Timing} Part Two

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, or Good Evening,

 this post should take approximately three to six minutes to read from start to finish.

This post is based on January 2002 Devotional called "Timing" by Dallin H. Oaks and this post is part two. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the Devotional and I hope you will learn something new. 

Continue from the previous post, Dallin mentioned the following; "II. The Agency of Others

The achievement of some important goals in our lives is subject to more than the timing of the Lord. Some personal achievements are also subject to the agency of others. This is particularly evident in two matters of special importance to young people of college age—missionary baptisms and marriage.

III. Applications to Our Lives

Someone has said that life is what happens to us while we are making other plans. Because of things over which we have no control, we cannot plan and bring to pass everything we desire in our lives. Many important things will occur in our lives that we have not planned, and not all of them will be welcome. .. Even our most righteous desires may elude us, or come in different ways or at different times than we have sought to plan.

The timing of marriage is perhaps the best example of an extremely important event in our lives that is almost impossible to plan. Like other important mortal events that depend on the agency of others or the will and timing of the Lord, marriage cannot be anticipated or planned with certainty. We can and should work for and pray for our righteous desires, but, despite this, many will remain single well beyond their desired time for marriage.

God is good all the time.

So what should be done in the meantime? Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ prepares us for whatever life brings. .. Whatever the circumstances beyond our control, our commitments and standards can be constant.

Sometimes our commitments will surface at unexpected times and be applied in unexpected circumstances. Sometimes the principles we have taught to others come back to guide our own actions when we think we don’t need them anymore. ..

Life has some strange turns. .. Faith and trust in the Lord give us the strength to accept and persist, whatever happens in our lives. .. Do not rely on planning every event of your life even every important event. Stand ready to accept the Lord’s planning and the agency of others in matters that inevitably affect you. Plan, of course, but fix your planning on personal commitments that will carry you through no matter what happens. Anchor your life to eternal principles, and act upon those principles whatever the circumstances and whatever the actions of others. Then you can await the Lord’s timing and be sure of the outcome in eternity.

The most important principle of timing is to take the long view. Mortality is just a small slice of eternity, but how we conduct ourselves here—what we become by our actions and desires, confirmed by our covenants and the ordinances administered to us by proper authority—will shape our destiny for all eternity. As the prophet Amulek taught, “This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God” (Alma 34:32). That reality should help us take the long view—the timing of eternity."

If you would like to read or watch the devotional either now or in your free time, here's the link below.
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/dallin-h-oaks/timing/

Stay Tuned until next time.

Timing} Part One

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, or Good Evening,

 this post should take approximately three to six minutes to read from start to finish.

This post is based on January 2002 Devotional called "Timing" by Dallin H. Oaks and this post is part one. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the Devotional and I hope you will learn something new. 

Dallin mentioned the following; ".. timing is vital. We read in Ecclesiastes: 

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

“A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; …

“A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

“… A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; …

“… A time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes. 3:1–2, 4–5, 7).

In all the important decisions in our lives, what is most important is to do the right thing. Second, and only slightly behind the first, is to do the right thing at the right time. People who do the right thing at the wrong time can be frustrated and ineffective. They can even be confused about whether they made the right choice when what was wrong was not their choice but their timing.

"Faith in God includes faith in God's timing." - Neal A. Maxwell.

The Lord’s Timing

.. The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith means trust—trust in God’s will, trust in His way of doing things, and trust in His timetable. We should not try to impose our timetable on His. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said: “The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing. If we can truly believe He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best? The same is true with the second coming and with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord’s timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes.”

Indeed, we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. .. in this matter the timing is the Lord’s, not ours. .. the Lord will proceed in His own time and in His own way.

.. The Lord’s timing also applies to the important events of our personal lives. .. This principle applies to revelation and to all of the most important events in our lives: birth, marriage, death, and even our moves from place to place. It is not enough that we are going in the right direction. The timing must be right, and if the time is not right, our actions should be adjusted to the Lord’s timetable as revealed by His servants.

Proclaiming the gospel is His work, not ours, and therefore it must be done on His timing, not ours. There are nations in the world today that must hear the gospel before the Lord will come again. We know this, but we cannot force it. We must wait upon the Lord’s timing. He will tell us, and He will open the doors or bring down the walls when the time is right. We should pray for the Lord’s help and directions so that we can be instruments in His hands to proclaim the gospel to nations and persons who are now ready—persons He would have us help today. The Lord loves all of His children, and He desires that all have the fulness of His truth and the abundance of His blessings. He knows when groups or individuals are ready, and He wants us to hear and heed His timetable for sharing His gospel with them."

Stay Tuned until next time.

How can we accept the Lord's Will and Timing?

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, or Good Evening,

 this post should take approximately four to seven minutes to read from start to finish. 

This post focuses on an article from Liahona in August 2016, and it is called "Accepting the Lord's Will and Timing" by Elder David A. Bednar. I would like to share with you some favourite parts that I loved while I was reading the article and I hope you will learn something new. 

