Saturday, June 21, 2014

Day 7 - Christ's Love



One of the greatest comforts here on Earth is Heavenly Father’s love for us individually. In times of need we can call upon the Lord our God and feel of His inspiring and overpowering love that He has for us. Likewise, we too should develop such a love for our Heavenly Father.


John 10:27 says, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind…”

Elder John H Groberg gave a powerful talk on God’s Love titled, ThePower of God’s Love.   
He says, “Since all love emanates from God, we are born with the capacity and the desire to love and to be loved. One of the strongest connections we have with our premortal life is how much our Father and Jesus loved us and how much we loved them. Even though a veil was drawn over our memory, whenever we sense true love, it awakens a longing that cannot be denied.
“God’s love fills the immensity of space; therefore, there is no shortage of love in the universe, only in our willingness to do what is needed to feel it.”

To feel God’s love we need to be receptive. We cannot feel God’s love if we have a closed mind and a closed heart. Such feelings will not allow His love into our lives. But with an open heart and an open mind, we can feel the power of His love daily.



Charity
            Charity is a key component of Godly love. Moroni 7:47 says, “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endure forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”

How do we get this charity, this love? “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love…” (Moroni 7:48) Through prayer and faith we can understand and have this Christ like love. Some of us may feel a lack of love for other people in our lives. Though at times we may not feel it, it is important to understand that it is there. Moroni testifies of this in 7:48, “… which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ …”

Mormon Message:
Enduring Love is a beautiful Mormon Message that shoes the Pure Love of Christ in action.



Ponder:
  • Can you feel Christ love in your life?
  • How do you feel His love?
    • Is it through prayer, scripture study, friends, family, service, church etc.?
  • How can you show Christ’s love to those around you?
  • How can you love, and show love to Christ?
    • John 15:9-10 “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
  • If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”


Showing Love to Others:
            2 Nephi 2:25 “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”
God wants us to find happiness during this life. We as individuals can bring great happiness to each other. It is important to recognize the powerful influence you can have on another person’s life, and to use that influence for good.

“The good you have done, the kind words you have spoken, the love you have shown to others, can never be fully measured.” –Thomas S. Monson


“The trouble with the world and the trouble with you and me is that we don't love each other enough. And if we do, we don't bother to show it, or we don't bother to say it. If the world is to know love, it has to be in your heart and in mine.” –Marjorie Pay Hinckley, Small and Simple Things

“People are wonderful. Each one has a story, each something to give, each knows something interesting, something that can make your life richer.” –Marjorie Pay Hinckley, Small and Simple Things

MargaretD. Nadauld (once the Young Women General President) said:
“Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.”

Lastly, to show love to the people in our life, we can follow the words of our living Prophet:
“Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say “I love you” more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of ‘what if’ and ‘if only.’ Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, ‘The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.’” –Thomas S. Monson, Finding Joy in the Journey



Invitation:
Think of one commandment or principle of the Gospel that you can improve on.

Think of a habit you will try to improve (or remove), and specifically tell Heavenly Father that you will strive to do that because you love Him and Christ. Every time you act on that, focus on remembering that you are doing it because you love Christ.

Other Resources:
Slide Show by Mark Mabry on Christ's Life

3 Nephi 17 - Christ visiting the Nephites

Wrong Roads, Jeffrey R. Holland, Mormon Message 


Good talks about Christ's Love:
Elder Uchtdorf, the Love of God 

Elder John H. Groberg, the Power of god's Love

Bonnie Parkin, Eternally Encircled in His Love

President Eyring, Our Perfect Example


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Friday, June 20, 2014

Day 6 - Reaching Your Potential

Good friends push you. 

   They push you to reach your potential. 

   They push you to keep your standards. 

 They push you be better.

But good friends also push you when you feel like you cannot go any more. 

  They push you when your ability to progress on your own is not enough. 

    Jesus Christ is the perfect Friend--especially in this aspect of friendship. 

He is always our #1 supporter, defender, and advocate. 

He is our greatest Exemplar and also our greatest Mentor. 

