Imagine a child lives in a large, white, beautiful house. His parents tell him to leave the house while it is cleaned. While he is out he plays around in the mud. His parents call him back to the house, but as he arrives, they refuse to let him enter the house because he is dirty and the house was just cleaned. In this life we are outside our heavenly home and are daily covering ourselves with "mud." We desire to return to our heavenly home, but our parents won't let us in if we are not clean like the house. This is the struggle we all have in life, but the "mud" we cover ourselves with is sin.
We all make errors in this life: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)." We are all given the ability to choose, known as agency, and we tend to feel bad, or guilty, when we choose to do things we know are wrong. This is a blessing, known as the Light of Christ, that helps us to correct the eternal consequences of our sin. When we persist in choosing the wrong choices, we are conditioned to ignore the bad feelings of guilt that come from sin. Thus the longer we fall into sin, the harder it is to decide to change as well as act to pull ourselves out of the pit. As we try to feel good about ourselves in this life, we must continually go through a process known as repentance, which rids the feelings of guilt that accumulate from our errors.
Repentance is a difficult process that can often be embarrassing, depressing, and even cause more feelings of guilt. But the results of repentance includes a clear conscience, a light burden, and joy. To analyze this process we will follow Alma the Younger's repentance found in Alma 36:6-25. The following steps occurred in Alma's pursuit of repentance: recognition, take responsibility, realize the effects, remember Christ and His Atonement, request forgiveness, receive forgiveness, rejoice, restoration of light, and recommitting to God. To be fully repentant, we must undergo a similar process each time we sin. If we only do a few of the steps required, we will not be forgiven of our sins. It's an all or nothing deal.
As we repeat this process on a daily schedule, we will feel a peace of conscience, God's love for us, and more self worth. We will be on a straight course heading to a Celestial life. We will be clean and will not feel out of place as we enter our Father's clean home. The only way this is possible is through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and also the Savior of all mankind. I am eternally in debt to Him and the best thing I can do to repay Him is to be obedient to the commandments. I will also share what I know so that others can be obedient as well. Please share what you know with the world.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Faith
Faith is one of the most mentioned topics in the scriptures. Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things, but rather to hope for things which are not seen, which are true (Alma 32:21). Or as another church leader put it, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)." In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost (Articles of Faith 1:4)." This means that the steps necessary for our salvation are the four listed in this verse, first of which is faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation on which we need to base our lives (Helaman 5:12). All of the other principles and ordinances of the Gospel are based on faith. Without faith, we will not feel the need to repent, nor will we believe in the power of the Lord's Atonement to allow us to repent. If we don't repent, we can't be baptized. And if we aren't baptized by water, we can't be baptized by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
Faith is like a seed. If we plant a principle in our hearts, giving at least the benefit of a doubt that it may be true, and then nurture it by studying about it, it may start to grow within us. If we feel that it is growing, or feel a good feeling within as we learn more about it, then we know that it must be a good seed, or a true principle. We can apply this to any eternal principle. Prayer is one of the best ways to nurture the seed. We never need fear asking our loving Heavenly Father to know if something is right or not, or true or not. He has told us to many times to ask and promises that we will receive.
Faith precedes miracles and knowledge. Miracles only confirm faith, they don't build it. For this reason, people were able to see the Savior perform miracles or see angels, and still deny the existence of God or reject the miracle. The Book of Mormon starts out telling of a family that leaves Jerusalem in the year 600 b.c. There are four brothers in this family, two of which are rather rebellious. These two, the oldest two, see angels and miracles on several occasions, and their father is even a prophet of God, yet they doubt and return to their complaints time and time again. The youngest brother, Nephi, on the other hand, uses these experiences to confirm his faith which he has developed through small and simple things. It is by small means that the Lord confounds the wise (Alma 37:6). It is also line upon line that we grow in our faith. Each time we pray, read in the scriptures, serve, attend a church meeting, or do other simple acts, we add a bit to our overall faith, like drops of oil into a lamp. As we sin, or even just slack off, the lamp loses the oil we've put into it. If we wish to greet the Lord at midnight when he comes, we must have our lamps filled with these little drops of oil. We can't put it off till the end, or we won't be prepared. Elder David A. Bednar, one of the 12 living Apostles of Jesus Christ, explained in a conference to the world in October, 2009, that our simple actions are like paint strokes in a magnificent painting. If we just look at one stroke, there is nothing that impressive. But if we add many such strokes, and look at the whole picture, we have something beautiful. Our lives can become beautiful things if we fill them with lots of little good things. Thus prayer, scripture study, church attendance, service, and other similar acts will lead to a wonderful foundation of faith in our lives.
