Keeping an eternal perspective.

Today in sacrament meeting, the speakers talked about keeping an eternal perspective. I thought they had some really great messages.

One of the ways to help us keep an eternal perspective is that we have to remember who we are. We are children of God, and He loves us.

Another way is to keep the Holy Ghost with us. In a quote read by the first speaker, Sister Sheri Dew said, "Our challenge is not one of getting the Lord to speak to us. Our problem is hearing what He has to say. He has promised, “As often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit” (D&C 6:14)." We must be confident in our first promptings from the Holy Ghost.

God's plan for us is often fluid, and can be an adventure. Sometimes we can be confident that God wants us heading in one direction, and then later He can be directing us down a different path in a different direction. But He doesn't tell us all the answers every time.

The third way is to remember that it's a doubles match. God is in our court. We are supported by Him, and He will help us as we move forward.

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Asking "why" never takes away the hard things. Life gets crazy. Sometimes God calms the seas, and sometimes He calms the sailor.

In the talk "Accepting the Lord's Will and Timing", Elder Bednar said he asked Elder Neal A. Maxwell what lessons he learned through his illness (he had leukemia) and he said, “I have learned that not shrinking is more important than surviving.” Just as Jesus shrank not to drink the bitter cup, we, too, can shrink not to drink the bitter cup. It's like taking medicine–it tastes terrible, but you need to take it in order to get better. We need to "drink the bitter cup" and stand tall. God is with us, and He will help us through it all.

"Trial" in the medical world has a positive connotation. As you go through trials, you are getting closer and closer to the answers. "Clinical trials are research studies that test how well new medical approaches work in people. Each study answers scientific questions and tries to find better ways to prevent, screen for, diagnose, or treat a disease." Trials that we go through in our lives are testing that helps us develop our faith and testimony. The variety of experiences and challenges that we go through is for our growth. Living the Gospel gives us the support and understanding we need to get through this life. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week! God loves you! 

Xoxo

Mattie

Take a leap of faith.

I had the opportunity to go to my friend's farewell today, and he did a great job!! He and his brothers also sang a beautiful a cappella arrangement of "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" and it gave me goosebumps!!

He gave his talk on the importance of the Holy Ghost, and the importance of living worthily to have the Spirit as a companion. He based his talk off of President Henry B. Eyring's talk entitled "The Holy Ghost Is Your Companion". He said that the Holy Ghost gives us the power to discern truth from falsehood, and that the truth that matters most is verified only by revelation from God. The Holy Ghost also gives us hope and comfort; we are able to know of things that we otherwise might not see or feel. We need the Holy Ghost so that he can give us guidance and direction.

I know that this is so true!! Sometimes I've felt like I should say something or send something to a friend and I didn't know why, but I would later find that what I said or sent them was something that they really needed at that time. So grateful for the Holy Ghost and so grateful for the opportunities that I have had to be the answer to someone's prayers. <3

The speaker after my friend was a man in his ward. He based his talk off of Elder James B. Martino's talk entitled "Turn to Him and Answers Will Come". He talked about Lehi's dream. He said something very intriguing. He said that our parents led us to the iron rod. And then he said that missionaries lead the lost and wandering to the rod. I thought that was very cool; I've never thought about that before, but that's what the missionaries are doing.

He said that to continue holding on to the rod, and staying on the right path, we need to:

• be converted to the Gospel (and to Jesus Christ. That's my two cents)
• continue in obedience. We need to follow the commandments. Remember when you've felt the Spirit. He said that a lack of spiritual habits seems to make you forget those times that you've felt the Spirit. He said don't give up. Never give up.
• Trials! I thought this one was interesting. Our trials are a great teacher. They give us experience and are for our good. It's never occurred to me that trials help us stay on the path–so long as you turn to Christ. If you let your trial take over your life, then it can lead you astray. So long as you turn to Christ, and Heavenly Father, your trial will help you grow.

His talk gave me a few insights into Lehi's dream, and staying on the path, that I'd never thought of before.

After my friend's farewell, I went back to my home ward. I pretty much missed Sunday School, but in Relief Society, Sister Nelson talked about adversity!!! I was like, "HEY! I had a trial this week!" It's still a trial, but man, was this lesson a blessing! 

We talked about how everyone has trials, and we always have trials. We are here on earth to have trials. Trials help us grow. When we remember that our Heavenly Father has helped us through our trials, that helps us be positive–we've been through them before, and He has always brought us through them, so He will bring us through this one. The Savior is also with us, and we are never alone. He is always there to help us. You just need to turn to Him and ask. 

We then talked about how the world is becoming more and more dangerous. But we don't have to fear because we have the Gospel, and we have the Savior. He will never leave us. He will come when the time is right. We need to remember that the Lord knows what He is doing. He will always be in front, beside, and behind us. "Doubt not, fear not."

Then we talked about things that can help us not fear the tribulations of the last days:

Faith and hope:

-They can dispel fear.

-Faith and fear cannot exist at the same time.

One of the ways to dispel fear is to stop fearing and just do it. Trust in the Lord. Take a leap of faith, and just step into the darkness. He will not let you fall.

