It's all just so good!

Ok so this is just the second of what will likely be many posts about my Doctrine and Covenants class. BECAUSE IT IS ALL JUST SO GOOD! 

Today's reading were sections 6-9. They all discuss receiving revelation and the answers to prayers. PERFECT for me. On any day. Today though I absolutely fell in love with section 6.

This summer I worked for an awesome program called Retreat for Girls. It is a camp for girl's ages 12-15 that focuses on how to help them have faith and how to incorporate God in their lives. It is given from an LDS faith, but is for any and all girls. During my time there, I discovered verses 33-37. They helped me throughout the rough patches of being a counselor. As well to give advice to my friends on missions who were having a difficult time.

These verses are just so perfect. Don't believe me? Let me share them with you:

"Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward. Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you. Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. Behold the wounds which pieced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen."

If this doesn't give you motivation, then read it until it does. I assure you that those words came from the Lord himself, and he knows how to encourage us to do what it is that we need to do. Fear not to do good. You will never regret it. 

So these were ones that I already knew about and the rediscovery renewed my motivation and courage that I had already received from these verses.

What I really wanted to focus on are verses 8 through 13. Again marvelous words full of glorious goodness. When I read these verses, I circled the action words that Joseph and Oliver were asked to do in order to receive the revelation that they were looking for. Again doing so I applied them to myself. The actions included:

Desire

Keep my commandments

Remember

Inquire

Exercise thy gift

Do good

Hold out faithful

Why are these things so essential to receiving answers to our questions?

Desire: You can't just expect the revelation that you need to know right then is just magically going to come. You have to desire to know the truth that you need. Have a question. It isn't just going to come without you desiring it to come. 

Keep my commandments: Revelation comes through the Holy Ghost. He can only dwell in holy temples and holy places. Meaning if you aren't worthy, his words will not come. If you are doing things you aren't supposed to, then the revelation you seek cannot come. You must live worthy of the spirit.

Remember: remember that it is the Lord that can answer your questions. Turn to him, the source of truth, rather than those that do not have the truth. As shown in this video:

Inquire: This goes back to this video as well. You have to ask. It doesn't just come

Exercise thy gift: This is the gift of the Holy Ghost. For those that are members of the LDS church, we have the Holy Spirit with us wherever we go. We have to utilize that gift. Rely on his promptings and act upon them. They can be answers to our questions. If you aren't a member, you can still receive promptings and feelings from the Holy Ghost. Pay special attention to ideas that don't seem to come from you. That can be guidance from our friend.

Do good: This is more than just keeping the ten commandments. It is seeking to help those around you. Serving others is a great way to receive answers. I know this from experience.

Hold out faithful: This is the most important and difficult piece to the revelation puzzle. Hold out faithful. Heavenly Father doesn't always answer right away. But he DOES answer. Keep the faith during that time, and you will without a doubt receive it.

Revelation is such a key to this life. I have come to love and truly rely on the promptings of the Holy Spirit. I know that it has saved me, brought me peace, answered a difficult question, stopped me from making dumb mistakes and much much more. It is such an important part of my life. If it isn't in yours, I encourage you to do these things so that you too can have it in your life. 

He Knows What's Up and Exactly What We Need

So with the beginning of the semester at BYU comes a new and interesting religion class. This semester I am taking Doctrine and Covenants, which is modern day revelation from God about the organization of His true church. Such a fantastic class. Seriously though. I have been in this class two days and I have already learned so much. 

Today I read Sections 3 and 10. These sections came in response to the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon. I just thought it was going to two chapters of thinking "Oh! You've been chastised!" Totally not true. I mean, yes there is chastisement in there, but it also has some fantastic things to apply. My second assumption was that I was going to really connect with section 10 because of the awesome verse 5. Which was true, but what I wasn't expecting was the tremendous words inside section 3. SO MUCH GOODNESS!!! Have I told you how much I love the scriptures? Because I do. A LOT!

D&C 3:4- "For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him."

Wow. All of those hard times that I thought I made it through on my own. Yeah right! This explains how I would just dig myself a deeper hole somedays. If there is one thing that I have learned these past couple of years, it is that I can do nothing without Him. Well I can, but it really is so much better to pass through this life with Heavenly Father by my side. I feel much like Ammon in Alma 26:12 when he said, "I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God." I cannot say that I have anything to credit to my name. It is our dear Heavenly Father who made the work happen, I was just a tool in His hand.

Don't believe how great He is? See verses 7&8 of section 3, then try it. You will definitely see.

Verses 9-11 of section 3 are what struck me the most. My favorite way to apply the scriptures in the D&C is to insert my own name. So verse 9: "Behold, thou art [Beth], and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord..." Well this is fantastic new. I have been chosen to do the work of the Lord. We all have been chosen to do His work. We each have a unique role in which only we can do. But here is the rest of the verse that is the condition, "...but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou wilt fall."

We are going to make mistakes. That is inevitable. I personally probably make 35 a day. On a good day. However, I do my best to always stay righteous. Do I fall now and then? Yes, but I get up as fast as possible. The point that this scripture is saying that we need to be aware of the mistakes that could disqualify us from doing the work we have been called to do. If we are sensitive to the spirit, we will feel the Holy Ghost us stopping us from making serious mistakes. Following such promptings will allow to maintain worthy to accomplish our individual missions in carrying out the work of the Lord.