As we build faith on Jesus Christ we will be blessed with our needs. Plus our faith will convert into knowledge and testimony. Thus we may be confident of truths such as that the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior, that our Heavenly Father loves us and has a plan for our happiness, that there is a living prophet of God today on the earth, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God together with the Bible, and that we can live together as families forever as we live the Gospel. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the hope and happiness it brings to my life, as well as the peace. I invite all to find out these truths for themselves by studying them with an open heart, and asking God if they are true. Only the Spirit can give us a confirmation of truth. Science can't, and neither can logic. If we already have an idea set, and won't move from it, then God can't give us additional truth, so keep your mind and your heart open to the fruits of the Spirit as you pray to ask our Heavenly Father. The fruits of the Spirit, as explained in Galatians 5:22-23, are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
The correct way to pray, as taught by Jesus Christ, is to address Heavenly Father, then express the feelings and desires of our hearts, such as gratitude or asking for something (including an answer of whether or not something is true). We close saying something like, "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." Jesus taught that "whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given you (3 Nephi 18:20). We should also avoid repeating the same prayers or words as Christ explained in Matthew 6:7. Here is a summary of how to pray:
1. "Dear Heavenly Father,
2. "I'm grateful for...(tell Him what you are grateful for)
3. "I ask thee...(ask for whatever you need or want, as long as it is a good thing)
4. "In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
If you pray like this, with faith, you will receive answers to your prayers
For more on prayer see Matthew 6, Alma 33-34, Enos 1, Alma 36:18, and the Bible Dictionary.
For more on faith see Alma 32 (The Book of Mormon), Hebrews 11 (The New Testament), Ether 12 (The Book of Mormon), and also the Bible Dictionary.
Faith is like a seed. If we plant a principle in our hearts, giving at least the benefit of a doubt that it may be true, and then nurture it by studying about it, it may start to grow within us. If we feel that it is growing, or feel a good feeling within as we learn more about it, then we know that it must be a good seed, or a true principle. We can apply this to any eternal principle. Prayer is one of the best ways to nurture the seed. We never need fear asking our loving Heavenly Father to know if something is right or not, or true or not. He has told us to many times to ask and promises that we will receive.
Faith precedes miracles and knowledge. Miracles only confirm faith, they don't build it. For this reason, people were able to see the Savior perform miracles or see angels, and still deny the existence of God or reject the miracle. The Book of Mormon starts out telling of a family that leaves Jerusalem in the year 600 b.c. There are four brothers in this family, two of which are rather rebellious. These two, the oldest two, see angels and miracles on several occasions, and their father is even a prophet of God, yet they doubt and return to their complaints time and time again. The youngest brother, Nephi, on the other hand, uses these experiences to confirm his faith which he has developed through small and simple things. It is by small means that the Lord confounds the wise (Alma 37:6). It is also line upon line that we grow in our faith. Each time we pray, read in the scriptures, serve, attend a church meeting, or do other simple acts, we add a bit to our overall faith, like drops of oil into a lamp. As we sin, or even just slack off, the lamp loses the oil we've put into it. If we wish to greet the Lord at midnight when he comes, we must have our lamps filled with these little drops of oil. We can't put it off till the end, or we won't be prepared. Elder David A. Bednar, one of the 12 living Apostles of Jesus Christ, explained in a conference to the world in October, 2009, that our simple actions are like paint strokes in a magnificent painting. If we just look at one stroke, there is nothing that impressive. But if we add many such strokes, and look at the whole picture, we have something beautiful. Our lives can become beautiful things if we fill them with lots of little good things. Thus prayer, scripture study, church attendance, service, and other similar acts will lead to a wonderful foundation of faith in our lives.
As we build faith on Jesus Christ we will be blessed with our needs. Plus our faith will convert into knowledge and testimony. Thus we may be confident of truths such as that the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior, that our Heavenly Father loves us and has a plan for our happiness, that there is a living prophet of God today on the earth, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God together with the Bible, and that we can live together as families forever as we live the Gospel. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the hope and happiness it brings to my life, as well as the peace. I invite all to find out these truths for themselves by studying them with an open heart, and asking God if they are true. Only the Spirit can give us a confirmation of truth. Science can't, and neither can logic. If we already have an idea set, and won't move from it, then God can't give us additional truth, so keep your mind and your heart open to the fruits of the Spirit as you pray to ask our Heavenly Father. The fruits of the Spirit, as explained in Galatians 5:22-23, are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
The correct way to pray, as taught by Jesus Christ, is to address Heavenly Father, then express the feelings and desires of our hearts, such as gratitude or asking for something (including an answer of whether or not something is true). We close saying something like, "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." Jesus taught that "whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given you (3 Nephi 18:20). We should also avoid repeating the same prayers or words as Christ explained in Matthew 6:7. Here is a summary of how to pray:
1. "Dear Heavenly Father,
2. "I'm grateful for...(tell Him what you are grateful for)
3. "I ask thee...(ask for whatever you need or want, as long as it is a good thing)
4. "In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
If you pray like this, with faith, you will receive answers to your prayers
For more on prayer see Matthew 6, Alma 33-34, Enos 1, Alma 36:18, and the Bible Dictionary.
For more on faith see Alma 32 (The Book of Mormon), Hebrews 11 (The New Testament), Ether 12 (The Book of Mormon), and also the Bible Dictionary.
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