In our trials, there is always a lesson to be learned; you just have to find it. The Lord is watching out for us. Our trials are for our good; they are to make us better. Some things we can only learn through our trials (as I posted yesterday). Our Heavenly Father is molding us for something more–He knows who we can become. 

And because today is Valentine's Day, I want to say something about that. :)

I am single this year (not that that's a significant change from any other year). And this is to all of my other single friends (and also to those who already are in a relationship). You have to love yourself first! You are the person who is going to be with you forever–even when no one is around. You're sort of stuck with yourself. So learn to love yourself. Figure yourself out first. That's what I'm doing right now. I am learning about myself. I've had to take some leaps of faith–I am still a shy person, so it's been difficult sometimes, discovering things about myself, but on the whole it's been fun. :) I'm grateful for my Savior, and my Heavenly Father, who love me unconditionally. I'm grateful for my friends and family–they love me, even on my bad days. They're always there for me, and I know that I can turn to them whenever I need them. This year has been great so far, but hopefully it will be even better than I imagine it will. :)

We just need to follow Him.

Well, Christmas was two days ago! I had a wonderful day with my family. I hope you did, too. :)

Today in sacrament meeting, the topic was the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is a companion to us–a gift from our Heavenly Father. He is there to comfort us, and to guide and direct us. He helps us know what is the right decision to do. He prompts us to say or do things that will bless others, or bless us, and that will answer people's prayers, even if we don't know that. 

In Gospel Doctrine, we talked about Revelation 6:6-11.
We talked about how the world is falling away from the Lord's laws. The world's definition of right and wrong is different from the Lord's–practically opposite: the Lord's right is the world's wrong and the Lord's wrong is the world's right. We talked about how Satan's plan–his plan in heaven–was to make everyone do the right thing. We would have no agency. Brother Shearer brought up the fact that the world is trying to make everything vanilla–take away all labels, and make everything and everyone the same. Satan is still trying to put his plan into action–except for now he's trying to make everyone do the wrong thing and go against God. He knows he cannot win, but he is going to try and take down as many people as he can.

We talked about how the opposite of faith is fear, and fear is not of God. Fear is from Satan. One of the ladies said that comparison is the thief of joy. When we compare ourselves to others, we usually compare our weaknesses to their strengths, which makes it so we never win. However, this is not a fair comparison! Weakness to strength is not a good comparison. And besides, you shouldn't compare yourself to others anyway, because we all go through different experiences. This is the reason why we have strengths and weaknesses: our experiences are all different, and they give us different results. 

We have to stand up for what is right. Someone (I think it was Brother Shearer again) said that people are becoming more afraid of offending others. Take this holiday season, for example. There is Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, etc. And people have taken to say "Happy Holidays" for fear of offending people. I'll tell you what: If someone says "Happy Hanukah" or Kwanza or whatever they celebrate to me, I will not be offended! I'll say "Thank you! You too" or "Thank you! Merry Christmas". The fact that they cared enough to wish me a happy (fill in the blank holiday) means a lot to me. I don't care what you celebrate. 

Someone else said that good will prevail. Good will prevail! God is going to win this war. You have to stand up for what is right. "Do what is right; let the consequence follow. Battle for freedom in spirit and might; and with stout hearts look ye forth till tomorrow. God will protect you; then do what is right!" (Do What Is Right, Hymn #237). God will bless you and protect you as you follow Him and listen to and follow His prophets and the Spirit. 

In Relief Society we talked about Christlike attributes, and how we need to think and be like Christ. My first thought was, "Perfect! This goes perfectly with the theme of my blog, Keeping Christ In Your Heart". 

We made a list of the attributes of Christ after watching a video that listed them. Christ is humble, obedient, courageous, kind, selfless, a teacher, submissive, full of love, a healer, a servant, and forgiving. Sister Nelson said that divine nature (like in the Young Women's theme) is the process of developing Christlike attributes. I loved that. We then read in 2 Peter 1:5-7, which added to our list of Christlike attributes:

"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity." 

When we develop these Christlike attributes, we become more Christlike (I hope that was obvious) and we are closer to being able to live with God again. Christlike attributes help us become a better person. I'm not perfect, and there are some attributes that I need to work on more than others, but trying to be Christlike makes me a better person. These attributes make me more aware of other's needs, though I still need to work on some of them. For example, I need to work on being more patient. That's something that I struggle with, but I'm trying.

Guess what? You can always ask Him for help. :) We don't have to do anything on our own, because we're not alone. We can do it with His help. You can ask Him to help you not feel bad after you've repented. You can ask Him to help you think good thoughts about someone that you don't always get along with. Whatever you need, you can ask Him. Because when we are partners with Him, we can never fail. He is always there looking out for us, even when we stray. He wants us to be like Him, and He wants us to be able to return to Him. He's given us all that we need, and we just need to follow Him. :)

Inspiration and the Holy Ghost.

