Ye Shall Not Cast Him Out

"Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them." 3 Nephi 18:32

Sometimes one comes among us whose heart is not right. Christ tells us to not cast out this person, but to gently minister unto him. We do not know at what point he will change, but there is always the possibility that he will repent and turn unto Christ. Christ heals all that turn to him. And thus we can be a means of support and direction in bringing the message of salvation unto one who is lost.

The Miracle of Unity

"The miracle of unity is being granted to us as we pray and work for it in the Lord’s way. Our hearts will be knit together in unity. God has promised that blessing to His faithful Saints whatever their differences in background and whatever conflict rages around them. He was praying for us as well as His disciples when He asked His Father that we might be one."
President Henry B. Eyring, Our Hearts Knit as One, Ensign, November 2008

"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" St. John 17:21

We are asked to be united, to pray for unity. As we pray for unity, our hearts will be knit together. Jesus gave us the ultimate example of unity when He prayed for the unity of his apostles. The Father and the Son are one in purpose and intent as couples and families should be one in purpose and intent.

Prepare Every Needful Thing

"Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." 2 Nephi 32:3

"If ye are prepared ye shall not fear." D & C 38:30

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house , even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of learning, a house of faith, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God." D & C 88:109

"But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from here." St. Luke 10:42

The words of Christ will tell us all things that we should do. And they say, "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear". We are also instructed to organize ourselves and prepare every needful thing. What is every needful thing? As explained in the story about Mary & Martha, "one thing is neeful, and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away." The thing which is needful is that which is good and can not be taken away. I believe that the needful things are: learning, understanding, ministering to the needs of His children and doing for him what he cannot do for himself. Sharing the Gospel and Temple Work are among the things which are needful.

Go Up To Zion With an Open Heart

"And after that day, I, the Lord, will not hold any guilty that shall go with an open heart up to the land of Zion; for I, the Lord, require the hearts of the children of men." D & C 64:22

The Lord wants us to go up to Zion. If we go up to Zion with an open heart we will be held blameless. Zion is in a place that requires that we elevate ourselves from where we now stand. We must enter and remain there with an open heart. What is an "open heart"? Is that like an open mind, willing to learn and consider an opinion or truth other than our own? Zion would be the place where truths are taught. If we have an open heart, we can fill it with truth and light. After all the Lord requires our heart in its entirety.

Serve Him With All Your Whole Souls

"I say unto you that is ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another--I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.
And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you, and prosper you." Mosiah 2:21-22

If I served my creator with all my whole soul I would be unprofitable. I can never repay the debt I have to Him. He supplies me with breath, preserving my life from day to day. When I do as He asks, I am blessed again and remain in His debt. All He requires of me is to keep His commandments and when I do I am blessed again. Remembering my situation helps me to be humble before Him.

Thoughts on the Temple

A temple is a place where Christ visits and Priesthood ordinances are performed. The temple is a place of sanctification and personal revelation. The environment is warm and welcoming. I feel a great spirit as I walk through the temple doors leaving behind my worldly and temporal cares. In the temple I can focus on the things of eternal importance pertaining to myself and my family.

I flee to the temple when my burdens are heavy and I need spiritual strength and guidance. I attend to worship my Savior. I attend to serve my deceased ancestors. I go to the temple to learn more about myself and my purpose in the grand eternal plan. I go to the temple to become refined in spirit.

The Veil of Unbelief

"Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you-- yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel." Ether 4:17

In the book of Ether we learn that Ether had such great faith that he saw the Lord and more. Ether was told to write the things which he saw and then these things were sealed up. Faith cannot exist with unbelief. Here unbelief is referred to as a veil, shielding us from the truth which in turn causes us to remain in a state of wickedness, with a hard heart and a blind mind. We are told to tear apart the veil of unbelief and approach the Father in Christ's name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

Eternal Significance

"Decide to do something that will have eternal consequences." Richard G. Scott, Redemption: The Harvest of Love, Ensign, Nov 1990, 5.

This is a quote from a talk given by Elder Richard G. Scott. I heard it first years ago, it stuck with me. Elder Scott was speaking specifically about genealogy and family history work, but I think his statement can be applied much broader. I usually begin the semester by encouraging my family history class to make some changes in their lives and spend more time focused on the things that will stay with us and have "eternal significance".

