Don't Let Satan Win!!!

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  I love this book with all of my heart, and the more I read it, the more I learn how to apply it to my life.  As we study the Book of Mormon we come to find the messages in the book that were prepared just for us.  The Lord knows each of us, and as we are obedient to His commandments He promises we can have the Spirit with us. 

This week's Book of Mormon lesson comes from 2 Nephi 4.  Lehi has just died and Nephi is watching as his family is about to be torn apart because of the choices of his brothers.  He is lamenting and is sorrowful, but he is also certain that if he trusts in God, God will take care of him.  Verses 26-30 were especially touching, and they read:

26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?

 27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptation, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?

 28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.

 29 Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

 30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

Life can be rough.  We are met with all types of trials, whether from our own choices, choices of others, or things we can't control, but when we let ourselves get caught up in sorrow or sin we are letting Satan win.  It is important to feel sorrowful when we make mistakes, because that draws us to repent, but it is important to distinguish between sorrow for sin and discouragement.

We are all imperfect, and we live in an imperfect world.  Things are going to go wrong.  People are going to make mistakes.  That is all part of the plan.  We are here to learn and here to grow.  As we learn from our mistakes and repent we gain experience and we come closer to Christ.

Lesson:  Let us no longer droop in sin.  I love the mental image this provides.  Shake of the chains of Satan.  If there's something you need to change, DO IT!  Then you can rejoice in Christ.  Following Him is not the easy way, but anything worth having is worth working for.  If we are doing our best to follow Christ, repent of our sins, and keep the commandments, then we need not droop in sin.  We need not become discouraged, because the Lord will fill us with hope and our faith will increase.

I love the Book of Mormon.  I know without a doubt that this book is from God.  It was translated by the power of God by His prophet, Joseph Smith.  Don't take my word for it, read it yourself!  Have the faith to open the book and open your heart to the witness of the Holy Ghost.

Geneology

Doctrine and Covenants Section 2 is a short little revelation, but it touches on a very important topic. 

"1 Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of ^aElijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and ^bdreadful day of the Lord.

 2 And ^ahe shall plant in the hearts of the children the ^bpromises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

 3 If it were not so, the whole ^aearth would be utterly wasted at his coming."

One of the greatest blessings of the restoration of the gospel is that we are able to perform sacred ordinances for ourselves, as well as for our ancestors who have passed on.  While Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were in the Kirtland Temple the prophet Elijah restored the keys of the Priesthood that allow us to do proxy temple work for those who did not have the chance to go to the temple when they were young.

Doctrine and Covenants Section 110:

 13 After this vision had closed, another great and glorious ^avision burst upon us; for ^bElijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:

 14 Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—

 15 To ^aturn the ^bhearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—

 16 Therefore, the ^akeys of this ^bdispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful ^cday of the Lord is near, even at the doors.

Now, I am no professional at family history work, which is why I am SO very grateful for the church's website, which is an excellent resource for finding our ancesters.

familysearch.org  

I have always had an interest in doing family history work.  My dad is a convert to the church and there has not been much work done on his side of the family.  It's been a wonderful journey to search out my ancestors.  As I search them out I feel the reality of the fact that we truly are all children of God.  He loves all of us.  We are all brothers and sisters and we have a responsibility to love and help each other.  I know that as we search out our relatives we feel a closeness to them and a closeness to our Savior as we are helping our ancestors make the covenants that will allow them to return to live with God again.

Mother's Day

This is my cute family, and right in the center is my mom.  I've blogged about families before, but because mother's day is so close, I am going to focus on the importance of mothers in the gospel.

When I think about the knowledge I've gained in my life, the root of most of it comes from the simple things I was taught by my mother at a very young age.  She began teaching me very simple things and as I grew the things she taught me became more complex.  One of the things she taught me that I will never forget is that if I put my trust in the Lord and follow Him, He will always take care of me. 