The Lord knows how to guide us and teach us through the Spirit. The Spirit can help us in ways that man-made remedies can not. I was really nervous about speaking in Sacrament meeting today–my heart was beating out of my chest–so I prayed and instantly received the thought, "Be still and know that I am God", and my heart stopped pounding. I was still nervous, but my body was at peace, and that made it easier to speak. So, here's my talk:

“The Holy Ghost can do for us physically, emotionally, mentally, and intellectually what no man-made remedy can begin to duplicate.” I was asked to speak on inspiration and the Holy Ghost, and I feel like this quote encompasses both in a way that I’ve never thought of before. While I was searching through talks I came upon Sister Linda K. Burton’s talk entitled “Tuning Our Hearts to the Voice of the Spirit”. In her talk, she asked this question: “Why does discerning the whisperings of the Spirit seem so difficult?” and then goes on to say, “Perhaps one reason is that the Spirit communicates both to our minds and to our hearts…we sometimes confuse our own thoughts and our own emotions with the promptings of the Spirit. Another reason is that discerning the Spirit is a gift of the Spirit. Just as learning a language comes easily to some and not to others, so does the ability to understand the whisperings of the Spirit. Most often, learning an instrument or language takes a great deal of effort, including practicing and sometimes making mistakes. So it is with…learning the language of the Spirit.”

One of our scripture mastery scriptures in seminary is Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3, and it says, “Behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart”. The Lord will give us inspiration from the Holy Ghost in our mind and heart. How many of us have difficulties discerning the Spirit from our own thoughts, though? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. In the Bible Dictionary, it says that the Holy Ghost “gives one a testimony of Jesus Christ and of his work an the work of his servants upon the earth.” So how exactly can we receive inspiration from the Holy Ghost? Well, in his talk entitled “How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life”, Elder Richard G. Scott says that, “The Holy Ghost communicates important information that we need to guide us in our mortal journey. When it is crisp and clear and essential, it warrants the title of revelation. When it is a series of promptings we often have to guide us step by step to a worthy objective, for the purpose of this message, it is inspiration.” I found this interesting, because I had never really thought about the difference between revelation and inspiration, and he said it perfectly: “when it is crisp and clear and essential, it warrants the title of revelation. When it is a series of promptings…it is inspiration.” Inspiration is given through promptings from the Holy Ghost because Heavenly Father needs you to do to help His children. He says that emotions such as anger, or defensiveness “will drive away the Holy Ghost”, so we need to get rid of those emotions, and have emotions such as happiness and peace in order to receive revelation or inspiration. “Careful quiet speech will favor the receipt of revelation”. He says that he fasts and prays to find and understand scriptures that will help him. He ponders what the scriptures means, and he prays. He said that “spiritual communication can be enhanced by good practices. Exercise, reasonable amounts of sleep, and good eating habits increase our capacity to receive and understand revelation.” It is easier for the Lord to speak to us when we are healthy and rested.

In her talk, Sister Burton had a list of things that we can do to feel and learn how the Spirit talks to us. One thing we can do is to pray humbly and sincerely. Heavenly Father wants us to know that He is there. He wants us to trust Him. She says that “To pray sincerely means we intend to act on the answer we receive.” When we are searching for the right thing to do, we need to be prepared to do what God will ask us to do. Another thing she said we could do was to act promptly on spiritual impressions. We all know the story of when President Monson was Bishop and received a prompting to go visit the veteran’s hospital several times, but he didn't leave until after the stake president had spoken and it was too late; the man had already died. “Never postpone a prompting.”
Elder Bruce R. McConkie said in a talk entitled “Agency or Inspiration” that “We’re faced with two propositions. One is that we ought to be guided by the spirit of inspiration, the spirit of revelation. The other is that we’re here…to use our agency…and we need to establish an intricate balance between these two”. When we search for an answer, or for inspiration, we need to do all we can to look for an answer; we shouldn’t just ask God, and then let it be. We need to search for an answer. We need to study our scriptures, pray, and read the words of the prophets. God will give us our answer only when He knows that we are ready and prepared for it. When we have done all that we can, He will give us our answer. He said, “The Lord has all wisdom, all knowledge, and all power; he knows how to govern and control and direct us in a perfect manner. He lets us determine what we should do, but he expects us to counsel with him.” He also expects us to search for the answer ourselves.

I know that our Heavenly Father sends us inspiration through the Holy Ghost. I know that in order to recognize the Spirit, we have to search, and pray, and prepare ourselves for answers, but when we are ready, He will send us inspiration and revelation. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and that He wants us to become more like Him. I know that He will not leave us alone, nor will He leave us unprepared. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

The Holy Ghost.

I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father. I had a test today (that I TOTALLY bombed, but I can go in tomorrow) and I would not have gotten as far as I did if the Holy Ghost hadn't brought to my mind the pieces of information that I needed to remember. Like, I seriously could not remember them at all; my mind drew a blank every time I tried to find it, but all of a sudden, POOF! there it was. And yes, I failed the test (I didn't even turn it in, actually, but that's a long story and involves freaking out, frustration, and tears, so I won't bother you with the details) but I can go take it tomorrow and this experience lets me know that I can have the Holy Ghost with me always, and he can help me remember things that I need to if I only ask. And today I did. I prayed with all of my heart that I would be able to remember them, and I did. And now I know that I'll be able to have him help me remember when I take the test (and finish it!) tomorrow.