He cares about our success and our happiness. 



“Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.”


"His Grace is Sufficient" Brad Wilcox http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1966 

"One young man wrote me the following e-mail: “I know God has all power, and I know He will help me if I’m worthy, but I’m just never worthy enough to ask for His help. I want Christ’s grace, but I always find myself stuck in the same self-defeating and impossible position: no work, no grace.”

I wrote him back and testified with all my heart that Christ is not waiting at the finish line once we have done “all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). He is with us every step of the way.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen has written, “The Savior’s gift of grace to us is not necessarily limited in time to ‘after’ all we can do. We may receive his grace before, during and after the time when we expend our own efforts” (The Broken Heart [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989], 155). So grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now. It is not a finishing touch; it is the Finisher’s touch (see Hebrews 12:2)." --Brad Wilcox



Reflection
Watch this inspiring video of a father who pushes his son who has cerebral palsy in all kinds of races and triathlons.

How this is like Christ pushing us in our lives?

While watching this video recall times where the Savior has carried your burdens and carried you. When are times when He has encouraged you when you lost hope?



Christ makes ALL the difference. With Him ALL things are possible. We CAN do ALL things through Him.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Phillipians 4:13
  • How can we show our gratitude for Him? Do we recognize His hand in our life? Do we understand His grace?
"In all of these cases there should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “continue in patience until [we] are perfected” (D&C 67:13)." --Brad Wilcox



Resources







Invitation
Write down 3 ways that you saw the Lord's hand and grace in your life this week.

What will you do to make a conscious effort to see His hand in your life everyday?



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Thursday, June 19, 2014

Day 5 - Good Friends See Your Potential

A good friend loves you for who you really are.  They see your potential. 

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. 
You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." 
-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity




Jesus Christ knows your ultimate and divine potential--and that's why He truly makes the perfect Friend. 

He knows our true identity--where we came from and how far we can go--and He is determined to help us understand that for ourselves. 

It is easy to lose sight of our Eternal potential and purpose. 

But if Christ is near us always to remind us who we are and who we can become, we will be able to reach our destination with a lot more ease!



“Give me all of you!!! I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want YOU!!! ALL OF YOU!! I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman, but to KILL IT! No half measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and a branch there; rather I want the whole tree out! Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self---in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.” 
--C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity


"The Touch of the Master's Hand"

’Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile:
“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,
“Who’ll start the bidding for me?”
“A dollar, a dollar”; then, “Two!” “Only two?
Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?
Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three—” But no,
From the room, far back, a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said, “What am I bid for the old violin?”
And he held it up with the bow.
“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?
Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
And going, and gone!” said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
“We do not quite understand
What changed its worth.” Swift came the reply:
“The touch of a master’s hand.”
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A “mess of pottage,” a glass of wine,
A game—and he travels on.
He’s “going” once, and “going” twice,
He’s “going” and almost “gone.”
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand. 29

Myra Brooks Welch, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand,” The Gospel Messenger, Brethren Press, 26 Feb. 1921. 

Boyd K. Packer, "The Touch of the Master's Hand"  

 Sometimes we lose sight of our worth, like the "old violin," but the Master never does. Have you ever caught a glimpse of your great and grand potential?

 Have you felt Christ's love and faith in you to succeed?

