Thoughts from this morning...
Wow, so many things I am grateful for on my mission and one of those is study time. It is something I hope to carry with me and apply the rest of my life--individually and as a family. It is interesting that truly as Joseph Smith said, the more we comprehend God, the more we comprehend ourselves and this life and this time to build the kingdom of God and prepare to live with him and receive of His glory (something like that he says). :)
A wonderful scripture to enlighten us all:
"Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." (Joshua 3:5)
How do we "sanctify" ourselves?
Thursday, August 13, 2009
What do we talk about?
As a missionary, if I could go back I would have testified more. A simple and sincere testimony--soo powerful! Like Elder Perry talked about (i think) in this past conference, we can share our testimony of three things: the restoration, the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the Book of Mormon.
And as we do people's hearts will be pricked and those who are prepared will have a desire to seek after the goodness!
"And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God." (Alma 31:5)
And as we do people's hearts will be pricked and those who are prepared will have a desire to seek after the goodness!
"And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God." (Alma 31:5)
Understanding our Role
What is our purpose as members?
I truly love morning study as a missionary! It is soo wonderful and filled with new knowledge and being taught by the spirit--sooo so special to me!
So yes, what is our purpose as members... Well in Ezekiel I was reading in chapters 33 and 34 and it talks a lot about our role as people with a knowledge of the gospel.
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill . . . and none did search or seek after them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;
. . . my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd . . . . (Ezekiel 34:6-8)
And so yes.. I was reading this and thought oh how we the Lord wants us to share the gospel with His children! And to share His love with them, so they can be free.. the truth makes us free isn't that right?
So let us open our mouths! And like it says in Romans let us not be afraid of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, "for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." (Romans 1:16)
I truly love morning study as a missionary! It is soo wonderful and filled with new knowledge and being taught by the spirit--sooo so special to me!
So yes, what is our purpose as members... Well in Ezekiel I was reading in chapters 33 and 34 and it talks a lot about our role as people with a knowledge of the gospel.
My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill . . . and none did search or seek after them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;
. . . my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd . . . . (Ezekiel 34:6-8)
And so yes.. I was reading this and thought oh how we the Lord wants us to share the gospel with His children! And to share His love with them, so they can be free.. the truth makes us free isn't that right?
So let us open our mouths! And like it says in Romans let us not be afraid of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, "for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." (Romans 1:16)
Understanding People
Something interesting I read this morning during my study. Alma 33:20.. "the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them."
Many times (before and during my mission) I have wondered what keeps people (non-members and members), all of us, from coming to Christ--using His atonement and feeling healed and whole.
I think this scripture perfectly pinpoints one problem. In order for people to use something so to speak, they have to believe it will work--they have to. Maybe that is why faith is the first principle of the gospel? It is sooo important. I see that more and more everyday.
So here is a question to think about.. how do we help people to have faith--to hope for things and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ will heal them and help them more than anything else?
How do we help people to "have so much faith that they plant the word in [their] hearts and try the experiment of [the gospel's] goodness" ? (Alma 34:4)
Many times (before and during my mission) I have wondered what keeps people (non-members and members), all of us, from coming to Christ--using His atonement and feeling healed and whole.
I think this scripture perfectly pinpoints one problem. In order for people to use something so to speak, they have to believe it will work--they have to. Maybe that is why faith is the first principle of the gospel? It is sooo important. I see that more and more everyday.
So here is a question to think about.. how do we help people to have faith--to hope for things and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ will heal them and help them more than anything else?
How do we help people to "have so much faith that they plant the word in [their] hearts and try the experiment of [the gospel's] goodness" ? (Alma 34:4)
Personal Revelation
So now I want to talk about Sheri Dew's last point about personal revelation.
Lately I've thought a lot about personal revelation and I wanted to share an experience. It's a personal experience to me, but mostly I want to share it because I believe that as we share some experiences of how we see and recognize God's hand in our life, the more we can become aware of the many ways God communicates with us that we maybe haven't recognized. So here you go :)...
Thursday, July 30, 2009 - morning study
This morning during my study I received a special blessing from my favorite apostle :). Ha, no not really. I wish. But I decided to do something I tried about a year ago when I was going through a hard time.
This past week I've really felt unmotivated. I've still been doing the work, but I haven't felt that my heart has been all the way there. And I guess I just know myself well enough to know what it feels like when I am all the way there. I think I just keep thinking about a lot of different things and maybe I just start going around in circles and I lose focus or become distracted.
