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Browsing Tag: Jesus Christ

Faith,Life

Refinement

posted on : July 23, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 4 Comments

When I was 17 I went with my mother to another state to visit a woman who was my mother’s best friend when they were teenagers.  They did everything together, as best friends do, and they both married very young, at age 16.  My mother eventually moved to another state with her husband and one day missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on her door and she immediately was interested in the Church.  She was baptized and set about trying to become a better person through applying the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ in her life.  On this trip, when I met this woman I was immediately struck by how coarse and crude she was.  She was probably the most vulgar woman I had ever met, and it seemed to me that she even cackled when she laughed.  In that instant, even at age 17, I had a clear understanding of how the gospel helps to refine a person.  I could clearly see the difference between my mother and this woman who was once her best friend, and I could see how if my mother had stayed on the same path as her friend that she would have been similar to how her friend was now. In essence, I could see how my mother’s life and thus mine would have been without the refining power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Christ, when we let it, helps us to be better and do better.  It teaches us that as disciples of Jesus Christ we are to become like Him in every thought, word and deed. Sometimes this is overwhelming to think about especially if I look at all of the things I’m not doing right yet and how long it will be before I’m even close to becoming Christ-like.  Yet the thought that I focus on mostly is not the end result but the journey from good to better.  As I try to become more Christ-like my attitudes and desires change and I take joy in simpler things and in my journey there is more happiness along the way and in my life.  As I see progress in my life it gives me hope that I can do it and I am strengthened to accomplish very hard things.  As I am battling sins and bad habits in my life that I have been battling for years, I have decided that even if I don’t completely master in them in this life that I will die still trying because giving up is not an option.  I want to live with my Heavenly Father and family again.

 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/be-ye-therefore-perfect-eventually?lang=eng

Faith,Lessons Learned

Spiders and Other Distractions

posted on : July 19, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 2 Comments

I have a friend who told me a story of how she was once driving down the street when a spider dangled down from the ceiling of her car in front of her steering wheel. She started swiping at the spider trying to get it out of her way without any luck and it kept flying back and forth in front of her while she’s shrieking and panicking.  Meanwhile she’s still driving down the street and naturally ran into something because she was no longer paying attention to where she was going.  As she tells it she let herself become distracted from what was important by something that was unimportant.  Unfortunately I do this all too often and even though I know what my goals are, what I need to be doing to achieve them, I focus on unimportant things such as playing games on my iPad or watching too much TV.  It is so easy when I want a break to play a game for a few minutes that turns out to be for a couple of hours.  What I could have been doing instead!  Joseph Smith said in 1842, as quoted by Wilford Woodruff, that “a man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge.”  There is so much that I do not know and not just about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  There are so many relationships to foster, so many people I could be helping, and family history to be done but it is easier to play games or to watch TV.  Easier does not lead to better!  Every time I channel my efforts to discipline myself and do something worthwhile I increase my strength and ability to do more worthwhile things.  My capacity is enlarged and I become more than I was before, and I develop more self-discipline.  Distractions from things that are important leave me feeling wanting even though they are momentarily fun.  As I work to become more focused on the important things of life I find that my desire for the unimportant diminishes.  I do better and feel better, and slowly become better.

 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/choose-wisely?lang=eng

Faith,Lessons Learned

Problems Of Our Own Making

posted on : July 9, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

In world news lately we have learned of a group of boys, who with their leader, are trapped in a cave in Thailand, and they have been trapped there for over two weeks.  When they entered the cave to explore it, it wasn’t raining but when it started to rain it sent water flooding into the cave trapping the group inside.  In Thailand it is the rainy season and logic would tell you that this cave floods during this time yearly and that poor planning and decision making were involved in deciding to take this group to explore this cave at this time of year.  Yet despite this, the world is reaching out to help this group.  They have sent in food and other supplies for them and are trying to figure out the best way to help free them from the trap they are in, and they have been able to free 4 of the boys.  They have not said “you used poor judgement and got yourself in a serious bind so we are not going to help you.”  In spite of poor planning there are many working to help this group, and one had died in attempting to rescue them.  In thinking about this there are many gospel parallels that come to mind. Often the troubles we find ourselves in are of our own making.  They come from situations in which we used poor judgment or ignored the potential consequences or sometimes didn’t care about what could happen until it did.  Despite this there are many who stand ready to help us out of the traps we have created for ourselves.  Christ, our ultimate rescuer, has not said, “Well, you caused your own problems and used poor judgement so I’m not going to help you.”  Instead, we are taught in the scriptures that “His hand is stretched out still.”  He is waiting to rescue us when we need help and turn to Him, and even those trapped in that cave have to want to be rescued. And didn’t He give His life that we might be fully rescued?   Despite our pride, our disobedience, our blatant disregard for His teachings, all we need to do is reach out and take hold of His proffered hand, and we have to want to be rescued, be willing to work hard to change, and recognize that He is the Great Rescuer.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/10/the-atonement-can-clean-reclaim-and-sanctify-our-lives?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/he-will-place-you-on-his-shoulders-and-carry-you-home?lang=eng