The Race

“Quit!” “Give up, you’re beaten!” they shout at me and plead,
“There’s just too much against you now, this time you can’t succeed.”
And as I started to hang my head in front of failure’s face,
My downward fall is broken by the memory of a race.
And hope refills my weakened will as I recall that scene.
For just the thought of that short race rejuvenates my being.
A children’s race, young boys, young men; now I remember well.
Excitement, sure, but also fear; it wasn’t hard to tell.
They all lined up so full of hope. Each thought to win the race
Or tie for first, if not that, at least take second place.
And fathers watched from off the side, each cheering for his son,
And each boy hoped to show his dad that he would be the one.
The whistle blew and off they sped, as if they were on fire
To win, to be the hero there, was each boy’s desire.
And one boy in particular, his dad was in the crowd,
Was running near the lead and thought, “My dad will be so proud.”
But as he speeded down the field, across the shallow dip,
The little boy who thought to win lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself, his arm flew out to brace,
And ‘mid the laughter of the crowd, he fell flat on his face.
So, down he fell, and with him, hope. He couldn’t win it now.
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished he’d disappear somehow.
But, as he fell, his dad stood up and showed his anxious face,
Which to the boy so clearly said, “Get up and win the race!”
He quickly rose, no damage done, behind a bit, that’s all.
And ran with all his mind and might to make up for the fall.
So anxious to restore himself, to catch up and to win,
His mind went faster than his legs. He slipped and fell again.
He wished he had quit before with only one disgrace.
“I’m hopeless as a runner now, I shouldn’t try to race.”
But, in the laughing crowd he searched and found his father’s face.
That steady look that said again, “Get up and win the race!”
So, he jumped up to try again, ten yards behind the last;
“If I’m to gain those yards,” he thought, “I’ve got to run real fast!”
Exceeding everything he had, he regained eight or ten,
But trying so hard to catch the lead, he slipped and fell again.
Defeat! He lay there silently, a tear dropped from his eye.
“There’s no sense running more. Three strikes, I’m out…why try?”
The will to rise had disappeared, all hope had fled away.
So far behind, so error-prone, a loser all the way.
“I’ve lost, so what’s the use?” he thought, “I’ll live with my disgrace.”
But, then he thought about his dad, who soon he’d have to face.
“Get up,” an echo sounded low, “Get up and take your place.
You weren’t meant for failure here; get up and win the race.”
With borrowed will, “Get up,” it said, “You haven’t lost at all,
For winning is no more than this–to rise each time you fall.”
So up he rose to win once more. And with a new commit,
He resolved that win or lose, at least he wouldn’t quit.
So far behind the others now, the most he’d ever been.
Still, he gave it all he had, and ran as though to win.
Three times he fallen, stumbling, three times he rose again.
Too far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.
They cheered the winning runner, as he crossed the line, first place,
Head high and proud and happy; no falling, no disgrace.
But, when the fallen crossed the finish line, last place,
The crowd gave him the greater cheer for finishing the race.
And even though he came in last, with head bowed low, unproud,
You would have thought he won the race, to listen to the crowd.
And to his dad, he sadly said, “I didn’t do so well.”
“To me you won,” his father said, “You rose each time you fell.”
And now when things seem dark and hard and difficult to face,
The memory of that little boy helps me in my race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
“Quit!” “Give up, you’re beaten!” They still shout in my face,
But another voice within me says, “Get up and win the race!”
--D.H. Groberg

Watch this inspiring video of an incredible race.  What is a principle you can find here?
"Reflection in the Water," Dieter F. Uchtdorf
  • Can you see His image in your countenance? Do you recognize your potential? Do you understand the doctrine of the Plan of Happiness? 
  • Write down a few of your Eternal and ultimate goals. What kind of person do you hope to be by the time your mortal life ends?
  • What do you want your relationship with Christ to be like?
 “You are Special” Max Lucado

Truth is things as they really are, as they really have been, and as they really will be.  Regardless of what anyone else believes - even you - the truth is the truth.  The belief that Heavenly Father has in you is real.  He sees you as you truly are and sees you as you may become.
Extra resources:
Invitation

Read your patriarchal blessing (or think about receiving yours if you have not had the chance to yet).


Set a date this month to go to the temple to ponder on your eternal destiny and potential. 


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Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Day 4 - Loyal & Trustworthy


A True Friend is Loyal and Trustworthy


Brace yourselves for some Elder Holland:
I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly what Christ asked Peter: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.”13 And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments,”14 Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before. The Crucifixion, Atonement, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ mark the beginning of a Christian life, not the end of it. It was this truth, this reality, that allowed a handful of Galilean fishermen-turned-again-Apostles without “a single synagogue or sword”15 to leave those nets a second time and go on to shape the history of the world in which we now live. 
Jeffrey R Holland, "The First Great Commandment" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-first-great-commandment?lang=eng
 

Reflection 

Think of a close friend or family member. How have you come to trust them?

