What do you do when you're alone?

I came across a great example of what you should be doing and thinking when you are alone in the scriptures today. I was finishing up Mormon in the Book of Mormon. I was reading in chapters 8 and 9. Mormon, Moroni's father, has just been killed by the Lamanites. The Lamanites have swept through the land killing ALL Nephites and in the process they are fighting amongst themselves. Moroni has been entrusted with the plates to write upon them. He states in chapter 8 verse 5, "My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not." Moroni is completely and utterly alone. He is basically fleeing for his life while being hunted by the Lamanites. He could literally do whatever he wanted and not have to worry about what other people thought. He shows his faith and love of Christ by continuing on in the faith and traditions of his fathers. He bares his testimony numerous times and tells the recipients of this record, us, what we must do to be worthy to return to Heavenly Father. There are a "couple three" (Montana lingo for ya) versus that really stand out to me. Mormon 8:12 reads, " And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these." Moroni tells us that by reading the Book of Mormon not only will we come to understand it, but "greater things" will be made known unto us. How cool is that?!
Last scripture I want to bring up due to time and this is way too long already. Mormon 9:19-20 is Moroni's answer to today's big question, why don't we see miracles today? Moroni says that the reason we don't see as many miracles among us is due to the unbelief in God the Eternal Father. Many people think that we do not receive revelation and other spiritual gifts today, but if that were so God would cease to be God. God is an unchangeable Being. He is there and hears and answers our prayers. We are entitled to see miracles and signs only if we have the faith necessary. So how great is your faith? What do you do when no one else is around? Do you strengthen your faith by communicating with Heavenly Father daily and reading His words in the scriptures? If we want to see miracles today, we have to work for them. Heavenly Father loves us and wants to bless us and perform marvelous acts in our lives, but we have to show him that we are worthy of those blessings.

Living Bread

Quick thought on John 6:51, which reads, " I am the living bread, which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
We know that when we partake of the sacrament we are doing it in remembrance of Christ's body. But I think when it talks about eating the bread in this verse that refers to his flesh, I don't think it is talking about partaking of the sacrament. I believe it means believing in Christ and having perfect faith in him and what he has done for us. If we believe that he truely died for our sins and we embrace that not just physically, but emotionally, we will better comprehend what he did for us. And that will make us want to be a better person. I love my Saviour Jesus Christ and I love this Gospel. I wouldn't be where I'm at today if Christ had not performed the ultimate loving act for me.

True Repentance

Yesterday in the Lincoln Branch in Lincoln, MT, we had a lesson on Repentance in our Gospel Principles class. We talked about the 7 steps to repentance: Recognize, Feel Sorrow, Forsake, Confess, Restitution, Forgive Others, and Keep the Commandments. We discussed how all of them are absolutely vital to experience true repentance and to feel the Atonement. Well today in my personal study I was reading in Mormon and I came across verse 13 in chapter 2 and it reads, "..for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin." At this point in the Book of Momon, Mormon is leading the Nephite army into battle. Despite defeating the Lamanites, the spirit of the Lord is not with them because of their sinful lifestyle. Well, the Nephites began to repent of their iniquity just like Samuel the Lamanite and Abinadi had prophesied. But they did not repent because they felt bad for sinning, they repented because they weren't happy. To experience true repentance and to actually have the Atonement take place in your spiritual life, you have to feel Godly sorrow. You have to not only feel bad, but desire to do better and totally forsake everything bad in your life. Godly sorrow is absolutely necessary for true repentance.

Personal Study findings today....

I am just amazed at how easy "the way" is. It's simple. Christ said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." I was reading in 3 Nephi 22-28 today and a couple different thoughts stuck with me. 3 Nephi 27:33 reads "...Enter ye in at the strait gate; for strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it; but wide is the gate, and broad the way which leads to death and many there be that travel therein, until the night cometh, wherein no man can work." I can't help but think how sad and disheartening that must be for the Father of our spirits. He wants us to return to live with him again someday, but we constantly make mistake after mistake. Some of us right those wrongs by using the Atonement and not wasting such a precious gift. But so many of our fellow brothers and sisters don't even know what it can really do for them. Christ says here in this scripture that few people will find the strait and narrow. That is our job as Latter-day Saints, to help those lost souls find the iron rod and grip it oh so tightly.

Last thing I just wanted to mention is in 3 Nephi 27:21 and it reads, "...for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do.." We have no better example in our lives than the Good Shepard himself, even Jesus Christ. To live a Christ-like life, we have to know what Christ was like, what kind of attributes he possesed. His charity and love sets a perfect example for not just who we should love, but how we should love. We know that we should love everyone, regardless of circumstances. But it's how we love them that really counts. It's so easy to say you love someone, but to show someone you love them is something totally different. Service is a great way to show your love for people. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, the Only Begotten Son of Heavenly Father, washed the feet of the apostles to show his love for them. Who are we to not show love to all we come in contact with? I love the Lord Jesus Christ and I attempt to show it to him everyday. I'm not perfect at it but I'm trying. I am serving a mission right now because I love him. I love what he did for me and I'm eternally grateful. What better way to show him I love him than to share his Gospel with others?!

I always thought blogging was for old people!

This whole blogging thing is different for me but i'm gonna try it out. So I guess what I'll be doing on here is sharing what i learned in my personal studies or sharing spiritual experiences that I have on my mission. Today I will just start out with my testimony and why I'm on a mission.

I feel blessed beyond my needs. I feel like I am favored in Heavenly Father's eyes and that used to bother me. I felt like he needed to pay attention to other people that really needed help, not just me. But as I have been out here in the Montana Billings Mission (which I will refer to as the MBM), I have been able to see how God blesses each individual. It doesn't matter what their background is or where they are at currently in their life. Our Heavenly Father, the one true God, loves ALL of His children. He is waiting to pour out blessings upon each one of us. All we need to do is show our faith in Him and his Son, Jesus Christ, by putting forth a little effort on our part. Probably one of the biggest ways to exercise an individuals faith is by prayer. No one just talks to someone that they don't know is there. You have to have a faith, a hope, a knowledge that God is there and He is listening. He knows what we want and need, but He wants us to communicate with Him before those things are brought to pass. It's another testimony to me of my relationship to my Heavenly Father. He possesses so many parental characteristics such as He wants us to communicate with Him. He wants us to express gratitude to Him, not just ask for things all the time. In the King James version of the Bible in the Bible Dictionary under the word "prayer" it reads: "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them."
I testify that God loves us and knows us individually. His purpose is 'to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man' (Moses 1:39). He cares about where we are at and where we are going. I love this Gospel and the true joy and peace of mind it brings into my life.