Empty Room...maybe God....Who are You Talking to?

What makes a prayer, a prayer?  How do we know God is There?

The past few days this concern has come up a few times as I have talked with people.  What makes the difference from kneeling down and talking to an empty room and feeling totally awkward; to being on your knees conversing with Heavenly Father and feeling His love?

The answer that brings me comfort while I pray is found in 3 Nephi 14:9-11 ...

Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone?

Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

When we remember our true relationship with our Heavenly Father, which is Father and child...Our Prayers won't be just words fillin' space in an empty room, but a heart to heart with our Father.

On your knees...

Open Heart...

Address Him (Our Heavenly Father)...

Pour out your soul...

Close in Christ's name..

FEEL HEAVENLY FATHER'S LOVE!!!

Sunny Days

As I sit at my desk, I glance out the window, the day is bright and sunny.  I thought to myself, sunny days sometimes seem like cover-ups to mask over our world around us, struggling economy, a society losing morality, and a life spiralling down.

As I revert back to reality and put a stop to my pity party, a talk " Make Yours a Great Life " came to my mind.  There are a few key phrase from it I would like to share....

"Your future is not determined by the conditions around you"

"The challenges you face will serve to strengthen you as you move forward with your life."

"There are no better days than these days, because these are your days."

" He (Jesus Christ) is the real reason each of us has a bright future."



I add my testimony to Paris's.  Don't allow where you are, who you were, your conditions/situations, or even the people around you determine your happiness.  See sunny days as a gift from God!  Life is not about what we were, but who we become.  Enjoy life, these are our days!

Hope or Hopeless?

The thought crossed my mind this morning...do I have hope?  Somewhat of a random thought, and may even be taken as depressing. I have hope in myself, or in myself accomplishing something. But, do I have hope in general?  The more I thought about this idea, the more I wondered what hope even is.  How does having hope affect me?  In my trail of questions, I decided to pray and then flip open the scriptures.

I found a verse that shed some light on my hopeless topic. (2 Nephi 31:20)

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a ^asteadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of ^bhope, and a ^clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and ^dendure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have ^eeternal life.

This verse brought to me some HOPE.  Hope is something to strive for.  Hope is trusting that God will keep His promises with us.  Hope is the willingness to press forward with steadfastness not knowing the end result.  From this verse we find a blessing of being hopefully, to receive eternal life ( To life with our loving Heavenly Father again!!).

Hope is the attribute that keeps us cheering for the underdog.  I have always found enjoyment in seeing the not so victorious win one, or to see the nobody become a somebody.  Other people need us to have hope in them. 

“Being blessed with hope, let

us, as disciples, reach out to all

who, for whatever reason, have

‘moved away from the hope of

the gospel’ (Col. 1:23). Let us

reach to lift hands which hang

hopelessly down.”

– ELDER NEAL A. MAXWELL

“BRIGHTNESS OF HOPE,”

ENSIGN, NOV. 1994, 36

  

Hope lets us see the rainbow through the rainy days.  Hope gives us a happiness to look and strive forward to!  Hope makes the world a great place.  Hope allows us to see pass our circumstances or our restrictions and to reach our full potential our Heavenly Father is longing to see.

Hope in my opinion is an attribute we all to often under estimate.  Hope leads to a drive to change. Change allows us to reach to our happiness.  I invite all to take this helpful quiz found in Preach My Gospel (with a few minor changes), that helps us see if we are hopeful or hopeless....

 

-One of my greatest desires is to inherit

eternal life in the celestial kingdom of God.

(Moroni 7:41)

-I am confident that I will have a happy and

successful life. (D&C 31:3–5)

-I feel peaceful and optimistic about the

future. (D&C 59:23)

-I firmly believe that someday I will dwell

with God and become like Him. (Ether 12:4)

Do you have hope?

Hope

A World without God

In life, I have seen when things get tough the thought has crosses my mind to blame someone or something...sadly that someone often times is God.  But why would we choose to blame the one who gives us everything?

