Turning our Hearts (Not just temple work!!!!!)

Malachi 4:5-6
5 ¶ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Having our hearts turned to our father's is often talked about. We are meant to save those souls who have gone before us by doing their temple work. And while doing temple work is important, I feel very strongly that just doing their temple work isn't enough. Doing Family History doesn't mean doing temple work. While they are very connected, they are two separate things. Doing family history does often mean learning about dates and places, but it also means learning ABOUT the person. So when people tell me that most of their family history work is done I laugh. If most of their family's temple work is done, that's great, but if that person can't tell me stories about their ancestors, then they can't say that their family history is done. Family history is personal, it's about personally learning about them. That is what it means to turn YOUR heart to your fathers. Because when you really take the time to learn about someone, then you come to love them.

Go and Do = Faith

1 Nephi 3:7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

This has always been one of my favorite scriptures. It was one of the reasons I went on a mission. And I've always thought of it in terms of obedience. God will help you when you are obedient. That is a truth. However, as I've recently been learning about faith, I realize that this is a scripture about faith. Faith means that you trust in God no matter what. Faith means that you always do what he asks you to because you believe that he knows best (and yes that is obedience). Faith is the power that enables us to do what God asks us to do.

In my study about faith lately I've learned three things about faith (well three things so far. There is so much to learn about faith!). Faith is trust, faith is action/obedience and faith is power. All three of them work together to accomplish the Lord's work when we do our best. He is always there for us!

Savior Redeemer of My Soul

Something that has really struck me lately is how, not only does the Savior know how to comfort us, but he also knows our weaknesses, and he knows how to strengthen us against them.

D&C 62:1
"Behold, and hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted."

Something I learned in my religion class that I love is that the greatest miracle of all is repentance. And another thing was that my teacher said that we should never stop asking for the Miracle of forgiveness. I have heard (and read a little of) the book by President Kimball entitled "The Miracle of Forgiveness," but the meaning of this title, finally connected in my head. Because the Savior, understands us perfectly, and because of His infinite sacrifice we can repent and be forgiven. Where would we be without any of this, and just as the hymn says "Savior Redeemer of my Soul, whose mighty hand hath made me whole."

Pondered them in her Heart

We live in a world that promotes openly sharing just about anything and everything about your life with everyone. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter definitely help to make that possible. While there is something to be said about being open and always being yourself, I think that often things are taken way too far, and we need to be careful that sacred things are not always shared. While this is (hopefully) obvious for things like the temple, I think there are times when Heavenly Father wants us to keep some personal experiences to ourselves too. We need to go by the spirit to know when to share things and when not to, instead of automatically posting everything.

One of my favorite scriptures is Luke 2:19

             But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

This it is short and simple I believe that there is a great lesson to be learned from this or it wouldn't have been written in the scriptures :)
Do we take the time to not only be grateful for our special experiences and tenders mercies, but to also ponder on them? And what does it mean to truly ponder? Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said that "Pondering, which means to weigh mentally, to deliberate, to meditate, can achieve the opening of the spiritual eyes of one’s understanding. Also, the Spirit of the Lord may rest upon the ponderer as described by President Smith" (1). Most often when I think about pondering I think of it in the terms of just "thinking about something." But Elder Wirthlin refers to it as "the  opening of the spiritual eyes of one’s understanding." I can't think of a time of the world when spiritual eyes need to be opened to understanding more then our time. Neither is there a more needed time for us to have "the Spirit of the Lord... rest upon [us]" as now.

I know that Heavenly Father wants us to have many personal spiritual experiences, even daily personal spiritual experiences. I also know that there are times to share them with others to help and uplift. The "trick" is knowing when to and when not to, and for that we need to spirit :)

(1) Wirthlin, Joseph B. Pondering Strengthens the Spiritual Life. April 1982. lds.org.

