For My Soul Delighteth in the Scriptures

I found this on Pinterest, but I don't know where it came from before that, but I LOVE it! Beautiful! There is SO much going on in life right now that I haven't had time to post, and I miss it.  I am gearing up for Seminary, all the summer activities my kids are doing, my two jobs, etc., etc.. With all of this going on, I value the time that I have to slow down for a portion of my day and read and study the scriptures! It is my delight!

"Is it such a fast that I have chosen?"

Back a few posts, I was talking about the most recent General Conference and I mentioned several of the points that had stood out to me during the sessions.

One was about Pres. Henry B. Eyring's talk:

"I love Pres. Henry B. Eyring prays to know what to fast for. That is exceptional!! I want to remember that. Also, this is the third or fourth time this year that I have heard Isaiah chapter 58 referred to, so I am planning to do a much more detailed study of that chapter very soon!"

Well, as it happens, a friend of mine, who is the Teaching for our Times teacher in Relief Society, won't be here this month, and she asked me to cover for her.  It turns out that the talk that was assigned for this month is "Is Not This the Fast That I Have Chosen?" by Pres. Henry B. Eyring. So, I was able to do that detailed scripture study of Isaiah 58 a lot sooner than I was expecting to....and I am very grateful!

I gleaned a LOT from the study of both the scripture and the talk!  Mainly, that I am not doing very well at fasting!  I have become lackadaisical in my approach to the law of the fast lately, and this was certainly my call to repentance!

A few years ago I got physically sick while I was fasting, and so I have been a little skittish about letting myself get so hungry that I start to feel sick.  Because of that, I have found all kinds of justifications for ending my fasts earlier than a full 24 hours.  I know we need to be mindful of our health and physical circumstances, but I also know that I can do better than I have been.

I also have gotten lazy about my approach to the fast.  Sometimes my prayer at the END of the fast has been the first time that I really pray about what I am fasting for in the first place.  (Heavenly Father is omnipotent after all, so He knows what I am fasting for, right?!)  

Basically, I have been taking all the sacrifice out of my fasts, and that is the point of it in the first place.

I have been, however, faithfully been paying a fast offering at the end of my fasts, but I recognize that I could be more generous in that regard as well. 

My scripture study has brought about several goals that I will be focusing on in the coming months to improve my fasting, and, in consequence, my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

1. Consider what I will be fasting for well in advance and write it in my prayer journal.

2. Pray, as I begin my fast, for the strength to complete a full 24 hour fast.

3. Double my fast offerings.

4. Record the blessings/assurances/guidance/answers I receive in my prayer journal.

I know that as I focus on improving my approach to my fasting, that the Lord will "guide [me] continually, and satisfy [my] soul in drought, and make fat [my] bones: and [I] shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."  (Isaiah 58:11) I LOVE the poetry of the scriptures!  Beautiful!! 

May we know the truth of all things?

In the Book of Mormon, in Moroni 10:3-7, it reads:

     "Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
     "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
     "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
     "And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.
     "And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever."

We are familiar with this scripture and it's promise.  If you read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true, then the Holy Ghost will let you know that it is true.  We usually stop after verse 5, and today my studies led me a little farther. Everything that is good testifies of Christ, and we should not deny the power of God.  We will see God's works in our lives as we exercise faith.

In summary, if we have prepared ourselves (reading the scriptures, remembering God's mercy and blessings), as we pray with sincerity and faith, by the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things.  But does that mean that God is going to reveal to us "all things"?

We think of Moses as being one who was prepared, faithful, sincere, surely one who would receive great revelations and answers from the Lord, one who DID receive visions of all the world and it's inhabitants, and yet, as he stood face to face with God, ". . .the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own purposes have I made these things.  Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me." (Moses 1:31)  In other words, even with all I have shown you, there are things that I am not going to show you.

Did that mean that Moses was unworthy?  That perhaps he had done something wrong in the eyes of the Lord?  That anything else the Lord had revealed to him wasn't true or of value?  Absolutely not.  The Lord, in His wisdom, decides when and where we will receive the answers, guidance, blessings, etc., that we stand in need of.  

Just because we may not receive an answer in the time frame that we are expecting, does not mean that the Lord does not have an answer to give us, or that there is no answer at all.  It could mean that we may not be prepared for the answer at this time.  That certain events or experiences have to take place in our lives before we can recognize the answer for what it is.  Or, perhaps the Lord wants us to figure it out on our own, rather than He just hand it to us, knowing that the figuring out is what is going to strengthen us.  Maybe the answer is not ours to have.

Some of us want answers to deep, complicated topics.  Some of us are trying to figure out why things happen to some people, but not to others. Some of us may be trying to justify certain behaviors by looking for an answer that we want to hear, rather than obeying the one that has already been given to us.

Does this mean that we aren't sincere in our desires for answers?  Does this mean that, even though the answer isn't absolutely essential for our salvation, we wouldn't really like to have it?  Absolutely not.  We may have devoted much time and effort in our scripture study and prayers to try to find the answers we are looking for.

And then we don't receive an answer.  Does this mean that God doesn't love us, value us, care about our desires? Absolutely not.

     "Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
     "And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.  The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours."  (Doctrine & Covenants 78:17-18)

I love the beauty of that scripture!  We have not even begun to understand all that our Heavenly Father has for us, in His own hands, in His own time.  We cannot bear (to hold up under, be capable of) all things now. Nevertheless, Heavenly Father WILL lead us along.  He WILL bless us.  All that He has He is willing to give us.  Because. . . 

     ". . .whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.
     "And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever."

