Clay in His Hands

So I know you just heard from me but I can't help but find something new when I open the scriptures. I have had a habit for quite awhile that before I study my schoolwork I have to study the gospel, I figure if I can't put that first then I shouldn't expect to receive help in understanding my textbook. So here we go I opened up to Mark chapter 8 and came to verse 25 where the Savior restores a mans vision it says: And after that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. A thought hit me. The Lord is our perfect example, he knows how to guide us, and he knows how to heal us. There are stories of him healing the blind, healing the lame, healing the deaf and I can't help but think of it symbolically as well as physically.  When we let him heal us spiritually it is as if we SEE the world more clearly, We HEAR and listen to the important things, we WALK in a straighter path. We are clay in his hands to be molded into something amazing and through His atonement we can eventually become perfect as He is.

Five Things We Must Remember

For the General Relief Society Meeting Fall 2011 President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a great talk on five things we must remember.

 

1. Be patient and compassionate with yourself, celebrate your good efforts.

2. Know the difference between a good/foolish sacrifice: Ask yourself am I committing my time and energy to things that matter most?

3. Be happy now. Don't put your happiness on hold, your entire future doesn't exist in one golden ticket.

4. Don't forget the why of the gospel. When we understand why our Heavenly Father has 

given us this pattern for living... the gospel ceases to become a burden and, instead,              becomes a joy and a delight. 

5. You are known and loved by the most majestic being of the universe, you are not

forgotten. 

The Great Plan of Happiness

I am taking an institute class called the Doctrines of the Gospel. Our lesson yesterday was on the plan of salvation and of our premortal life. The first thing the teacher asked was "What are you tied to?" He also told us to think of any questions we'd ask concerning our lives before we were born, if we could have them answered now.  Some people wanted to know who they spent their time with, what they did while they were there, whether or not we knew our families and friends, and how we were affected by the war in heaven. The things I learned were: We were intelligence before we existed and that "The intelligence of spirits had no beginning."- Joseph Smith (D&C 93:29). In other words we have always existed and in essence we always will.  All forms of life have spirits, "Man and all forms of life existed as spirit beings and entities before the foundations of this earth were laid...before they were placed naturally upon the earth." - Bruce R. McConkie. What kind of war was it? "Since spirits cannot be killed, this would have been a war of words, ideas, truth, falsehood, etc., that is, a battle for our loyalty." Great blessings are promised to the 'righteous', who are the righteous? "The righteous are sinners who are striving to be righteous and thus continue improving. The wicked are sinners who don't strive to be righteous." 

 

If you are here on this earth and have a body, you chose to come here, you were told of this great plan of happiness and you believed it was true. Think of where you stood in the premortal life and what you stood for; what does that mean to you now? If you think of how powerful that event must have been and what you promised you would come to earth to do, would you ever want to jeopardize your life in mortality to affect your life for eternity? What are you tied to now, are they good things, or bad things, will they help you reach an eternity of joy or an eternity of sorrow? Are you striving to follow Heavenly Fathers plan and living in a way that will prepare you to stand before him again?

"You are sent to this world with a very serious purpose. you are sent to school... to begin as a human infant and grow to unbelievable proportions in wisdom, judgment, knowledge, and power." 

-Pres. Spencer W. Kimball. 

The Great Plan of the Eternal God: Neal A. Maxwell 

Stand In Holy Places

We have busy lives, with much to do, it is easy to get side-tracked and forget the important things. It is easy to get caught up in the ways of the world and to go down the wrong path at times. We must remember to be aware of our actions, what we are doing and where we are going. To stay strong and able we must be in the world but not of the world, we must stand in holy places. I was able to go do baptisms for the dead at the bountiful temple yesterday, there is much peace and comfort to find in the temple. What a beautiful place we have here on this earth, what a neat opportunity to serve and to receive. How great it is to have so many temples today, let us continually prepare to and attend the temple!

The Power To Choose

As I opened my scriptures today the first verse I read was Matthew 26:41 which read, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." How easy it is to give into temptation, we all experience it, there is temptation to sin, but there is also temptation to believe Satan. He is the father of lies, he can make you believe that your no better than your sins and that you aren't good enough to overcome them, but he only has power if you let him have power. See, we are bigger than him, we have a body, we have a spirit, we have our agency, the power to choose. He can't choose, so he will do anything to get you bound as he is. Go back to that verse, the spirit is willing, we can have the spirit with us as our guide, our direction, if we acknowledge it; the flesh is weak, we are human, we are not perfect and we fall down, over and over again. It is a constant battle, that is why we must be on the look out, we must watch and pray continually. This battle may seem impossible at times but remember this scripture, 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with that temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." Our Heavenly Father is always aware of us and our needs, He knew it wouldn't be easy for us, but He is not going to let us fall completely. It is not a simple thing to overcome our sins and avoid temptation, but if you take it to the Lord he can make your burdens bearable. Remember that we have the choice, we are bigger than Satan, we can choose to find happiness or we can settle for being miserable, which one sounds better to you?