Give Yourself Some Credit.

Currently I'm working through life with one of many wrong attitudes. I say currently because the epiphany I'm about to share came to me only moments ago.

I've been doing my best to help bear other peoples' burdens while carrying my own, and since mine aren't nearly as visible it's easy for me to say, "Yeah it's alright for you to dump off your stuff right here I'll help you carry it."

However it's getting to the point where outwardly, I'm doing a really great balancing act, but my mind is a torrent of begrudging thoughts and bad attitudes towards individuals and situations. So I'm doing all this service for others, but since I catch myself not being thrilled with the opportunity I feel like it isn't doing any good.

It is important to help people because you want to. That is what charity is all about. It's about selflessly lifting others, and I am working so hard to get to that point. But it's been really hard for me to get there because I'm being bogged down with the notion that unless I cheerfully smile, put my entire avalanche of stress on pause, and daintily assist some fallen soul and gracefully pick up my problems in the same motion then I might as well have just ignored them for all the good it does. 

This is wrong! Essentially I'm mentally running a marathon and at the end of the day I say to myself. "Well all those miles I ran don't really count because I wasn't running my hardest and enjoying the view at the same time." . . . I know very few people who are capable of doing that.

So what I am going to try to do is accept my human weakness, pray for charity, and help where I can. When those thoughts and feelings seep through I'm going to give myself credit for what I am able to accomplish and slowly gratitude will replace grudging. Selflessness doesn't come after one service project. Sacrifice doesn't make it's demands only once. In our lifetimes we will be called upon to make selfless sacrifices, and it will be difficult each time. That is where Grace comes in and makes up for the difference. I know that through Christ we can each overcome our personal weaknesses if we will work hard, and trust him.

More Holiness Give Me (Verse 3)

More purity give me, more strength to o'ercome,

More freedom from earth stains, More longing for home.

More fit for the kingdom, more used would I be,

More blessed and holy, more Savior, like thee.
To me this verse is the prayer to become all that we can be. We are sent to the earth so that we can become like our Father in Heaven and Christ.

It is through purity, or a committment to live the commandments that we recieve freedom from earth stains.
It is through Christ and His atonement that we are given the strength to overcome. I find that as I pray for this strength, and apply the Atonement in my life I come to learn about myself, and the savior; which leads to a longing for home. Whether it is our heavenly home, or earthly home, we all seek for a place to belong, and to feel welcome and loved.
As we pray to be fit for the kingdom we are asking for opportunities to prove ourselves, and to be used in God's service. Take just a moment and really think about what that means. More used would I be, in becoming fit for the Kingdom. This isn't just land some ruler has dominion over. This is the Kingdom of God, who created, rules, and loves everything and everyone. I believe that to be "Fit for the Kingdom" we need to stive to live as He would.
So we then pray to be more blessed and holy, more like the Savior.
I encourage you today, right now, to think about who your savior is. What is His character? How on earth could we ever become exactly like He is?
The plain truth of it is that we won't. In this life we will still be imperfect. But this hymn or this prayer isn't asking God to make us perfect, it is asking to become More. More than I am right now. More than who I was. More like the person He created me to be. That is the purpose of our lives here. It is glorious and filled with hope. If you know someone who doens't have this in their lives perhaps share the encouraging message found in this Hymn and more especially in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I know that as you come to learn of this Gospel, and learn more about yourself then you will feel a difference in your life. You will know you are a child of God, and that through it all He loves you.
I testify of His infinate love for you. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Extra Resources: Discover the Character of Christ, and how you can become more like him Here.
Learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ Here 

More Holiness Give Me (Verse 2)

More gratitude give me, more trust in the lord,
More pride in his glory, more hope in his word,
More tears for his sorrows, more pain at his grief,
More meekness in trial, more praise for relief.

