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.