What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Elder Robert C. Gay of the seventy gave a talk at October 2012 conference, entitled, "What Shall a Man Give in Exchange for His Soul?" I read it from the November ensign. Here are key point I got out of it:

1. "today it is so easy to get caught up in the noise of the world--despite our good intentions" (pg. 34).
2. Cain asked, "Who is the Lord that I should know him?" and then he lost his soul. Nothing is more important than knowing the Lord. How do we know the Lord? -prayer, scripture, conference talks, service, uplifting education, going to church, fulfilling our callings.
3. Sometimes a national championship or money seem so important at the time that we "self-justify our actions like Cain", but as we learn, he lost his soul. I'm sure we do not want to lose our souls, but Satan does a good job at distracting us.
4. Robert talks about the story in the new testament of a wealthy young man that asked the Lord what he needed to do to have eternal life. The Savior told him the one thing he needs to do is sell all that he has. The man could not do it.
-On the other hand, we have an account in the Book of Mormon when a Lamanite King asked the same question and said that he would give all he has away just to have "this great joy" (pg. 34).
5. How importance repentance is. The Lamanite King's repentant prayer is touching: "O God, ...I will give away all my sins to know thee."
6. The Savior asks us to give "up all our sins, big or small" (pg. 35). I like the list Robert puts out as possible sins we need to repent of and forsake:
-self-justifying stories
-excuses
-rationalizations
-defense mechanisms
-procrastinations
-appearances
-personal pride
-judgmental thoughts
-doing things our way
7. Separate yourself from the worldliness and take upon you the image of God in your countenance.

8. I love touching stories of people reaching out to others, strangers even. But it makes me feel inadequate because I do not have many of those stories of my own. My insecurities usually win in the battle with the spiritual promptings. Its difficult to talk to someone I do not know or are not familiar with. However, I know that my mind needs to be in the right place if I am going to have the courage to help others. I need to focus more on others, and on the spirit; Then I may be more likely to feel and act on promptings of helping and befriending others. I know I could be doing so much better than I am now. I only have one neighbor in my apartment complex that I know. I see surrounding neighbors often, know what cars they drive, but haven't said but a single hello. There's definitely room to grow.
9. Set goals: I will meet one more neighbor before Christmas.
10. "May our lives of service always affirm that God forsakes no one" (pg. 36).
11. I like what Robert says: "My testimony is my soul's treasure" (pg. 36).
12. I know that the worth of souls is so great! Docrtine and Covenants 18:10 -"Remember the ^aworth of ^bsouls is great in the sight of God;" Nothing of this world is more valuable. That's why there's nothing more important, satisfying, joyous, or completing as saving our own soul and those around us. 

Service

Church=Service. Have I done any good in the world today?

Helping Hands & Last Days

November 4th- Mormon Helping Hands Cleanup Sandy (link to article); east coasters inspired by Mormon help.
November 7th- Mormon president rejected by east-coasters.


"10. O ye wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the fear of the Lord and the glory of his majesty shall smite thee.
11. And it shall come to pass that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
12. For the day of the Lord of Hosts soon cometh upon all nations, yea, upon evey one; yea, upon the proud and lofty, and upon evey one who is lifted up, and he shall be brought low.
13. Yea, and the day of the Lord shall come upon all the cedars of Lebanon (America), for they are high and lifted up; and upon all the oaks of Bashan;
14. And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills, and upon all the nations which are lifted up, and upon evey people;
15. And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall;
16. And upon all the ships of the sea, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures (Tropical Islands).
17. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
18. And the idols he shall utterly abolish (American Idol?)
19. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for the fear of the Lord shall come upon them and the glory of his majesty shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth."
-Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 12: 13-18.

These aren't my words, they are the words of God. Though harsh and hard to hear for the wicked, I believe these words are true and will come to fruition very very soon. The United States has shown its stance, with sam-sex marriage and marijuana use rooted for in the 2012 elections. There was a clear choice between a righteous, qualified, smart leader and a liberal, unreligious, debt-growing leader. Righteousness was not chosen.

Revelation 10: John sees an angel standing upon the sea and the earth with a little book that the angel tells John to eat which will make his belly bitter but his mouth sweet as honey. After he eats he is told to go out again and prophesy. My interpretation: the little book is the Book of Mormon, which makes the stomach bitter because of the harsh truths, but mouth sweet because it is a second testiment of Christ.

Micah 5:15- "And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard."

2 Nephi 27:7 "And behold the book shall be ^asealed; and in the book shall be a ^brevelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ^cending thereof."

I know that God lives. I know because I have tested Him, by obeying His commandments, and I have witnessed that "wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10). I have "consider[ed] on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things both temporal and spiritual" (Mosiah 2: 41). I have a testimony of the truthfullness of the Book of Mormon, that Joseph Smith restored the same church organized hen Jesus Christ walked the earth by translating the Book of Mormon and recieving revelation. I believe in revelation, yes. Some say it is crazy to talk with God. That is the evil of our world today. I speak with God through prayer, and he speaks to me through the Holy Ghost. I feel him. I know he lives. I know Jesus Christ walked this earth. There are records of his life, there are paintings and murals of Him. He exists, though people are lifted up in the things of the world and cannot understand. They are blind and corrupt. They will know nothing but pain when he comes again. But I will know joy because I know Him today. I do not have to see to believe. I know I have a spirit, I know that when a body dies, it does not rot in the ground forever. I have  a soul that is eternal. And my all bodies will be reunited with spirit when Christ comes. The last days are now. Which is intense, but happy because it will be wonderful when He comes again for the righteous.

