Our Weekly Promise to God

This morning I was studying my scriptures and I had the thought of working on my Duty to God a little bit. I love the new format! It really does prepare the young men for our missions. Anyways, I was studying about the sacrament prayer and it came to my mind that this would be a good blog post to do! I feel like sometimes some members of the Church (and even me), take this sacred ordinance for granted. We get to receive a cleansing of our sins every week! That's so awesome! I'm so grateful for that. We start off our week with a new start. I love it. So to understand what really happens I thought I would include the sacrament prayers and discuss them a little. 

Doctrine and Covenants 20:77,79:

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he has given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."

So, these prayers are really powerful if you study them closely. When we partake of the bread and drink of the water, we promise to always remember Him, keep His commandments, and take His name upon us. In return, if we do this, we will always have His spirit to be with us! Isn't that sweet!?! And we are not perfect, so as long as we are willing and striving to do these things, we will have the Holy Ghost with us. 

In today's world there are so many distractions and it can be hard to always remember Jesus Christ. Luckily, the Church has numerous resources and helpful reminders! I ordered my own CTR ring (Choose the Right), and it always helps me remember who I am representing and who I am indebted to for giving me the opportunity to live with God again. Jesus Christ paved the way for you and I, and without Him, there would be no way to return. I am eternally grateful that Heavenly Father was willing to give up His Only Begotten Son. For ME! :) Another resource is seminary for youth. It's so awesome waking up every morning and hearing a message about the Gospel. My day is different without it. Those who aren't in seminary? Set aside a time each day to study your scriptures. Whether it's for 5 minutes or 20, that time spent will give you the power and the strength to get through your day. 

One of my favorite ways to receive strength and one that I lean on the most is through prayer. The Bible Dictionary gives great insight on prayer: "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God, then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them." 

And when we use these many things that God has given us to get through our hard weeks, we will still fall short. We will still sin. But, we need not be ashamed. Because last that I heard, our Church isn't for perfect people. We are all imperfect. We strengthen each other as we work our way back home. Dieter F. Uchtdorf says it much better than I can: "Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God's love encompasses us completely. ... He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.”

I know that we can receive strength through the sacrament prayer. If we are just willing to do those three things, we will be blessed with the Spirit. And with the Spirit, nothing can stop us. I know that Christ is my Redeemer. Without Him I would be lost forever. I'm so grateful for how much Heavenly Father loves me, though I have imperfections. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Never Give Up. :)

Missionary work is great! You get to see people change their lives to follow the Savior. It is an amazing experience to witness and makes us want to be even better. This past week I was chatting with a friend who I had prieviously talked to about our religions and she didn't really enjoy her church and didn't attend very often. I informed her of all the fun activities and opportunities that our Church offers for its members. She seemed pretty acceptive and wanted to come to a youth activity. There was a fall out for the one we planned and I told her when the next one came up I would tell her. Recently I had had an impression to invite her to church. Seeing that it was fast sunday coming up I thought that she would particularly enjoy it. I invited her and she reacted in a way that I did not entirely expect. She was offended that I asked her and was annoyed by it. I didn't even know what to say back to her. She apologized but I felt like she didn't really mean it.  

Since that experience I had been pretty down on myself and didn't know where to go from here. I had invited a lot of my friends already and they either weren't interested or got my hopes up and then it didn't work out. I want to spread this great message to all of my friends. Because I am a mormon, I live a great life. I know where I'll be going after I die, I know where I came from and why I am here. I know that whatever happens in my life, it is for the reason that my Heavenly Father loves me. And I want everyone I know to have that same knowledge. 

Today in Fast and Testimony meeting I bore my testimony and I knew that missionary work was a good thing. I knew at that point that I cannot give up. The Lord is calling us to the work. That doesn't mean that even more people will be interested than before. It means that we need to work harder, and involve the Spirit more with our teaching and finding people who are ready. Those people are out there. They don't know what to do and need that comfort that comes through the Gospel. I also found a quote by Elder Neil L. Andersen, and he states: "Whether or not the invitation is accepted as you invite others to come and see you will feel the approval of the Lord and, with that approval, an added measure of faith to share your beliefs again and again." (emphasis added). 

I love this work and I am so impressed and grateful for all of the hard work that the missionaries of the world put in every day to serve others to bring others unto Christ. I know that if we continue to share the Gospel, we will feel blessed and loved by our Heavenly Father because we are following His counsel. Never give up. And I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

The Courage of Abinadi.

Hello everyone! Brothers and sisters! Children of God! :) I have been reading in the Book of Mormon. I am trying to finish it before this new year of Seminary being the Book of Mormon. As I am nearing the midpoint, I have learned so much! I'm getting into Alma pretty soon and that brought me to the story of Abinadi. He is a true hero. Everyone was against him. Yet he had a strong enough faith to not deny his testimony when he was facing death. It makes me question...Do I have enough faith right now, that if I was sentenced to death for blogging about the Church, would I take all of it back? Or, would I be like Abinadi and stand for what is right and true? Ask yourself this question. What is your answer? If no, what can you do to strengthen your faith?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently gave a talk in General Conference titled, "Lord, I Believe" I strongly encourage those who feel that their faith is lacking, to re watch or read this talk. It is so awesome. He knows what he says is true. I'll pull a few quotes from his talk, that I found interesting. 

"In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited."

"Hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes."

"The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know."

"I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have. Sometimes we act as if an honest declaration of doubt is a higher manifestation of moral courage than is an honest declaration of faith. It is not!"

My stake president shared something with the missionary academy that I really enjoyed. It was a quote from Richard G. Scott, a talk he gave in 2003. It reads, "Faith will forge strength of character available to you in times of urgent need. Such character is not developed in moments of great challenge or temptation. That is when it is used. Character is woven patiently from threads of principle, doctrine, and obedience. In James we read: “The trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” ⁶ The bedrock of character is integrity. Worthy character will strengthen your capacity to obediently respond to the direction of the Spirit. Righteous character is what you are becoming. It is more important than what you own, what you have learned, or what goals you have accomplished. It allows you to be trusted. Righteous character provides the foundation of spiritual strength. It enables you in times of trial and testing to make difficult, extremely important decisions correctly even when they seem overpowering. I testify that neither Satan nor any other power can weaken or destroy your growing character. Only you could do that through disobedience. 

No matter what occurs, no matter how topsy-turvy the world becomes, you can always have the sustaining power of faith. That will never change. The perfect love of your Father in Heaven will never change. His gospel plan gives life meaning and can assure your happiness. His plan is not only to prove yourself here on earth but also that you may receive the growth that comes from correct decisions prompted by faith, enabled by your obedience." 

 

I know that if we have a strong faith in Jesus Christ, our trials will become easier through our Redeemer. If we are continuous in strengthening our faith, we will have the strength and courage that Abinadi had.  I know that our trials on this Earth are but a moment compared to the eternal happiness that we will feel when we are with our families and our loving Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.  I know that if we listen to the counsel of our Latter Day Prophet here on the Earth today, we will be blessed and be strengthened. And I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.