What if you have disqualified yourself? See verse 10. "But, remember, God is merciful: therefore, repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou are still chose and art again called to the work." Repent of your mistakes. He will call us again to the work. 

It is my testimony that each of us have been given unique gifts and talents to assist us in the work that we were called to do. When we turn to Heavenly Father, together we can accomplish this work. To be an instrument in His hands is wonderful experience, something that I will always cherish. Follow the promptings of the spirit and two things will happen. We will not be lead astray and we will discover what the work is that He has in store for us. There are amazing things that each of us will do. Don't give up that opportunity for a few minutes of pleasure. 

Lessons from the Prophets

So it's been one of those weeks. And it has only added on to it being one of those years. This weekend I had a great opportunity that I expected to be the light at the end of the tunnel. And it was. Well it was actually the light in the middle of the tunnel and it was super dark before and after. As I was waiting in line for this experience, it dumped rain on me. It finished putting me into some despair. I am not sure why at the moment I felt like that. I had been protected and watched out for the whole way, but the increasing load blinded me. During this brief moment of despair I felt like I was losing everything that I had going right in my life. Again, I am not sure why, because it wasn't true. Anyway, the thought came out of nowhere that I need to study the story of Job.

Then I remembered an experience a couple of years ago during high school. I had begun reading the Book of Mormon over again. The best part about reading it, is it starts with one of my favorite characters and stories, Nephi. His story came alive so vividly to me this time around. The reason why? I felt exactly like him. No I didn't move across unknown seas. No, I definitely was not called to be a prophet or to lead my people. But I was living among some really wicked people. My high school was filled with people who had lost their way, or didn't know how to find the way. And to then add to it, I realized that I was called to be an example to my older siblings. I felt the pressure to be righteous. My Heavenly Father was teaching me the importance of how to apply the scriptures to my own life. I related to Nephi and so his words became that much more meaningful to me. 

Now here I am. 19 years old and it is my second year at BYU. And Heavenly Father is teaching me yet another important story from the scriptures. Apparently the way I learn is by having to see it myself. Some what unfortunate but I am and will forever be grateful for these lessons He is teaching me. 

So today I started my journey of learning about the story of Job, and how I can apply his story to me. I began it by reading a conference talk given by Elder Robert D. Hales entitled Examples from the Life of a Prophet. The fantastic thing about this talk is that he discusses a modern day Job. A real person that I can follow the example of so much easier. And that is President Kimball.

Elder Hales discusses the three great tests that we will likely face at some point in our lives. They are:

1. Temporal Setbacks

2. Physical Illness

3. Depression

Now I will admit, that when I read this, I felt as though I am experiencing a little bit of each of these at once. Obviously not to the extent that either Job or President Kimball felt. But in the Beth scale amount. So this talk was definitely what I needed to read today. 

Elder Hales says that the greatest lesson from these two story is that "in all this Job [or President Kimball] sinned not, nor charges God foolishly." Job 1:22 

One of my favorite ways to apply the scriptures is to insert my own name. I can only imagine how amazing it would be to be able to right in my journal, "In all this [Beth] sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." In some ways, this time around I can say this. However, I know that I still have a long way to come and that I didn't do it perfectly. How can Beth improve? I am so glad that you asked because, Elder Hales covers this as well. Using the example of President Kimball the way to go is to hold strong to your integrity and testimony and sing praises of the Lord throughout trials. We can do it. Hold on despite despair. Be grateful for the trial placed before you. Don't try to go alone, but recognize that you need Heavenly Father's help. 

Ok. I can do those things. Is there anything else? Reach for the one. Think of the needs of everyone else around you. This is the hard part for me. I can pray and ask for help no problem. I KNOW that I have no ability to make it through this life alone. And I can be grateful. I KNOW that when I receive small inspired thoughts, a stranger reach out, an unexpected visit with a friend, or a perfectly timed letter from missionary friend that they are sent from God. That they are for me and what I need. I can even hold to my testimony now. I KNOW that it isn't punishment for me to go through these trials, but rather love. Love that molds me into what I need to become. However, I have struggles with forgetting myself and serving those around me. I get so locked into wo is ME, help ME, I hurt, send ME love. I forget about how are YOU, what can be done to help THEM, here are cookies for YOU, and a prayer for YOU. On the rare occasion that I do look to help others, it helps me to forget about my problems and relieves the pain and hurt that I feel. 

Elder Hales discussed a time that he was with President Kimball and health concerns for the Prophet arose. President Kimball's response was "What I am afraid of is that I will meet the Savior and he will say 'You could have done better.'" How amazing for a prophet of God to say that. I hope and am working toward adopting that same attitude. Giving all I can to the one. Focusing on what I can offer others, rather than what others offer me. 

Another great attitude that comes from President Kimball is his talk "Give Me This Mountain". A wonderful talk to be studied and discussed another time. But it is the attitude of bring it on, I got this that I want to focus on. Rather than running and hiding from the trials that are meant to mold and shape us into the people that we want to become, embrace them and say, "You and me, Heavenly Father. We got this."

Give me this mountain, Heavenly Father. I know that with thee I can do all things. I know that the comfort thou hast given me during this time in my life has been as monumental as the trials that I am called to pass through at this time. I wish to not sin or charge thee foolishly. Give me this mountain, because I know thou will give me the walking stick and strength I need it.