Unbelief=dwindling

Mosiah 1:5 in the Book of Mormon uses a phrase that qualifies unbelief as dwindling: "dwindled in unbelief". Without belief, even in small things, my spirit dwindles. Life becomes dull, boring, bitter and sad. Belief raises me up, fills me, inspires me, helps me, and life goes my way when I believe!

I can Only Imagine

I have heard people ask, why do good things happen to bad people, and if there was a God, bad things would not happen. This is a sign that those people do not see past sorrows to the silver lining. In other words, I think God uses "bad things" for his own useful purposes. Is it really a sign that GOd doesn't exist when a baby is born with disabilities? Or a couple cannot get pregnant for 10 years, while teenagers have babies without a home to give them? I don't see these as signs God doesn't exist, I see these as the means through which God does speak to us. The point of this life is to grow, and we can only grow through trials. I found this quote that speaks about what I'm trying to say:

Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD). A personal trainer knows that you cannot get stronger muscles without resistance and without experiencing a little pain. Therefore, when I see bad things happening to good people, I don't question God's existence, his existence is solidified. God chastens us because he loves us. A parent punishes a child because they love the child and want the child to learn and grow. Likewise, there are hardships, sadness, and challenges to hlep us grow and to give us examples to follow. There is a video that touches me everytime I watch it. A father and son competed in multiple athletic events (marathons, iron mans, etc.), but the son has physical disabilities so the Dad carries, pushes and pulls the son all the way through the race. The father does this because the son expressed how much he enjoys it, and how it makes the son feel as though he does not have any disabilities while they are racing. This solidifies my testimony that God puts disabilities, trials, and sadness into life for us to show our strength, show our love, and show our humility in how we deal with them. That is what this particular father has done. Even though the doctor told he and his wife to hug the son goodbye basically when he was born, they decided they would keep him and raise him like any other child. To me, this family has really understood what it is to love someone and make someone else happy. The boy has graduated from highschool and college, and can comunicate through a special computer. Through this example of loving the disabled, loving family, and sacraficing, my heart is touched and many people are touched. So when I hear people complain about God making "bad things happen to good people" I just think they don't understand the meaning of life. God spoke to Joseph Smith in his hard times when bad things were happening to good people, as said, "know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee ^eexperience, and shall be for thy good" (D&C 122:7). I hold my trials close to my heart for all the things I have learned all the experience I gained. Bad things happening to good people, is just the perfecting of the saints. We are also told that we will not be given any challenge that we cannot overcome. Trials are also useful in compelling people to humility, when nothing else will. I am glad God gives me trials and others trials so we can see how God can work through us, how God can help us, and how much we need God.

Cleanliness

• "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common," Acts 10:15
• In today's world, many call cleanliness "common". Some think not having piercings on unique parts of the body or dark makeup or tattoos is just plain. When I see people with tattoos running up and down their arm, I just think even if I did not have my knowledge of cleanliness, I would not want to permanently mark my body. What if I get tired of that tattoo and have to live with it for eternity? It is like buildings around the city--there are some with grafiti, which lessens their beauty and condition. On the other hand, when a building is beautiful, spotless, and clean on the outside, it is a representation of what is inside and we are drawn to those buildings. The Temples are a place that is beautiful and clean on the outside to represent what is on the inside. In the LDS Ensign magazine for October 2012 there is an article about dress and appearance. It says, "In today's world, many do not understand or respect the sacred nature of our bodies (9)". Our outside appearance represents what is on the inside because it reflects what is most important to us. If people understood more of the importance of keeping our bodies clean, there would be less immodesty, sex before marriage and outside marriage, less smoking, drugs, and obesity. Our bodies hold our spirits and make up our soul. How sacred and wonderful that is! I would not take that lightly and defile it, just as much as I would not grafiti on a Holy Temple of God. Heavenly Father values our bodies even higher than his most beautiful Temple. How sad He is when we defile it, and how pleased when we respect it.    
• kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter, 1 Ne. 15:34 (D&C 97:15; Moses 6:57).
• let all things be done in cleanliness, D&C 42:41
• I will clean my house, clean my body, try to put good foods into my body, exercise, take care of my hair (its quiet the knot sometimes) and be thankful for the body God has given me.
• Blessed are the pure in heart, Matt. 5:8
• Purity starts from the inside. Clean the inner vessel first, then the outer will follow. Purity of the heart comes from reverence through strengthening or gaining testimonies. I should start every day from the inside--with a prayer, a hymn, a scripture. When I do not have time in the morning to read scriptures, I just push play on my the Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD in my car. Nothing invites the spirit more quickly than the Mo Tab! I love it. Having the spirit at the start of my day is so important to helping me make right choices. Some days I don't start with the spirit and I can tell at the end of the day that I should have started our right because the whole day seems to go wrong when the morning goes wrong.
• let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, 2 Cor. 7:1
• I see filth around me in the world, and am so glad I do not have to be a part of it. I am SO glad I know what I know-this life is not all there is, there is a God that loves me, and I will live forever in His love and with my family if I do what He would have me do.

