This week for me could be summed up in one word: promptings.
On Sunday, I received a prompting.
On Monday, I received a prompting.
On Tuesday, a prompting.
On Wednesday, another prompting.
On Thursday, more promptings.
Friday? Again.
Saturday? Keep 'em comin'.
In other words, we can all receive daily promptings, both big and small.
This is what Thomas S. Monson had to say about promptings from the Spirit:
"At times, the answers to our questions and the responses to our
daily prayers come to us through silent promptings of the Spirit.
As William Cowper wrote:
'God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm. ...
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.'
"We watch. We wait. We listen for that still, small voice. When it
speaks, wise men and women obey. We do not postpone the
promptings of the Spirit. ...
"Never, never, never postpone a prompting."
We need to listen for the promptings of the Spirit. We need to "always have His Spirit...with [us]" (Moroni 4:3; see also Moroni 5:2) so that we can better recognize those promptings.
What is the Spirit telling you today?
Listen, and then take action.
*If you'd like to read or watch the rest of Thomas S. Monson's talk, "The Spirit Giveth Life," click here.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
General Conference Thoughts: April 2015: Religious Freedom & Tolerance
This is something that I've wanted to address for awhile, but especially after hearing the topic come up several times, I felt that now would be a good time to do so.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have something called the Articles of Faith. Long story short, a newspaper editor asked what Latter-day Saints believe, and Joseph Smith wrote this to condense our beliefs into 13 short but powerful statements.
Our 11th Article of Faith states, "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." Why would we, the same church that believes that we have the fully restored gospel of Jesus Christ, say this? Because we all have free agency (the ability to choose). If we didn't have agency, we would all be robots and there would be no point in living on the earth--but we are here to make choices and prove ourselves faithful to the Lord. That means loving the Lord and showing our love for Him by obeying Him to the best of our ability, just as a child who truly loves their parent would show their love by obeying their parent to the best of their ability.
This is why religious freedom is so important: if we didn't have religious freedom, our agency would be restricted and, in fact, nonexistent in the religion aspect. But it is not just religious freedom that is important; we also need religious tolerance.
Now, I'm not suggesting that you have to agree with or condone the beliefs and actions of someone of another faith (or of no faith at all); what I mean is that we all need to be respectful of others' agency and allow them to make their own decisions. We can share with them our beliefs, but don't force a decision upon them; allow them to make decisions--any decision, really--for themselves.
Which brings me to something else to address:
Something that I've noticed throughout my life in regard to varying religions is that oftentimes, when someone is curious about another belief system, they don't go directly to the source. I've especially noticed this in Mormonism, both as a nonmember and as a member. Unfortunately, it was my ignorance of what Latter-day Saints really believed that made it hard on me when I found out that the misconceptions with which I'd known throughout my life were wrong. I had to strip myself of pride in order to find out what these people really believed. I went to the source to find out what these people had to say and why they believe what they do. And it made sense to me! I understood, and I agreed. And that's why I am a Latter-day Saint myself.
I'm not trying to force anyone to believe the same as I do, but please--for the sake of myself and others of various religions and denominations--if you want to know what someone truly believes, go to the source. Don't go to someone who has never been involved in the religion or even someone who used to be in that denomination and is no longer affiliated with it, because sometimes practices change or they may even say something to taint a religion's image. Go directly to the source: using the LDS Church as an example, go to LDS.org, Mormon.org, read the Bible and the Book of Mormon (especially if you've read/studied the Bible and are skeptical of the Book of Mormon), read what our church's leaders have to say, and, your best source for any religion, ask their members! I cannot emphasize that enough. If you want to know what a Baptist believes, ask a Baptist. If you want to know what a Catholic believes, ask a Catholic. If you want to know what a Buddhist believes, as a Buddhist. You get the idea.
And if you want to know what a Latter-day Saint believes, ask me or any other Latter-day Saint out there!
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have something called the Articles of Faith. Long story short, a newspaper editor asked what Latter-day Saints believe, and Joseph Smith wrote this to condense our beliefs into 13 short but powerful statements.
