Blessings of Eternity

President Hinkley said this about temples...
"Those who enter the temple gain blessing there that are not found anywhere else on the face of the whole earth. the temple stands as a monument for all to see. It stands as a statement that we as a people believe in the immortality of the human soul. Everything that occurs in the temple is uplifting and speaks of life here and life beyond the grave. It speaks of the importance of the individual as a child of god. It speaks of the importance of the family as a creation of the almighty. It speaks of the eternity of the marriage relationship. It speaks of going on the greater glory. It is a place of light, a place of peace, a place of love, where we deal with the things of eternity."

Today in church we talked all about temples. I absolutely love this quote by President Hinkley....It is at the end of the movie Nauvoo: A Temple Reborn. On my mission I loved to listen to the end of the film over and over again to hear the testimony of the prophet on the blessings that come from the temple. The Saints in Nauvoo knew the importance of the temple, they, even after knowing that there were going to leave that beautiful city, finished building the temple to their God! They left it behind when they were forced out of Nauvoo but they blessings they received within the walls of the temple....they took with them. I am grateful for their faith and sacrifice...I have felt and witnessed the blessings of the temple in my life and am so grateful to know of the importance of temples. It has been a strength and a light among the storms in life.

Faith as a Principle of Power

"And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever." -Moroni 10:7

-Am I functioning properly in terms of being worthy; having proper motives, being obedient, making constructive use of my time, avoiding inappropriate conversation, and directing all my thoughts to the work?
-Do I understand the Process Necessary to draw on the powers of heaven?
-Do I always seek inspiration in selecting righteous desires?
-Do I set goals that require the lords help to be achieved?
-Do I approach everything I desire to achieve with faith as a principle of power in mind?
-When I plead my case before the lord, do I explain my particular desire and rationale in selecting it?
-Are my daily prayers earnest and sincere?
-Am I conscious of my thoughts?
-When I pray or meditate, can I keep my mind from wandering?
-Do I devote certain periods of time each day to meditate?
-To what degree do I allow Doubt and fear to occupy my mind?
-Am I controlled by my circumstances?

We Will Never Be Left Alone

I am getting so excited for general conference.....to listen to the prophets and apostles speak, to be uplifted, strengthened, and enlightened! To get my self ready and excited I decided to read a talk from Aprils conference tonight. Elder Holland is probably one of my favorite speakers and I loved his talk about Christ on that Easter Sunday. "None Were With Him."




In this talk he spoke of the lonely journey that Christ had to take to atonement. I will not go into much detail on this talk....I feel as though I would not be able to re-tell it in a way that would come close to doing it justice. I just want to share with you what I found to be uplifting and full of hope.

Elder Holland said, "...because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path--the merciful care of our father in heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven , family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the atonement of Jesus Christ....Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone or unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are."

John 14:18
"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."

I have a testimony that this is true. I know that Christ is our Savior in every way. He is so aware of our feelings; our joys to our heartaches. He has felt and been through the worst that anyone can suffer. And he did it so that when we are in our darkest abyss.....we can call upon him....and he will always be there. He will not leave you comfortless......he who even notices a sparrow fall to the ground will especially watch over his own. And you are one of his, he will guide and direct your life in the direction you need to go to receive all the blessings he has in store for you.

Is it worth it?

"I would hope that we are wise enought to realize that we can excel, we can reach the top, we can be the very best in any field or endeavor - if we are willing to pay the price. But in order to be great in whatever we attempt to do in life, we have to decide in advance that it is indeed worth it!"

This is a quote by Elder Ballard in his book When Thou Art Converted. I love this thought and have found it to be true in life. I really think that we as children of God have an unimaginable potential. I know that we can be the very best in anything that we choose but we have to be willing to put in the required effort. I think that in order to do that we do need to know if it is worth it...or if it is not. because, when things get tough and all you want to do is give up....You will already know that it is worth the price!

He goes on to ask that question in regards to our eternal goals and priorities. "Although salvation (immortality with a resurrected body) is available to all mankind through the loving grace of the lord Jesus Christ, Exaltation (life eternal...in the place where God and Christ dwell) requires great faith and service on our part. We must sacrifice. We must be obedient. We must repent of our sins and work to take full advantage of the remarkable possibilities afforded to all mankind through the Atonement of christ. It isn't easy. No one ever said that it would be. The question for us to consider is, Is it worth it? Is it worth giving all the attention and all the energy of wich we are capable for the building of God's freat kingdom here upon the earth in exchange for 'all that my Father hath?' Yes it is!"

I know that it is! I feel the love of the lord each day in my life. I know that as a daughter of God I have a great potential. Not only am I blessed in this life for keeping the commandments of the Lord but I can not even imagine the blessings of Exaltation! As I study the scriptures I come to learn more about my Heavenly Father, who he is...his character and divine attributes. I know that it will be worth the trials and the challenges that we face in this life to once again live in his presence. I am grateful for the Atonement of our Savior I know that it is through him we are able to enjoy those blessings!