Do you trust the Lord?  What things can you do to trust in Him more in your life?

What can we do to show Christ that He can trust us? Are we reliable friends to Christ or are we flaky?
“The sweetest experience I know in life is to feel a prompting and act upon it and later find out that it was the fulfillment of someone’s prayer or someone’s need. And I always want the Lord to know that if He needs an errand run, Tom Monson will run that errand for Him” (President Thomas S. Monson)
How can President Monson's attitude of loyalty, trustworthiness, and dependability be reflected in our own lives and prayers? 

Some more talks to read...
  • “Yet Thou Art There” Neal A. Maxwell
  • "Sometimes in life, there is no where else to turn but to God."


  • D&C 35:1
    • Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever.
  • Alma 37:12
    • And it may suffice if I only say they are preserved for a wise purpose, which purpose is known unto God; for he doth counsel in wisdom over all his works, and his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.
  • Mosiah 2:22
    • 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.
  • D&C 3:2 
    • For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round. 
  • 2 Samuel 22: 2-3 
    • And he said, The Lord is my rock , and my fortress, and my deliverer; 
    • The God of my rock; in him will I trust : he is my shield , and the horn of my salvation, my high tower , and my refuge , my saviour; thou savest me from violence. 

Make the exercise of faith your first priority.  In order to truly trust the Lord, we must have faith in who He is and believe that He is our Savior. (Richard G. Scott - October 2014 )

"Put Your Trust in the Lord" - M. Russell Ballard


Invitation

Write a list of how you come to trust a friend and what makes a loyal friend.

Change an aspect of your prayers and actions to show Heavenly Father that He and Christ can depend on you. Let them know your desire to be trusted with the work of His kingdom.



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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Day 3 - Spending Time with Christ

Spending Time with Christ

"We must at regular and appropriate intervals speak and reassure others of our love and the long time it takes to prove it by our actions. Real love does take time. The Great Shepherd had the same thoughts in mind when he taught, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15; italics added) and “If ye love me feed my sheep” (John 21:16; italics added). Love demands action if it is to be continuing. Love is a process. Love is not a declaration. Love is not an announcement. Love is not a passing fancy. Love is not an expediency. Love is not a convenience. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” and “If ye love me feed my sheep” are God-given proclamations that should remind us we can often best show our love through the processes of feeding and keeping."




Think about how long it takes to truly get to know someone. How can we set aside time to spend with Christ? 

Assess how you are doing in dedicating your time with Christ:
  • Scripture study
  • Temple attendance
  • Church attendance
  • Covenants
    • Sacrament
    • Remembering Christ
    • Constantly living to glorify God in all that we do

Resources
“Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia—even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives.

 It is said that any virtue when taken to an extreme can become a vice. Overscheduling our days would certainly qualify for this. There comes a point where milestones can become millstones and ambitions, albatrosses around our necks.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks, in a recent general conference, taught, “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best….  We improve our relationship with our Heavenly Father by learning of Him, by communing with Him, by repenting of our sins, and by actively following Jesus Christ, for “no man cometh unto the Father, but by [Christ].” 10 To strengthen our relationship with God, we need some meaningful time alone with Him. Quietly focusing on daily personal prayer and scripture study, always aiming to be worthy of a current temple recommend—these will be some wise investments of our time and efforts to draw closer to our Heavenly Father. Let us heed the invitation in Psalms: “Be still, and know that I am God.” 11

 In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e,time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities. We establish a divine bond with each other…” 

 Uchtdorf, conference October 2010”Of things that matter most” 

Unawares poem 
Take Time to be Holy

Take time to be Holy, speak oft with the Lord.

