27.9.10
Poverty America
I put together this slideshow to illustrate the consequences of when we are greedy. As Michael Douglas said in his role of Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." The way of big business as of late has showed that greed is not good and in fact puts a lot of people in danger and prosperity begins to decline under the outstanding weight of the greedy appetite of the very few at the expense of the very many.
The Lord's warning against the greedy is through out all the scriptures.
"And I will come near to you to judgment; against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, and that turn aside the stranger, and fear not me, saith the Lord of Hosts." (3 Nephi 24:5). The final judgment will see many on the wrong side of that great gulf because of their faith and love for money above God.
As Shakespeare wrote in Henry VIII "Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my king, he would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies." Those that are rich in heavenly riches are eventually found clothed in garments washed in the blood of the lamb and anointed to reign with him in the mansions of the Father. While those that are greedy will die and be left as open game to Satan's power.
We must seek to help those that are along the wayside and be true Christians that do for those what they cannot do for themselves. Whether that means work for the dead or work for those that will die without our help.
You might also notice some shots of war and hurricane Katrina. These are to show that we spend so much on the military and then have nothing to give to our own people. The effects of the wars are also quite long reaching in damages to everyone involved. These things could be avoided if the United States had more Christian values.
26.9.10
Robert D. Hales Devotional
When describing the attributes and opposition that Christ faced he said that the Savior "never took credit". Sure, why would the King of Kings have to worry about credit being due right? Well, like all commandments or attributes of Christ, we are to remember Nephi's prognosis: "And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!" (2 Nephi 31:5).
That subtle "he never took credit" is so profound in application. I find a conversation that turns to an argument to stem from a competitive nature in myself. It speaks volumes to God the amount of credit unsought for by an individual, as it is a sign of control over the natural man's tendency to seek satisfaction of ego and adoration of others. But, Christ said "Why call me good?" to a listener, then when on to say that the only good is God. What humility from the only begotten who was perfectly good!
I think that conference might be too much to take in under examination of the application of all the principles taught. Its quite impressive the fountain of learning and light that is the revealed word of God. Theres always a new way or greater need for the word of God to be applied.
23.9.10
How Important is Keeping the Commandments?
Heres just a few excerpts from the Bible:
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot bjustified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. By this we know that we alove the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into blife, keep the commandments. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. If ye love me, keep my ccommandments. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. And whatsoever we aask, we receive of him, because we keep his ccommandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God. Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the Lord. My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Well, the prophets in the scriptures are always going on about it. The prophets of today are always going on about it. Many times the issue of Grace seems to make people think that they're forgiven in their sins and not from their sins. Thats why the Book of Mormon is so helpful in understanding that Grace is given "after all we can do." We are saved and Christ's when we accept His will over ours. If we do that then we are under His protection, He has overcome all sin, so death and hell have no hold on us. He is our shield and our sword against evil. When we turn to Him, He turns to us and breaks the chains of our sins. If we decide to put those chains on again then He will be there when we repent and want them off again. But, if we no longer want Him as our Savior and reject His commandments then we will be left to fend for ourselves against the power of the Destroyer, Satan because we are left vulnerable and unprotected.
Probably one of the top 10 most quoted scriptures in the LDS church is Helaman 5:12:
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
So much imagery is used in the scriptures to talk about spiritual things in a physical sense. Chains, rocks, bread, water, bodies, temples, paths, darkness, fruit, waves, snakes, doves, etc. The imagery should cause you to think of it in real terms. Thats the point of the scriptures is to have you think of the doctrines of God in real terms by relating to the people or the imagery. It might be confusing at times (Isaiah) but the Lord always is giving symbols and references to very real things and keeping the commandments is one of the few things God never minces words about. The summary of the scriptures might be this:
God created man, man sinned, God called prophets to tell man not to sin, a Savior was sent pay for the sins of man with His own life, God calls prophets to tell man not to sin, man is resurrected and judged based on if he accepted the Savior and repented of his sins, the end.
As I've already talked about, there are blessings to keeping the commandments. Many, many blessings, even unseen blessings. The Lord doesn't give a commandment without the basis on fulfillment of it being a blessing to the recipient. Nothing the Lord would command would be digression. Its all an uplifting, help on the path back to God. All the scriptures testify of God being good and loving, so keeping His commandment shouldn't make us cringe or be angry. We should rejoice on hearing a commandment. We should be thankful that we have the light of the Lord to instruct us. We should mourn that we aren't keeping the commandments more fully and ask God to help us in our weaknesses.