What things have eternal significance? Well I guess we have to think about what things we can take with us when we leave this life. I think generally the categories fall into relationships and knowledge. Many of our relationships can have the possibility of being eternal if bound together by temple ordinances. Relationships and knowledge are the a couple of the things that bring students to college. We can gain knowledge by learning new things. We can develop and nurture relationships as we interact socially and most importantly as families. I think the family is the ideal place to gain knowledge and build relationships. So as we make choices throughout the day think about focusing on relationships and knowledge.

Fruit of the Spirit

"For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth." Ephesians 5:9

I have always felt that when I have the Spirit I see clearly and feel love towards all. In other words I am "out of the box" and see the truth when I have the Spirit. When a person is "in the box" they are blinded by the confines of the box and have a limited view of what is really happening around them. One must be "out of the box" to see all things undistorted. The feelings of the heart are a key indicator of whether or not one is in the box. Feeling picked on, and that life is not fair are good clues that the box is blinding the truth. Feeling patient and at peace even though events are not perfect is a good indication that one is "out of the box". The crazy thing is that when we are "in the box" we often believe we have all the facts and know the truth. My caution is to examine oneself before jumping to conclusions that my hurt another.

Doubt Not, Be Believing

"O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him." Mormon 9:27

Listen to the words of the Lord, ask for what you need in the name of the Father and be believing. Come unto the Lord with all your heart and work out your own salvation. Listen or heed the Lord's words, he wants us to have those things we stand in need of. We are taught to ask the Father in the name of Jesus, but we must have faith in order to receive. We must come unto the Lord with all our heart or will, He will show us the truth of our self which will cause us fear and trembling. It is only then that we will be able to work out our salvation with Him.

Those Things Which Proceed out of the Mouth Come Forth from the Heart

"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. Matthew 15:18-20

Here the Lord is explaining that those things which cause us to be unclean or defiled begin first in the mind and proceed out the mouth. We say and do those things which are in our hearts. If evil is in our hearts then we will produce evil and be defiled. This reminds me of having negative intent towards others. Always seeing the bad and assuming that the motives of others are against you. If our hearts are filled with negative thoughts we will be suspicious of others and think that everybody is motivated to do ill towards us. With negative or evil on our hearts we can not see the good in others. It is as if we are blinded by a lie and cannot see the truth.

The Holy Ghost Shall Dwell in Your Heart

"Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart." Doctrine & Covenants 8:2

In Young Woman's class yesterday we spoke of the Holy Ghost. We talked of the need to be worthy of his companionship and the blessings that come with his companionship. Worthiness begins with repentance of sins and continues with the need to pray for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Remember when we are given the Gift of the Holy Ghost we are not told to take it, but to receive it into our lives. The Holy Ghost is always willing to be at our side.

In my life I have noticed that I feel the companionship of the Holy Ghost most when I have a soft heart. Which would mean that I am receptive and open. I am not easily offended and I am interested in knowing how I can improve. When I have the Holy Ghost I feel unconditional kindness, love and patience for those around me.

Be Thou Humble

"Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers." Doctrine & Covenants 112:10

If I see the truth of myself I will be humbled. As a humbled child the Lord can take me by the hand and guide me to the places He wants me to go. I suspect that the path is not painless and easy. He knows what I am capable of becoming and the refining process will not be simple. For this reason I need prayer. As I allow the Lord to guide me He will comfort me through answers to prayer.

Truth Is the Issue

Elder Enzio Busche gave a conference talk entitled, Truth Is the Issue. In this talk Elder Busche speaks of the constant battle we face between spirit and flesh. He states that we must find truth through uncompromising self-education toward self-honesty. Everything is nothing without self honesty. We must come through prayer, to a complete awareness of our self. Elder Busche says that, "Enlightened by the Spirit of truth, we will then be able to pray for the increased ability to endure truth and not to be made angry by it. In the depth of such a prayer, we may finally be led to that lonesome place where we suddenly see ourselves naked in all soberness... We are shocked to see our many deficiencies.. We are now at that sacred place that seemingly only a few have courage to enter, because this is that horrible place of unquenchable pain in fire and burning... This is the place where suddenly the atonement of Christ is understood and embraced... We will not be satisfied until we have surrendered our lives into the arms of the loving Christ, and until He has become the doer of all our deeds and He has become the speaker of all our words."

