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.