something in life, doesn't it make you want to try harder or prove them wrong? So I am glad I am surrounded by good, trustworthy people!

Cunning Plan

There is a talk from conference that I have wanted to blog about for months and thought I had, but I just checked and nope! So I am going to share my favorite parts about it. It is called "That cunning plan of the evil one" by Elder Ballard. I love how he compares temptation, sin, or the tactics of Satan to Fly Fishing.

"Like the fly fisherman who knows that trout are driven by hunger, Lucifer knows our “hunger,” or weaknesses, and tempts us with counterfeit lures which, if taken, can cause us to be yanked from the stream of life into his unmerciful influence. And unlike a fly fisherman who catches and releases the fish unharmed back into the water, Lucifer will not voluntarily let go. His goal is to make his victims as miserable as he is."

And the best part of the talk...

"If anyone who is addicted has a desire to overcome, then there is a way to spiritual freedom—a way to escape from bondage—a way that is proven. It begins with prayer—sincere, fervent, and constant communication with the Creator of our spirits and bodies, our Heavenly Father. It is the same principle in breaking a bad habit or repenting from sin of any kind. The formula for having our heart, our body, our mind, and our spirit transformed is found in the scriptures.

The prophet Mormon counseled us: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love … ; that ye may become the sons of God; … that we may be purified even as he is pure” (Moroni 7:48)."

Loneliness

I think everyone goes through times of loneliness. I am not just talking about if you are not married, but times when you may be surrounded by people and still feel lonely. Maybe you feel like you lack friends, family who cares, or it could be a significant other. I enjoyed reading a talk by Elder Faust from a few years ago titled "Welcoming Every Single One."

Some random tidbits I liked...
"We are deeply moved and sobered as we hear a common thread running through the expressions of many of our single members. For some, loneliness and discouragement are their most constant companions...
Please remember that we have all been single, are now single, or at some time may again be single; so being single in the Church is not extraordinary...
What can we do as individuals to reach out to singles? One way is to make an effort to be more inclusive. When we see someone sitting by him or herself in a Church meeting, we can either go and sit with him or her or invite him or her to sit with us. We can all offer the hand of friendship."

I couldn't help but think of the person who is a perfect friend or there for us always, Our Savior. To quote Him...

"4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost."

Wouldn't it be great if we always had someone there REJOICING about everything in our lives? That was there in all of our times of loneliness....Oh wait, we do!

All is well!

Last night I had the opportunity to go to a Relief Society Fireside. The speaker was a return missionary who had served with her husband in Africa for 5 years. It definitely made me appreciate my life more.

My favorite quote shared..."Every single good idea you have while living righteously is from the Lord." Elder Scott

I also like that whenever an African Sister was having a hard time she would sing to herself, "All is well, all is well." Really my life is not as bad as someone in poverty and living amongst war all the time. Really all is well in my life!!! I am blessed.

Look verses See

I noticed something I have never noticed before. First off has your Mom ever asked you to go grab something for her and when you get to were it is supposed to be you can't find it? You end up yelling back and forth, "Where is it, I can't see it? She says its next to the ..." Usually she ends up coming and finding it herself when it was right in front of your face the whole time!!!

That is exactly the principle I thought about when I read in 1 Nephi 11. An angel tells Nephi to LOOK several times and although he is looking he is not seeing. For example in verse 12 the angel tells him to look and Nephi looks towards the angel, when the angel had wanted him to see the Tree of Life or the Son of God. You should go look yourself in this chapter at how many times he is told to LOOK, particularly in verses 8-32. What does he see or where is Nephi looking? What should we be seeing?

In everyone of those "Look" verses everything is pointing to Christ!!! We, the angel, worldly things, etc... should not be the focus. We should not look to these things but should see Christ in all things. Cross reference that to John 16:13-14 were we are told we should not speak of yourself but glorify the Savior! When I think of my role as a teacher or friend, am I the focus or am I making myself disappear and glorifying HIM?

No Secrets

I have been reading about Secret Combinations in the scriptures recently and that reminded me of a quote I heard in an institute class last summer by Elder Faust. Paraphrasing he said that there are no secrets...in the last days all of our sins and secrets will be revealed when we are judged (I have the exact source, but it's in a binder put away).

I thought of this when I read this verse...
"Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved (Ether 8:26)." The Lord wants evil things written about in the scriptures so we know of those things, so we can learn from them, and so we won't do them.

Another point I thought of is we need to read the scriptures daily to have power to overcome sin or evil, to be persuaded to do good, then we can be righteous. Sometimes there are times when we don't feel like praying or reading the scriptures, but have you ever noticed in those times we are sinning or trying to keep secrets from the Lord (or someone else)?

So the principle here is there are no secrets and read your scriptures daily to overcome!

Teaching the Gospel

Everyday I read something about teaching, specifically gospel oriented teaching. I am always trying to figure out how to be a better teacher and also separate my personal study and teaching study. It is quite the undertaking to always think about this, sometimes overwhelming. I listened to Elder Mcconkie's talk from conference today entitled "Gospel Learning and Teaching" which helped immensely.

He shared four basic principles of gospel teaching that I would like to share.

"First, immerse yourself in the scriptures. We cannot love what we do not know. Develop a habit of daily scripture study, separate and apart from your lesson preparation. Before we can teach the gospel, we must know the gospel.

Second, apply in your life the things that you learn.

Third, seek heaven’s help. Appeal unto the Lord for His Spirit with all of the energy of your heart. The scriptures state, “If ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.” This means that even if you use all the right teaching techniques and what you are teaching is true, without the Spirit real learning is not going to take place.

Fourth, brothers and sisters, it is of utmost importance that we exercise our agency and act, without delay, in accordance with the spiritual promptings we receive."

So study the scriptures everyday, apply, pray, and act quickly on promptings. Sounds like what we should be doing anyways in life regardless of if we are a teacher. Yet, almost everyone is a teacher in the gospel...either in church, to their children, for a paid job, to friends, the list goes on. And when you get discouraged or overwhelmed like I tend too, it helps to remember that the Lord is there for you. Or his closing statement in his talk also helps...

"Dear teachers, you are one of the great miracles of this Church. You have a sacred trust. We love you and have confidence in you. I know that if we will search the scriptures and live so that we are worthy to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, the Lord will magnify us in our callings and responsibilities so that we may accomplish our errand from the Lord."