Stacey Miles' story

Here is a little background on Brother Miles.

The gift and power of forgiveness

Please watch this video and feel the power of the spirit of God testify to your soul of the gift and power of forgiveness through the Savior Jesus Christ.

Inspiration

I've been contending with many unknowns in my life where I have no control, where I know I must trust in the Lord. This verses in 1 Samuel and Psalms gave me inspiration this morning:

3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
5 And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
-1 Samuel 30:3-6

I love how this shows that David is human, that he wept as the people did (as a point of clarification, this was before David became the king). Then when the people turned their anger and frustration toward them, David did not continue to feel sorry for himself and he did not turn back to them in anger. Rather, David, trusted or "encouraged himself" in the Lord. It is human to feel sadness for a time when things don't go well. However, it is how we continue on that matters. David continued by trusting in the Lord! In fact, he prayed to God and received an answer as to what he should do.

8 And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
-1 Samuel 30:8

Then David did his part, he did as instructed. He pursued Amalekites, overtook them, and recovered everything they had taken.

This story in 1 Samuel also led me to a Psalm of David that encapsulates his trust in God.

3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
-Psalms  56:3-4

It pleases my soul to know and to be continually reminded that when I put my trust in the Lord, he will fight my battles.

How to secure blessings and answers to prayer

The Lord will bring us his blessings to that extent that we have diligence in keeping his commandments. Each of you, in other words, must stand on your own feet if you will receive the great blessings which the Almighty has in store for you. . . .

Stand upon your own feet, so the Lord can speak to you. In humility be prepared to say with Paul, ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me do?’ And with dauntless courage say with the boy Samuel ‘Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth.’ Be humble, be prayerful and the Lord will take you by the hand, as it were, and give you answer to your prayers.

-Harold B. Lee, “But Arise and Stand upon Thy Feet”—and I Will Speak with Thee, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year, Provo, 7 Feb. 1956, pp. 7, 11

On courage and looking at the bright side

I came upon this from Joseph F. Smith yesterday and found it to be inspiring:

One of the highest qualities of all true leadership is a high standard of courage. When we speak of courage and leadership we are using terms that stand for the quality of life by which men determine consciously the proper course to pursue and stand with fidelity to their convictions. There has never been a time in the Church when its leaders were not required to be courageous men; not alone courageous in the sense that they were able to meet physical dangers, but also in the sense that they were steadfast and true to a clear and upright conviction.

Leaders of the Church, then, should be men not easily discouraged, not without hope, and not given to forebodings of all sorts of evils to come. Above all things the leaders of the people should never disseminate a spirit of gloom in the hearts of the people. If men standing in high places sometimes feel the weight and anxiety of momentous times, they should be all the firmer and all the more resolute in those convictions which come from a God-fearing conscience and pure lives. Men in their private lives should feel the necessity of extending encouragement to the people by their own hopeful and cheerful intercourse with them, as they do by their utterances in public places. It is a matter of the greatest importance that the people be educated to appreciate and cultivate the bright side of life rather than to permit its darkness and shadows to hover over them.

In order to successfully overcome anxieties in reference to questions that require time for their solution, an absolute faith and confidence in God and in the triumph of his work are essential.

The most momentous questions and the greatest dangers to personal happiness are not always met and solved within oneself, and if men cannot courageously meet the difficulties, and obstacles of their own individual lives and natures, how are they to meet successfully those public questions in which the welfare and happiness of the public are concerned?

Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God?

Today while search the scriptures for answers to questions I have in life I came across this powerful verse:

Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll? -Mormon 5:23

What a fantastic lesson and reminder! Sometimes situations in life that seem so dire are truly of little consequence when we look at them through the scope of the grand plan of salvation. Even still, we are in the hands of an all-knowing, all-loving God who understands how we feel no matter how significant the issue in our lives may be!

The Lord also helps us in the small things. Recently my home teacher told a story in elder's quorum about the spirit telling him to not pay out of his own pocket to upgrade to first class (he's a very big guy, coach much be exceptionally uncomfortable for him). Unfortunately, this elicited muffled laughs from some in the quorum, but the spirit witnessed to me the truth of his story. Further, I knew it to be true because I know his character and I know that God is truly aware of and concerned with the smallest things in our lives.

Often patience is the key because the Lord always keeps his promises. Our Heavenly Father repeated a particular promise through his prophets at least 17 times in the Book of Mormon. One example is this:

And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you. -Mosiah 2:22

I know that I am most definitely "in the hands of God"! I have seen and felt him lift me up so many times. I know that with patience that if I do my part--keeping the commandments--God knows what is best of me, and will proper my family and I. Of course patients is the most difficult part, but I know this principle to be true.

I KNOW the Book of Mormon is True

I do not just believe, I KNOW that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is a companion to the Bible, given to us by our creator to bless our lives! The study of this inspired book has changed my life eternally. Though I have a long way to go, it has helped me become more kind, more loving, more charitable, and more grateful for all I am blessed with. The Book of Mormon has help me draw closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know the Book of Mormon is a true book because I read it myself, asked God myself, and received an answer from God for myself that it is true.

I also KNOW that God calls prophets and apostles today, just as he has throughout the history of his church recorded in the Bible. I invite you to watch this video where one of the living apostles of Jesus Christ shares his witness of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.