Abide with Him always and feed on His word.
Make friends with His children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
Take time to be holy, the world rushes on.
Spend much time in secret with Jesus alone;
By looking to Jesus like him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
Take time to be holy, let Him be thy guide,
And run not before Him whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow still follow the Lord,
and looking to Jesus still trust in, trust in the Lord.
Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul.
Each thought and each motive beneath his control;
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shall be fitted for service above.
Though soon shall be fitted for service above
William D. Longstaff, C. 1883



“Love Takes Time” Marvin J Ashton
True love is a process. True love requires personal action. Love must be continuing to be real. Love takes time. Too often expediency, infatuation, stimulation, persuasion, or lust are mistaken for love. How hollow, how empty if our love is no deeper than the arousal of momentary feeling or the expression in words of what is no more lasting than the time it takes to speak them. A group of college students recently indicated to me their least favorite expression to come from us as the older set is, “If there is ever anything I can do to help you, please let me know.” They, as do others, much prefer actions over conversation.We must at regular and appropriate intervals speak and reassure others of our love and the long time it takes to prove it by our actions. Real love does take time. The Great Shepherd had the same thoughts in mind when he taught, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15; italics added) and “If ye love me feed my sheep” (John 21:16; italics added). Love demands action if it is to be continuing. Love is a process. Love is not a declaration. Love is not an announcement. Love is not a passing fancy. Love is not an expediency. Love is not a convenience. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” and “If ye love me feed my sheep” are God-given proclamations that should remind us we can often best show our love through the processes of feeding and keeping.

"A Time to Prepare" Ian S. Arden 

There is much that is good with our easy access to communication and information. I have found it helpful to access research articles, conference talks, and ancestral records, and to receive e-mails, Facebook reminders, tweets, and texts. As good as these things are, we cannot allow them to push to one side those things of greatest importance. How sad it would be if the phone and computer, with all their sophistication, drowned out the simplicity of sincere prayer to a loving Father in Heaven. Let us be as quick to kneel as we are to text.

To have the peace the Savior speaks of (see John 14:27), we must devote our time to the things that matter most, and the things of God matter most. As we engage with God in sincere prayer, read and study each day from the scriptures, ponder on what we have read and felt, and then apply and live the lessons learned, we draw nearer to Him. God’s promise is that as we seek diligently from the best books, “[He] shall give unto [us] knowledge by his Holy Spirit” (D&C 121:26; see also D&C 109:14–15).

Time marches swiftly forward to the tick of the clock. Today would be a good day, while the clock of mortality ticks, to review what we are doing to prepare to meet God. I testify that there are great rewards for those who take time in mortality to prepare for immortality and eternal life.


Reflection

Alma 31:12 
Now, when they had come into the land, behold, to their astonishment they found that the Zoramites had built synagogues, and that they did gather themselves together on one day of the week, which day they did call the day of the Lord; and they did worship after a manner which Alma and his brethren had never beheld;
  • Are we like the Zoramites who only worship one day of the week and forget Christ the rest of the week?
  • Are we keeping our baptismal covenants?
  • How can we better prepare for the sacrament?
  • How can we better remember the covenants we make as we partake of the sacrament--to “always remember Him”?
  • How can we devote more of our heart, might, mind, strength--and time--to Christ?
  • What things do we need to eliminate from our lives that are wasting time?
    • You cannot kill time without injuring eternity. – Henry David Thoreau

Alma 12: 24 And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.

How are you preparing to meet God? Will you know Him because you have spent so much time with Him? Will you feel comfortable being in His presence


Record one goal of how you will better consecrate your time to Christ.

Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. – H. Jackson Brow

You have been given exactly the same amount of hours per day that were given to Jesus Christ. How are you spending your time? Are you coming closer to Him each day? Are you progressing or regressing? 

You’re writing the story of your life one moment at a time. – Doc Childre and Howard Martin
Invitation
Evaluate how you use your time each day.  Are you making enough time to develop your relationship with Christ?  

 What will you do to make more time for your relationship with Christ each day?



