What is Love?

Love: Part One

Love is Forgiving,

Love is Divine,

Love is Redeeming,

Love is The Vine.

God is Love.

We Have a Father who Loves us.

The greatest love we feel comes from no earthly source. We are all loved by the most powerful being in the Universe. How amazing is that? Because of our Heavenly Father we live, breathe, love, and enjoy our existence here on earth. "It is significant that of all the titles of respect and honor and admiration that are given to Deity, He has asked us to address Him as Father" (Father, Consider Your Ways). God is our Father. He loves us more than we can comprehend. As we go through this life away from Him we are given glimpses and insights into how much He really does love us by the attention He pays to our personal needs. 

Prayer in a Rainstorm:

When I was a little boy living in Northern Utah, we had one day a large thunderstorm roll through. Living in a desert, as Utah is, storms are not too common. So all the rain was an exciting and at the time, scary adventure. In many Utah homes you have what are called window wells, which are holes dug down into the ground so that you can have natural light in your basements. Usually these window wells are lined with corrugated metal or plastic and if they don't have a proper drainage system they can get filled with water during big storms. This happened to be the predicament in which one of our neighbors had found themselves. Water had started leaking into their basement and so my dad went out to help them. I remember standing on the landing in our garage looking out at the driving rain and being worried about my dad out in the rain. He really wasn't in any danger, but my young mind was worried. With my earthly father out in the storm and me needing comfort, I turned to my Father in Heaven. With the faith of a child a prayer was said and down from the heavens came the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, a gift from my Father to reassure and calm my worried heart. I remember the warmth and peace that only come from on High. I remember feeling that all was going to be okay and that I didn't have to be worried about a thing.

I was a little child worried about something rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but my Heavenly Father, the one who holds all the cosmos in balance reached out to tell me that everything would be okay. Ever since then I have looked and found, sometimes in hindsight, the evidence of His love in my life. I know that He lives and loves us. How grateful I am for that. I know that as we seek the Lord, He will show himself unto us in our daily lives. I am grateful for the opportunity to know Him. I testify that He is always there waiting for us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" 

(John 16:33).

Serving others. Serving God.

Have you ever had the thought to do something nice for someone? Have you ever followed through on that thought? What did you do? How did you feel? These are a few of the questions I'd like to discuss. Service. It is one of the most basic elements in the gospel. All of what Jesus Christ did was service. He provided a way for us to repent and, through "relying wholly on the merits of Him who is mighty to save", obtain Eternal Life (2 Nephi 31:19).  I have come to know that it is by serving our Savior that happiness comes into our lives and that it is by living His way that draws us unto Him.

An Example: Jesus Christ

Throughout Christ's mortal ministry on the Earth He performed many acts of service. Today we call most of those things miracles, but service they were. Healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and raising the dead are all wonderful and miraculous examples of our Savior's service for those he was around. We have the mandate from his prophets to "mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:9). Why is that important? Because that is what He would do if he were in your place.

Something to Learn

"...I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17). From this scripture we see that whenever we take the time and serve someone in some way, it is as if we were doing that service to our Savior. He has said: "...Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40). He also warns us that if we ignore our duty to serve others, we are ignoring our duty to serve Him.

Personal Thoughts:

Throughout my life I've had many opportunities to share of my talents and abilities, some of those chances I took, others I let pass by, but every time I have thought of others over my own wants or needs I wind up better for it. This past week the opportunity to serve has been ever present. I know that the reason that I feel so good after serving is because the Spirit of the Lord is witnessing to me that what I am doing is right and what the Savior would have me do. He would have me help my neighbor, as he taught in the parable of The Good Samaritan (See Luke 10:30-37). I know that serving others is helping our Father in Heaven to accomplish the work he wishes to do among His children here on earth. I know that as I serve I feel a closeness to my Savior. Please give of yourselves so that God can fill you with his love! I know this to be the restored church of Jesus Christ. It is through His gospel I gain my happiest moments. I love my Savior, I look forward to serving Him in my new area in Jacksonville, this is His work. Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful day!

Repentance: A Process, Not An Event

Repentance: An Introduction

All throughout the books that we call scriptures there are accounts of people, cities, and nations being called unto repentance. We can see the difference between the way the Lord responded to those who repented and those who didn't. But in today's world we find that many people don't truly understand what it means to repent. What exactly is repenting and how do we move on? Is it simply asking for forgiveness of our past mistakes or is it something more than that?

First off: Why repent? 

Why should we repent? Why isn't our best effort on it's own enough? I know that no matter how hard I try to be the best person I can be that I have weaknesses and I simply cannot perfect myself of my own accord. So what is the point of life if we are all doomed to be imperfect? Christ once again has the answer to this question of the soul. In The Book of Mormon Christ appears to the people in the Americas and teaches them, and while there, He poses a question to the people. He simply asks "...what manner of men ought ye to be?" (3 Nephi 27:27). Directly after posing the question, without waiting for a response he gives His answer: "Verily I say unto you, even as I am." That is a tall request. His goal for us is to become like He is, perfect and like His Father. 

That is the main basis of why we repent. We wish to be like our Savior and he as commanded us to be perfect. He loves us and because He loves us we are able to have love for Him (1 John 4:19). He proclaimed "If ye love me, keep my commandments"(John 14:15). How can we show our love for Him if we aren't willing to follow the counsel from his hand to become perfect like Him? The scriptures show us all the things we should do and when we put them together we can find the way to do all things. 

Second: What is Repentance and How is it accomplished?

Now that we know why we need to repent, next comes the all important questions of 'How?' and 'Why?'. Is repenting simply asking for forgiveness or is it something more than that? I have come to know through my study and life experience that repentance is much much more than simply saying 'Forgive me'. The Lord has said "if a man repenteth of his sins - behold, he shall confess them and forsake them" (Doctrine and Covenants 58:43). We cannot truly say that we have repented if there is no change in behavior or a shift from our old ways. Repentance is always coupled with a change of heart, we can know that we are achieving true repentance when "we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually" (Mosiah 5:2). When repentance happens we are putting aside our will and doing as Christ did and saying "not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). When our lives are in line with what the lord wants us to do we will be happy. The Lord wants us to be strong and to be able to, through his support move forward with our lives as we try to be like Him. A favorite verse, of many, in the Book of Mormon is in Ether 12:27. It reads:

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

What a comfort to me is the promise that as I do my best I can find the strength in the Lord to repent and overcome trials in my life. I know that I have had weaknesses strengthened and temptations overcome through His grace. It is my prayer that we can all rely on the Lord as we try to follow His counsel to be perfect as He is. I love the Lord and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve Him. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.