Faith,Life

Gratitude and Prayer

posted on : July 5, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

I have given some thought about prayer and why we are instructed to thank our Father in Heaven for our blessings before asking for the things we need.  When I express in my prayers sincere gratitude for the things I have in my life I feel a change in myself and in my attitude.  I become more humble and in tune with the Spirit, and I can feel a difference in how I approach my problems, how I see others around me and I feel a greater desire to help them.  James E. Talmage said “Gratitude is the twin sister to humility.”  Sincere gratitude leads to humility and when I sincerely thank my God for His love and blessings I definitely become more humble and then I am in a better position to ask for the things I need, and then often the things I need are no longer things.  When I really focus on my gratitude in my prayers I also end my prayers feeling happier, and closer to my Heavenly Father, and sometimes I feel the Spirit intensely.  For me gratitude is closely linked with happiness and actually with most of the desirable traits of life, and it gives perspective to my life.  Not recognizing the hand of God and the blessings He gives us in our lives often leads to coveting, jealously, and unhappiness and for me being grumpy, because I am usually feeling dissatisfied with my life.  When I was a student at BYU there was one semester when I decided my prayers were boring.  I felt like I was saying the same things over and over so I decided that I would find one new thing each day to be grateful for.  I remember one day walking to class and seeing the most beautiful monarch butterfly.  It flew along with me as I walked and I noticed how graceful it was and how delicate.  That night I thanked my Heavenly Father for that butterfly that seemed to have been sent just for me to enjoy.  That semester at school was one of the happiest times of my life and I think it was because I was actively looking for things to be grateful for.  Being truly grateful leads me to be more humble and happier, makes my prayers more meaningful and draws me closer to my Heavenly Father.  We are commanded to be grateful but isn’t it interesting that just like all of the other commandments, it is to bless our lives.  God doesn’t need us to be grateful but oh how we need  to be grateful.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/05/sunday-morning-session/grateful-in-any-circumstances?lang=eng

Children,Faith

Salt Dough and Prayer

posted on : June 21, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

Several years ago when my son was in the fourth grade and studying Utah History, he announced to me, as he was getting ready for school, that he needed orange and brown salt doughs for school that morning to make a relief map, and he handed me the recipe.  Since he was my fifth child I was familiar with the project and fortunately the morning had been going smoothly so I had time to make the dough.  The problem was that I didn’t have brown or orange (or even red and yellow) food coloring.  I knew that I could mix cocoa powder into the dough to make brown but I was perplexed about what I could do to make orange salt dough and I frantically looked through my pantry to see if I could find something that would work. Nothing came to mind as I searched among my baking supplies.  I made the brown dough while still thinking about what I could do to come up with orange dough.  I decided to pray about the situation and I told Heavenly Father that I needed to make orange salt dough and didn’t have any orange food coloring and asked that if there was something I had that I could use to make the dough orange that He would inspire me to think of it.  As soon as I finished my prayer I thought of orange Kool-Aid and quickly looked in the container I had of Kool-Aid and found several packages of orange.  I gave a quick prayer of gratitude and about 10 minutes later had orange salt dough that smelled really good ready to go with the brown salt dough, which since it was chocolate, also smelled great.  Prayer is a wonderful gift we have that blesses us in many ways, in some simple ways and in some serious and complex.  Prayer to me is an indication of a Father’s love for His children, that He is concerned about even trivial things in our lives that we need help with.  That morning I felt His love as I made orange salt dough and as my son went to school with the best smelling salt dough in the school.

Faith,Family,Lessons Learned

More Than Enough

posted on : June 18, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

I had a conversation with my son recently where he expressed regret at not having served a mission for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He wondered about being a Young Men’s Leader and what he would tell the Young Men in his ward when they asked about his mission.  I told him that he may not be able to talk about a mission but that he would be able to testify about the healing and redeeming powers of the atonement and it’s ability to change lives, and that there would be young men who would need to hear those words. The experiences he’s had will help many people draw closer to Christ and will help them understand that no one has gone beyond the reach of our Savior.  Too often we look at what we have done or haven’t done and think we are not good enough.  That we lack in our offerings to others and to our Savior, that somehow we are less than those around us.  That is simply not true!  God takes us where we are and what we have to offer and makes them more than good enough, and then uses those things we have learned to bless the lives of others.  All we need to do is give Him our hearts and be willing to serve where and how He wants us to.  Through Jesus Christ we become more than enough.