I recently had a conversation with a man who was a little confused.  He had told us he had some mishaps in life with religion and such and now he was taking a brake from God for awhile.  He said he just wants to be left alone to his own thoughts.   Now, as I processed this conversation in my mind I could not help but want to plead out WHY?!  The man told us how he was unhappy and confused, how he just has to many unanswered questions, but if he chooses to blame God (or take a brake from him) he is closing the door to help from above.

Why is that a nature tendency to push away the one that loves us most? Our Heavenly Father's goal is not to make life miserable and force us to suffer.   He gave us life so we could find true joy  .  But for one reason or another myself guilty also when life gets tough our reaction is "Oops its God's fault..."

I think that false blame is exactly the trap Satan wants us all to fall for.  What better way to lead us down to unhappiness, than cause us to forget our Creator.  Satan is clever with this trap of his.  He gets us confused and turned around until we close the door to the one that can help us.

If we ever find our self in such a situation we need to stop and ask our self why?  We must not forget our special relationship with our Heavenly Father.  That of literal Father and child.  When a toddler takes a tumble, his parent always scoops him up and makes it all better...I can guarantee the last thing on that little guys mind would be "No put me down, I don't want to be helped, I don't need you.."  So why should we chose to do that now.  Rely on our Heavenly Father when life gets tough and embrace in his saving arms.

Allow Him to scoop you up and put you back on your feet.

I know that God is our Heavenly Father.  I am grateful that He is forgiving and is always willing to wrap me in His saving arms.  I know that He loves us, and that He is real.

Tell a friend about what God has done for you!  Remind them of the help He can give to them.  Strive to not be fooled or become a victim of Satan's trap. A world without God would be a miserable place, don't blame Him but embrace Him!  

Going to God's House

Just the other day, the other missionaries in Vacaville, Brother Christensen (local member who is legit), and I took a trip to the Sacramento Temple.  What a sweet experience, to go to such a sacred place.  Temples are the closest thing to being in heaven for us here on earth!

After about an hour or so of driving we exited off the freeway.  We took our last turn and headed up the hill.  On the side of the road is a bit of forest and usually there are some turkeys and maybe even a deer or two (Brother Christensen loves to spot the animals).  Breaking the crest of the hill, and coming to a clearing, there the temple sits.

As we pulled into the parking stall I could not take my eyes of the god-like structure.  The Sacramento Temple has a fairly simple design, but yet still a pristine look.    As I marveled at the beauty of the Lord's House, I felt a sense of peace and security.  To me temples are like "the castle on the hill."  A place all can come to find peace and protection.

I am a bit of an art nut; the inside of the temple, the paintings, glass work, and stonework is breath taking.  As I examined each detail and inch finding all to be flawless.  The temple is a house fit for a king.  In a literal sense the temple is the house of the King of Kings.

After, participating in sacred ordinances, and  serving those who have already passed on  , I could not help, but feel complete.  Waiting for the others to finish I took the time to recognize and appreciate the peacefulness I felt in the temple.  Inside the walks of the temple, my problems are left at the door.  The worries and worldly concerns which normally weigh me down, are a lost thought for a moment.  In the temple I feel at home, I feel the love which my loving Heavenly Father has for me.  Inside I am safe from my life's challenges and struggles.  The temple frees me from my life's bruises and bumps.

Temples are eternal, and the work is too.  There we can learn to see afar off , having more of an eternal view on our lives.  At the temple we can have a taste of what heaven might be like.  All are invited and welcomed to take this trip to God's house.

Our Prophet Thomas S. Monson says it quite nice in a short poem...

How far is heaven?

It’s not very far.

In temples of God,

It’s right where we are.

I invite all to go and check out the temple!  It is such an amazing place, the Oakland Temple has a lot of events and such during the Christmas season.  Check out http://www.templehillevents.com/ for more information.  Lets all take a trip to God's house!