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Monday, June 16, 2014

Day 2 - Communication

Communication

"If you want to stay close with someone who has been dear to you, but from who you are separated, you know how to do it.  You would find a way to speak to them, you would listen to them, and you would discover ways to do things for each other.  The more often that happened, the longer it went on, the deeper would be the bond of affection.  If much time passed without the speaking, the listening, and the doing, the bond would weaken." 
- Henry B. Eyring
Think about one of your close friends.  You know their voice and could distinguish it in a crowd easily.  Why is that?  How did you learn to distinguish their voice from others?

What can you do to tune out voices of others and focus on Christ's voice?

What can we learn from Christ's example as He focuses on "the one"?

What does it take to recognize His voice?


Know His Voice


Ask for Advice & Give Frequent Updates

  • Think about your friends.  The people with whom you are close to are those with whom you talk about everything - friends, family, dreams, goals, experiences, etc.  You want to be updated on their life and tell them all of the new things happening in yours!  You ask them for advice when it comes to making decisions.
Christ is there for us in that exact same way.

  • Alma 37:37 - "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good.  Yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."
  • "The Will of God" - Mormon Message Video - https://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#the-will-of-god


    • Do you willingly accept the Lord's will?
       
    • Do you come to Christ seeking His guidance and advice on how to handle life's difficulties?
    • Christ is the expert at overcoming adversity...  Do you ask for His mentorship when you are experiencing trials?
  • "The Master Weaver's Plan"
  • Alma 7:23 - "And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive."
    • Do you seek Christ's adivce?
    • When you receive revelation do we listen?  Do we act?
    • Are you humble enough to take Christ's advice and sometimes be chastised?  Or do you have to be compelled to be humble?
    • Are you humble enough to ask for His help?


Prayer

  • In the nineteenth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord says to you and me:

    "Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing - yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth and corruptibleness to the extend thereof.

    Behold, canst thou read this without rejoicing and lifting up thy heart for gladness?

    Or canst thou run about longer as a blind guide?

    Or canst thou be humble and meek, and conduct thyself wisely before me?  Yea, come unto me thy Savior.  Amen." (D&C 19:38–41)
    In that scripture, and in others, it is clear how often we should speak to God: regularly in words, continually in feelings.  When the Savior appeared among the people on this continent, after his resurrection, he taught them how to pray.  He used the words, "Pray always."  That doesn't mean now and then.  It doesn't mean to pray only when you feel like it."


Invitation 

Read through the following excerpts from the book, Face to Face by Michael Wilcox (or just ponder scriptures, talks, and other resources about prayer).   In his book, Face to Face, Brother Wilcox discusses several ways to reach out to our Father in prayer.  Read the following excerpts (or other scriptures, talks, and resources about prayer) and ponder your personal communication with our Father.

Choose one or two things that you will do each day in your personal prayers with the Lord - work on doing those things throughout the rest of the walk with Christ.

Communicating with our Father Face to Face

  • "I believe our lives are, in a sense, a constant reaching upward toward God.  We must talk with him as did Moses, face to face.  This is not only what we long for, but what God also ardently desires.  For Moses, that may have meant an actual physical encounter.  For most of us, it is an expression that suggests friendship, open communication, honesty, and familiar conversations."
  • "Sometimes simple prayer is not enough: we need a face-to-face finding.  We also need to learn how God speaks to us individually, for he comes to us as we are.  What do we do?  How to we commence?  What paths do we climb?  How do we feel after God?  How do we find him? ... [The word] reached gives us a wonderful visual image.  We reach with our voices, with our desires, with our pouring outs, with our wrestlings, with our asking and seeking and knocking, and with our feeling mind until heaven responds and we meet face to face.
Reaching Through Pouring Out


