"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." -Matthew 7:20
I think the best way to know an artist is by their art. The greatest Artist of all of course is God. Think of all the beautiful images there are in the world; the landscapes, the forests, the beaches, the moon, stars, sunsets, the animals, the heights, rivers, and mountains. I believe by studying the art of any artist is the greatest way to gain insight to the creator of the art and it is the same with God and His works.
As the Creator of the physical world God is also the Creator of the spiritual world. By our faith in Him, He can move mountains in us. He gives His mercy and love that can shape our worlds if we let Him. From the experiences I had of helping people in my mission to the blessings I have in my own life, I can see that the fruits of God are many and His hand is the crafter of all the things that are good.
"For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God." -Alma 5:40
There is a lot of disease, destruction, disasters, wars and terrible things in the world. Many of these are the results of disobeying God's commandments. A lot are also natural consequences. Plenty are also just trials given to us to learn from or to get us to turn our hearts over to God.
"And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction." -2 Nephi 5:25
"Therefore, as they were unfaithful they did not prosper nor progress in their journey, but were driven back, and incurred the displeasure of God upon them; and therefore they were smitten with famine and sore afflictions, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty." -Mosiah 1:17
Remember our Heavenly Father has plenty of tools to shape the landscape and our lives and all of them are out of love for us. Only He can give us that beauty that we seek for in our lives. He is the greatest Artist of all and if you look with a pure heart, to the good things in the world, you will see Him.
"...and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." -Alma 30:44
"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." -Matthew 5:8
Showing posts with label testimony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label testimony. Show all posts
17.3.10
25.1.10
Working Out Our Own Salvation by Simple Truths in Mediums of All Kinds
Everybody who is active in the church at one point or another gets bored with the church. After a while we often hear the same messages and doctrines. At this moment we usually either just go through the motions or just stop going all together. Both are about equal in spiritual enlightenment. This is because at some point we have to take it upon ourselves to be doctrinally fed and seek out the gospel messages for ourselves. We have to take responsibility of our salvation.
Growing up in Utah, you can sign up for seminary classes that teach the fundamentals of LDS teachings to youth. I first became so excited about this seminary class that I started going to church on my own and reading on my own. I often stayed after class with questions on the subject and liked my teachers. Then I had a teacher that I didn't really like. He wasn't exciting. He was very strict. I stopped going and caring about Church in general. I made the classic mistake of not taking it upon myself to keep being entertained by what the Lord could teach me.
Sometimes the medium is the only way to keep from falling into disinterest and often new members will go inactive after the missionaries who taught them initially go home or to a new area.
There is a parable of the Ten Virgins and I don't really know the cultural context of it. But they had lamps fueled by oil and some of them were foolish and didn't prepare by getting extra oil for later so they could have lamps lit. Anyway, the oil and the lamp represents our own understading and testimony of the Church and we don't prepare and work out our own salvation then we won't be able to borrow from other people's testimony. Basically, you are in charge of your righteousness and testimony of God. Other people may help you initially but you must be able to be self reliant in a sense of relying on the Lord.
The church talks, lessons, classes, books, magazines, movies, and music can be entertaining but can also get old unless we take it upon ourselves to personally seek out the Lord and seek to get something out of all the messages ourselves.
Scriptures repeatedly tell us "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."-Alma 37: 6. And "children given words that confound the wise. "-Alma 32: 23
I believe anything true is of value to our souls and we can find things to help us personally by all the mediums the Lord has of preaching His gospel, especially the Holy Ghost which will give us a way of understanding things we've heard a hundred times but in a new light that will be applicable to our lives.
I know the Lord speaks to us by His servants, by the Holy Ghost, and to us directly in a way that if we are looking and asking with real intent He will make it known to us. There are so many simple truths in mediums of all kind, if only we will tune in to the Holy Ghost.
Growing up in Utah, you can sign up for seminary classes that teach the fundamentals of LDS teachings to youth. I first became so excited about this seminary class that I started going to church on my own and reading on my own. I often stayed after class with questions on the subject and liked my teachers. Then I had a teacher that I didn't really like. He wasn't exciting. He was very strict. I stopped going and caring about Church in general. I made the classic mistake of not taking it upon myself to keep being entertained by what the Lord could teach me.
Sometimes the medium is the only way to keep from falling into disinterest and often new members will go inactive after the missionaries who taught them initially go home or to a new area.
There is a parable of the Ten Virgins and I don't really know the cultural context of it. But they had lamps fueled by oil and some of them were foolish and didn't prepare by getting extra oil for later so they could have lamps lit. Anyway, the oil and the lamp represents our own understading and testimony of the Church and we don't prepare and work out our own salvation then we won't be able to borrow from other people's testimony. Basically, you are in charge of your righteousness and testimony of God. Other people may help you initially but you must be able to be self reliant in a sense of relying on the Lord.
The church talks, lessons, classes, books, magazines, movies, and music can be entertaining but can also get old unless we take it upon ourselves to personally seek out the Lord and seek to get something out of all the messages ourselves.
Scriptures repeatedly tell us "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."-Alma 37: 6. And "children given words that confound the wise. "-Alma 32: 23
I believe anything true is of value to our souls and we can find things to help us personally by all the mediums the Lord has of preaching His gospel, especially the Holy Ghost which will give us a way of understanding things we've heard a hundred times but in a new light that will be applicable to our lives.
I know the Lord speaks to us by His servants, by the Holy Ghost, and to us directly in a way that if we are looking and asking with real intent He will make it known to us. There are so many simple truths in mediums of all kind, if only we will tune in to the Holy Ghost.
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