My mother is a great example of trusting in the Lord.  One specific example I can remember came during a time of financial difficulty in my family.  My parents were constantly discussing the amount of bills they had compared to the income and things just weren't working out.  My mother knew though that if she paid her tithing first, the Lord would somehow make things work out.  And you know what?  He did.  He always does.  The Lord promises to bless us if we keep His commandments and I know the Lord keeps His promises.

This is just one of the many lessons my mother taught me through her example.  In the world today I don't think the role of mother is given the credit it should be.  Motherhood is an eternal calling from God.  It is one of the most precious gifts Heavenly Father gives to His daughters.  He allows them to love, raise and teach His spirit children.  That is a great trust.  The role of a mother is sacred and precious and can bring out the greatest joy we are capable of experiencing in this life.

With that joy and blessing also comes a great responsibility.  We are trusted with God's children.  The home is the place where we are able to learn about our Savior and grow in a loving environment.  Despite what the world says, the mother is primarily responsible for nurturing their children.

I love the scripture in Alma 56 about the 2000 stripling warriors.  They went to war in order to protect their families, and they went forth with faith:  

"47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the ^aliberty of their ^bfathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their ^cmothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

 48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their ^amothers, saying: We ^bdo not doubt our mothers knew it."

These warriors had such a strong testimony of the Savior that they did not fear going to war for a noble cause.  They knew the Lord would protect them.  They knew this because of their mothers.

I am so grateful for my mom.  I love her dearly.  I know that it is largely because of her that I knew what path I wanted to take for my own life.

I understand that no mother is perfect and no family situation is perfect, but I do know that happiness in the family comes when founded upon the teachings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  If we want a happier family, focus on Jesus Christ and His teachings.  It is never too late to turn to the Savior and rely on the enabling power of His Atonement.  He lives and because He lives we can live again too.

Mountains To Climb

One of the things I miss the very most while being on a mission is my Utah mountains.  I absolutely love being outside, hiking, camping, swimming, running, climbing, you name it.  I love the feeling of being completely exhausted after a long day of exploring.  I love to be outside because it gives me chances to think.

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!” -Dr. Seuss

One of the things I thought about on my most recent hiking adventure is the beauty that surrounded me and the amount of people that would never have the chance to see what I was seeing.  There are truly some amazing things to be seen on the backsides of mountains.  Things that can be captured in a photograph or on a canvas.  Things that can't adequately be described with words.  Things that have to be felt as much as seen.

This reminded me of gaining a testimony.  My testimony came step by step, one mountain trail at a time, you could say.  Was it easy?  No, generally not.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely.

The mountain seen I saw from Provo Peak (elevation: 11068) was viewed after 6 hours of hiking.  It included sunburns, sticking nettle, mosquito bites, and weed scratches.  It followed poorly-planned trails that had to be backtracked and recharted.  It followed overgrown fields of bushwhacking.  It was not easy, but I think that's what made the view at the top so much more incredible.

In life I feel like we are always climbing mountains.  These mountains can lead to some of our most treasured memories and experiences, but the journey there is what makes the view at the top worth it.  Like I mentioned earlier, often times it's things that have to be felt as much as seen.

Gaining a testimony is much the same way.  It can be difficult.  We may not know which route to take.  We might look at that mountain and think...  NO WAY!!!  But, as we take the mountain one step at a time, we find ourselves climbing.  We can look back and see the progress we make.  The top is often hidden from our view, but as we keep walking, we show our faith that the top will come. 

And when we hit the top, what a view!

As we excercise faith in Jesus Christ, repent of our sins, be baptized with the Priesthood Authority of God, and receive the Holy Ghost, we have entered into the path where we can endure to the end, and eventually reach that peak of eternal life living with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again.

Gaining a testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ, is the most important thing we can gain in this life.  We can come to know Him through the restored gospel.  Jesus Christ lives!!  He has a prophet on the earth today, President Thomas S. Monson.  The life we can have if we follow His teachings is similar to the beauty of the view at the top of the mountain.  It isn't the easy road, and it isn't the road most choose to follow, but those who choose to follow Jesus Christ will find a peace and joy that cannot be compared to anything else.