Foundations and Testimonies

• A foundation is solid, something you can build on.
• Foundations are structurally sound.
•  In order to have a great foundation everything has to be inline.

The power of Prayer

As I was proselyting on Facebook today, I saw a lot of examples of faith being tested and prayers requested of me in others behalf.

I am so grateful to see others have faith in the power of Prayer. Prayer to me is powerful communication between us and our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ.  Doctrine and Covenants 45: 3 -8  .

Prayer  is supposed to be sincere and faith- filled, as we talk with our Heavenly Father we must be truly intending upon receiving an answer, and doing all that we can to be prepared for the answer the lord gives us.

“The trouble with most of our prayers is that we give them as if we were picking up the

telephone and ordering groceries—we place our order and hang up. We need to meditate,

contemplate, think of what we are praying about and for and then speak to the Lord as one man

speaketh to another” Gordon B. Hinckley

I know the Lord answers prayers as we "cry" to him, he has answered many of mine, I see his goodness everyday of my life. I pray that we make a stronger resolution to speak with him on a mutiple-daily basis.

                                                                    

His birth, his ministry, and Atonement

This Christmas I have had a lot of time to reflect on "the reason for the season"- Christmas songs that we love to sing and the Christmas hymns, setting up hundreds of Nativity displays from all over the world, and to finish off, reading the accounts of many looking forward to the birth of Christ because of the signs given.  As I was helping set up different Nativity sets I couldn't help but think about different parts of the world. There are many Nationalites which rejoice at the birth of Christ. The Prophets of old testified of his birth, Isaiah tells of Christs birth, his ministry and Atonement. 

  "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

 "A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.... But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisment of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." 

Jesus Christ really came to this earth and suffered and died so we could return to our Heavenly Father. This is the reason why we celebrate his birth. He lived a perfect and sinless life. Although he was tempted, he never gave in to temptation. I testify he is the Savior and Redeemer for you and me, for all nationalities, and for the world.  He taught and teaches us the way. His teachings have been restored. I love him and I will be forever grateful for what he has done for me. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

 

Walk while ye have the Light

 I have been thinking a lot about the feelings and Gift of the spirit. Well i know that you and me want to be truly happy, and we want to be happy everyday. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is light. Light is bright it is attractive and i always want it around me.

So how do we get that happiness / light and how do we keep it?  It is a gift from God, we receive it through Faith and Obedience to the Gospel (the teachings) of Jesus Christ.

When i read, search, and love the scriptures i feel of this happiness so much so that I have a great desire to share the principle I learned about that day with others. My Scripture study prepares me to invite the Holy Spirit into my heart.

I am so grateful for the time i have to devote to studying, pondering and sharing the Gospel!

My Invitation to you is one of our savior's   

John 12:35  Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

 

So the conclusion is walk by the Spirit. It will illuminate your understanding!  Christ says " And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light... and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.

D&C 88:67

Do not Despair

Wrecked a car?, Having a hard time putting you trust in God?, Do you feel like you are stuck in a rut?

Everyone of us have been in some sort of situation like this, for me i can remember back to the time when i was riding my bicycle in a Blizzard with a new missionary, i thought to myself ' i wish i had my face mask', me and this missionary were riding up this canyon and i have to say it was pretty miserable. No one would let us in that day and it was any moment that either one of us would slip off of our bikes because of the snow and ice. We went home for a lunch break and i remember my companion telling me he was going to check the mail, i sat inside and said a little prayer, by the time i finished this Elder was back with some mail and told me that i had a package, the first thing i could see as i opened the package was my face mask. I knew that it wasn't a coincidence or right timing, i knew and still know that the God loves and knows me. He knew i was in need of my face mask otherwise i would have a frozen face.

For Christmas my parents sent me a calendar, i needed a calendar, but i don't think they actually know how much i needed that particular calendar. As i received it in December i opened up to the December page ( the whole Calendar was filled with Temples), except for December.  This was on the December Calendar  

"There are times when you simply have to righteously hang on and outlast the devil until his depressive spirit leaves you"- Ezra Taft Benson



As i walked past my calendar the rest of December i repeatedly remembered President Benson's quote, I know that what he has said is true, i know that as we  "Righteously Hang on" we will have the peace and the comfort that God wants to give us, all of us need to go through a little growing pain.

What did I get from Listening to the Prophet and Apostles?

General Conference was what I needed for my Spiritual nourishment.  I received an answer to my prayers and fulfilled a thought that i had been working on for quite a while.

• Elder Richard G. Scott  talked about the tools to overcome our problems, these are the scriptures.   'They have potent power to heal emotional challenges when there is faith in the Savior. They can accelerate physical healing. Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high.' Those who consistently read the Book of Mormon will have an added measure of the Spirit and a stronger testimony of Jesus Christ. 

• Sister Barbra Thompson gave us great insights on how we can receive revelation for ourselves. First we need to Desire it, Ask in Faith (believing that ye shall receive) and keep the commandments of God. We must nourish our Testimonies so our Testimonies can keep us She shared a story about a woman who in the time of WWII shared her food with others and they asked how she was able to keep a Testimony in those trying times and she said her Testimony kept her.

•      Elder Henry B. Eyring encouraged us to  Form a habit of pushing on through the fatigue and fear that might make you think of quitting.  'The Lord’s great mentors have shown me that spiritual staying power comes from working past the point when others would have taken a rest.'