So I decided to do this thing I did once. What I did was I imagined that President Hinckley (don't laugh, I really did this :) ) was giving me a blessing. And that he listened to me. And he heard everything I had to say, and he truly understood how I felt. And then he gave me a blessing. I imagined what he would say to me in this blessing and guess what. I had written it all down, and there it was--personal revelation to me from a loving Father in Heaven who is not so far away. And it was exactly what I needed to hear. So in a way I didn't need President Hinckley, I just needed the spirit and to be still and to listen with my heart.
So I did it again, with someone different this time. And as I prayed and listened I received this special blessing from God.
"Amanda, please know how much your Heavenly Father loves you. Don't worry too much about the small things that seem big now. Keep turning to the Lord and have faith in Him, and as you move forward in doing His work you will see the miracle He makes with us."
That was it. And how much peace and comfort and warmth filled my heart. Really. I know that God lives and He is near. Through the Holy Ghost we can feel His love and know He is our Father and that we are His sons and daughters, with divine potential to be like Him.
Lately I've thought a lot about personal revelation and I wanted to share an experience. It's a personal experience to me, but mostly I want to share it because I believe that as we share some experiences of how we see and recognize God's hand in our life, the more we can become aware of the many ways God communicates with us that we maybe haven't recognized. So here you go :)...
Thursday, July 30, 2009 - morning study
This morning during my study I received a special blessing from my favorite apostle :). Ha, no not really. I wish. But I decided to do something I tried about a year ago when I was going through a hard time.
This past week I've really felt unmotivated. I've still been doing the work, but I haven't felt that my heart has been all the way there. And I guess I just know myself well enough to know what it feels like when I am all the way there. I think I just keep thinking about a lot of different things and maybe I just start going around in circles and I lose focus or become distracted.
So I decided to do this thing I did once. What I did was I imagined that President Hinckley (don't laugh, I really did this :) ) was giving me a blessing. And that he listened to me. And he heard everything I had to say, and he truly understood how I felt. And then he gave me a blessing. I imagined what he would say to me in this blessing and guess what. I had written it all down, and there it was--personal revelation to me from a loving Father in Heaven who is not so far away. And it was exactly what I needed to hear. So in a way I didn't need President Hinckley, I just needed the spirit and to be still and to listen with my heart.
So I did it again, with someone different this time. And as I prayed and listened I received this special blessing from God.
"Amanda, please know how much your Heavenly Father loves you. Don't worry too much about the small things that seem big now. Keep turning to the Lord and have faith in Him, and as you move forward in doing His work you will see the miracle He makes with us."
That was it. And how much peace and comfort and warmth filled my heart. Really. I know that God lives and He is near. Through the Holy Ghost we can feel His love and know He is our Father and that we are His sons and daughters, with divine potential to be like Him.
Lessons from Sheri Dew
Sheri Dew came to the MTC while I was there and spoke to our Relief Society. She talked about what she would do if she were Satan to keep people from seeing/knowing the truth. There were 3 things she mentioned...
The first thing she said she would do is to get us all confused about who we are, so that we wouldn't understand that we are children of God, with inherent worth and potential waiting to be uncovered. And without knowing who we are, we would also be confused about what we really wanted in life or what we hoped for. And we would be blind to our own potential as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.
The second thing she talked about was that she would get us confused about the atonement and what it could do for us, making it seem too abstract or really far away from our understanding.
And the third thing, the last thing she mentioned was she would make us think that we could not receive personal revelation--answers, guidance, comfort, and love--from our Heavenly Father who so wants to communicate with us.
So essentially she was saying that these 3 things are our foundation where all other things are built off of. And if Satan can hit these things then he doesn't have to try very hard in other places--he lets us do the rest.
So then how important are these things--understanding the nature of God and ourselves, understanding Jesus Christ and His infinite atonement and how to use it, and understanding how to receive personal revelation from our Heavenly Father.
The first thing she said she would do is to get us all confused about who we are, so that we wouldn't understand that we are children of God, with inherent worth and potential waiting to be uncovered. And without knowing who we are, we would also be confused about what we really wanted in life or what we hoped for. And we would be blind to our own potential as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.
The second thing she talked about was that she would get us confused about the atonement and what it could do for us, making it seem too abstract or really far away from our understanding.
And the third thing, the last thing she mentioned was she would make us think that we could not receive personal revelation--answers, guidance, comfort, and love--from our Heavenly Father who so wants to communicate with us.
So essentially she was saying that these 3 things are our foundation where all other things are built off of. And if Satan can hit these things then he doesn't have to try very hard in other places--he lets us do the rest.
So then how important are these things--understanding the nature of God and ourselves, understanding Jesus Christ and His infinite atonement and how to use it, and understanding how to receive personal revelation from our Heavenly Father.
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