The second verse to Hymn 131 speaks to me about the atonement of Christ.
As we continue to think of this as a prayer: here we pray for gratitude for things He's done, and Trust that all will be made right through him. This is echoed in the second line as we pray for the courage to proudly commit to being a disciple of Christ through a hope in this Gospel.
The prayer then turns into a plea for empathy. We pray for the soberness to grasp how much our savior has given us, and that it wasn't easy for him. which ties into the request for meekness, or patients through our trial, and the praise of gratitude when relief is given to us through the Atonement of Christ.
Ultimately this shows us that as we pray we are aligning our will to our Heavenly Father's. We aren't asking for "Things" we are acknowledging our weaknesses and asking for the ability to rely on Him. I encourage you to take a moment and think about each phrase and the qualities found there and evaluate where you are.
In an address to the World an apostle of the Lord stated
"Perhaps focusing on what we are grateful for is the wrong approach. It is difficult to develop a spirit of gratitude if our thankfulness is only proportional to the number of blessings we can count. "
-President Uchtdorf (Read the full talk Here)

What he is suggesting is that as we Pray for Christlike qualities we will find in ourselves a deeper understanding of who we are, and how we can be happy.
From this Hymn what can you learn about prayer and happiness?

Extra resources: Watch or Read "Grateful in our Circumstances" by President Uchtdorf
Curious to learn more?  find it all at LDS.org

More Holiness Give Me (Verse 1)

This post is written to shed some light to the Title of this Blog and My purpose in writing it.
More Holiness Give Me is a Hymn found in the LDS hymnbook. Here are the lyrics of the first verse.


More Holiness give me, more strivings within,

More patience in suff'ring, more sorrow for sin,

More faith in my Savior, more sense of his care,

More joy in his service, more purpose in prayer.




This Hymn is meant to be sung "Prayerfully"
Every time I sing this beautiful hymn I take the words to heart and sing this prayer to our Father in Heaven.


Holiness is defined as: a state of being holy; total devotion to God.
Striving is a verb meaning to make great efforts to achieve something.


Here we pray that we will be given the motivation or desire to put forth great effort towards total devotion to God. He doesn't expect us to get there immediately which is why we pray for "Patience in suffering" and sorrow for sin.


We all sin, and the first step to repentance is sorrow for our sins. In order to repent we must also have faith in our Savior. As we develop a sense of His care we truly come to understand His atonement which draws us closer to Him.


We need to enjoy keeping the commandments He's given us, and when we pray we should always have a purpose. I know that having more purpose in prayer will change your life. When you pray about specific things then you get specific answers in return.


I know there are some people who don't have a particular love for the Hymns, but I promise that there is power in singing, or at least understanding the Hymns that we sing. As you listen to, or sing Hymns I challenge you to ponder the words and see how you can apply the message into your life.


Extra Resources: Want to listen to more hymns? Find them here!
Need some songs for Kids? Try the Children's Song Book!
Also check out some uplifting music for Youth and Young Adults Here

Make Room for the Book of Mormon

After a few months of carrying around a large side bag and losing little papers in the empty space I had my parents send me a smaller purse.

The package arrived. Excitedly I opened it up, dumped the contents of my side bag onto the floor and began sorting through everything and transferring it over to the smaller purse. As I placed more things into this purse I was amazed that  I managed to fit all my pens, small note book, chap-stick; the works! Even down to my tic tacs and I still managed to zip it closed. Looking at it I realized that it was a bit bulky and when I opened the smaller pocket I could barely fit my fingers in to get at a Mormon.org card. Something had to go.

Examining the contents I looked at what was taking up the most space. For 600 pages, the book was small in size, but it was still an inch thick. Taking it out, my purse now had room to breath and I could still get into all the pockets. Holding the book in my hand I turned it over deciding if there was any point trying to shove it back into my small purse. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, or tic tacs, chapstick, or camera?

Should this have been a question at all? I held in my hands the added witness that Jesus was the Christ; the answer to the question of my beliefs, and I was considering taking that out of my purse for the sake of easy access to fleeting pleasure. I realized that this was more than simply trying to fit everything into a purse, this was an evaluation of my priorities.

Is it possible that we do this everyday? When we look at our schedule and realize that it may be a tight fit, with hardly any breathing room. Do we look at those five minutes and think, "I just don't have room for the Book of Mormon today,"

May I suggest that you make the Book of Mormon a priority. We have been promised by prophets through the ages that as we turn to the word of God we will have added strength to our spirits. So why do we fail to squeeze in those few minutes that could determine the course of our day?

I was never much good at consistent scripture reading even though I knew I needed to, but then something changed. I heard a story of a couple who could stand and say that they had spent time in the scriptures everyday for 25 years. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to be able to stand and say the same thing. I made it a goal, a priorety, and for five years I have been able to spend time in the scriptures at least once a day. It has changed me.