Our 11th Article of Faith states, "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." Why would we, the same church that believes that we have the fully restored gospel of Jesus Christ, say this? Because we all have free agency (the ability to choose). If we didn't have agency, we would all be robots and there would be no point in living on the earth--but we are here to make choices and prove ourselves faithful to the Lord. That means loving the Lord and showing our love for Him by obeying Him to the best of our ability, just as a child who truly loves their parent would show their love by obeying their parent to the best of their ability.
This is why religious freedom is so important: if we didn't have religious freedom, our agency would be restricted and, in fact, nonexistent in the religion aspect. But it is not just religious freedom that is important; we also need religious tolerance.
Now, I'm not suggesting that you have to agree with or condone the beliefs and actions of someone of another faith (or of no faith at all); what I mean is that we all need to be respectful of others' agency and allow them to make their own decisions. We can share with them our beliefs, but don't force a decision upon them; allow them to make decisions--any decision, really--for themselves.
Which brings me to something else to address:
Something that I've noticed throughout my life in regard to varying religions is that oftentimes, when someone is curious about another belief system, they don't go directly to the source. I've especially noticed this in Mormonism, both as a nonmember and as a member. Unfortunately, it was my ignorance of what Latter-day Saints really believed that made it hard on me when I found out that the misconceptions with which I'd known throughout my life were wrong. I had to strip myself of pride in order to find out what these people really believed. I went to the source to find out what these people had to say and why they believe what they do. And it made sense to me! I understood, and I agreed. And that's why I am a Latter-day Saint myself.
I'm not trying to force anyone to believe the same as I do, but please--for the sake of myself and others of various religions and denominations--if you want to know what someone truly believes, go to the source. Don't go to someone who has never been involved in the religion or even someone who used to be in that denomination and is no longer affiliated with it, because sometimes practices change or they may even say something to taint a religion's image. Go directly to the source: using the LDS Church as an example, go to LDS.org, Mormon.org, read the Bible and the Book of Mormon (especially if you've read/studied the Bible and are skeptical of the Book of Mormon), read what our church's leaders have to say, and, your best source for any religion, ask their members! I cannot emphasize that enough. If you want to know what a Baptist believes, ask a Baptist. If you want to know what a Catholic believes, ask a Catholic. If you want to know what a Buddhist believes, as a Buddhist. You get the idea.
And if you want to know what a Latter-day Saint believes, ask me or any other Latter-day Saint out there!
Saturday, April 11, 2015
General Conference Thoughts: April 2015: The Plan of Happiness
For those of you who watched General Conference last weekend: wasn't it incredible? I just love watching Conference every spring & fall, listening to our Church leaders and hearing the beautiful Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing. Such a wonderful time!
For those of you who missed General Conference: it's not too late to watch! You can watch, read, or listen to the talks here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions?cid=HP14GC&lang=eng
For all of you: for the next few weeks I'll be focusing on some favorite talks and quotes from General Conference. This week, it's the talk from the Saturday morning session by Boyd K. Packer.
First of all, what a precious, precious story Pres. Packer shares about how he met his wife and the beginning of their journey. It made me melt.
Now, there's a lot of deeper, more detailed doctrine referred to in this talk. It can be difficult to explain, but long story short, we as Latter-day Saints believe that we lived as spirits with our Heavenly Father before we were born on earth, that earthly birth is, essentially, the union of spirit and physical body. We need physical bodies in ordered to gain glorified bodies at the Resurrection (how can your body become glorified if you don't have a body to begin with?).
Side note: here's a diagram of the Plan of Salvation as Latter-day Saints believe it to be, just as a reference to what I just said. Also, you can check out lds.org or mormon.org to learn more.
For those of you who missed General Conference: it's not too late to watch! You can watch, read, or listen to the talks here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions?cid=HP14GC&lang=eng
For all of you: for the next few weeks I'll be focusing on some favorite talks and quotes from General Conference. This week, it's the talk from the Saturday morning session by Boyd K. Packer.
