My Little Miracle

Today I was given a blessing by the laying on of hands by someone with the Priesthood authority of Jesus Christ, which was restored to the Earth through original apostles Peter, James, and John when they conferred it upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. It was amazing. I felt the Holy Ghost while I was being blessed. I received my own little miracle. The person giving the blessing spoke of something specifically that no one knows fully about. My wife only kind of had an idea, but did not know. It was one way that the Lord reminded me that the blessing came from him and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is his church on this Earth.

Concern for Others

My two year old daughter is having some tests done. It is nothing big. Today she was at a children’s hospital having an x-ray and a lady in the waiting room began asking my wife why they were there. My wife told this lady about the procedure that my daughter may need. This total stranger told my wife she would pray for my daughter. She even asked twice for my daughter’s name and wrote it down. What an amazing example of Christ-like behavior! We would all be better if we could follow the example set by this stranger. Whoever you are, thank you for your faith and your prayers in my daughter’s behalf.

One True Church

“One Lord, one faith, one baptism” (New Testament | Ephesians 4:5).

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (New Testament | Ephesians 2:19 - 20).

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Old Testament | Amos 3:7).

Does it not only make sense that only one faith is the true faith of God and that this faith should be “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets” who rely upon Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, to hold the foundation they provide sure, that it will not fall?

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the “one faith” of God on this Earth. I testify that we do have apostles and prophets who lead the church based upon inspiration from Jesus Christ. I testify that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus the Christ. I share this with you in his name. Amen.

Prospering in the Land

My car leaks. I guess that is what you get with a beat up old Honda with 230,000 miles on it. I’m not sure where it leaks, though I think it is somewhere near the front of the trunk. I hadn’t noticed this problem living in Utah because it doesn’t rain too often and the snow is more likely to stick and later slide off of the car. The result, living here in Tennessee, with our torrential downpours, is that the back two seats in my car become soaked. Then it is so humid here, it is nearly impossible to keep them dry. This creates a very uncomfortable situation in the mornings where I have water on the inside of my windows. This creates an interesting dilemma. I have to either dry the windows off so I can see, which leaves my windows very dirty and really affects visibility when it is light out (I usually leave home before dawn) or I have to do my best to see while the heater slowly takes the water away. I usually choose the latter.

Back to the point, my car leaks. Because of this, when I am home and know it is supposed to be dry during the day, I leave all four doors and my trunk open. During nights when the weatherman says it will be dry, I usually leave two or three windows cracked. (I prefer not to leave the forth cracked because it’s messed up and takes way too much effort to roll back up—more fun with my car! You should see it when I pull up to the drive through window and must open my door.) The other day it was not supposed to rain. All day it was bright and sunny and I had left all four doors and the trunk open. That evening, I went out to close my doors and the trunk, then crack the windows for the night. It was also not supposed rain over night. Something told me not to leave me windows open. I hesitated as I went to unroll my window. I felt again that I should not leave them open. So I left my windows closed. As you would expect from this story, it certainly did rain, and rain quite hard that night.

I know, it might seem silly to some people, but this is a big deal for me. I’m in graduate school. It has not been easy on my family to go from two incomes to virtually no income. This old car with, I remind you again, 230,000 miles, must last me at least another year and a half. I recently read Alma 48:15: “And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land.” I feel like the Lord is prospering my family and I in the land as we do our best to keep his commandments. I am very thankful for this promise the Lord has given us, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer

Alma 46 is a chapter well known to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because “Moroni, who was the chief commander of the armies of the Nephites” (Book of Mormon | Alma 46:11) raises the “Title of Liberty” and takes it to the people. However, what struck me while reading this chapter today was not the Title of Liberty story as a whole, but the way in which Captain Moroni prepared to deliver this proclamation of liberty to his people. Moroni prayed with not a going though the motions prayer, rather “he prayed mightily unto his God” and “poured out his soul to God” (Book of Mormon | Alma 46:13, 17).

Moroni’s prayer also reminds me of Enos who, when desiring a remission of his sins, said: “My soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul” (Book of Mormon | Enos 1:4). Then he wrote: “And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed” (Book of Mormon | Enos 1:5).

I know because I have experienced it several times that our Father in Heaven knows us well. He can and will assist us just as our father on Earth will. I have “poured out my soul” to God many, many times and in this intimate position, I have always been given the assistance, strength or comfort I needed to carry on by our Heavenly Father. This truth that I know without a doubt I share in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Overcoming Life’s Difficulties and Hardships

I recently read this passage which reminds me of overcoming challenges in life:

“And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee . . . and they cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage. And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them” (Book of Mormon | Alma 43:48 - 50).

I know in my life I have many times felt that everything was coming for me. I wanted more than anything else to run away—to take the easy way out. Sometimes I have, and the problem continued to follow me until I chose to confront it. However, when I pour my heart out unto the Lord, he does ease my burdens because he loves me! Heavenly Father has many times over blessed me with freedom from the problems in life that are my bondage. Sometimes the problems did flee from before me quickly, as the Lamanites did in Alma 43 above, other times it took much longer. The Lord knows exactly what I need to learn in every situation and circumstance. He eases burdens and strengthens us if we will but exercise faith in him to do so because he loves me, you, and each and every other one of his children on this Earth. Take for example the people of Alma:

“And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Book of Mormon | Mosiah 24:15).

The part I love most about this scripture is not the part about the Lord easing the burdens of the people, it is that “they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.” What humility! I would speculate that being cheerful and having patience concerning our burdens makes the Lord more likely to assist us further.

