Own verses Thy

"Our own desires, rather than a feeling of “Thy will be done,” create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God." This is exactly what I needed to hear tonight! Seriously, you need to review the whole talk!

Sower

I have been thinking about someone I know who doesn't know what they believe anymore.  Specifically their religious beliefs.  I ran across these verses today in my study that I thought they directly applied to their situation and really to all of us. Mark 4...

14 ¶The sower soweth the word.

15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, ^aSatan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately ^areceive it with gladness;

17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when ^aaffliction or ^bpersecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.

18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,

19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of ^ariches, and the ^blusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

 

There are even more verses that I loved in that chapter that are applicable.  We can all hear the word of God regardless of what religion we are, but how the word will be sown within us determines the outcome.  I am very into gardening and know very well that if I want something to grow I have to plant it in the right place and pay attention to other influences.  I can only hope that when I read the scriptures or messages from the Prophets that I will bring forth fruit and not loose the word.

 

 

General Conference Update

General Conference is my favorite holiday of the year and I will say it again over and over.  It went by way to fast this time, I could not believe it!  My top three speakers currently are Elder Eyring, Uchtdorf, and Holland.  I think my favorite speaker over and over again is Elder Eyring.  My favorite talk was Elder Christofferson's from the Priesthood Session.

Here is a link to summaries from the Conference http://www.lds.org/church/news/follow-october-2012-general-conference-on-news-and-events?lang=eng

If you want to watch or listen to the full talks you can do that here.

Action

Years ago while serving a mission I can remember the subject coming up several times.  This subject was people believing they were saved by grace alone and not works also.  I remember one house in particular when we were teaching the wife of a preacher.  She asked so many questions and didn't understand why faith with works was necessary.  I didn't have an answer for her and my companion wasn't explaining well enough for her to understand either.  I went home that night with a desire to study and find this out for myself.

Fast forward to me being home from my mission.  I still had not figured this subject out.  One day I opened up the Ensign and read the article Words of the Early Apostles: Grace and found my answer, or at least an answer that appeased myself.  Who knows if the article would have help this woman.

I forgot that I read this article until this past weekend when I was volunteering in the MTC.  That day I played the role of an investigator and decided to be Baptist (since my grandma had converted from that).  My major issue was that I believed that I was saved by grace alone and just had to accept the Savior.  I didn't believe works were part of the deal.  The sister missionaries struggled with trying to explain it to me, two of the three didn't have an answer, but one tried vigilantly to explain.  I felt her desire to help me understand and then I remembered my experience on my mission.  That renewed a desire in me to find this article and study up on the subject.  By the way, I still think those Sister's really think I am Baptist;-)

I love these quotes from the article:

Some years ago, President David O. McKay (1873–1970) related a story which illustrates the relationship between works and grace. He told of a group of boys who were learning to swim when one fell into a treacherous hole in the stream. The boy would have drowned but for a quick-thinking companion who extended a branch to him and helped pull him to shore.

“There are those who claim that no one will sink and be lost if he will look to Jesus on the shore and say, ‘I believe.’ There are others who declare that every one must by his own efforts swim to the shore or be lost forever. The real truth is that both of these extreme views are incorrect. Christ redeemed all men from death which was brought upon them through no act of theirs, but He will not save men from their personal transgressions who will put forth no effort themselves, any more than the young rescuer on the river bank could have saved the drowning lad if the latter had not seized the means provided him. Neither can man save himself without accepting the means provided by Christ for man’s salvation.”

The fact that our faith must be accompanied by works is illustrated by a story from the Old Testament, the account of the battle between Israel and the people of Amalek. When confronted with Amalek’s army, Moses instructed Joshua to “choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek” (Ex. 17:9). Moses stood on a hill and held the rod of God aloft. As Moses maintained this position with his arms and his staff, Israel prevailed in battle. When he tired and dropped his hands, the tide changed against Israel. In order to assist him, as he sat on a stone, Aaron and Hur on either side held up his arms (see Ex. 17:8–16).

This passage of scripture is an excellent example of how the Lord expresses His power in grace when we express our faith. God could have defeated the Amalekites without the army of Israel if He so desired, but He required Israel to exercise faith in Him and His prophet and to do all that they could before He would intervene for them.

It all came together for me while I was sitting in the temple this week too.  I realized that without preforming (action) ordinances in the temple we are not fulfilling the mission of the church and therefore cannot be saved.  The covenants we make with our Father in Heaven are very spiritual, but they are also physical!

To read the full text see the link below.
http://www.lds.org/ensign/2003/10/words-of-the-early-apostles-grace?lang=eng&query="faith+without+works"