Hello! Guess who came showed up to church this Sunday? The Levit
family from Grantsville! That was a shock! They were visiting the
historic sites in the area and came to a random building for the
sacrament.
Here's a little bit of my learnings from this week.
Sometimes good men, perhaps even great men can't quite bring
themselves to put everything on the alter of sacrifice, and in the
course lose their eternal lives. So it was with the rich young ruler.
He had kept the commandments from his youth up. Then the Savior
declared. "Yet lackest thou one thing. Sell all thou hast and
distribute unto the poor...and come follow me." But it was too much to
ask, and he went away sorrowful, unwilling to put his all on the
sacrificial alter.
Throughout my entire life I have sought for things that would make me
happy. I sought for foolish things that I thought were worth my time,
but they weren't. I failed to recognize that only when I give all
things for the cause of Christ will I ultimately be happy. The key to
happiness was defined by King Benjamin. "Submissive, meek, humble,
patient, full of love; willing to submit to all things which the seeth
fit to inflict upon them, even as a child doth submit to his father"
The key is submitting my will, to the Lords will.
When I have thought about submission and sacrifice I thought it to be
only my unrighteous desires. I was wrong. Not only should I sacrifice
my unrighteous desires, I should sacrifice all of my desires. Good and
bad. The rich young ruler kept all of the Lords commandments, that
caused him to sacrifice is unrighteous desire. But then the Lord asked
him to sell off the good things in his life and give them to the poor.
So it is with my goals, dreams, wishes, visions, everything and
anything. It is like turning in a million dollars to the bank, and
getting 50 billion in return. The Lord has far greater things in
store. In this realm of thinking we are obtaining an actual knowledge
that the course we are pursuing is acceptable to the Lord. In due time
we will understand that it was the best decision we made. I want to do
what he wants me to do, I want to actually do what he wants me to do.
My heart pulls for it. Each of our hearts pull for it. When it is
recognized, we then understand that our course could be corrected
slightly to what his course is. Eternal life sounds much greater to me
than half mass. Celestial Glory sounds much greater than Telestial or
Terrestrial.
My week has been full of pondering. I honestly have no experiences to
share with you that are immaculate. I cannot say that I have seen
someone change. The Lord worked on me this week. Sometimes our tools
need to be sharpened. The Lords instrument needed to be sharpened this
week, so I allowed him to sharpen it. The Lords instruments (us) are
sharpened through repentance. Repentance is the gift given to us to
access the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Repentance is
turning from the things we are looking at, to God. Refined by the
sacrament through honoring our covenants, we are changed to become
sharp sickles, which reap the harvest of the white field. To keep that
instrument sharp, it takes continual thrusting in the sickle. When I
stop working, I allow myself to get rusty and dull. I need to
experience the miracles that come from this work. I live to allow
those miracles to shape my life.
In that very moment I had time to reflect on the changes I have made
as a result of seeing drug dealers become priesthood holders, broken
families become eternal families, wayward children becoming endowed
with power and fighting for truth and right. As I reflected upon those
moments, I hungered for more of those experiences. In obtaining
change, I have found the equation to yield the result of helping
others change first. I have thought that changing my soul would
require me to focus on my soul. But the requirement for a changed soul
is turning outward.
My favorite part of being a missionary is witnessing 3rd hand the
change that happens to others. Only a missionary can witness such an
amazing thing. I am literally watching someone be effected by the
greatest thing that happened on earth-The Atonement of Jesus Christ. I
watch the faces of these brothers and sisters, and over the course of
time they turn from dark and distressed, to lightened and full. I
watch them make the decision to say "I don't need that anymore to be
happy" they never go back to those things again. It is wonderful to
me. It is humbling.
I love my Savior. I know He lives. I know He cleanses us from sin. I
have seen His Atonement effect so many. I know that by applying His
doctrine into our lives will allow us to change. This, I so testify
with the most tender of feelings I can muster.
family from Grantsville! That was a shock! They were visiting the
historic sites in the area and came to a random building for the
sacrament.
Here's a little bit of my learnings from this week.
Sometimes good men, perhaps even great men can't quite bring
themselves to put everything on the alter of sacrifice, and in the
course lose their eternal lives. So it was with the rich young ruler.
He had kept the commandments from his youth up. Then the Savior
declared. "Yet lackest thou one thing. Sell all thou hast and
distribute unto the poor...and come follow me." But it was too much to
ask, and he went away sorrowful, unwilling to put his all on the
sacrificial alter.
Throughout my entire life I have sought for things that would make me
happy. I sought for foolish things that I thought were worth my time,
but they weren't. I failed to recognize that only when I give all
things for the cause of Christ will I ultimately be happy. The key to
happiness was defined by King Benjamin. "Submissive, meek, humble,
patient, full of love; willing to submit to all things which the seeth
fit to inflict upon them, even as a child doth submit to his father"
The key is submitting my will, to the Lords will.
When I have thought about submission and sacrifice I thought it to be
only my unrighteous desires. I was wrong. Not only should I sacrifice
my unrighteous desires, I should sacrifice all of my desires. Good and
bad. The rich young ruler kept all of the Lords commandments, that
caused him to sacrifice is unrighteous desire. But then the Lord asked
him to sell off the good things in his life and give them to the poor.
So it is with my goals, dreams, wishes, visions, everything and
anything. It is like turning in a million dollars to the bank, and
getting 50 billion in return. The Lord has far greater things in
store. In this realm of thinking we are obtaining an actual knowledge
that the course we are pursuing is acceptable to the Lord. In due time
we will understand that it was the best decision we made. I want to do
what he wants me to do, I want to actually do what he wants me to do.
My heart pulls for it. Each of our hearts pull for it. When it is
recognized, we then understand that our course could be corrected
slightly to what his course is. Eternal life sounds much greater to me
than half mass. Celestial Glory sounds much greater than Telestial or
Terrestrial.
My week has been full of pondering. I honestly have no experiences to
share with you that are immaculate. I cannot say that I have seen
someone change. The Lord worked on me this week. Sometimes our tools
need to be sharpened. The Lords instrument needed to be sharpened this
week, so I allowed him to sharpen it. The Lords instruments (us) are
sharpened through repentance. Repentance is the gift given to us to
access the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Repentance is
turning from the things we are looking at, to God. Refined by the
sacrament through honoring our covenants, we are changed to become
sharp sickles, which reap the harvest of the white field. To keep that
instrument sharp, it takes continual thrusting in the sickle. When I
stop working, I allow myself to get rusty and dull. I need to
experience the miracles that come from this work. I live to allow
those miracles to shape my life.
In that very moment I had time to reflect on the changes I have made
as a result of seeing drug dealers become priesthood holders, broken
families become eternal families, wayward children becoming endowed
with power and fighting for truth and right. As I reflected upon those
moments, I hungered for more of those experiences. In obtaining
change, I have found the equation to yield the result of helping
others change first. I have thought that changing my soul would
require me to focus on my soul. But the requirement for a changed soul
is turning outward.
My favorite part of being a missionary is witnessing 3rd hand the
change that happens to others. Only a missionary can witness such an
amazing thing. I am literally watching someone be effected by the
greatest thing that happened on earth-The Atonement of Jesus Christ. I
watch the faces of these brothers and sisters, and over the course of
time they turn from dark and distressed, to lightened and full. I
watch them make the decision to say "I don't need that anymore to be
happy" they never go back to those things again. It is wonderful to
me. It is humbling.
I love my Savior. I know He lives. I know He cleanses us from sin. I
have seen His Atonement effect so many. I know that by applying His
doctrine into our lives will allow us to change. This, I so testify
with the most tender of feelings I can muster.
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