"Look to God and Live"

"Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live. But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them. O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish? If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works." Alma 33: 19-22

If we just look to the Son of God as the people in Moses' time did to the fiery serpent on the staff we can be healed. if we look to God we can feel the healing power of his Son's atonement.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The dye has been cast! I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made; I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tainted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my gait is fast, and my goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear! I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up stored up, and paid up of the cause of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till I know, and work till He stops me. And when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear.
Henry b. Eyring

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.”

What is hope?

Hope is a power that can change us. Let us all have Hope in our Lord Jesus Christ and begin that miraculous change.

True Conversion

"The way we answer questions about our faith ought to be by finding the quickest and most direct route to the Sacred Grove. The Restoration began with Joseph Smith on his knees in the Sacred Grove, and that is where the testimony of all Latter-day Saints must begin, on their knees in a sacred moment, asking of God. Everything that we believe as Latter-day Saints rests on the reality of what God said that spring morning to Joseph Smith." (Joseph Fielding McConkie The restoration and Religious Tolerance)
As we all do this same thing for ourselves, get on our knees and ask to know if this event really happened, I know that we will all find our testimonies grow or begin. And as the people in the Book of Mormon who were taught about the gospel and converted to the truth:
They "were converted unto the Lord, [and] never did fall away. For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren."
If we do the same and are converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we too will want to "lay down the weapons of [our] rebellion" and we will all become part of the righteous people and will be ready to enter into the rest of the lord!
I know that Joseph Smith did see God and Jesus Christ, and they did in reality speak to him and give him instruction to restore this gospel to the earth today. As you kneel and pray and find out the same I know you will feel a greater light in your life and a happiness that will not fade with time.

A Simple Kitchen Towel

     "At first glance, one looks at a kitchen towel and thinks, "Wow! A towel! I needed a new one," or Wow! A towel! The old ones are getting stained and worn.
     "But have we ever stopped to think that for years, even thousands of years, the towel has not just been used in the kitchen, but for a variety of reasons?

     "Take, for example, the mother who wipes the tears of a little child to soothe the physical and emotional hurt; The physician who binds the wound of a bleeding patient; The woman in her home wiping hands as she moves from task to task; The weary traveler who wipes his sweated brow.

     "Notwithstanding all of the above examples, perhaps the most significant use of the towel was about 2,000 years ago when our loving Jesus took an ordinary towel in his hands and dried the feet of his disciples only hours before his crucifixion. Sure, the towel is a handy item with a myriad of uses, but it also has deep symbolic meaning when seen in the hands of the Savior during a work of kindness for his fellowmen.

     "So, take this towel, knowing it is given with love, and do works of goodness with it, as the Savior worked with His so many years ago."  ~Unknown

In the hands of our Lord even a little towel can be made into a great tool. Let us allow our selves to be an instrument in the hands of the Saviour and we can become greater than we ever knew.

Don't look Back

President Joseph Fielding Smith told me of a repentant woman struggling to find her way out of a very immoral life. She asked him what she should do now.

In turn, he asked her to read to him from the Old Testament the account of Lot's wife, who was turned to a pillar of salt. Then he asked her, "What lesson do you gain from those verses?"

She answered, "The Lord will destroy the wicked."

"Not so!" President Smith said that the lesson for this repentant woman and for you is "Don’t look back!"

Strangely enough, it may be that the simplest and most powerful prevention and cure for pornography, or any unclean act, is to ignore and avoid it. Delete from the mind any unworthy thought that tries to take root. Once you have decided to remain clean, you are asserting your God-given agency. And then, as President Smith counseled, "Don’t look back."

~Elder Boyd K. Packer

Our Choices

“Life offers you two precious gifts—one is time, the other freedom of choice, the freedom to buy with your time what you will. You are free to exchange your allotment of time for thrills. You may trade it for base desires. You may invest it in greed. …

“Yours is the freedom to choose. But these are no bargains, for in them you find no lasting satisfaction.

“Every day, every hour, every minute of your span of mortal years must sometime be accounted for. And it is in this life that you walk by faith and prove yourself able to choose good over evil, right over wrong, enduring happiness over mere amusement. And your eternal reward will be according to your choosing.

“A prophet of God has said: ‘Men are that they might have joy’—a joy that includes a fullness of life, a life dedicated to service, to love and harmony in the home, and the fruits of honest toil—an acceptance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—of its requirements and commandments.

“Only in these will you find true happiness, the happiness which doesn’t fade with the lights and the music and the crowds." ~Elder Richard L. Evans

I really like the first line of this quote: "Life offers you two precious gifts—one is time, the other freedom of choice, the freedom to buy with your time what you will." This is a great perspective on the gifts of life and agency we have been given. With the gift of this life we are given the ability to choose for ourselves what we want to do with our allotted time, but if we choose wrong it may cost more time than we were expecting. It may even cost us our freedom. As President Monson says, "Although in our journey we will encounter forks and turnings in the road, we simply cannot afford the luxury of a detour from which we may never return."

If we use our allotted time wisely then we will live happy and prosperous lives.

The Touch of the Master's Hand

If we only let Him touch our lives we could be so much better then we now are. Even this violin that throughout its life was battered and bruised and look to no longer be of worth, was transformed by the touch of the Master's hand!
Allow Jesus Christ to touch your life and i promise that no matter where you are you will see who you really are and feel the all encompassing love that comes from your Father in Heaven even when you think you are all alone.