I have read this talk several times. The words Elder Busche uses are very descriptive and evoke deep emotion. If I can look at the truth of myself, I will come to know the nothingness of myself and find hope through my Savior. Truth keeps me in the state of meekness and lowliness of heart.

Come Unto Me All Ye That Are Heavy Laden

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Who are the laborers that are heavy laden? I believe they are those that try hard to do good and are tired. Sometimes in that tired state we become misdirected or slightly off course. We no longer find joy in "the work". As we turn to the Lord for relief He welcomes us in. At this point I notice that the Lord doesn't say "Just take a break". But he says, "Keep working, but change your focus to Me, and the work will seem light". The Lord then describes Himself to us stating that He is meek and lowly in heart. Why is it important to know that the Lord is meek and lowly in heart? I believe He is asking for a change in our selves. He wants us to be more like Him. Being meek or humble and lowly in heart to me means having a soft heart towards others.

Fasting & Prayer

"Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer. And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances, not with much laughter, for this is sin, but with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance - Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours.." D & C 59:14-16

Rejoicing and prayer with thanksgiving and a cheerful heart. The truth is if I thought of all the activities I do with thanksgiving and a cheerful heart, fasting is probably not on the list very often. I regularly find that I am distracted by my family and their moans and groans. Recently fasting seems like something I have to do, more of a duty or item on a checklist, than a blessing.

I have had fasting experiences of deep desire to receive a blessing. My fast differed in those instances for multiple reasons. Usually my fast was not a pre-planned scheduled event, but a desperate need on my part to receive comfort, guidance or some other blessing for me or my family. In this state of being my fasting would usually be coupled with temple attendance. Now the element of temple attendance changes everything for me. I do feel the thanksgiving and a glad heart as I attend the temple. The world and its distractions are left at the doors and a true perspective is revealed within. I enter and leave with a cheerful heart knowing that revelation and blessings are gifts given to those who enter to serve. So the question is ... how do I have a similar experience on Fast Sunday?

Serve Him With All Your Heart and Soul

"But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul." Joshua 22:5

In this scripture we are admonished to love the Lord, follow His example, keep His commandments, cleave unto Him and serve Him with all our heart and soul. I think that the first three things are easy to do. We can love Him, follow His example and obediently keep His commandments, but cleave is something which signifies a strong, tight hold not just holding His hand but clinging on as if our life depended on it. Which in fact it does, our salvation depends on our willingness to hold tightly to Him and serving Him with our whole being. We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted or loosen our hold on the one being who can bring us safely home.

The Lord Requireth the Heart

"Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days." Doctrine & Covenants 64:34

The Lord requires my heart, he requires my willing mind and he requires my obedience. I believe that the Lord can make of me something much better and grander than I can make of myself. But in order for Him to make anything of me, I must give Him my heart, will and obedience.

Meaningful Change is Painful

I was thinking about the story by C. S. Lewis called The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. In the story Lucy & Edmond return to Narnia with a cousin named Eustace. Nobody much liked Eustace, he complained about everything and avoided being helpful. At one point Eustace is turned into a dragon. He learns that he has been very difficult to be around and essentially sees the truth about himself. He meets Aslan the lion (the Christ figure) and Alsan tells him to undress and wash in a well. Eustace scratches his skin and removes it three times, but each time there was another layer to remove. Aslan says" You will have to let me undress you." Eustace explains, "I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I lay just flat down on my back to let him do it. The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt."

I think this is how we change out hearts. We try to make small changes in ourselves. These changes are easy and really don't cost us much. We may be proud of ourselves for the progress we have made. However it is all nothing compared to the progress we can make if we allow the Savior to painfully remove the bad parts of us. I think that sometimes we don't turn to the Savior until we are desperate and it is only at that point we are willing to endure the pain that will refine us.

Turn the Heart of the Children to their Fathers

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children , and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Malachi 4:5-6

I just have to add this scripture here. These are the last verses found in the Old Testament. Before the Second Coming of Christ, Elijah the prophet will come to the earth. This tradition and belief is practiced today among the Jewish community during Passover. A seat is placed at the table for the honored guest, Elijah. The door is left ajar to allow him to enter. This prophesy was fulfilled with the dedication of the Kirtland, Ohio Temple. Elijah came and restored the priesthood sealing power to the earth. By this sealing power families are sealed for time and eternity and generations are link together in family groups.

