"Ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led"

Hello! I love to post on this blog, so I don't know why I don't do it more often! I need incentive....or something.

Well, in The Book of Mormon, we read of Nephi's continuous obedience in the Lord in whatever he was asked. When he was asked to build the ship, he immediately repsonded with the question of where to find tools. He did not question what the Lord wanted of him or how he could possibly do it, because of his faith (1 Nephi 3:7). In chapter 17, he is comforted by the Lord in this manner, and I believe that this applies to all of us: "And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led." (emphasis added) I love this verse. He tells us that He will be our Light in the wilderness. This can be for anything, whether you're in college and feel like you're the only Mormon or if you're struggling with being bullied. We can Come unto Him and He will be that light we can hold onto in our times of uncertainty.

From reading the scriptures and attending church every sunday, we have many opportunities as Latter Day Saints of The Church of Jesus Christ to feel the Spirit and if we have the faith that He is there for us and will lead us through the wilderness, we will find that He loves us so much. We will find more and more evidence throughout our days, that He is watchful over us and we will recognize His hand in our everyday lives.

Through personal experience, whenever I have inquired of the Lord for help, I feel comforted. I know that He will always be with me, because He loves me and you more than either of us can comprehend! In the New Era (a Church magazine for young adults) they come out with a Mormonad that I look forward to every month! This one represents God's love for us. Even if we make bad decisions, He still loves us dearly. There are no petals that come off that say He hates you. HE LOVES YOU. HE LOVES YOU. HE LOVES YOU.

I know that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us and we can take anything to them and we will be at peace. I would encourage you all to seek for that evidence that proves Their love for you. I see it in my everyday life. I know that because He loves us, He gives us trials and temptations, and He knows that we can overcome them and endure. If we stay on the strait and narrow path back to our Heavenly Father, we will be more happy and blessed. I love all of the knowledge I continue to gain about my Savior and this Gospel, and I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

AND REMEMBER:

HE LOVES YOU.

Have any questions? Comments? Feel free to message me! :)

-- Christian

These ARE the Last Days.

All around us today we see hate, sin, and unrighteousness. Elder Dallin H Oaks, in the February Ensign, wrote of "Truth and Tolerance" within the world around us. I read it and I encourage all of you to do the same. I would like to quote the few parts of it that I believe are significant.

"We believe in absolute truth, including the existence of God and the right and wrong established by His commandments. We know that the existence of God and the existence of absolute truth are fundamental to life on this earth, whether they are believed in or not. We also know that evil exists and that some things are simply, seriously, and everlastingly wrong.
The philosophy of moral relativism, which holds that each person is free to choose for him or herself what is right and wrong, is becoming the unofficial creed for many in the United States and other Western nations. At the extreme level, evil acts that used to be localized and covered up like a boil are now legalized and paraded like a banner. Persuaded by this philosophy, many of the rising generation are caught up in self-serving pleasures, pornography, dishonesty, foul language, revealing attire, pagan painting and piercing of body parts, and degrading sexual indulgence.
In this troubled circumstance, we who believe in God and the corollary truth of absolute right and wrong have the challenge of living in a godless and increasingly amoral world. In this circumstance, all of us—especially the rising generation—have a duty to stand up and speak out to affirm that God exists and that there are absolute truths that His commandments establish.
Because followers of Jesus Christ are commanded to be leaven, we must seek tolerance from those who hate us for not being of the world. As part of this, we will sometimes need to challenge laws that would impair our freedom to practice our faith, doing so in reliance on our constitutional rights to the free exercise of religion. The big concern is “the ability of people of all faiths to work out their relationship with God and one another without the government looking over their shoulder.” That is why we need understanding and support when we must contend for religious freedom.
Third, believers should not be deterred by the familiar charge that they are trying to legislate morality. Many areas of the law are based on Judeo-Christian morality and have been for centuries. Western civilization is based on morality and cannot exist without it. As the second U.S. president, John Adams, declared: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”"
I know that this is divine counsel from one of our prophets. And with the new missionary age being lowered, Our Heavenly Father is responding with His army. We need to be one of His top men. One with great faith, obedience, and diligence in the Gospel. These ARE the last days. There's no questioning it. Very soon we will have to choose between following God, or Satan. There will be no more fence sitters. Choose Liberty and Eternal Life.
I know that this is the right time for the age to be lowered, and i would hope that we all, young and old, will be active in The Lord's army. I love to read words from our Prophets on the Earth today and may we pray for their health and guidance by the Holy Ghost in what we need to hear. I know that God lives and wants the best for us, even if it seems like He's not there. He always is. And I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Got Pride Problems? Well, that's not good!

In our everyday lives, we may find ourselves being self centered and only caring about the things that will affect us (*Enmity). I know that happens to me all the time. I need to work on it. Luckily, there are numerous things that can be done so you're more focused and attentive to others. :) One powerful way that I have found is through service. Whenever I personally serve someone, I feel like I don't matter. My mind is focused on the well being of others. And when you serve others, you are rewarded! It's a win-win! God will bless you, and you'll get that warm feeling from the Holy Ghost testifying to you that what you are doing is right. 

How should you serve someone? Sometimes the simplest things mean the most. They can be as simple as smiling at someone walking down the hall, or helping someone to pick up things they've dropped, telling somebody they matter--there are countless things that you can do to spread happiness in this world. "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass" (Alma 37:6-7). 

In my life, I think that the best way to serve is in secret. My family has that tradition because it's a surprise and you feel loved. Then you try to figure out who the culprit is! :) I challenge you guys to try it. I love doing it for people, and I like receving it. 

In the Book of Mormon, Mormon gives us this warning: 

"And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.

For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.

O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?

Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?"

For those that "walk in the pride of your [own] hearts", It is a disease that has a cure. I hope that some day we are all full of charity and love toward others. I would like to conclude today with a quote from one of our beloved past prophets, President Ezra Taft Benson, "Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.

The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us." 

When I read this quote, I realized I made this mistake in the early part of this post. So, through enmity, Satan has gotten to us. And we do not want that, at all. I hope. Satan likes to see us fail, he makes us believe that there will not be any consequences and leads us carefully down to the depths of despair and sin. In this talk that President Benson gave (Great talk by the way! https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/04/beware-of-pride?lang=eng), he concludes with this great statement. Which I will show below. But I just want to say that we are not perfect, no one is, but through Christ and His Atonement, it is possible! And I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

          "Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion. I repeat: Pride is the great          stumbling block to Zion."