Praying For Answers

One thing that I love the most about the gospel of Jesus Christ is that as I study and learn different topics, they all build on each other. (Isaiah 28:10, 2 Nephi 28:30) Someone asked a question on my FB news feed the other day and my answer came from a plethora of things that I had been studying lately. The point that I wanted to make came into focus as all these little things came together as my answer. I love it when that happens!

Today I studied a talk by Elder James B. Martino called Turn To Him and Answers Will Come. He discussed what conditions need to happen in order for God to answer our prayers. Mainly, if we don't have a sincere heart and real intent, He isn't going to answer merely on curiosity. As in the last few posts, the outcome depends on how prepared we are! What are you doing in preparation to asking Heavenly Father something? There are some promises and blessings given if we come prepared to ask our God questions.

Preparations

• Obedience to commandments
• Remember past spiritual experiences
• Soften your heart and ask in faith, believing you will get your answer
• Continue to hold fast to the iron rod by daily scripture study
• Turn To Him
• Call on the Lord through prayer and fasting
• Be ready to act on promptings

Promises and Blessings

• Your answer will come and be made known unto you -- sometimes right away, sometimes not as an event but as a process
• Feelings of love and peace from the Savior
• Words of Christ will tell you what you should do
• Doors of revelation will open
• You will be susceptible to spiritual promptings
• Strengthened to withstand temptation to murmur and doubt
• Faithfulness will grow

If we seek an answer to something, it is our responsibility to act on any promptings we receive. As we do so, answers will come as we act on faith.

...work without faith is dead. We must have faith with works to receive answers.

When we show forth effort on our part, Heavenly Father will reach out to us. We do our part, He does his. It is easier to help someone else when you see they are trying their best to accomplish something. But it is harder to help someone if they don't want to help themselves. When we act upon promptings or show faith in going forward, I know our Heavenly Father is able to make up the difference and help us gain that answer or reach that goal that we are seeking.

When I was a teenager in the Young Women's program, I had the chance to go to a few Especially For Youth camps. I had some pretty spiritual experiences while there. While I attended them, those spiritual experiences helped solidify my testimony of who I am and where I wanted to go. I learned that I was a daughter of God and my goal was to enter the temple with my eternal companion. At times when I feel less than what I feel I should, I remember that spiritual experience. That foundation of my testimony is what kept me going and helped me to not give up when I felt like everything around me was falling apart. I've had several ups and downs since that experience and every time, I think back on it. It strengthens me to know that I can get through anything because I am a daughter of God who loves me. It is so important to have that knowledge. When we have a strong foundation to our faith, it can withstand even the hardest of times. Heavenly Father promises us that!

Can you remember a time when you had a powerful spiritual experience? Do you remember that and hold on to that testimony of it when times get hard?

...to all of us, if you "have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" If you do not feel it now, you can feel it again...

What do we need to change in order to feel that redeeming love again?

It's Your Choice

With every general conference I talk I think to myself "This is my favorite talk so far!" Every talk doesn't just have nuggets but CHUNKS of inspiring words! I love studying these talks and hearing what the Lord is trying to say to me. They are encouraging, they are pact full of knowledge, and they are full of light.

This morning I was studying over Elder Vern P. Stanfill's October 2015 General Conference talk "Choose the Light". He says that "Apostolic voices urge us to prepare ourselves with the powerful light of spiritual strength." Like we learned in our last talk, we need to be prepared before we act. He says we need that spiritual strength BEFORE the trials and tough experiences come. He gave three strong points on how we can do this.
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1. No matter how intense the darkness of doubt, we choose how long and to what extent we allow it to influence us.
• There is nothing wrong with relying temporarily upon the light of those who love us and have our best interests at heart
• It is not wise to place our eternal well-being in the hands of strangers, those who claim enlightenment who have no light to give at all, or those who have private hidden agendas (aka: social media influences hiding behind a screen)
• Those who truly love us can help us build our faith
2. We must trust in the Lord in order to develop spiritual strength within ourselves.
• We must act, expecting the Lord will fulfill His promise to lift us from the darkness if we draw near unto Him
• "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith" (Uchtdorf)
• When faced with questions or tempted to doubt, we should REMEMBER the spiritual blessings and feelings that have penetrated our hearts and lives in the past and place our faith in Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ
• To ignore and discount past spiritual experiences will distance us from God
• A Promise to those who accept it: That which is of God is light; and he that received light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day
• His influence will bring us confidence, determination, comfort, and --most important -- the power to know that He lives
3. There is no darkness so dense, so menacing, or so difficult that it cannot be overcome by light.
• The Lord prepares the way for those who seek Him, offering them greater assurance, greater confirmation, and greater confidence in the spiritual direction they are traveling
• The gift of the Holy Ghost becomes a brighter light in the emerging twilight

