The Plan of Salvation

As I was reading today in 2 Nephi chapter 2, I wanted to gain a better understanding of the Plan of Salvation, how I can apply it better in my life. I searched through lds.org I found a talk that had been given by Duane B Gerrard in the October 1997 General Conference called The Plan of Salvation: A Flight Plan for Life.

Happy New Year

I can't believe that it's a new year?!  2015 went by really fast. I hope this year doesn't fly by as fast. This year instead of focusing on goals that my eventually fizz out, I wanted to focus on a word that would help me to accomplish the things I want to in this new year.

My word is DEDICATION.

More dedication to my family.

More dedication to my scripture study.

More dedication to my temple attendance.

More dedication to my Etsy shop.

More dedication to my essential oil business.

I think that by thinking of a word you are more inclined to tackle things, to accomplish more. I think that a list can be daunting. We tend to put too much on a list that we seem to lose track an interest.

So I challenge you, what is your word for the year?

What's your Motto?

Our Home Teachers came over yesterday afternoon, and they shared Sister Neill F. Marriott's talk from October's General Conference called Yielding Our Hearts to God. Before they shared their message they asked us if we had a family motto. Neither of answered because as a family we don't really have one.

In Sister Marriott's talk she has a motto, "It will all work out." In her talk she talks about her daughter that had passed away when she was young. Even though they prayed, they knew it will all work out the way the Lord needs it.

Scripture Study

I've been trying to find different ways to help me study the scriptures more effectively. I was invited by my cousin to follow on Instagram bofm365 to study the Book of Mormon for the year. Although I haven't been as regular in keeping up, I love how they break down the chapters and give you a question to ponder as you read.

I also had been pinning scripture study journaling ideas on Pinterest, and I finally settled on a way that will help me track my thoughts as I study. I settled on The Red Headed Hostess' scripture journal templates. I like her format.

I mean I've always had a journal for my spiritual thoughts, I just wanted a better way to do it. I'm just about done writing in one journal, so with my new one I already cut and pasted some of the template into it. I can't wait to start on this new way of studying.

What's your method to studying the scriptures?

Stand as a Witness at ALL Times

A couple weeks ago, it seemed like the theme in Sacrament meeting (worship service) was about standing as a Witness. Stand as a Witness to God; Stand as a Witness to the Gospel. It has stuck in my mind since then and got me thinking, Am I standing as a witness to what I believe? Am I teaching my children to stand as a witness? As a baptized member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I made a covenant to stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things, and in all places. (Mosiah 18:9)

What does it mean to stand as a witness? To stand as a witness you first need to have a testimony of the Gospel and what it teaches. You also need a testimony of the scriptures and the knowledge that comes from reading them. If you don't, you need to pray for these testimonies and when you do the

Prayer

In my personal study I thought that I would concentrate on Prayer. This is a subject that I need improvement on. I will admit that I'm not the best at getting down on my knees every day to thank my Heavenly Father for the things that I need or have. It is something that I've committed to being better at. But I wanted to share my thoughts as I studied this topic, b/c there may be someone that needs to read this.

What is Prayer? - Prayer is our communicational life line with our Father in Heaven. It has a special language that we should use to show respect to our Heavenly Father. Elder Dallin H. Oaks (one of my favorite apostles) said, "We should address prayers to our Heavenky Father in words which speak of that language associated with love and respect and reverence and closeness." (1993 April Conference, The Language of Prayer) This was a fantastic talk by the way. I love how he mentions in this quote that the language should be in closeness. To me this means pray as if he was standing right next to you. For some that is hard to do and for others it's really easy. I'm stuck in between, but will get to that closeness.

When we are praying we should make it a special conversation and should do it in a private place, if we are doing it alone. Find a special spot where you won't be disturbed while pouring out your heart. In Matthew 6:6-7 this is what is says about praying in secret.

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into a thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to they Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking."

 Don't pray to gain an audience of others, but to have the audience of your Heavenly Father. We need to be sincere in our prayers or else they don't mean anything. Sometimes I feel like I'm repeating myself when I pray, but I try to be conscience of what I'm praying for, and how I'm praying. When we are praying from the heart then our prayers will be sincere and will be answered.

My other thought was when should we pray? Should I pray only in the morning or just at night? The answer is simple: ALWAYS.

In D&C (Doctrine and Covenants) 10:5 it says, "Pray always, that you may come of conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work."

I had never really noticed how the word 'conqueror' was spelled. I always would say conquer. I looked it up and it means self-mastery. So I read it again using self-mastery in its place and it made more sense. We need to pray to humble ourselves so that we can fight off Satan with Heavenly Father's help. By praying all the time it makes us stronger with the Lord, which leads me into the next scripture in Alma 13:28.

"But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering."

Not only should we be praying on our own, but with our families. When we pray as a family we become stronger. Just like the scripture in Alma is talking about. We need to take the time to pray as a family, because the world is not a place to out into without feeling the Lord's love and protection.

"Think of the power for good as you gather and thank God for all of his blessings. Think of the eternal significance of daily thanking him for each member of your family and asking him to guide and bless and protect each one. Think of the strength that will come to your family as, daily, one member or another pours out his or her soul in love to God for other family members." Elder John H. Gorberg (1982 April Conference, The Power of Family Prayer)

I've mentioned when we should pray, how we should pray, what about the why? Why should we pray? This was partially answered in D&C 10:5, to ask the Lord's help to overcome Satan. Why else are we praying for? For me it's to include Him in major life decisions. Like; should I marry this person? Is this the right school to go to? Should I take this job offer? Is this where my family should move to? We need to involve the Lord in our life to make it a richer, fuller life. I know that when we include Him in big decisions we feel at peace. It should also be to ask for his forgiveness, because we are not perfect and we need it.

In Mark 11:24-26 this is what it says about why we should pray.

"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if you have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." 

Prayer is essential to our eternal progression. We need our Heavenly Father's help in this life. I know that I need to be more committed in communicating with him because I've seen the blessings that come from praying daily.

Missionary Moment

I wanted to get this down before I forgot.

For the last several weeks, I've been talking to a co-worker. We knew each other but just recently became friends since we bothe moved into the same suite and sat across from each other. she is such a sweet and generous person, that I have found a kindred spirit in her. She and I like many of the same hobbies and have enjoyed each other's company. 

Well in our many discussions we have talked openly about religion. She herself is a Christian and goes to church regularly and is teaching her little boy to love reading the Bible. She found out that I'm a Mormon and started asking me questions. I of course would answer and explain as best as I could so that she would understand what we are all about. Most of the time our conversations came up naturally, and so it has been easy to talk to her about what we all about. I told her that we believe that families are forever and she loved that concept. She said that most churches don't really talk about family. She also loves that I live what I'm taught and that I'm not contradicting my beliefs when I talk about it. I'm glad that I'm living in a way that is being noticed for good.

I have been able to share my testimony of a lot of the gospel principles with her and she has been very open it. I hope that I have planted a small seed, so that one day she will be ready to fully accept the gospel.