The snakes that bit the Moses' people were sent by God. The people were bitten so as to remember their God and stop going on in foolishness. The way to being healed was simple, all they had to do was look to the snake uplifted on a stick. Some still wouldn't look. They didn't think it would work. Its simplicity was too much. Well, the same is with us today in looking to Christ to be healed. Its very simple. Have faith in Christ and keep the commandments and be healed.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot bjustified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. By this we know that we alove the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into blife, keep the commandments. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. If ye love me, keep my ccommandments. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. And whatsoever we aask, we receive of him, because we keep his ccommandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God. Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the Lord. My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Well, the prophets in the scriptures are always going on about it. The prophets of today are always going on about it. Many times the issue of Grace seems to make people think that they're forgiven in their sins and not from their sins. Thats why the Book of Mormon is so helpful in understanding that Grace is given "after all we can do." We are saved and Christ's when we accept His will over ours. If we do that then we are under His protection, He has overcome all sin, so death and hell have no hold on us. He is our shield and our sword against evil. When we turn to Him, He turns to us and breaks the chains of our sins. If we decide to put those chains on again then He will be there when we repent and want them off again. But, if we no longer want Him as our Savior and reject His commandments then we will be left to fend for ourselves against the power of the Destroyer, Satan because we are left vulnerable and unprotected.
Probably one of the top 10 most quoted scriptures in the LDS church is Helaman 5:12:
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
So much imagery is used in the scriptures to talk about spiritual things in a physical sense. Chains, rocks, bread, water, bodies, temples, paths, darkness, fruit, waves, snakes, doves, etc. The imagery should cause you to think of it in real terms. Thats the point of the scriptures is to have you think of the doctrines of God in real terms by relating to the people or the imagery. It might be confusing at times (Isaiah) but the Lord always is giving symbols and references to very real things and keeping the commandments is one of the few things God never minces words about. The summary of the scriptures might be this:
God created man, man sinned, God called prophets to tell man not to sin, a Savior was sent pay for the sins of man with His own life, God calls prophets to tell man not to sin, man is resurrected and judged based on if he accepted the Savior and repented of his sins, the end.
As I've already talked about, there are blessings to keeping the commandments. Many, many blessings, even unseen blessings. The Lord doesn't give a commandment without the basis on fulfillment of it being a blessing to the recipient. Nothing the Lord would command would be digression. Its all an uplifting, help on the path back to God. All the scriptures testify of God being good and loving, so keeping His commandment shouldn't make us cringe or be angry. We should rejoice on hearing a commandment. We should be thankful that we have the light of the Lord to instruct us. We should mourn that we aren't keeping the commandments more fully and ask God to help us in our weaknesses.
The snakes that bit the Moses' people were sent by God. The people were bitten so as to remember their God and stop going on in foolishness. The way to being healed was simple, all they had to do was look to the snake uplifted on a stick. Some still wouldn't look. They didn't think it would work. Its simplicity was too much. Well, the same is with us today in looking to Christ to be healed. Its very simple. Have faith in Christ and keep the commandments and be healed.
18.9.10
Insidious Pride
There arises opportunity for pride in our hearts when we feel helpless or scared. When we feel the need to justify our behavior. When we have nothing else to cover our vulnerabilities we turn to the reflective pride, which we use to bounce off all humility, dependence, forgiveness, admittance of fault, guidance, or any other form of repentance to God.
When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they realized they were naked. They realized that their innocence had been lost and in that moment they were truly human; naked, imperfect, scared and vulnerable. Despite being in such a state, Adam and Eve were repentant and were able to return to that God that dispersed them in their sin.
It is through the Savior's blood that our garments are washed clean. Jesus Christ was sent so that we could utilize His atonement as our cover. He is our way to getting rid of any shame we might feel in the presence of our God, but we must not hide our sin with pride.
Pride covers sin with darkness which makes it grow. Then more pride must be used to cover the ever increasing sin. Whatever part of our lives that we don't consecrate to the Lord will be the most fertile parts for pride to grow, because where the Lord is not, there is darkness. God can't sanctify what we keep from Him.
The insidious pride has many places it creeps in. When we judge the person as being less than or inferior in any way, we are being prideful. Thats not to say to not use discernment with dealing with people. The Lord commanded that we love and pray for our enemies, but not to be completely trusting. Often it was a warning of the pride of the Pharisees or Sadducees or an instruction to not put pearls before swine, meaning- keep the sacred things from getting thrown around in the mud. Don't let your heart be too easily impressionable unto trusting foolishly and being tossed on on the waves from one doctrine to another. Faith in the Lord will help us to remain firm and aware of where the great sin of pride lurks in our hearts.