We have the power to choose belief over doubt. In order to access the promised compensatory spiritual power, we must choose:

• to heed prophetic counsel
• recognize and act upon spiritual promptings
• be obedient to God's commandments
• seek personal revelation

We must choose. May we choose the light of the Savior. 

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Agency. When it comes down to it, agency is what all of it is about. We choose to be prepared. We choose to act this way or that. We choose which kind of people influence us and for how long. We choose to seek out His light or be lead down a path of no light. We choose to follow His commandments or not. We choose to make Him our top priority or something else. He gives us commandments and He also gives us tools and ways to follow them. He does not leave us alone!

So, are we going to answer His knocking on our door and let Him in? It's your choice.

How to Lighten Each Others Burdens

In Elder Hugo Montoya's October 2015 General Conference talk "Tested and Temped -- but Helped", he gives 4 ways we can lighten our burdens when we help others.

1. Go the Second Mile
2. Smile at others
3. Express compassion
4. Invite others to come to church

When asked to to do something, we should prepared before we do it. Prepare yourself spiritually before going to church, repent before partaking of the Sacrament, look for and print out family names to bring to the temple to work on, prepare your lesson before you have to teach it. Go the extra mile and put forth effort in what you are giving of yourself. 

When I was a kid, an old friend told me to "Smile! It's good for your complexion!" I believe that. When we smile, His love shines through us to others. So...go on and smile!

When we see someone suffering, we can help them by helping to lift that burden. Not by taking away the burden, but by helping them better endure it. Bringing meals? Being a listening ear? Sacrificing time to be there for them? Showing is doing.

The opportunity to repent of our sins can be done daily. But actually accessing the Atonement is done on Sunday when we are at church partaking of the Sacrament bread and water. That is when we can be wiped clean like when we were baptized and let the Atonement work on us. This is the whole reason why we attend church in the first place. The most important part of our church services IS the sacrament. Like the fruit of the tree in Lehi's dream, it is sweet to the taste and desirable above all. We should share this with those we love and invite them. 

I'm not perfect on these. That's okay. But what will I do with these words of counsel? That's what is important. Will I hear these words or will I listen to them and act upon them? Acting upon these words shows I understand them and is a witness that I want to do what is commanded of me -- "Ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light." (Mosiah 18:8)

Counsel to Make Sabbath a Delight

This past week we had Ward Conference and the theme has been one that I've heard in General Conference as well -- "Sabbath A Delight". 

Isaiah 58:13-14

13 ¶If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Our stake president wanted us to write down a few things. What we learned, what the Spirit teaches us, and what we can change or continue to follow what was taught.

Ideas to Make the Sabbath a Delight

• Make simple meals: We always make sack lunches to eat right after church since our drive home is 30+ minutes (pb&j sandwiches with fruit). And dinner doesn't need to be a complicated, long recipe. Usually grilled cheese and tomato soup does well. 
• Take time to talk about what we each learned at church and discuss those things together. Talk as a family. Hold a family council.
• We don't need a Do's and Don't List for keeping the Sabbath Day holy and a delight. We need to focus on the outcomes of what we do on that day. Do the things that Jesus would do, like serving others and reaching out to someone besides yourself. 

What might make the Sabbath to NOT be a delight?

What should I change if it is not a delight? My family ideas: Less electronics, only games that include family members (not 1 player games like on devices), more family participation, simpler meals.