According to His Will

These week has been an interesting week for me. Just a lot going on inside this crazy head of mine :)
I've been learning a lot though, and trying to focus more on making sure I have scripture study and it has been a neat experience for me! Just another witness from Heavenly Father that what he asks us to do is really for out benefit. With that in mind, this scripture in the Words of Mormon really stood out to me in Chapter 1 verse 7:

"And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will."

Mormon is speaking here referencing that fact that he doesn't always understand why the spirit directs him to compile certain writings and teaching, but that he does it and trusts God.

The word trust has come to mean a lot to me, in my mind, for experiences I've had in my life, it is synonymous with faith. I have to recognize that I don't always understand why things happen to me, or why Heavenly Father asks me to do certain things, but I know that He sees the big picture and that it will all be ok, and it will all make sense in the end.

Heavenly Father has specific things he has planned for us in this life, that's why we have the personalities that we have, and the talents and gifts. And if we allow Him to, he can make much more of our lives then we can :)

Speedily Obedient

Today my in our family scripture study we read this verse from Alma Chapter 8:

18 Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah. And he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of the city of Ammonihah.

What really struck me today was the word speedily. It made me wonder, how often do I do what the Lord asks speedily? So many times he asks me to do things that aren't necessarily hard, but I forget about them and then remember days later. Here Alma is, and the Lord asks him to do something really hard and Alma goes speedily. 

I'm grateful for reminders from the scriptures, and I am resolving to be not only more obedient, but more speedily obedient :)

A Mission

This week I read the talk from General Conference given by Elder Neil L. Andersen entitled "A witness of God." When I first started reading it I have to be completely honest that "Oh no, not another talk about missionary work" crossed my mind (which I'm repenting of ;) ). However, this passage really struck me. Elder Andersen said:

"To be a witness of God at all times and in all places reflects both how we live and how we speak.

Be open about your faith in Christ. When the occasion presents itself, speak of His life, His  teachings, and His incomparable gift to all mankind. Share His powerful truths from the  Book of Mormon. He has given us this promise: “Whosoever …shall confess me before  men, him will I confess … before my Father … in heaven.”10 I promise you that as you pray often and sincerely for opportunities to “stand as a witness of God,” those opportunities will come, and those who seek more light and knowledge will be put before you. As you respondto spiritual promptings, the Holy Ghost will carry your words to the heart of another, and oneday the Savior will con-fess you before His Father."

It occurred to me that so often in the church we categorize missionary work as "teaching and baptizing people who aren't members of the church." While this is a part of it (a very small part of it that I feel is over emphasized), being a missionary is so much more than that. The word missionary in the Webster dictionary is:
"a person undertaking a mission and especially a religious mission." 
Then what does being a missionary really mean? The missionary purpose is to: "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end."
It just says to invite others, doesn't that really mean everyone? So whether it is our family, friends, roommates, friends and even ourselves, "Mormon" or not being a missionary means to, as Elder Andersen says, "be a witness of God at all times and in all places reflects both how we live and how we speak," then surely we can all be missionaries. Maybe this is just me ranting because I feel like members of the church try to "DO missionary work" instead of just BEING a missionary, which comes from the effects of my mission where I felt like we were taught to do that. But to me being a missionary should just be who we are as disciples of Christ. When we believe and love him it should just be natural to talk about him to others and to share what we believe. Is it easy for me to go up to random strangers and abruptly start talking about the church? Nope! And I honestly don't think it ever will. But can I talk to my friends, family and roommates every single day about gospel topics and about what I believe? Yes! And maybe someday I will have more opportunities to share the gospel in a personal way outside of my friends/family circle, and I hope that I do.
Why as Latter-day Saints is it weird to talk about gospel subjects on a daily basis? (I know I'm generalizing a lot here, but I have met people who seem to feel that way).

In conclusion, this thought process that has literally taken place as I've been writing has helped me want to be a better disciple in the every day small things. If no one reads this (and I kinda hope no one does) it is fine because Heavenly Father taught me things in the process.