Have you ever wondered what it is that God sent you to the earth to do? Why am I at this place at this time surrounded by these people? Thankfully, Heavenly Father wants us to know the answers to these questions and has taught us how to know in D&C 84:43-48.
He commands us to live by the words He speaks because they are truth; and truth is light; and light is Spirit; and the Spirit brings us to our Heavenly Father who will teach us how to serve Him, so that we may be a blessing to ourselves and to the whole world.
"Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." (2 Nephi 32:3).

The Power of the Book of Mormon

Just a quick one today for any of you looking for some added strength, comfort, peace, direction... or quick pick me up... if you just need a boost of some kind! Pray for what you need, then pick up the Book of Mormon and begin to read. Heavenly Father will answer your prayer and you will get what you need. This book was written for that purpose. The Lord said "I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words" (2 Nephi 10:14) Light dispels darkness, erases fear, and illuminates the correct path we must take. This light will strengthen, comfort, guide, and lift us up in our time of need. I feel and know that The Book of Mormon is Christ's word and reading from its pages will bring the light of Jesus Christ into our lives.

Choose...

I've had a difficult time finding something to post the past few weeks, but I just read some inspiring words from Robert D. Hales in his book "Return". The rest of this post is from pages 37-38 in his book:
Choose to accept---truly accept---that you are a child of God, that He loves you, and that He has the power to help you.
Choose to put everything---literally everything---on the altar before Him. Believing that you are His child, decide that your life belongs to Him and that you will use your agency to do His will. You may do this multiple times in your life, but never, never give up.
Choose to put yourself in a position to have experiences with the Spirit of God through prayer, in scripture study, at Church meetings, in your home, and through wholesome interactions with others. When you feel the influence of the Spirit, you are beginning to be cleansed and strengthened. The light is being turned on, and where that light shines, the darkeness of evil cannot be.
Choose to obey and keep your covenants, beginning with your baptismal covenant. Always remember Him for His atoning sacrifice. This you do as you continually live worthy to partake of the sacrament and then do so in sacrament meeting each week.
Choose to prepare to worthily attend the temple, make and renew sacred covenants, and receive all of the saving ordinances and blessings of the gospel.
Finally, and most importantly, choose to believe in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Accept the Savior's forgiveness, and then forgive yourself. "Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more " (D&C 58:42). Because of His sacrifice for you, He has the power to "remember them no more." We must each do likewise.

New Beginnings....

Start of a new year is coming up! Many people make new year's resolutions and give up on those a few months into the year... I have done that many times!!! Every year in fact and often several times in a year! But one thing a new year brings is the hope for a new beginning, starting with a clean slate. The past year of mistakes, regrets, failures, successes, and joys is now a thing of memory... It's time to start anew. So with the beginning of the year I have one goal and I challenge each of you to set a similar goal in your own personal lives... To come to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ more personally. And here is a four step plan on how to do this:
1. Believe that They exist and that They love me (Mosiah 4:9)
2. Study the Scriptures daily (John 20:31)
3. Pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ (James 1:5)
4. Obey all His commandments as best I can (John 14:21-23).
The difficult thing in this is how do I measure how much I know my Heavenly Father and my Savior? There isn't a scale to measure with... But I think the Savior has given us a measuring stick in the scriptures. John the beloved wrote: "Hereby we know the we know him, if we keep his commandments....He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked" (1 John 2:3,6). Again, the question remains... How do I know how I am doing? How do I know if I am humble, kind, merciful, happy, selfless, and becoming more like my Savior? One last key: James 1:5 (also listed above! How neat!) "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." We can pray to know how we are doing and what we need to improve on. God will show us through the Holy Ghost (Moroni 10:5) how we are doing and where we can improve.
I promise that you will come to know Heavenly Father and His Son as you do those things listed above!
Have a happy and hope-filled new year!

Be Ye Kind

Ephesians 4:31-32.  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

What a concept.  Why is it that we tend to be impatient, unforgiving, and quick to judge people?

Because these things cause bitterness and more misery among the people of the earth.  This is the goal of satan "for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." (2 Nephi 2:27).  The negative attributes seem to be some of the main causes of war, hurt feelings, and damaged relationships.  They abound everywhere from the mainstream media, to politics, to our neighbors, and sadly, sometimes to our own families.  

What can we do to squash this contention from our own lives?  The answer was already given.  Vs 32 says: "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."  It's not complicated.  It's not elaborate.  It's simple.  It's difficult, but it's clear and simple.  Don't revile back at those who revile us.  Be kind to them.  Pray for them, seek to serve them, and forgive them.  Forgiving is a difficult thing to do.  We may say we forgive them, but how do we really know when we have finally rooted bitterness from our hearts towards somebody who has wronged us?  We'll just know.  Instead of anger, malice, evil speaking, clamour, wrath, and bitterness, we will want to be kind, tenderhearted, and we'll want to forgive!  We will desire their happiness and welfare! (Mosiah 28:3)  

May we all have the humility and grace from God to recognize who we need to forgive, and begin to serve them is my hope. 

Turn yourselves...

"Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die..?  For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." Ezekial 18:31-32

Really, the whole message of this passage of scripture is found in verses 21-32, but these last two are the subject of my ponderings.  

Does this not prove that God loves all people?  So many think that God hates the sinners of the world.  He certainly doesn't like the fact that they are sinning, but that doesn't mean He hates them.  He has "no pleasure in the death of him that dieth."  He wants all saints and sinners alike to repent of our transgressions, believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, and return to Him again.  That's it.  He loves us. 

A friend pointed out to me some passages found in 2 Nephi 26 (in The Book of Mormon) which show just how merciful the Lord is.  He wants everyone.... EVERYONE!  My friend pointed out verses 24-28, but verse 30 sums up how the Lord feels... "He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile."

The Lord loves us all!  That certainly is a hopeful piece of knowledge!  We all face adversity in one form or another, whether it is brought upon us by our own actions or the actions of others.  Remember, we are children of God, we are worth so much to Him, and we can repent!  He delights in the soul that repents and turns to Him (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10-13).