Reverence on the Sabbath

The root for reverence is love. Love for the Savior and our Heavenly Father. Reverence should begin in the home. As we come to church, we should be reverent during the prelude music and take that time to focus on Jesus and where we are so that we may be open to His Spirit and be taught during church. In order to do that, we should come early enough that we don't feel rushed to get there. By doing this, we are giving our time to the Lord and showing Him reverence.

Sacrament: What It Means To Us

Singing and praying help to prepare us for the Sacrament. It doesn't matter if you started off your Sunday in a bad mood. Once you have repented and taken the sacrament bread and water, you are then able to go forward with a better outlook and can decide to have a better day and week.

Even if you work on Sundays, you can still keep the Sabbath Day holy. Study while at work, Keep it in your mind and heart.

Ezekiel 20:12,20 Our Day

Going to church and partaking of the Sacrament is MY sign to MY God on MY day. What can I do today to show my love for my Savior and my God? I can repent any day of the week. The Sacrament opens access to the Atonement when we partake of this ordinance.

3 Nephi 18:10 Witnesses

Why do I have to participate in an ordinance to repent to be forgiven? It is a witness to God that I'm willing to do what He has commanded. In essence, you are telling Him you know you aren't perfect, but that you want to be. Sacrament renews ALL of our ordinances that we've taken, not just the baptismal one. We can demonstrate our love to Him as we come to church and partake of the Sacrament to access the Atonement and stand as a witness that we want to be righteous!

The Blessings NOW of Being Temple Worthy

What exactly are we striving for in this life? Do you want your family to be "united in love, harmony and peace" right now and not just in the next life? The Lord gives us a promise that we can have that right now and in the next life as we keep ourselves temple-worthy no matter if we having ups or downs. Elder Quentin L. Cook gives great advice on how to remain temple worthy in order to receive these blessings.

If we have the knowledge of the plan of happiness, then we should be preparing to receive it. He says that "the rewards of righteousness are available right now." I love how he states that some of us may feel that reaching the ultimate goal of being worthy enough my seem too distant for us but that it is attainable and here's how by giving a list. Here is that list from my notes of his talk:

Principles That Lead to Righteousness

1. Righteous Self-Control and Conduct
• Self-control is like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Avoiding something tempting once will help you develop the ability to resist other temptations in the future. 
• Exercising self-control and living righteously strengthen our ability to resist temptation
• If we don't continually exercise spiritual strength and self-discipline these qualities will atrophy like a muscle that is not used
• We need to develop and demonstrate conduct and appearance that declare we are true followers of Christ
2. Honoring the Sabbath Will Increase Righteousness and Be a Protection for the Family
• Sabbath symbolizes the mighty works of God
• Observing the Sabbath is sign between God and me that I know He is the Lord my God
• Honoring the Sabbath is a form of righteousness that will bless and strengthen families, connect us with our Creator, and increase happiness
• Keeping the Sabbath Day holy is a refuge from the storms of life
• Keeping the Sabbath Day holy is a sign of devotion to our Father in Heaven and helps us understand better the sacredness of sacrament meeting
3. Divine Protections Are Provided When We Are Righteous
• When we are worthy, we can have the companionship of the Holy Ghost as a gift
• Holy Ghost serves as a cleansing agent if the gospel is first in our priorities
• Holy Ghost is a voice of warning against evil
• Holy Ghost is a voice of protection against danger
• Holy Ghost will help us avoid temptations and dangers
• Holy Ghost will comfort and lead us through challenges
• Adherence to sacred gospel principles will allow us to be temple worthy, enable us to find happiness in this life, and lead us back to our heavenly home

Apostolic Promise

Living and maintaining temple-worthy lives will hold together all that really matters. 

Blessings that come from this promise:

• Peace
• Happiness
• Joy
• Eternal life
• Celestial glory with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

What Is the Pleasing Word of God and What Can It Do For Me?

Pleasing Word of God: found in the scriptures and in the messages from our [church] leaders.