Where Do I Stand with God

A few days ago, a lady we are teaching choose to be baptized!  As we were making all the arrangements for her baptism, she asked me to be the one to baptize her.  Not being able to hold back a grin from ear to ear I said, "I would love too!"   It still amazes me how much joy sharing the Gospel brings!

About an hour before the baptism we were busily setting up chairs, filling the baptism font, and just doing the finishing touches.  I was a little nervous, but at the same time so excited to see, a friend, make this step of faith which will change her life.

We started out by singing How Great Thou Art, which brought the spirit into the room real strong.  Continuing on with a prayer, and two talks. I was on the edge of my seat anxiously awaiting to perform the baptism.  The time was finally here!

We walked down into the water.  She had a light  or glow to her countenance.  She is a daughter of God, prepared, and ready  to make this commitment with God.  My mind cleared, and I was filled with a sense of peace,  offering the baptism prayer  , and then immersing her under the water.  Pulling her back up, she came out of the water smiling, radiating peace and happiness.

As I was in the dressing room changing out of my wet clothes, I thought how awesome was that!  She just made a life changing choice.  All the past transgressions were washed away, having a clean slate.  In return she promise to walk in life God would want us to.

Then a thought crossed my mind.....where do I stand with God?  I had made the exact same promise with God several years ago, and how was I holding up my half of the promise?  Was I living the life God would want me to be?  I didn't realize baptizing someone else would be a growing process for me.  I thought about things I could do better, or just differently to bring me closer to God.  As I reflected my life, I knew I was not perfect, and have had my ups and downs, but the Spirit soon reminded me that's ok, that is why we have the Gospel, to grow and improve.

After my experience of examining my promise to God, I would encourage all to do so.  Look at the shortcomings, but not forgetting your successes.  See what changes could bring you closer to God, then trust in God, and with His help make it happen!

The Worth of Every SOUL is Great.....even ME!!!

I was asked a simple question the other day, and couldn't find the answer.  I tried to shrug it off, and cover up my embarrassment with a slight laugh, and a quick change of topic.  The outside conversation may have changed, but my inward conversation continues to roll the idea of what an idiot i am, or how could i not know such a simple answer.  As my mind begins to roll, destroying thoughts of self worth overtake my mind.  Questions of why me,  who even cares, or even what am I even good for?

The enemy of our souls' has found a new battle ground, our MIND, with emphasis on self-worth.  If the adversary can enter our minds, and take control on not only our outward look on life, but also our own inward self refection, he has won.  Destroying our own ideal of our self worth, which would cause us to lose sight of our true value, a son or daughter of God.

I read a talk Am I of Worth? by Emily Thevenin, who tells her story of her personal fight for self-worth.  We can find strength in Emily's words as we have to face our own inward battle.  Emily just like I, confess at times we do the most damage to ourselves just from our negative thought process towards our self. 
Emily gives great advice for us all, that our self worth is not determined by our accomplishments in life, but we all share the common value as children of God.

We can also turn to the scriptures for advice to defend or fight back this mind twisting enemy.  I find comfort in D&C 18:10 which gives us all a confidence booster in knowing that God sees not only worth, but great worth in a soul.  Keepin' that thought in the back of our minds can help us continue on in the combat of self-worth.

I personally know how it feels to be in a state of depression, and have family members and very close love ones who have to fight this personal battle each day, but I am confident it is a battle that can be won.  We just have to continually remind ourselves that we are sons and daughters of God.  That our soul has value of great worth. 

I know as we strengthen our relationship with God, we will see how great we are each worth!  I am grateful to have that opportunity to pray to Him each day, to get a reminder of my personal worth.  I know also as we are willing to case our shortcomings upon our Savior, Jesus Christ, we can be lifted from our own self destruction and become something great.

And on a last note, when we get down do like I tell my little sister, make sure to take the time to laugh (even if it is just laughing at our own simple mistakes).  God loves us, and through Jesus Christ we can change!