Friday , February 11, 2011
The BeginningHere I am at the beginning of my mission in Tennesse. I am so excited to share the gospel but yet I feel so unprepared. I want to so dearly share the joy that comes from being a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but as a 21 year old woman I feel inadequate. What has seemed to carry me through so much is my faith in Jesus Christ and encouraging words from The Book of Mormon.
"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.
And my prayer to God is concerning my brethren, that they may once again come to the knowledge of God, yea, the redemption of Christ; that they may once again be a delightsome people."
(Word of Mormon 1:7-8)
This is exactly how I feel. I want every person to come to know of Christ, His restored gospel and the joy that follows. Yet I am held back by my fears and flaws. The beautiful thing is that if I follow God's will and have faith I can overcome them. The Lord can work through me and His gospel will bless lives. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for His unconditional love and endless patience.
Monday, February 14, 2011
DiligenceYou know when there is a word that just seems to continually be wherever you look? Well for me lately that word has been "diligence". Every time I read The Book of Mormon I see that word. It lingers in my mind and causes me to wonder its importance in my life. As I have thought about it I have come to discover a few things.
The first is the meaning of diligence. I looked up the meaning of the word and it said "a constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken." That seems to align perfectly with what I have observed about diligence. You keep going and working hard until you finish what you started. (The best example of this being Nephi and his trials in the wilderness. Look in any chapter of 1 Nephi and you will see he is the description of diligent.)
The second is how diligence relates to me being a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am here to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ with the people of Tennessee. Every minute of my day should be dedicated to fulfilling my responsibilities. I need to be diligently searching, serving, praying, and teaching. I must be diligent in my obedience so that I can always have the Holy Ghost to lead and guide me. I need to diligently love and car for the people here. They are the reason I am here and my goal is help them find the peace and joy that come from being a member of this church.
The last discovery is how diligence is related to the gospel. That connection has to do with a principle of this church called "enduring to the end". But to endure to the end you must know the principles and ordinances that come before that. Therefore my next posts will be about those preceding principles and ordinances which are Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, and Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Faith in Jesus Christ
"And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." (Moroni
Through faith you know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Through faith you trust Christ and his works. Through faith you apply His Atonement and feel of His love. Faith is what is required of us to make it back to our Heavenly Father. But does that mean you say, "I have faith in Jesus Christ" once and a while and you are saved? No, faith in Christ is more, it is an action. It is following Christ and His example. You have faith by trying everyday to obey the commandments of God and repenting when you make a mistake. Your faith is shown by living a commandment and then realizing the truth of it. You "receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (Ether 12:6) Faith in Jesus Christ creates righteous desired, helps us face the trials of life, and leads us back to God.
So how do we gain faith? The answer is found in this scripture:
"But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."
(Alma
All it takes is a desire. Once you have that desire and allow it to work in you, your faith will grow. Each day your faith in Christ will strengthen and you will want to follow Him. I know that this works. I have tried it in my own life and seen the results. I have come to have faith in Jesus Christ and know that this church is His restored gospel on this earth . This faith and knowledge blesses my life daily.
