Joy and Spiritual Survival} Part Two

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

This post focuses on a October 2016 General Conference talk and it is called, "Joy and Spiritual Survival" by President Russell M. Nelson. This post is part two. I would like to share with you some highlights while I reading the talk.

President Nelson mentioned the following: "How, then, can we claim that joy? We can start by “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” “in every thought.” We can give thanks for Him in our prayers and by keeping covenants we’ve made with Him and our Heavenly Father. As our Savior becomes more and more real to us and as we plead for His joy to be given to us, our joy will increase.

Joy is powerful, and focusing on joy brings God’s power into our lives. ... And what was the joy that was set before Him? Surely it included the joy of cleansing, healing, and strengthening us; the joy of paying for the sins of all who would repent; the joy of making it possible for you and me to return home clean and worthy to live with our Heavenly Parents and families.

If we focus on the joy that will come to us, or to those we love, what can we endure that presently seems overwhelming, painful, scary, unfair, or simply impossible?

... A dear colleague recently told me of his past two decades of heavy trials. He said, “I have learned to suffer with joy. My suffering was swallowed up in the joy of Christ.”

"The greater our sorrow, the greater our capacity to feel JOY."
- Mormon Messages, The Refiner's Fire.

What will you and I be able to endure as we focus on the joy that is “set before” us? ... What weakness will become a strength? ... What disappointments, even tragedies, will turn to our good? And what challenging service to the Lord will we be able to give?

As we diligently focus on the Savior and then follow His pattern of focusing on joy, we need to avoid those things that can interrupt our joy. ... Anything that opposes Christ or His doctrine will interrupt our joy. ...

If we look to the world and follow its formulas for happiness, we will never know joy. The unrighteous may experience any number of emotions and sensations, but they will never experience joy! Joy is a gift for the faithful. It is the gift that comes from intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ.

He taught us how to have joy. When we choose Heavenly Father to be our God and when we can feel the Savior’s Atonement working in our lives, we will be filled with joy. Every time we nurture our spouse and guide our children, every time we forgive someone or ask for forgiveness, we can feel joy.

Every day that you and I choose to live celestial laws, every day that we keep our covenants and help others to do the same, joy will be ours. ... As this principle is embedded in our hearts, each and every day can be a day of joy and gladness."

Feel free to read the whole talk in your own time and here is the link below.
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2016/10/joy-and-spiritual-survival

Stay Tuned until next time.

Joy and Spiritual Survival} Part One

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

What's your understanding of spiritual survival? Do you have any great tips of how to keep on track for your spiritual survival whether it's daily or weekly or monthly?

This post focuses on October 2016 General Conference talk and it is called, "Joy and Spiritual Survival" by President Russell M. Nelson. This post is part one. I would like to share with you some highlights while I reading the talk.

President Nelson mentioned the following, "When the focus of our lives is on Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening or not happening in our lives. My dear brothers and sisters, today I would like to discuss a principle that is key to our spiritual survival. It is a principle that will only become more important as the tragedies and travesties around us increase.

These are the latter days, so none of us should be surprised when we see prophecy fulfilled. ... As conflicts between nations escalate, as cowardly terrorists prey on the innocent, and as corruption in everything from business to government becomes increasingly commonplace, what can help us? What can help each of us with our personal struggles and with the rigorous challenge of living in these latter days?

The prophet Lehi taught a principle for spiritual survival. First, consider his circumstances: ... He had lived in a tent and survived on what food could be found on the way to an unknown destination, and he had watched two of his sons, Laman and Lemuel, rebel against the teachings of the Lord and attack their brothers Nephi and Sam.

Clearly, Lehi knew opposition, anxiety, heartache, pain, disappointment, and sorrow. Yet he declared boldly and without reservation a principle as revealed by the Lord: “Men are, that they might have joy.” Imagine! Of all the words he could have used to describe the nature and purpose of our lives here in mortality, he chose the word joy!

