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?