First of all, what a precious, precious story Pres. Packer shares about how he met his wife and the beginning of their journey. It made me melt.
Now, there's a lot of deeper, more detailed doctrine referred to in this talk. It can be difficult to explain, but long story short, we as Latter-day Saints believe that we lived as spirits with our Heavenly Father before we were born on earth, that earthly birth is, essentially, the union of spirit and physical body. We need physical bodies in ordered to gain glorified bodies at the Resurrection (how can your body become glorified if you don't have a body to begin with?).
Side note: here's a diagram of the Plan of Salvation as Latter-day Saints believe it to be, just as a reference to what I just said. Also, you can check out lds.org or mormon.org to learn more.
Okay, back to what I was saying... So, the quote from this talk that stuck out for me the most was when Pres. Packer said, "The power of procreation [and, by extension, marriage and family] is not an incidental part of the plan; it is the plan of happiness" (emphasis added). The Lord commanded Adam and Eve to "multiply, and replenish the earth" (Genesis 1:28); that commandment has never been "canceled out," so to speak. The purpose of using our procreative powers (within marriage, of course) is to give other spirits bodies, and they in turn will provide others with bodies, etc., etc.
Now, as Pres. Packer goes on to say later, there are those who cannot bear children, or who never marry, or under other circumstances are not able to have children. Remember, the Lord hasn't forgotten you. Your Heavenly Father loves you and is ever so aware of you. Just as in other things, the Lord knows your heart, and He will bless you.
I can't really say any more, because I have not been married, nor have I borne children. But I can say that I know that what Pres. Packer shared is true.
And here's the talk that he gave so that you can watch (if you would rather read it, click here):
The building where General Conference takes place. Anyone is welcome to go--you can get tickets ahead of time or go via stand-by, so feel free to go sometime! It's an amazing experience!
Saturday, April 4, 2015
An Invitation, From Me to You
It's General Conference Day--both today and tomorrow!
I invite all of you to tune in--TV (channel 232 if you're in WA), radio, or streaming on the Internet (LDS.org, BYUtv, etc.) (or, if you're lucky and make it there: in person at the Conference Center).
You do not have to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to listen in; just be edified--to have your faith strengthened and come closer to our Savior this Easter weekend.
No two sessions are alike, so I encourage you to watch all of them.
Times for the sessions as follows (all MDT):
-Sat., April 4: 10:00am-12:00pm, 2:00-4:00pm, 6:00-8:00pm (6-8pm session is for the men--to see the women's broadcast from last Sat. night, go to LDS.org and search "General Women's Meeting 2015"--you should be able to watch it there).
-Sun., April 5: 10:00am-12:00pm, 2:00-4:00pm
If you miss any sessions, you can watch them later online at LDS.org (search "General Conference April 2015").
Last but not least, here's a link for complete broadcasting info for the US: http://www.bonneville.info/broadcast.cfm
Enjoy General Conference! And if this is your first time tuning in, welcome!
I invite all of you to tune in--TV (channel 232 if you're in WA), radio, or streaming on the Internet (LDS.org, BYUtv, etc.) (or, if you're lucky and make it there: in person at the Conference Center).
You do not have to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to listen in; just be edified--to have your faith strengthened and come closer to our Savior this Easter weekend.
No two sessions are alike, so I encourage you to watch all of them.
Times for the sessions as follows (all MDT):
-Sat., April 4: 10:00am-12:00pm, 2:00-4:00pm, 6:00-8:00pm (6-8pm session is for the men--to see the women's broadcast from last Sat. night, go to LDS.org and search "General Women's Meeting 2015"--you should be able to watch it there).
-Sun., April 5: 10:00am-12:00pm, 2:00-4:00pm
If you miss any sessions, you can watch them later online at LDS.org (search "General Conference April 2015").
Last but not least, here's a link for complete broadcasting info for the US: http://www.bonneville.info/broadcast.cfm
Enjoy General Conference! And if this is your first time tuning in, welcome!
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