Elder Bednar mentioned the following, "Scriptures concerning the Savior’s suffering as He offered the infinite and eternal atoning sacrifice became even more poignant and meaningful to me. I believe most of us likely would expect a man with the spiritual capacity, experience, and stature of Elder Maxwell to face serious illness and death with an understanding of God’s plan of happiness, with assurance and grace, and with dignity.

"Strong faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of
His will and timing in our lives even if the outcome is not
what we hoped for or wanted."

“Not My Will, but Thine, Be Done”
We recognized a principle that applies to every devoted disciple: strong faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of His will and timing in our lives even if the outcome is not what we hoped for or wanted. Righteousness and faith certainly are instrumental in moving mountains if moving mountains accomplishes God’s purposes and is in accordance with His will.

Righteousness and faith certainly are instrumental in healing the sick, deaf, and lame if such healing accomplishes God’s purposes and is in accordance with His will. Thus, even if we have strong faith, many mountains will not be moved. And not all of the sick and infirm will be healed. If all opposition were curtailed, if all maladies were removed, then the primary purposes of the Father’s plan would be frustrated.

Many of the lessons we are to learn in mortality can be received only through the things we experience and sometimes suffer. And God expects and trusts us to face temporary mortal adversity with His help so we can learn what we need to learn and ultimately become what we are to become in eternity.

The Meaning of All Things
You are facing, have faced, or will yet face equivalent challenges in your lives with the same courage and spiritual perspective ..

I do not know why some people learn the lessons of eternity through trial and suffering while others learn similar lessons through rescue and healing. I do not know all of the reasons, all of the purposes, and I do not know everything about the Lord’s timing. With Nephi, you and I can say that we “do not know the meaning of all things”  (1 Nephi 11:17).

But some things I absolutely do know. I know we are spirit sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father. I know the Eternal Father is the author of the plan of happiness. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I know Jesus enabled the Father’s plan through His infinite and eternal Atonement. I know the Lord, who was “bruised, broken, [and] torn for us,”2 can succor and strengthen “his people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:12). And I know one of the greatest blessings of mortality is to not shrink and to allow our individual will to be “swallowed up in the will of the Father” (Mosiah 15:7).

Though I do not know everything about how and when and where and why these blessings occur, I do witness they are real. And I know that as you press forward in your lives with steadfast faith in Christ, you will have the capacity to not shrink." I encourage you to read the whole article in your own time.

Here's the link below. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2016/08/accepting-the-lords-will-and-timing

Stay Tuned until next time.

Why his timing isn't our timing?

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately four to seven minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on his timing, not our timing. I would like to ask some simple following questions. You may or may not want to ask yourself those questions either now or in your free time.

Why is the Lord's timing isn't our timing? Why does Heavenly Father gets us to wait for his timing at times? Do we ever feel getting impatient with the Lord's timing at times?

We may or may not think that the Lord's timing can be so confusing at times and we don't understand why we have to wait. We may or may not acknowledge the blessings that do come from waiting for the Lord's timing. It is a natural mankind for an individual to be caught up and feeling impatient with the Lord's timing at times.

"Although his time is not always our time. We can be sure that the Lord
keeps his promises." - Henry B. Eyring.

As growing up during my teen ages, I was definitely looking forward to serve a full-time mission. I even remembered how excited I was feeling and felt that I was doing the right thing to submit the full-time mission papers. I was looking forward to receive the letter in the mail from the Prophet in Salt Lake, Utah at the time to find out where I would be called to serve, where and when do I get to report to the Missionary Training  Center {MTC}.

Sadly; after years and years after submitting the full-time mission papers, I found out that the full-time mission papers has not been submitted. I was devastated, frustrated and instantly cried. I definitely was in a shock and wasn't prepared to resubmit the full-time mission papers because I was already dedicated to the next stage of my life to commit at the time.

Heavenly Father's timing often has been the bestest blessings that I have ever received. I seemed to look back at multiple occasions and be grateful that I was able to achieve as much as I can prior to meeting my husband. I would like to share some wonderful examples of the things that I am proud of and accomplished throughout the years prior to meeting my husband. Those examples are listed below.

I graduated high school successfully, I participated and graduated seminary successfully, I participated many institute classes and graduated institute successfully, I attended Temple preparations class, I received my endowments, I obtained my drivers' licence, I survived from my first car accident on my own, I became an independent and lived away from home, I relied on myself for making many righteous decisions, and the list goes on and on. 

Prior to meeting husband, I have been through moments that has taught me a lot of lessons focuses on the Lord's timing. I have felt impatient with the Lord's timing because I used to want things to happen the way that I wanted them to. For an example, I would like to be married either when I was twenty years or twenty-one years but I didn't ever expected that I would get married at twenty-three years. 

I have experienced of times when I wasn't kneeling down and saying meaningful personal prayers. I seemed to lost my trust with Heavenly Father. I often felt that I have given up a lot even at times when I seemed to be okay.   

I absolutely do know that I have been truly blessed and happy to be married to my husband. I do know that some things are worth waiting for especially in the Lord's timing. We can always find ways to show patience with the Lord's timing. 

Stay Tuned until next time.