What It Does:

• Heals the wounded soul
• Brings us hope and comfort in the darkness of affliction
• Bring a message of comfort to our heart and mind
• Fills us with hope
• Gives us the security that our eternal sealing will bless us and our posterity
• Gives us the security that if we live a faithful life, we will not lose any blessing for not having done certain things if we were never given the opportunity to do them
• Tells us that there is relief from the pain caused by the effects of sin
• Warns us that when we are trying to repent, that the process of remission of our sins can be interrupted when we become entangled in the vanities of the world and it can be resumed through faith if we sincerely repent and humble ourselves
• Invites us to use the power of the Atonement of Christ to apply it to ourselves and become reconciled with His will
• Shows us the need for continuous repentance in our lives so we can keep the influence of the Holy Ghost for as long as possible. 

We've been counseled in the last October 2015 General Conference to keep the Sabbath Day more holy. It was mentioned in several talks. The pleasing word of God says sometimes we can be distracted from doing this by the "vanities of the world". Here is a list of things we may need to work on:

Vanities That Can Interfere with Repentance Associated with Keeping The Sabbath Day Holy:

• Arriving late for sacrament meeting without a valid reason
• Arriving, without previously having examined ourselves, to eat the bread and drink from the cup unworthily
• Arriving without first having confessed our sins and having asked God for forgiveness for them
• Irreverent by exchanging messages on electronic devices
• Leaving the meeting after partaking of the sacrament
• Engaging in activities in our homes that are inappropriate for that sacred day

How the Companionship of the Holy Ghost Makes Us Better People:

• Won't be offended nor will we offend others
• Will feel happier
• Our minds will be cleaner
• Love for others will increase
• Be more willing to forgive and spread happiness
• Feel grateful to see others progress
• Will seek the good in others

Another theme I see is the need for continual repentance. We can't have the Holy Ghost as a companion if we don't repent of our sins. And it seems perhaps that one sin that us as Latter-Day Saints need repenting of is not keeping the Sabbath Day holy. 

[to read more in depth, see The Pleasing Word of God by Elder Francisco J. Vinas Of the Seventy)

Asking the Hard Questions

When we read upon the words of Christ, we can know for ourselves what the Lord wants us to do. When we study the scriptures and their experiences, we can learn to liken them to our own situations of today. The General Conference talks are modern-day revelation to us as Latter-Day Saints in helping with the problems we have now.

Today I read out of a October 2015 General Conference talk What Lack I Yet? by Elder Larry R. Lawrence. This talk is full of nuggets of knowledge!

Our purpose here on earth is to learn and improve until we are perfected in Christ. He said our "journey in discipleship" is "a course of steady improvement." If we are to improve ourselves, we need to know what it is we need to improve. Sometimes we can unaware of these things. So we then need to ask. Elder Lawrence says we need to be humble and teachable as we ask questions like--

What do I need to change?
How can I improve?
What weakness needs strengthening?
What lack I yet?
What is keeping me from progressing?
What is keeping me from being the right man/woman?
How can I feel at peace with all that I need to do?
What can I do to improve my life?

If we are going to be humble enough to ASK these questions, then we need to be teachable enough to ACT upon those promptings. "We must be willing to act when we receive an answer."

The Holy Ghost really does give customized counsel. He is a completely honest companion and will tell us things that no one else knows has the courage to say. 

A perfect time to ask, "What lack I yet?" is when we take the sacrament.

In this reverent atmosphere, as our thoughts are turned heavenward, the Lord can gently tell us what we need to work on next.  

His suggestion is a challenge. He wants us to try his spiritual exercise that he gave examples of and ask the Lord one of the questions above and then listen for an answer. He says that we can gain personal revelation meant just for you if you do this with a sincere heart.

Is your heart pounding yet? Are you willing to ask the hard questions? Are you wanting to change and progress? If so, accept the challenge and exercise your right to gain further light and knowledge for yourself. It is just like when we learn in the scriptures of line upon line, precept upon precept. We can learn more about ourselves and how to improve in the same way. One step at a time. It is a marathon, not a sprint. We can focus on one thing at a time and that is okay! Will it be easy? Perhaps not. Although it will be worth it.