So what exactly makes us think about our extended families. What motivates us to seek our ancestors, to know them and find out who they were? I have found that as I turn to my ancestors and learn about them, they become real and a bond is created between us. Its like making a new friend. Once you know someone you never look at them the same, they become a part of you.

Let Zion Rejoice

"And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them." Moses 7:18

"Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion - THE PURE IN HEART; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all wicked shall mourn." D & C 97:21

One heart and one mind, this description reminds me of the Godhead. They are one in purpose. I think we as married couples are meant to be of one heart and one mind. I don't think this means we must like all the same things and have the same interests, but I think in the grander picture we must be headed in the same direction leading our families. When a couple is of one heart and one mind they try together to do those things which will lead the family to God. When one is distracted and forgets to call for family prayer or scripture study the other is there as a fall back. The goal is the same, but the means of lifting, encouraging and inspiring are unique to each individual. We can truly rejoice as our families are on the path to becoming the pure in heart.

Do we know our Hearts?

"Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice - yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command - they are accepted of me." D & C 97:8

Honest and broken hearts, contrite spirits, willing to observe our covenants by sacrificing, all these are required by the Lord. As I am honest with myself and approach the Lord with a broken heart and contrite spirit, bending my will to the Lord's, keeping my covenants at the cost of sacrificing other good things, my sacrifices will be accepted of the Lord. I believe as I make covenants with the Lord part of my keeping these covenants will in turn require sacrifice. The sacrifice may be of time, things, or even desires.

Blessing for those that Love Him

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Corinthians 1:9

Our Heavenly Father loves us. He wants to bless us. He is willing to fill our cups to overflowing. In order to receive the fullness of His blessings we must do all that He requires. This is how we demonstrate our love for Him. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15 Keeping the "Big 10" commandments is not enough. More commandments are listed out for us in the scriptures, others are given us during general conference by the mouth of living prophets and still others are personally revealed to us by the Spirit of revelation. The more we align ourselves with the Lord the more our Heavenly Father can bless us.

Facing Challenges

"Thus there began to be a mourning and lamentation in all the land because of these things, and more especially among the people of Nephi. And it came to pass that when I, Mormon, saw their lamentation and their mourning and their sorrow before the Lord, my heart did begin to rejoice within me, knowing the mercies and the long-suffering of the Lord, therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they would again become a righteous people. But behold this my joy was vain, 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. And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse God, and wish to die. Mormon 2:11-14

This passage shows that oftentimes difficulties and challenges are aimed at returning our hearts towards the Lord. There are two ways to react when challenges come, one is to soften our heart and turn to the Lord the other is to remain with a hard heart and curse God.

Hard Hearts

"..I was forbidden to preach unto them, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the hardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake."
Mormon 1:17

Knowledge and blessings are withheld from those whose hearts are hard. Not only that, but the land may be "cursed" for the sake of those with hard hearts. I wonder if the curse is to help humble or bring to remembrance former knowledge and understanding. So, if I have a hard heart and everything is going badly, maybe its really a blessing to help me return to a soft heart.

New Year Changes

I've been thinking about goals and change at the beginning of this new year. I recently heard a talk about the meaning of repentance. As a young person I thought negatively about repentance. Repentance was for people who do bad things. However, repentance means to change direction. Of course this triggered my memory of Alma speaking about a change of heart. We all need to have a change of heart in order to be closer to the truth. Thinking about repentance in this was is easy. Weekly if not daily I can assess my direction and make the necessary changes in my life.

Turn to the Lord With All Your Heart

"Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, .."
Joel 2:12-13

Turn to the Lord with all my heart, also with fasting. Come unto the Lord with my whole soul and center of my being. Approach Him with an attitude of fasting, humility and sorrow for sins.
Turn to the Lord with a broken heart for the Lord is merciful, gracious and kind. A contrite heart is willing to learn and be newly formed in the hands of the Lord. It is easy to give your soul to a God who is merciful, gracious, slow to anger and is greatly kind. I am not afriad of being hurt, shamed or criticized. The Lord will kindly and patiently direct me to the changes that are needed in order to be the person He wants me to be.