I know that Heavenly Father lives. He is truly a loving God who knows each and every one of us. I have no doubt that Heavenly Father will make our burdens light, that he will give us the strength to overcome our weaknesses and our fears, and that he is truly concerned with our individual wellbeing if we will but exercise faith and call upon in prayer. Heavenly Father has eased my burdens countless times. I do not think it would have been possible for me to overcome some situations in my life without his hand and his guidance. I am so thankful to have a Father in Heaven who cares so deeply for us! If I could be but 0.00000000000000000001% of the skilled parent he his to my children I have been entrusted with on this Earth, how blessed would I be! I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ each know me personally and love me and I love them too with a love that grows daily. I share these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

God the Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost

I have recently read a few things on other blogs here and here concerning the nature of God, the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. I am a simple person. I know of only one way to test whether a principle be a true principal—to ask. Or as James taught: “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. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (New Testament | James 1:5 - 6) and as Moroni taught: By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Book of Mormon | Moroni 10:5).

I have asked God about the nature of the Godhead. I know through the power of the Holy Ghost that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are separate beings. Of this I testify, because I know of no truer or purer way to convey how I feel and what I know, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

God is Love

During this Christmas season the word “love” has permeated my mind very often. One of the characteristics of God taught to us in 1 John 4:8, “God is love.” But what does this mean? Is part of God’s character literally “love”? Does he embody all that love could be? I am not sure, though it is certainly worth contemplating what “God is love” truly means. I would guess there are several meanings. However, what I do know is that Heavenly Father set the ultimate example of love: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (New Testament | John 3:16). I cannot imagine having to give up my first born. Furthermore, I cannot conceive what it would be like to give up my first born knowing beforehand how the Savior, Jesus Christ would suffer.

Since “God is love,” how does the “great commandment in the law” apply, which I treated earlier this month? How do we “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind”? I think there are many ways we can express our love for him. One very telling way is described very plainly by the Apostle John: “If ye love me, keep my commandments: (New Testament | John 14:15). We have the opportunity to show God through our choices and our actions that we love him, or “ye shall know them by their fruits. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit” (New Testament | Matthew 7:16 - 17).

President Ezra Taft Benson said in the April 1988 General Conference:

“To love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is all-consuming and all-encompassing. It is no lukewarm endeavor. It is total commitment of our very being—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—to a love of the Lord.

The breadth, depth, and height of this love of God extend into every facet of one’s life. Our desires, be they spiritual or temporal, should be rooted in a love of the Lord. Our thoughts and affections should be centered on the Lord.”

The second great commandment is to love your neighbor. So how do we love our neighbor? Nephi, in the Book of Mormon taught: “Wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love” (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 26:30). Furthermore, Moroni taught: “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him” (Book of Mormon | Moroni 7:47).

It is my opinion that the next verse in Moroni tells us why the first two great commandments are so great. First, “my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ.” In other words, we must choose to take action, but not half heartedly, but with “all the energy of the heart” in prayer. Then, after we have shown our faith, we are “filled with this love . . . which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ.” Then verse 48 continues with the most exciting part: “that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.” In other words we will be true followers of God, so much so that “we shall be like him.” If we are like God, then we will have attained some, if not all of his attributes, love being one of them.

President Gordon B. Hinckley wrote:

“Love is of the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it is more than the end of the rainbow. Love is at the beginning also, and from it springs the beauty that arches across the sky on a stormy day. Love is the security for which children weep, the desire of youth, the cement that binds marriage, and the smoothing oil that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death. How rich are those who enjoy it in their associations with family, friends, church, and neighbors.”

This Christmas season is a wonderful time for us to remember to love our neighbors and to show charity, which is “the pure love of Christ.” May I submit to you that showing love through the same charity and service you show during this season as part of your daily life will make you become closer to God as you develop this Godly attribute. President Hinckley also wrote: “Love is the only force that can erase the differences between people.”

I know this is a true statement. I know that love can heal many wounds. If we have kindness and love filling our hearts, we will only desire to follow all of Heavenly Father’s commandments because we love him. Because we love our fellow man, we will only desire to serve them, and not to trespass against them. I know that through actively seeking to love more completely, marriages will be better. I know that by exhibiting greater love, bonds with children will be stronger. I know that showing our love for the Lord by following his commandments causes us to be filled with the Holy Ghost, the same Holy Ghost which testifies of all things true. I know that my Redeemer lives and loves me and I love him. I share this with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Faith in Christ

I have planted that figurative seed spoken of by Alma, referred to in the previous post. I testify that my Savior lives! I know that Jesus Christ died for my sins. I know that I will live again because Christ broke the bands of death with his resurrection. I know that Jesus personally knows who I am, truly understands my sufferings, and is always there for me. He is the greatest big brother I could ever have. Jesus Christ set the ultimate example when he, an all-powerful God, chose to be humiliated in the worst of imaginable ways so we could repent of our sins, be resurrected, and live with him and Heavenly Father through eternity! I testify that Jesus Christ is my Savior and King. I believe in Christ with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength. I know that he loves me and I love him. I share this testimony of Jesus Christ in his name. Amen.

Faith

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Hebrews, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (New Testament | Hebrews 11:1). Alma the Younger of the Book of Mormon taught: “faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true (Book of Mormon | Alma 32:21). Later in the same chapter, Alma challenges all of us to put faith to the test by comparing faith to a seed:

27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.
30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow (Book of Mormon | Alma 32:27 - 30).

I have a testimony that if you will truly “experiment upon the words,” if you seek the truth, you will find it. If you wish to know if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God’s true church on this Earth or if it is not, plant the seed of the word. In other words, read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ and if this seed does swell within you and sprout, or if you feel like you are reading the truth, confirmed to you by the Holy Ghost, you will surely know that it is good. It is my testimony that you can discover what is truth by, as Alma taught, “exercising a particle of faith.” Your life will be blessed as you choose to have faith. I offer these words in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.