Deny not the power of God!  Just because we do not receive an answer in the time frame we are expecting, does not mean that everything else we know is not true!  It is all true, and one of those truths is that we may need to wait upon the Lord at certain times in our lives.  He will love us through those times, He will lead us along through those times, He will work by power in our lives.  

I am grateful to know that my Father in Heaven loves me and that He knows me.  He knows my name. He knows my heart. He knows my spirit. He knows my testimony. He knows my needs, and my wants.  I know that with that knowledge, He will provide me with what I need to fulfill my life and mission on this earth. That I will be blessed continually, despite my questions, despite my fears, despite my weaknesses, despite my pride and sins.  The miracle of the Atonement of Jesus Christ!  I am imperfect, flawed, lacking in all eternal knowledge, and yet, I am provided, DAILY, with forgiveness, blessings, love, support, comfort, understanding, revelations, and, when I need them, answers.

General Conference - March/April 2015

What an amazing Conference!!  No surprise, but I loved it!!  I was filled and uplifted and inspired!  There were many thoughts that came to me as I listened to the words of our leaders (who I proudly and whole-heartedly sustain!).  I could go through every talk that was given and share my thoughts, but I especially wanted to touch on the ones that referred to scripture study.

I love Pres. Henry B. Eyring prays to know what to fast for.  That is exceptional!!  I want to remember that.  Also, this is the third or fourth time this year that I have heard Isaiah chapter 58 referred to, so I am planning to do a much more detailed study of that chapter very soon!

Elder Dallin H. Oaks talked about the Parable of the Seeds/Soil.  Our ground needs to be good and we keep it that way by prayer, scripture study, sacrament renewal, a mighty change of heart, etc.

Elder L. Whitney Clayton gave an AMAZING talk about choosing to believe!  God does not force us to believe.  Our belief and testimony are not passive principles, we must hope and sacrifice for them.  We will not accidentally believe in Christ, we must actively pursue our testimony.  CHOOSE by praying, fasting, studying our scriptures, attending the temple, going to church and partaking of the sacrament, repenting.

Elder David A. Bednar quoted my favorite scripture: Helaman 5:12!

Sister Rosemary M. Wixom talked about a young woman who was questioning her faith.  She expressed the importance of prayer and scripture study in receiving the answers to our questions.  She also quoted Helaman 5:12!

Elder Jose A. Teixeia talked about how our choices with technology can determine our spiritual progress and maturity in the gospel.  He said that we need to take time to set aside our mobile devices and do other things like turning the pages of the scriptures!

Bishop Gerald Causse asked if the gospel is still wonderful to us?  Are we actively searching the gospel, cherishing it?  He told us to anchor our faith in the pure, simple principles of the gospel.  I really feel that my active scripture study is one of the main things that is keeping the pure, simple gospel wonderful to me!!

Elder Brent E. Nielson talked about the parable of the Prodigal Son and he made many references that helped me to see that parable in a different light, and I am planning on doing a more detailed study of that parable soon!

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk!  WOW!!!

Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke about grace.  I really appreciated his talk, as I feel that grace is an underutilized and misunderstood principle.  I have done a study on grace in my scripture study journal, but this talk made me want to go back and reread all of it and look at it with fresh eyes.

Elder Kevin W. Pearson's talk was AMAZING!!  Again, I have done a study on Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life in my scripture study journal, but this talk gave me so many more insights and I want to go back and revisit it!!  I love that he said, "Search the Book of Mormon and the words of the living prophets, every day!  Every day!  EVERY DAY!!"

I absolutely LOVED it when Pres. Uchtdorf got up after Elder Rafael E. Pino's talk and began speaking in German.  He apologized to Pres. Monson, saying, "I thought we were still speaking in our native language."  I love that our leaders are so funny, and human.  I know that probably won't make it into the Ensign or the Conference Report, so I wanted to make sure we remembered it. 

Elder Russell M. Nelson concluded the Conference by talking about the Sabbath Day.  He said we don't need a list of DOs and DONTs, our attitude on the Sabbath constitutes a sign to Heavenly Father of how we feel about the Sabbath.  Scripture study on the Sabbath (and other days) is a sign to Heavenly Father of my commitment to His word, His gospel, my own salvation!

I love General Conference!!  I am grateful for the words of our beloved prophet and the many other leaders of the Church that bless my life!

(image source)

#BecauseHeLives

On www.mormon.org there is a beautiful video for Easter about our Savior, Jesus Christ, entitled Because He Lives.  You can watch the video by clicking HERE.

There is also a link to download a marker to show where you feel the influence of Jesus Christ in your life.  I posted mine to Twitter.  #BecauseHeLives #Easter #scripturestudy #mormon #LDS

UPDATE:  I was showing the whole #HeIsHere #BecauseHeLives thing on mormon.org to a friend and when I got to the page, I got all excited, as there I was!  Right in the middle!  How fun!!

New calling

I am SO EXCITED that it is finally official and I can finally share!!

I have been called to be a Seminary teacher!!  

I am overwhelmed with gratitude to my Heavenly Father for this amazing blessing!  I am privileged to wake up extra early, and hang out with sleepy, whiney teenagers every morning.  Haha!  So, saying that tongue-in-cheek, but being realistic, that doesn't sound that great, but I really am thrilled for this calling and the incredible opportunity it gives me to study the scriptures and share my love of scripture study with others.  Even those who would rather be asleep.  That being said, I was very pleased with the positive response from the youth who will be in my class next year!  That makes me very happy!

The moment I was asked to accept this calling, I was immediately drawn to the Old Testament and the books of Moses and Abraham.  I have been studying them and am very anxious for the next school year to begin! 

What a blessing!!

2015 Spring General Conference

I'm excited!  Have been for weeks! 

I love that all the meetings are included as one now!  Perfection!

I am getting prepared...