Picture is from this link: http://www.lds.org/media-library/images/people?lang=eng&start=21&end=30#portrait-girl-921776

Conference October 6, 2012

Cook
Immersion in the scriptures is essential for spiritual renewal.
When you join the church, you enlisted to serve God. You left the neutral ground and you can never go back.
Are we prepared to meet God? Never foresake the Master.
Anything tha tlessens committment is a consequence:
how we treat those closest to us is a fundamental importance.
We must not physically emotionally abuse someone else.
Kindness and civility begin in our homes. Breakdown of our society goes with the breakdown of families.
How easy it is today for young people to be exposed to impure images.


Are we as involved in our gospel as we are about facebook, texting, careers, hobbies?
Knowledge is the power of God unto salvation
We must increase our gospel knowledge
Our gospel knowledge helps us be confident in our testimones.
We must be doer of the word and not hearers only.
Lovinly serving others, being ovedient. We act with integrity and do what we know is right no matter who may or may not be watching. In our mortal condition, no one is perfect. all of us will make mistakes and all of us will sin. Thorugh our saviors redeeming sacrafice, we can be made clean again. The phrase, "I live it"

Line Upon Line/ Visit Teaching

In 2 Nephi 28:30 we understand that we learn "line upon line, precept upon precept". This is true in studies; I do better on a test when I have started studying early. Craming sometimes works, but does not stick for longer than the test usually.
This learning also applies to the October Ensign article, "Teaching Chastity and Virtue". The article says having "the talk" once is not the best way to teach about chastity. Through daily opportunities, through example in marriage, and by being involved in the child's life "the talk" can be spread out into a lifelong learning.

I also wanted to talk about service. Our beloved prophet, President Monson, is the best example I have heard of in the topic of service. He is a great example. I have today off from clinicals for the rest of the semester and thought, what am I going to do today? I have to study for my test tomorrow (line upon line hopefully) and go to Hobby Lobby for something, but I thought, how can I do service today? I can clean our apartment, study to do well for my future family, exercise to serve my body, but then I was also thinking about visiting teaching. My companion told me at the beginning of the semester that she could not visit in the mornings, saturdays, or sundays. That was complete opposite from me. However, now that my Wednesday mornings are free, maybe our schedule could line up for visiting teaching. I am kind of scared to call her back though. She kind of threw my under the bus, as if she didn't need me because she already visited one of the sisters on Tuesday mornings. And these women are older--not much in common. As I was thinking all this and feeling guilty for not doing visiting teaching even though it has been drilled in my head that Heavenly Father wants me to...my phone rang and the caller ID said "vis teach" (thats how I saved her number in my phone). I was like, what? I answered and discovered my wonderful visiting teacher, Sundie Ellis, was calling to see when she could visit with me next week. That is just a testimony to me, that Sundie had the spirit with her. It was also Heavenly Father telling me to call my visiting teachee sisters and companion. As much as I don't want to, I will. We shall see what happens...

First Presidency Message

Sharing the gospel.I should be praying every day to meet someone who is prepared to recieve the gospel. Missionary work is great, but not as difficult as I make it. All I need is to be close to the spirit.

A is for attitude.

We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

B is for belief.

...in yourself, ppl, and eternal principles. You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith.

C is for Courage.

Courage is required to make the thrust toward your goals. Captain Moroni had courage. He mounted his title of Liberty with courage.

Stake Conference Notes

Our stake conference way way good this past weekend! Here are some of the key points:
1. Be an actor, not acted upon. Nephi was an actor but Lamen and Lemual were reactors. Take initiative and go and do!
2. Be less concerned about looking good and more concerned about how Heavenly Father looks at you. Wanting to look good often hinders us from doing what the Lord wants us to do: say hi to someone even if we forgot their name; talk to someone even though you are embarrased of saying something wrong.
3. In marriage, just say, your right. And never raise your voice in marriage-there's no need.
4. Learn to listen to the right spirit. There will be whisperings to give up, but that is not the Holy Ghost, he does not know that word. Even though a voice might make you feel calmed down, it could be the adversary giving you a false sence of security. To the spirit, if you do not make a temple session, it is not because you did not try! To the adversary, it is ok to give up because there's no point in being frustrated trying to get there and then you may not even make it anyway. Pick out these different voices and listen to the one that says, TRY.
5. Callings are never meant to separate a marriage. They will only bring a marriage closer. As one or both of a couple gets closer to the Lord, they will get closer together.

So my goals for today:
1. Listen to that voice that says, TRY TRY TRY!!! with all your heart. And recognize the give up voice and knock it out of my head.
2. Take initiative and not be lazy or negative, but positive and faithful
3. Keep the spirit with me all day.

I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life! The focus on persoal progression is amazing!