Children,Faith,Family,Lessons Learned

It Must Be Important

posted on : May 31, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

Every night it was a battle to round-up my quarrelsome, busy, active kids to do family prayer and scriptures. While I would read they would be elbowing, poking and even pretending to fall asleep.  It seemed they were physically there but not spiritually.  I once commented to my husband that I thought that by reading the scriptures and having family prayer every night we would have a more peaceful home.  He said to just think how bad it would really be if we didn’t do it!  It was a funny answer but not really satisfying.  I think part of the problem is that I had shoulds going through my brain, expectations of how my family really should be, and this wasn’t it.  I eventually learned that this was pretty normal behavior for most children but I still didn’t like it.  I really wanted to connect with my children on a spiritual level and impart my love of the scriptures to them.  Every once in a while there was a golden evening where the Spirit was present, and I could tell they were really listening but it didn’t happen very often, and I really cherished those moments.  I finally decided that persevering with this nightly process accomplished at least two things beside the obvious principles of obedience and spiritual education.  The first thing I think that was accomplished was that my children learned from our nightly battle to round everyone up is that if we were willing to do this huge task every night that it must be worth it, that it must be important. I hoped they learned that their mom and dad thought that gathering the family every night to read the scriptures and have a prayer together was a priority and so important that we did it in spite of the hassles.  I hope my children saw that we truly believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the ability of it to bless our lives.  The next thing I think that was accomplished was more for me as a parent than for my children.  I have a few children who have not embraced the gospel as I have hoped.  At this time they are not actively participating in the blessings the gospel offers.  As I have looked back, I am glad that we were consistent with family scriptures and prayers because I don’t have to wonder if I had just done them would my children who are less active be fully active now.  It’s so easy to blame myself but I don’t have to feel guilty over this.  I recognize that I did my best in this area and that we were consistent and they have made choices I don’t like but accept. I also have children who are actively participating in the gospel of Jesus Christ and I think that consistently doing family scriptures and prayer helped with that.  In spite of the hassles, doing family scriptures and prayer is worth it for many reasons!

Children,Faith

She is a Child of God

posted on : May 17, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

When one of my daughters was very young I found her challenging to deal with.  It seemed she wanted to do just the opposite of whatever I wanted her to do and even though she was very young we battled on almost everything.  I knew that I didn’t want that kind of relationship with her but I had not yet learned that most of the things I insisted on were not that important.  I also knew I wanted to have a calm, peaceful atmosphere in my home, not one in which we battled against each other.  Perplexed as to know what to do I remember praying about it one day and asking Heavenly Father to remind me that she was a child of God whenever I was frustrated with her or arguing with her.  The day went as usual and before long we were in another battle but in the midst of it the thought “she is a child of God” came firmly to my mind which actually took me back a little.  I stopped arguing and handled it differently.  Unfortunately it took me many years to learn what was important and what wasn’t, but I did learn that if I prayed for specific guidance and help that Heavenly Father would bless me with it.

Children,Faith,Life

Perfection Pending

posted on : April 26, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

A week after one of my sons was baptized, when he was eight years old, he came to me in tears.  He said “I just can’t do it.  I’ve tried and tried but I can’t be perfect.”  He was very serious and crying because he thought that all was lost.  He said that he had tried all week-long and just couldn’t be perfect. It gave me a wonderful opportunity to explain about the atonement of Jesus Christ and sincere repentance and grace and how they work in our lives.  God knew that despite our best efforts and intentions that we would make mistakes and we would sin.  He lovingly provided a way for us to overcome these mistakes and sins through the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  And the atonement of Jesus Christ not only gives us opportunity to repent of sins but also give us strength and help during that process and during the process of life as we try to overcome ourselves.  David O. McKay, a great prophet, once said “The purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to make bad men good and good men better.”  The Gospel, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, helps me to be better and do better.

Faith,Lessons Learned

Obedience

posted on : April 10, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

I remember a time when I was young sitting in my family’s car with my brother and poking him with my finger just to annoy him.  I was probably about 10 and he was about 8 years old.  Of course my brother complained to my mother, who was driving our car, and she told me to quit poking him with my finger.  So I started poking him with my elbow and of course he complained again and of course she told me to quit poking him with my elbow.  Then I went to pinching him, and then to hitting him with my leg and anything else I could think of to be annoying while still being “obedient.”  I was having a lot of fun playing the game of being obedient but not really obedient, because I was doing what my mom said while still trying to get around it.  Since then I have learned the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law and doing something to be obedient and doing something because I love God.  Too often even now I do things because they are right to do, not because I love God and want to serve Him and show my love through obedience. And although it’s better to be obedient and do something that is right than to not do it, it’s even better to do something because of my love for my Savior.  I recognize that obedience as well as other gospel principles and doctrines really require giving my heart to God for me to get the most out of them and so really  serving God with my heart and being obedient out of love benefits me the most.