  • "I did pour out my whole soul unto God." - Enos 1:9
  • "Prayer to me seems to imply only words or ideas.  Pour out encompasses the world of emotions and feelings... I believe what the Father wants from us is the contents of our souls.  I sense that unless we pour out, he cannot pour in.  We want to make sure we empty everything out to make room for what he will give us in return.  In deep communication with our Father in Heaven, this pouring out and pouring in binds us to one another."
  • "Whatever we find within ourselves we may pour out, and we should do so with the most open honesty - fears, disappointments, hoped-for fulfillments and dreams, wounds, frustrations, everything.  Sometimes I visualize the human heart as something like a racetrack.  At the center is the magnetic pull of our deepest needs, desires, anxieties, or questions.  But for whatever reason, we spin rapidly around the track in our thoughts and communications with our Father without ever going to those tender center points.  The speed of our prayers tries somehow to keep us out of those sensitive places.... Suffice it to say here that inevitably people harbor these thoughts [complaint, frustration, doubt, fear, anxiety, desires, hopes, bitterness, confusion, hopelessness, etc.] in their souls often without taking them to God, not just in simple prayer, but in pouring out prayer which speaks honestly and lays everything before their Maker... Frank sincerity is always a part of pouring out."
  • "Sometimes we pour out not because we are going to change God's mind, or because we expect God to make things different, or even because we expect an answer.  Our pouring out arises out of our own need.  We pray because we must pray, and prayer becomes its own answer.  God's listening is the simple restorative for our spiritual health... The pouring in given by God [consists of] feelings of comfort, peace, forgiveness, acceptance, hope, words of consoling intimacy, and [even] in the form of truth or insight."
  • "We do not always pour out our spiritual and emotional needs, but also our adorations, gratitudes, and loves!  Are these not also needs, in truth? ...  At times the heart is so full of love it spills over...  This kind of pouring out focuses not so much on gifts given us by our Father in Heaven, but on the giver of those gifts... These pouring outs to each other are needed, perhaps not for us who do the pouring out as much as those into whose ears the love and appreciation flow.  If this is true of our interpersonal relationships, how much more true is it with our Eternal Father in Heaven?"


Reaching Through Wrestling


  • "Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer." - Alma 8:10
  • "And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before the Lord..." - Enos 1:2
  • "When I wrestle... I'm "feeling after" something to hold tightly to, to lock firmly into my heart."
  • "We all want to advance from belief to affirmation to certainty, and we will as we feel after, reach for, and in time meet God face to face.  We all will wrestle... For those who wrestle - from the deepest doubts to how to best raise a child; from rising through hope and forgiveness to the approach of an uncertain, perhaps even fearful futures - the Spirit seems to testify, "Don't give up.  At the end of your labors the answers come and the pillars erected are stronger for having wrestled them into position."

Reaching Through Believing



  • "For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." - Hebrews 3:14
  • "Sometimes we wrestle and reach to obtain - and sometimes we reach and wrestle to keep or hold fast to what we have already received and may lose without constant vigilance." (this could be having confidence in yourself, making progress with a certain goal, or even continuing to have faith in an answer you've already received).
  • "Ten-piece promises (promises the Lord has made with us but not yet fulfilled or might be hard for us to believe will be fulfilled) may come to us in patriarchal blessings, or in words spoken at general conference, or in the scriptures, or to our open, receptive minds when in righteousness we stand in the field to receive them.  But ten-piece promises, though compelling, desired, and given in the most faith-promoting of environment and form the most trusted of sources, still often require wrestling and reaching to hold them tightly in our hands... Believing in ten-piece promises may be our highest reach of all."
    • I even think that ten-piece promises can be the knowledge that we have obtained about the nature of God and our divine worth.  A lot of times we are told that we are daughters of God.  And we are - that is true.  But sometimes that can be hard to consistently believe and hold fast to when we begin to feel self-conscious or down about our looks, personalities, talents, etc. and compare ourselves to those around us.  I would encourage us all to think about how we can strengthen our faith in these ten-piece promises as well.
  • "I have the utmost faith in ten-piece promises, but they sometimes demand that we reach beyond the earthly evidence that tells us otherwise.  We have to live the "if."  Yet as we feel after our Father in Heaven, he will provide experiences to strengthen our belief, experiences where we can slide the rent bits of cloth across our hands and believe again, and again, and again, until fulfillment comes."



