Sunday, November 17, 2013

The Sabbath Day

Posted by 2DI4 at 9:57 AM

I am so grateful for so many blessings I enjoy. I love prayer. Despite all that it is - that we are communicating with our father in heaven, the God, the supreme being of countless worlds who knows each of us individually, just the fact that we can do that is amazing. As we pray we exercise our faith which grows EACH time we demonstrate this faith. It focuses us on what we should spend our time doing EVERY day and reminds us to be sensitive to answers and guidance we require. As we read the scriptures and the most recent conference talks we can't help but improve. Prayer and reading the scriptures as well as talks from our priesthood leaders we improve EVERY time. This is the easiest thing in the world that we can do and with ALL the church tools available to us that make accessing the scriptures, church curriculum AND years of conference talks, this is so EASY to do.

We hardly need to spend any time on our knees or in reading and studying for significant blessings. Followed by or accompanied by prayer, things will stand out to us that give us additional blessings and answers. Isn't that what we need? I really enjoyed that bishop's talk at our Saturday night stake conference meeting. He talked about how the spirit is ALWAYS telling us something. That is sooo true. All we need to do is listen. He makes it so easy for us to ALWAYS make the decisions that will bring us the most happiness. Consequently ALL these things will help us be better. We can simply react to circumstances that arise OR we can choose the circumstances that will best serve ourselves and others.

I love the saying the book is blue and the gospel is true!!!

Mosiah 4

3 And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace ofconscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.
10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask insincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if youbelieve all these things see that ye do them.

20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out hisSpirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.
 21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.
22 And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.
 23 I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who arerich as pertaining to the things of this world.
 24 And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give.
27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.
30 But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watchyourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.
This is probably the oldest record of a conference talk but it remains relevant today. We are blessed with such abundance now. I am excited to share some of my couponing stuff with my mother when I visit her for Thanksgiving. 
I still haven't received my mileage money. I could just use petty cash from my register and then pay it back Wednesday when I get paid but I decided I wouldn't buy anything and that I'd just use the food I have. Last night I made this pasta I seasoned with Italian seasoning, a little olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic and canned chicken. I thought it would be good BUT it wasn't. The only other pasta I have is my macaroni and cheese. I can make some of that without making the cheese sauce which I can use with ANYTHING. I'm going to mix it like a sandwich mix and just add in the pasta. Mayo, chopped green apple and raisins. I ate all my cashews right out of the can yesterday. I also want to make Mexican rice by first frying the dry rice in oil over the stove then cooking it in spaghetti sauce and also some onions, garlic and cheese. I have a little fresh chicken I think I'll just bake then eat it with my Mexican rice and cheese. Finally I'm going to make myself some musubi and save some for lunch tomorrow. It is really filling. I need to also bake some rolls or bread although I'm out of eggs. Maybe I'll just make some pizza crust. I also found a recipe for chocolate cake without eggs and milk that is supposed to be moist and delicious! I need to stock up on pasta bigtime. 
The Strength to Endure - Richard J. Maynes

I would like to share an experience that illustrates the effort required to endure physically and then compare it to the effort required to endure spiritually. Upon returning from my mission, I had the opportunity to play basketball for a well-respected coach and author at a college in California. This coach was very serious about his players being in shape before the start of the basketball season. One of his training prerequisites before any of us could touch a basketball on the practice court was to run a cross-country course in the hills near the school in a specific and very aggressive time. I remember my very first attempt at running this cross-country course immediately upon my return from the mission field: I thought I was going to die.
It took weeks of serious training in order to finally beat the time that the coach set as a goal. It was a great feeling to not only be able to run the course but also to accelerate down the stretch to the finish line.
To play basketball successfully, you need to get into good shape. Being in good physical condition comes at a price, and that price is dedication, perseverance, and self-discipline. Spiritual endurance also comes at a price. It is the same price: dedication, perseverance, and self-discipline.
A testimony, like your body, needs to be in shape if you want it to endure. So how do we keep our testimonies in shape? We cannot get our bodies into good basketball shape by simply watching basketball on television. Similarly, we won’t be able to get our testimonies in shape by simply watching general conference on television. We need to study and learn the fundamental principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then we must do our very best to live them. That is how we become disciples of Jesus Christ, and that is how we build an enduring testimony.
When we face adversity in life and our desire is to emulate the attributes of Jesus Christ, it is essential to be spiritually prepared. Being spiritually prepared means we have developed spiritual stamina or strength—we will be in good shape spiritually. We will be in such good shape spiritually that we will consistently choose the right. We will become immovable in our desire and ability to live the gospel. As an anonymous author once said, “You must become the rock the river cannot wash away.”
Because we face challenges every day, it is important that we work on our spiritual stamina every day. When we develop spiritual stamina, the false traditions of the world, as well as our personal daily challenges, will have little negative impact on our ability to endure in righteousness.
We are here on earth to run the race, to exercise our moral agency, and to choose between right and wrong. In order to honorably and successfully finish the race and return to our Heavenly Father, we will need to pay the price of dedication, perseverance, and self-discipline. We need to get into spiritual shape. We need to develop spiritual stamina. We need strong testimonies that will lead to true conversion, and as a result we will find within ourselves the inner peace and strength't  needed to endure whatever challenges we may face.

So whatever challenges you wake up to each morning, remember—with the spiritual strength you develop, coupled with the Lord’s help, at the end of the race you will be able to enjoy the confidence that the Apostle Paul expressed when he said:
“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.”6
I bear you my testimony and my witness of the reality of a loving Heavenly Father and His great and eternal plan of happiness, which has brought us to this earth at this time. May the Spirit of the Lord inspire us all to develop within ourselves the strength to endure. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Krista and I will be the last speakers of our ward before it is split. I haven't chosen the conference talk I want to speak on yet. The only direction we received was to talk on one of those. I'd like to read and listen to a few more again. So far I like this talk and the one I listened to yesterday. 

 

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