"The JOY we feel has little to do with the CIRCUMSTANCES
of our lives and EVERYTHING to do with the FOCUS
of our lives." - Russell M. Nelson.

Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish, and despair almost consumed us. Yet we are here to have joy?

Yes! The answer is a resounding yes! But how is that possible? And what must we do to claim the joy that Heavenly Father has in store for us? ... Saints can be happy under every circumstance. We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!

My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation, which President Thomas S. Monson just taught us, and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening or not happening in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy. ...

That is why our missionaries leave their homes to preach His gospel. Their goal is not to increase the number of Church members. Rather, our missionaries teach and baptize to bring joy to the people of the world!11

Just as the Savior offers peace that “passeth all understanding,” He also offers an intensity, depth, and breadth of joy that defy human logic or mortal comprehension. For example, it doesn’t seem possible to feel joy when your child suffers with an incurable illness or when you lose your job or when your spouse betrays you. Yet that is precisely the joy the Savior offers. His joy is constant, assuring us that our “afflictions shall be but a small moment” and be consecrated to our gain."

Stay Tuned until next time.

Living the Gospel Joyful} Part Two

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

Have you ever ask yourself or any of your relatives or any of your closest friends a question that relates to living the gospel joyful. For an example, "How can you live the Gospel joyfully?"

This post is focuses on a October 2014 General Conference talk and it is called. "Living the Gospel Joyful" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf." I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope you will learn something new.

President Uchtdorf mentioned, "The choice is yours!
.. He is offering the grand recipe for happiness, peace, and eternal life! To qualify for these glorious blessings, you must humble yourself, exercise faith, take upon you the name of Christ, seek Him in word and deed, and resolutely “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.”

The Why of Obedience
Once you understand the true nature of God and His commandments, you will also better understand yourselves and the divine purpose of your existence. With this, your motivation for following the commandments changes, and it becomes your heart’s desire to live the gospel joyfully. ..

Living the Gospel Joyful
My dear sisters in the gospel, whether you are 8 or 108, there is one thing that I hope you truly understand and know: You are loved. You are dear to your heavenly parents. The infinite and eternal Creator of light and life knows you! He is mindful of you. Yes, God loves you this very day and always.

He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held onto the fading light and believed even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. And still He loves you.

"Live Joyfully. Live Happily."

And God knows of your successes; though they may seem small to you, He acknowledges and cherishes each one of them. He loves you for extending yourself to others. He loves you for reaching out and helping others bear their heavy burdens even when you are struggling with your own.

He knows everything about you. He sees you clearly. He knows you as you really are. And He loves you today and always!

.. He loves you not only for who you are this very day but also for the person of glory and light you have the potential and the desire to become. More than you could ever imagine, He wants you to achieve your destiny to return to your heavenly home in honor.

.. It is my prayer that you will experience a renewed and an expanded measure of the beautiful love of God in your lives; that you will find the faith, determination, and commitment to learn God’s commandments, treasure them in your hearts, andlive the gospel joyful.

I promise that as you do so, you will discover your best self your real self. You will discover what it truly means to be a daughter of the everlasting God, the Lord of all righteousness. 

I would like to encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time and here is the link. www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/living-the-gospel-joyful

Stay Tuned until next time.

Living the Gospel Joyful} Part One

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

Have you ever ask yourself or any of your relatives or any of your closest friends a question that relates to living the gospel joyful. For an example, "How can you live the Gospel joyfully?"

This post is part one. This post focuses on a October 2014 General Conference talk and it is called. "Living the Gospel Joyful" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf." I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope you will learn something new.

President Uchtdorf has mentioned, " .. And, of course, I am eternally grateful to my wife, Harriet, who enchanted me as a teen, bore the heaviest burdens of our young family as a mother, stands with me as a wife, and loves and cherishes our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She has been the strength in our home during both good times and bad. She brings sunshine into the lives of all who know her.