Whether it be the Book of Mormon, Bible, or General conference I invite you to make it a goal to make time for the Savior and His words in your life. I promise that as you spend 5 minutes each day you will feel that difference.

Extra Resources:
For a powerful reminder check out Daily Bread, by Elder Christopherson. You won't regret it!

Questions:
What ways have you been able to make Scripture reading a habit?
Is there anything specific you would like a post about?

What Matters Most

The white and orange cloud billowed up from the mountainside filling the sky. I could see it an hour away from home. As I continued driving towards this cloud I couldn't help but feeling very small and helpless against the enormous forest fire.

The light became orange as the sun was covered by the smoke cloud. Ash fell from the sky in flurries, and the suffocating smell of burning pine was almost tangible. I had been driving almost 7 hours, due to traffic from fires and I had been looking forward to coming home; only to arrive in time to be told to gather supplies for 24 hours in case we would be evacuated. 

I recalled all those times when people would ask rhetorically. "If your house was on fire what would you save?" Now I had to answer this question realizing that whatever I didn't pack in the back of my car I might never see again. I was surprised at how close my hypothetical answers came to reality.

First we gathered non-perishable food items. (bread and water)

Then one pair of clothes, shoes etc.

Scriptures, letters, camera, and chargers for phone, iPad etc

First aid kit.

and then whatever else would fit into a small bag.

As we loaded all of this into the back of our car I looked back into our small apartment and looked at all the things we were leaving behind. All of the things that mattered, but everything I needed I managed to fit into one small bag.

After helping someone pack up to move I was very aware of how easy it is to accumulate "stuff", and how easy it is to worry about things rather than people.

In this Video titled "What Matters Most" President Thomas S. Monson describes how the things that matter most in life aren't really things at all, but people.

When it all boils down people are what matter most. People can be frustrating, rude, or inconvenient at times, But people are what help us give meaning to our lives, and make memories that we can cherish no matter what comes our way! 

Take some time this weekend to share one of your memories with that someone. We all have people we care about, let them know!

I promise that you will never regret the decision to share your gratitude for those you love, and always remind them that they are what Matters Most to you.

The Spirit of God

"My life has been full of stress and tumult lately. . . but I feel a sense. . . just a settling of peace here. Does anyone else feel that?"

As I heard those words I sat forward in my chair, and paused. The realization of how strongly I could feel the presence of the Holy Ghost took me by surprise. There was a piano tuner in the other room and college students laughing out in the hallway, but among all this noise I found I could feel a definite sense of peace settling in the room. I could feel the tears in the back of my eyes and, with a smile I nodded.

The sense of the Spirit, or the ability to recognize His presence and counsel is something that has taken me a long time to develop. The spirit or the Holy Ghost is the third member of the God head(which consists of
God our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost,) is what testifies of truth to all of God's Children. Those who have accepted the Truth of Christ's gospel and are Baptized receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Who then remains as our constant companion, testifies, comforts, guides, warns, and teaches us.

" 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
-John 14:26-27

As you read those words from the Savior take a minute to ask yourself, of those blessings which come from the Holy Ghost, which do you want in your life the most? How can you bring this Spirit, this Comforter, this Peace, this knowledge, this remembrance, or this separation from the world into your life?

To these questions I have three suggestions that will change your life.

1. Pray: talk to your Father in Heaven and ask for the spirit to be in your life. He wants to hear from you, and you can feel of His love for you through the Holy Ghost
2. Read your Scriptures: Either the Book of Mormon or the Bible, or any of the standard works, the Holy Ghost will testify of Truth as you read, and your understanding will increase. Also Read the words of the living prophets
3. Attend Church: What better way to feel the Spirit of the Lord than in a building that has been dedicated as a house of the Lord? 

I promise that as you begin to apply those three suggestions in your life you will feel a difference. You may have tried it before but without any success. I challenge you to go into each of these three steps with an open mind and a sincere heart. If you are willing to accept the Spirit into your life he will come into it. I know this will happen because I've tried it, and it has made all the difference.

 "...if ye shall ask with a ^csincere heart, with ^dreal intent, having ^efaith in Christ, he will ^fmanifest the ^gtruthof it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

  And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may ^aknow the ^btruth of all things."

Moroni 10:4-5