Remember what King Benjamin said- we're all beggars and man is nothing. Moses seemed to say such a thing as well after viewing the cosmos. Don't get too caught in a short perspective of yourself or your importance. No matter what someone else does, God is judging you on what YOU do with your life.
Its easy to be convenient Christians or buffet Christians that pick and choose which doctrines to partake from. God is not interested in a portion of us, but all. So, He wishes that we give all to Him by repenting of all that is not aligned with His will. "If ye love me, keep my commandments" said the Savior. Theres no getting around the fact that we must be willing to sacrifice our time, talents and efforts to the building of the kingdom of God on the earth. Consecrated lives in the Lord are lives that are filled with opposition but growth, freedom and an abounding love of Christ, "for charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:8).
When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they realized they were naked. They realized that their innocence had been lost and in that moment they were truly human; naked, imperfect, scared and vulnerable. Despite being in such a state, Adam and Eve were repentant and were able to return to that God that dispersed them in their sin.
It is through the Savior's blood that our garments are washed clean. Jesus Christ was sent so that we could utilize His atonement as our cover. He is our way to getting rid of any shame we might feel in the presence of our God, but we must not hide our sin with pride.
Pride covers sin with darkness which makes it grow. Then more pride must be used to cover the ever increasing sin. Whatever part of our lives that we don't consecrate to the Lord will be the most fertile parts for pride to grow, because where the Lord is not, there is darkness. God can't sanctify what we keep from Him.
The insidious pride has many places it creeps in. When we judge the person as being less than or inferior in any way, we are being prideful. Thats not to say to not use discernment with dealing with people. The Lord commanded that we love and pray for our enemies, but not to be completely trusting. Often it was a warning of the pride of the Pharisees or Sadducees or an instruction to not put pearls before swine, meaning- keep the sacred things from getting thrown around in the mud. Don't let your heart be too easily impressionable unto trusting foolishly and being tossed on on the waves from one doctrine to another. Faith in the Lord will help us to remain firm and aware of where the great sin of pride lurks in our hearts.
Remember what King Benjamin said- we're all beggars and man is nothing. Moses seemed to say such a thing as well after viewing the cosmos. Don't get too caught in a short perspective of yourself or your importance. No matter what someone else does, God is judging you on what YOU do with your life.
Its easy to be convenient Christians or buffet Christians that pick and choose which doctrines to partake from. God is not interested in a portion of us, but all. So, He wishes that we give all to Him by repenting of all that is not aligned with His will. "If ye love me, keep my commandments" said the Savior. Theres no getting around the fact that we must be willing to sacrifice our time, talents and efforts to the building of the kingdom of God on the earth. Consecrated lives in the Lord are lives that are filled with opposition but growth, freedom and an abounding love of Christ, "for charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:8).
15.9.10
Insensitivity
"We live in a day when the adversary stresses on every hand the philosophy of instant gratification. We seem to demand instant everything, including instant solutions to our problems. . .It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure is normal."
-Boyd K. Packer
"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them" -Abraham 3:25
Agency is what separated God's plan of Salvation from Satan's plan. "Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down" -Moses 4:3. Satan's plan was to not have man be endowed with agency so as to avoid having any sin. God's plan was to allow man to sin but also to allow man a way to be cleansed of his sin by his choosing to follow a chosen Savior named Jesus Christ. The Savior said "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever" (Moses 4:2). What applicable approaches to God these are for us! We can either say that God is wrong to let there be any consequential suffering due to our freedoms or we can bear the consequences and say "Thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever."
Heres an excerpt from the talk by Elder Bednar called "And Nothing Shall Offend Them"-
To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else. In the grand division of all of God’s creations, there are things to act and things to be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:13–14). As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of moral agency, the capacity for independent action and choice. Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation.
Its the test of our probationary state here in mortality to see how we will use our agency when faced with difficulty brought on by our own choices and the choices of others. If we are so insensitive as to think that our feelings are the only ones that matter, then we forget how much God has sacrificed for us as He watched His perfect Son suffer for our sins. When encountering someone or something offensive to us, we are in a position to be like Christ and suffer it or to let it destroy us. We have a choice of letting a speed bump become an impenetrable brick wall, or to walk over the water.
