Answers and Strength Do Come As We Study His Words

As I have been diligently striving to study the scriptures and/or the General Conference talks every morning, I have come to know that Heavenly Father really does speak to me through His words. Answers do come and knowledge is given before it is needed. I have been having discussions with friends where I have known exactly what to say from my morning studies. I am seeking knowledge myself and His words answer them.

Elder Randall K. Bennett's talk Your Next Step couldn't have been named more perfectly! I just want to write down the points that really stuck out to me from his talk.

• When faith is exercised, faith increases.

3 Principles to Help Us Return To Our Heavenly Father

1. We need to do what we did as children -- childlike humility and willingness to focus on our Father in Heaven and our Savior, we take steps toward Them, never giving up hope, even if we fall.
2. Be willing to act with faith in Jesus Christ and take another step and we may be blessed with strength.
• Strength is given to those who keep seeking and trying.
• 2 Essential weekly signposts that mark our journey back to our HF are the perpetual covenant of the ordinance of the sacrament and our Sabbath day observance -- sign to the Lord that we love Him.
• Blessings from these signposts -- Holy Spirit's influence improves, strengthens, teaches, and guide us.
• Devoted Sabbath day observance brings the fullness of the earth to be ours.
• Ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into God's presence.
3. We must counter the natural man's tendency to procrastinate, to put off, or to give up.
• Faith in Heavenly Father and in Jesus Christ is a principle of ACTION and POWER. 
• If we are willing to act, we will be blessed with the strength to repent and with the strength to change.
• We fail only if we fail to take another faithful step forward.

In this talk he prompts us to do a couple things.

• Become as a little child - humble and meek. 
• Willingly act in faith in Jesus Christ and take that next step! Don't wait! Take it now!
• Be worthy of and use our temple recommends to serve regularly.
• Partake of the sacrament weekly and observe the Sabbath Day

Has there been a thought, a decision or a prompting that you've been sitting on for a bit that needs attention? Have your procrastinated in studying it over and pondering on the right direction to go with that? Elder Bennett says that we should not wait to act upon it. We need to act now, even if it is only through faith and he promises us that the Lord with strengthen us through the Holy Spirit to continue to act and guide us in the right direction we need.

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!

What the Sacrament Can Do For Us

Some really thought provoking words from previous prophets and disciples of Christ.

Doctrine and Coventants 20:75

"Remembrance of the Lord Jesus"

...thoughts of Jesus...ought...to be far more frequent and much more constant in all times and season of our lives.
How much of a normal day, a working week, or a fleeting month is devoted to "Jesus, the very thought of thee?"
(Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, May 1993, p.64; or Conference Report, April 1993, p. 79)

"Partake of the bread and wine"

It is just as necessary, for our spiritual body, that we should partake of this sacrament, and by it obtain spiritual food for our souls. If we were given our physical food only on stated occasions and at specified places, we would all be on hand...
...The road to the sacrament table is the path of safety for Latter-Day Saints.
(Melvin J. Ballard, Crusader of Righteousness, p. 134. Italics added)

Purpose of Sacrament

A moment of clarity hit me as I was reading the scriptures while the sacrament was being passed. Earlier this week we had discussed the Sacrament in FHE and what the symbolism is for those that partake of it by those who are baptized and those who are not.

What stuck out to me today is in the scriptures 3 Nephi 18:7, 10 where it directly and bluntly states WHY we baptized members take it and what we get in return for our obedience to do it.

V.7-- And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.

(I never thought of it as a physical testimony to Him that we are remembering what He has done for us. Normally we use symbolism more...it just hit me more today)

V.10-- ...Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you.

(Yet another physical witness or testimony that we remember Him and are willing to obey.)

Both testimony and witness of us taking of the bread and water can shower the blessing of always having His spirit with us. How much more is it important for us to partake of it so we can always have His Spirit? As imperfect people we are in need of weekly help to be forgiven and to ask continually for His Spirit.

I was pondering on other acts that can help bring His Spirit into our lives and I again see and understand the great importance of family prayers over dinner, morning it night family prayers, fhe and reading the scriptures together. How can we have room for contention if we try to fill our life with the Spirit?

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Not Running Faster than Your Strength

I was reading in 3 Nephi 18 this today. I picked up the scriptures that were laying on the table during lunch and instead of just opening up to any chapter, I picked this one bc I remembered it talked about the Sacrament's bread and water.

In verse 12 it gives us a promise if we remember to partake of the Sacrament every week:

And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock.

Every once in a while you wonder if you are on the correct path and doing the things that the Lord would have you do, if your will is aligned with His. Reading this, it reminds me that I am doing what He would want of me. And that I am built upon His rock as I remember Him every week when I partake of the Sacrament. What further gives me comfort is what the verse 13 states next:

But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall fall, and the gates of hell are ready open to receive them.

I love that he says to not do MORE OR LESS THAN THESE. We want to do everything that He asks of us. I think what this scripture is trying to tell us is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple. He gives commandments, we follow them, and then we are blessed for doing them. We don't need to run faster than we have strength for.

Perfection will always be out of our reach, but all He asks of us is to try. Try to follow His commandments and when we fail in one or the other, pick ourselves up, brush the dirt off and continue on our journey towards perfection.