.. Daughters of God
.. It is good to remember that you are always a child of God. This knowledge will carry you through the most difficult times in your life and will inspire you to accomplish remarkable things. .. You will always and forever remain a daughter of God.

Your Heavenly Father has high aspirations for you, but your divine origin alone does not guarantee you a divine inheritance. God sent you here to prepare for a future greater
than anything you can imagine. ..

For this reason, we speak of walking the path of discipleship. We speak of obedience to God’s commandments. We speak of living the gospel joyfully, with all our heart, might, mind, and soul.

God Knows Something We Don’t
And yet for some of us, obedience to God’s commandments doesn’t always feel very joyful. .. Perhaps during times such as these, we might find ourselves asking, “Do we really need to obey all of God’s commandments?”

"He is not waiting to love you until after you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf. 

My response to this question is simple:
I think God knows something we don’t things that are beyond our capacity to comprehend! Our Father in Heaven is an eternal being whose experience, wisdom, and intelligence are infinitely greater than ours. .. He is also eternally loving, compassionate, and focused on one blessed goal: to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life.

In other words, He not only knows what is best for you; He also anxiously wants you to choose what is best for you. If you believe this in your hearts if you truly believe the great mission of our Heavenly Father is to exalt and glorify His children and that He knows best how to do it, doesn’t it make sense to embrace and follow His commandments, even the ones that appear difficult? ..

They mark the way back to our heavenly home! By choosing Heavenly Father’s path, you lay a divine foundation for your personal progress as a daughter of God that will bless you throughout your life.

Part of our challenge is, I think, that we imagine that God has all of His blessings locked in a huge cloud up in heaven, refusing to give them to us unless we comply with some strict, paternalistic requirements He has set up. But the commandments aren’t like that at all. .. It is our fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us.

.. We need to accept that the commandments of God aren’t just a long list of good ideas. .. So we have a choice. On the one hand, there is the opinion of the world with its ever-changing theories and questionable motives. On the other hand, there is God’s word to His children, His eternal wisdom, His certain promises, and His loving instructions for returning to His presence in glory, love, and majesty."

Stay Tuned until next time.

Be of Good Cheer

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

I would encourage you to think about and answer the following question either now or in your own time.
What is your definition on "Be of Good Cheer?"

This post is focuses on a April 2009 General Conference talk and it is called, "Be of Good Cheer" by President Thomas S. Monson. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope you will learn something new.

President Monson mentioned,
"It would be easy to become discouraged and cynical about the future or even fearful of what might come if we allowed ourselves to dwell only on that which is wrong in the world and in our lives. Today, however, I’d like us to turn our thoughts and our attitudes away from the troubles around us and to focus instead on our blessings as members of the Church. ....

None of us makes it through this life without problems and challenges and sometimes tragedies and misfortunes. After all, in large part we are here to learn and grow from such events in our lives. We know that there are times when we will suffer, when we will grieve, and when we will be saddened. However, we are told, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”

How might we have joy in our lives, despite all that we may face? Again from the scriptures: “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.”

The history of the Church in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, is replete with the experiences of those who have struggled and yet who have remained steadfast and of good cheer as they have made the gospel of Jesus Christ the center of their lives. This attitude is what will pull us through whatever comes our way. It will not remove our troubles from us but rather will enable us to face our challenges, to meet them head on, and to emerge victorious.

"Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith. - President Thomas S. Monson."

Too numerous to mention are the examples of all the individuals who have faced difficult circumstances and yet who have persevered and prevailed because their faith in the gospel and in the Savior has given them the strength they have needed.

From the holy scriptures we read, “Behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in [Him], they who have endured the crosses of the world, … they shall inherit the kingdom of God, … and their joy shall be full forever.”

I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.

My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith."

You may or may not read the whole talk in your own time,. Here's the link to the talk below.

www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/be-of-good-cheer

Stay Tuned until next time.