We must be sensitive to the feelings of others more than so sensitive in our own feelings' validation and justification. A very sensitive and insecure person is quick to become insensitive and hurtful towards another's feelings. A slight slight can be misinterpreted for a slap in the face, when really it was an accident. We must set aside our natural instincts to avenge our egos, with "an eye for an eye" philosophy. In other words, we must forgive the trespasses of others. Because so often the insult is not intended at all. Whether these offenses are intentional or not should not matter in our path of spiritual development. The Lord instructed us quite adamantly in the Sermon on the Mount-
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. …
“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
“And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”
Don't let your hard feelings get in the way of progress. The Lord has always favored the steady heart with deliverance after being bombarded with discomfort, agitation, and temptation. The path to God is not easy or quick but long with many, many obstacles. All of which designed to help us, its all part of the plan from a loving and merciful Heavenly Father. We may question "Why?" but we should not let that lack of understanding get between us and God.
The Lord favors those that trust His will and keep His commandments more that those that need validation or justification for all their troubles. "An angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me." -Moses 5:6
-Boyd K. Packer
"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them" -Abraham 3:25
Agency is what separated God's plan of Salvation from Satan's plan. "Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down" -Moses 4:3. Satan's plan was to not have man be endowed with agency so as to avoid having any sin. God's plan was to allow man to sin but also to allow man a way to be cleansed of his sin by his choosing to follow a chosen Savior named Jesus Christ. The Savior said "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever" (Moses 4:2). What applicable approaches to God these are for us! We can either say that God is wrong to let there be any consequential suffering due to our freedoms or we can bear the consequences and say "Thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever."
Heres an excerpt from the talk by Elder Bednar called "And Nothing Shall Offend Them"-
To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else. In the grand division of all of God’s creations, there are things to act and things to be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:13–14). As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of moral agency, the capacity for independent action and choice. Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation.
Its the test of our probationary state here in mortality to see how we will use our agency when faced with difficulty brought on by our own choices and the choices of others. If we are so insensitive as to think that our feelings are the only ones that matter, then we forget how much God has sacrificed for us as He watched His perfect Son suffer for our sins. When encountering someone or something offensive to us, we are in a position to be like Christ and suffer it or to let it destroy us. We have a choice of letting a speed bump become an impenetrable brick wall, or to walk over the water.
We must be sensitive to the feelings of others more than so sensitive in our own feelings' validation and justification. A very sensitive and insecure person is quick to become insensitive and hurtful towards another's feelings. A slight slight can be misinterpreted for a slap in the face, when really it was an accident. We must set aside our natural instincts to avenge our egos, with "an eye for an eye" philosophy. In other words, we must forgive the trespasses of others. Because so often the insult is not intended at all. Whether these offenses are intentional or not should not matter in our path of spiritual development. The Lord instructed us quite adamantly in the Sermon on the Mount-
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. …
“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
“And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”
Don't let your hard feelings get in the way of progress. The Lord has always favored the steady heart with deliverance after being bombarded with discomfort, agitation, and temptation. The path to God is not easy or quick but long with many, many obstacles. All of which designed to help us, its all part of the plan from a loving and merciful Heavenly Father. We may question "Why?" but we should not let that lack of understanding get between us and God.
The Lord favors those that trust His will and keep His commandments more that those that need validation or justification for all their troubles. "An angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me." -Moses 5:6
11.9.10
The Way to Happiness
As cliche and probably used more than any other phrase in the study of human existence, I am impressed by the misuse of what is the word "Happiness" by the world's use of it. Oprah has a new "favorite thing" that she tells everyone to buy. McDonalds has a new way of "rewarding yourself" with every variation on a grand scale manufactured form of unhealthy yet affordable food like substance. Apple Computers sets out to recreate our lives with a handheld device which is supposed to make our life easier and in turn better. The world of consumption is not slow to remember that we are constantly seeking satisfaction in every way possible and is quick to answer that hunger.
Amos 8:11
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD"
The Lord is also aware of our constant nourishment. In fact, Jesus told us He knows what we need of before we even ask Him in prayer. If God can answer our prayers and give us what we need, why then are we unhappy? Is it simply we don't ask? Are we, as forewarned to not do, asking what we shouldn't? Are we just ignorant to what will make us happy?
The Lord has given us a case by case instruction manual for happiness. To spoil the surprise the answer is to keep the commandments and come unto Christ. But to be a bit more thorough lets examine a few places where happiness is mentioned in the Book of Mormon and the Bible.