Reaching Through Acting



  • "Wherefore the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself." - 2 Nephi 2:16
  • "I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man." - Ether 3:4
  • There is, in a way of speaking, a restraining force in God's relationship with his children.  he will only do what benefits them.  This is what he was telling me as I stood on the doorstep wrestling with his counsels and trying to find the courage to act on that inspiration while at the same time trying to [make myself believe] they were not the right course to pursue.  It is critically important for us in our reaching that we realize and hold this truth in the very core of our souls."
  • "I think that sometimes our highest reaching is contained in how we respond to a question God might ask us about our petitions... 'If I answer, will you act?  Will you believe?  Will you testify?  Will you live it?'"

Reaching Through Desire
  • "I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.  My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord." - Psalm 104:33-34
  • "The mind is always busy, wishing to speak, but the soul may need quiet, wanting to feel.  Most of our reaching will probably be of the uttered kind, but there is an equal potential in the unexpressed kind.  In fact it may be a higher reaching.  Here desire may not mean those things I want or need, but simply love. .. That love carries naturally within it the desire to be a better person, on of the truest qualities of love.  So it is with God.  being filled with desire of this type lifts one to want intensely to live in such a manner that the Father would say of us, "this is my dear child, in whom I delight."
  • Saint Teresa spoke of the soul as a garden that needed watering; the water could be supplied in different ways.  In the garden grew the flowers, shrubs, and trees of human virtues.  Each soul would want his or her garden to be beautiful so the Lord would walk in it.  "With God's help, we have to make these plants grow, as good gardeners do, "she wrote, "watering them carefully so that they don't die but begin producing flowers, which give off an appealing scent, to delight this Lord of ours.  Then He will come frequently to take pleasure in these virtues.  "This metaphor gave teresa a great deal of comfort and helped her convey her own experiences to others.  "It used to please me enormously to think of my soul as a garden, and imagine that the Lord was walking in it.  I begged Him to increase the fragrance of those little flowers of virtue that were, it seemed, just starting to bloom... I didn't want anything for myself." (Medwick, Teresa of Avila, 99, 104)... For Teresa, desire meant love, not requests."
  • "There are persons - and I have been one of them - to whom the Lord gives tenderness of devotion and holy inspirations and light on everything.  He bestows this Kingdom on them and brings them to the Prayer of Quiet, and yet they deafen their ears to His voice.  For they are so fond of talking and of repeating a large number of vocal prayers in a great hurry, as though they were anxious to finish their task of repeating them daily, that when the Lord, as I say, puts His kingdom into their very hands, by giving them this Prayer of Quiet and this inward peace, they do not accept it, but think they will do better to go on reciting their prayers, which only distracts them from their purpose..." (Saint Teresa)
  • "Perhaps desire... may mean we are so united in oneness with the Father that our hearts, minds, and wills are the same.  We think, feel, love, share, request - the very things God wishes for us to have or do because of this oneness."


Reaching Through Knocking
  • "The keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there... And whoso knocketh, to him will he open." - 2 Nephi 9:41-42
  • "We might consider that a type of knocking is the approach to the Lord's door we call pondering.  We could call this the serene knock of inquiry.  Wrestling, which we discussed earlier, is a more vigorous knocking.  The knocking of familiarity is developed over time and with a mutual sharing of common purpose and love, of moments spent together in the soul's garden.  It is often followed by and demonstrated through actions of obedience and uncommanded goodness.  Pondering is more solitary... Pondering may be a search for all the possible courses from which we can choose...  Pondering is also a calming of the mind...  When we still our minds, thus inviting the Lord's reflections to reveal themselves, we are saying to God, "I am ready to receive."
  • "If we wish to meet God face to face, we must learn to knock and recognize in our own lives the Lord's knocking in return.  We feel after him, but he also feels after us.  We want to find him, but he also wants to find us.  Friendship always flows in both direction.  There must be two faces for face-to-face relationships."
  • "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (D&C 88:36) -- not only are we seeking knowledge and understanding, but also those face-to-face encounters with the Lord himself.
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