Consider the King Benjamin talk and response from the people- in it he is telling them of how they're nothing and worthless in their fallen state and that God is so merciful, wise, and patient toward them even to the point of sending a Savior (Mosiah 4:5-6). He then tells them to repent and humble themselves before God in all the sincerity of their hearts. The people so moved with the Spirit do so and what is the outcome?
Mosiah 4:20- And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.
John 13:17-
"If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."
So, humility, sincerity, diligence in keeping the commandments, and seeking forgiveness from God is the way to happiness. Other examples include 4th Nephi where the people were not lifted up in pride and had the love of God in their hearts and were exceedingly happy.
The Savior knows we want to be happy which is why He showed us the way to live and the way to salvation- His life. The state of those that keep the commandments with full purpose of heart are blessed and happy as the scriptures show. Wickedness never was happiness.
The Adversary is always trying to fill that role of our god by filling our need for happiness with things that cannot satisfy. He strives to make us lovers of ourselves to override the love of God. As any narcissist could testify- its shallow, loveless, lonely, and awful to only care about yourself. This temptation to care about ourselves more than others or to fill our lives with meaningless self satisfaction can only lead to being completely unhappy. If you conquered the world and had everything at your disposal, you'd want to conquer the universe. There is no end to selfishness, it is an unquenchable fire that will torment our souls as long as we give into it.
On the other hand, gratitude gives us peace and love for the moment. Christ said he was living waters which will satisfy us eternally. Giving up our selfish, self aggrandizing, self will make us happy because we then can take on the name of Christ and He will live in us and our joy will be exceedingly great because we'll be at one with God. Atonement.
Humility to God equals happiness. Love for God with all our heart, might, mind and strength equals happiness. Love for others as ourselves equals happiness. Realizing our nothingness is nothing short of difficult but definitely easier to do when we contemplate the grand goodness of God and his matchless power.
We can't be happy unless we do what is right with an eye single to the glory of God.
Amos 8:11
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD"
The Lord is also aware of our constant nourishment. In fact, Jesus told us He knows what we need of before we even ask Him in prayer. If God can answer our prayers and give us what we need, why then are we unhappy? Is it simply we don't ask? Are we, as forewarned to not do, asking what we shouldn't? Are we just ignorant to what will make us happy?
The Lord has given us a case by case instruction manual for happiness. To spoil the surprise the answer is to keep the commandments and come unto Christ. But to be a bit more thorough lets examine a few places where happiness is mentioned in the Book of Mormon and the Bible.
Consider the King Benjamin talk and response from the people- in it he is telling them of how they're nothing and worthless in their fallen state and that God is so merciful, wise, and patient toward them even to the point of sending a Savior (Mosiah 4:5-6). He then tells them to repent and humble themselves before God in all the sincerity of their hearts. The people so moved with the Spirit do so and what is the outcome?
Mosiah 4:20- And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.
John 13:17-
"If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."
So, humility, sincerity, diligence in keeping the commandments, and seeking forgiveness from God is the way to happiness. Other examples include 4th Nephi where the people were not lifted up in pride and had the love of God in their hearts and were exceedingly happy.
The Savior knows we want to be happy which is why He showed us the way to live and the way to salvation- His life. The state of those that keep the commandments with full purpose of heart are blessed and happy as the scriptures show. Wickedness never was happiness.
The Adversary is always trying to fill that role of our god by filling our need for happiness with things that cannot satisfy. He strives to make us lovers of ourselves to override the love of God. As any narcissist could testify- its shallow, loveless, lonely, and awful to only care about yourself. This temptation to care about ourselves more than others or to fill our lives with meaningless self satisfaction can only lead to being completely unhappy. If you conquered the world and had everything at your disposal, you'd want to conquer the universe. There is no end to selfishness, it is an unquenchable fire that will torment our souls as long as we give into it.
On the other hand, gratitude gives us peace and love for the moment. Christ said he was living waters which will satisfy us eternally. Giving up our selfish, self aggrandizing, self will make us happy because we then can take on the name of Christ and He will live in us and our joy will be exceedingly great because we'll be at one with God. Atonement.
Humility to God equals happiness. Love for God with all our heart, might, mind and strength equals happiness. Love for others as ourselves equals happiness. Realizing our nothingness is nothing short of difficult but definitely easier to do when we contemplate the grand goodness of God and his matchless power.
We can't be happy unless we do what is right with an eye single to the glory of God.
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